# Billing errors - annual fee for my lifetime bolt?



## Fred Dunfey (Jun 5, 2020)

i brought a bolt 1tb in may 2016 with life time service.

Yesterday, I got a message that says I owe an annual fee or system will be disconnected. I know I purchased the Bolt with life time service. There has been no billings since I activated in 2016. Now they say that won't charge me for past billings but I must start paying annual fee.

I got know no where with three phone calls a a chat. Has anyone else had this happen?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Does your account on TiVo.com agree with you or them?


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## Fred Dunfey (Jun 5, 2020)

JoeKustra said:


> Does your account on TiVo.com agree with you or them?


The account enter for my device says annual. I have no way of knowing if it was changed. There was never any reason for me to log into account. In May of 2016 I activated 2 minis and the Bolt 1TB. There is no billing history on account. There is no credit acrd entered .

You could say I am pisssed. I wouldnt have bought the equipment without the lifetime deal. They are saying I had a one year skip in annua fee. Why would they have not billed me for the last two years. They say it was a glitch. The glitch was the new company found a way to bill me. Peace, Fred


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Sorry. The OCD in me is always checking System Information. From my Roamio:


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## Fred Dunfey (Jun 5, 2020)

JoeKustra said:


> Sorry. The OCD in me is always checking System Information. From my Roamio:
> View attachment 49691


I just checked my Bolt and couldn't get the same information.


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## SteveD (Oct 22, 2002)

You should just check your email receipt from Tivo. It should have come from [email protected] and have the line item, "Bundle, All-in one-time TiVo service fee" to indicate lifetime service.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

**** Red said:


> You should just check your email receipt from Tivo. It should have come from [email protected] and have the line item, "Bundle, All-in one-time TiVo service fee" to indicate lifetime service.


He should also be able to check this online in his account as well.

Scott


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

I think there should be an "order history" on your account if you bought direct from Tivo? If not, where did you purchase, do you have a receipt? The amount you paid should give a clue if lifetime service or annual. If no billing history or credit card info kind of indicates lifetime. But I don't see how there could be no info if you did purchase from Tivo. If not, well depends on where you bought, retailer or 3rd party. If you did not purchase from Tivo I doubt they are at fault, I would contact whomever you bought from.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

Back in the Premiere days they used to have a sort of trial or employee lifetime service. I went to buy a "lifetime" Premiere from someone, I asked them to show me the account screen. It was not "5", it was some double digit number, maybe 13. We called, it was a special account, the person selling it got it from a Tivo employee. It would only stay lifetime if never moved to another account, would then switch to regular billing. Not sure if that situation is/was possible with Roamios/Bolts etc. If so might explain this, Xperi takes over and all those "special" lifetime accounts go away? I've seen a few for sale at ebay over the years, the seller warned if you moved to your account lifetime would go away. Don't remember models, my experience was a Premiere.


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## tivoboy (Jan 14, 2002)

I just got an odd onscreen message as well. Said, they neglected to bill me and that while they wouldn’t back charge me they were going to charge my CC on file for an annual sub or cancel next week. The odd thing is, I bought this bolt with one year sub free, I think paid one year and then converted to lifetime nearly three years ago for the 99$ fee when taking a lifetime off an older premier device - and now haven’t been billed anything since then. It would seem odd if this was an EXCEPTION since the message came over the TiVo messages to device feed and not an email. I also haven’t received an email. Seems pretty odd, they certain have had my contact info for the past 20 years.


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## Brian Docili (Jun 25, 2020)

**** Red said:


> You should just check your email receipt from Tivo. It should have come from [email protected] and have the line item, "Bundle, All-in one-time TiVo service fee" to indicate lifetime service.


I just checked my email receipt from Tivo for lifetime service and it came from [email protected] so check both. In my case, I signed up for the monthly plan when I purchased the item (that receipt came from [email protected] ) but then I changed to the lifetime during the initial 30 day period and the new receipt is from [email protected]


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## Webmistressming (Jun 27, 2020)

You are not the only one.

I purchased lifetime service for my Bolt in 2016, when I bought it. I have NEVER paid an annual fee.

Now my credit card has been charged, and the Tivo site shows no record of EITHER lifetime service OR payments of previous annual fees.

Disputed the charge with my credit card issuer, going to find my documentation, and then Tivo is getting an EARFUL from me tomorrow.


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## karlegas (Dec 3, 2013)

Fred Dunfey said:


> i brought a bolt 1tb in may 2016 with life time service.
> 
> Yesterday, I got a message that says I owe an annual fee or system will be disconnected. I know I purchased the Bolt with life time service. There has been no billings since I activated in 2016. Now they say that won't charge me for past billings but I must start paying annual fee.
> 
> I got know no where with three phone calls a a chat. Has anyone else had this happen?


Hi, I have similar situation than you. I purchased my Tivo Bolt in August 2016 and I only found a receipt that pay 1 year Annual service, but after that Tivo did not charge more, recently appears a message on my screen saying that its system have a glitch not billing during more than 2 years.

The problem is that I cannot access to my account online, I enter my account info and go to the account but appears a 504 error,

*504 ERROR*
*The request could not be satisfied.*
CloudFront attempted to establish a connection with the origin, but either the attempt failed or the origin closed the connection. We can't connect to the server for this app or website at this time. There might be too much traffic or a configuration error. Try again later, or contact the app or website owner. 
If you provide content to customers through CloudFront, you can find steps to troubleshoot and help prevent this error by reviewing the CloudFront documentation. 
Generated by cloudfront (CloudFront)
Request ID: MtKnr2Hnsbn5Ng3cRZoGax-kQwftv_bPj3V_g4O7ecc0jBjD0gahXQ==

I cannot verify my account or review the payment history but in my Tivo show account status 3 Account in Good Standing. They offer only pay annual or monthly $19.99 from the next month. I decide cancel my service and get a new Tivo Edge for a better montly rate $9.99.

I think that the glitch can be true. And the new owners are cleaning the house but I don't know if for the customer benefit.

Karl


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## karlegas (Dec 3, 2013)

tivoboy said:


> I just got an odd onscreen message as well. Said, they neglected to bill me and that while they wouldn't back charge me they were going to charge my CC on file for an annual sub or cancel next week. The odd thing is, I bought this bolt with one year sub free, I think paid one year and then converted to lifetime nearly three years ago for the 99$ fee when taking a lifetime off an older premier device - and now haven't been billed anything since then. It would seem odd if this was an EXCEPTION since the message came over the TiVo messages to device feed and not an email. I also haven't received an email. Seems pretty odd, they certain have had my contact info for the past 20 years.


There was an offer in 2018 called Summer Breeze to transfer to premium for $99 but I don't remeber purchased.

For a limited time only, replace Product Lifetime Service on your current qualifying TiVo DVR with a new All-in-service plan for just $99 when you purchase a new TiVo BOLT VOX. *A savings of $450!*
Must use TSN from list below as promo code.
Offer ends August 7, 2018. Supplies limited.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

tivoboy said:


> I just got an odd onscreen message as well. Said, they neglected to bill me and that while they wouldn't back charge me they were going to charge my CC on file for an annual sub or cancel next week. The odd thing is, I bought this bolt with one year sub free, I think paid one year and then converted to lifetime nearly three years ago for the 99$ fee when taking a lifetime off an older premier device - and now haven't been billed anything since then. It would seem odd if this was an EXCEPTION since the message came over the TiVo messages to device feed and not an email. I also haven't received an email. Seems pretty odd, they certain have had my contact info for the past 20 years.


Login to your account. Look at your devices. The Premiere should be under inactive devices if they transferred the service to the Bolt (usually, in the past Tivo not very diligent about deactivating some of the devices transferred from). Normally that 99 transfer, the offer was to purchase a new/refurbished device and transfer the service to the new device. Then they deactivate service on the device you are transferring from after a certain amount of time. Perhaps the issue here is they did something else with you, you did not purchase a new device when doing the transfer, supposedly they transferred to a device you already owned? I'd check the status of the Premiere, both online and maybe hook it up if you still have it.

A bit late but when purchasing/transferring things like lifetime service (retail price $549 for non OTA only boxes) I would suggest checking account statuses on your online account right away. Make sure the lifetime is on the correct device.


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## Webmistressming (Jun 27, 2020)

This is what is so baffling: the lifetime service showed up on the Bolt's info screen and online until very recently. When I added a new Mini a couple of months, my account correctly showed purchase of Lifetime Service for my Bolt.

Suddenly, this unit's Lifetime Service is gone from the Tivo.com account area, replaced with Annual--and this unauthorized charge is now on my credit card. 

Rather than waste more time trying to find a warm body at Tivo support, I'm disputing the charge with the credit card company. They have the record of my payment in 2016, so the chargeback should be a slam dunk.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

Webmistressming said:


> This is what is so baffling: the lifetime service showed up on the Bolt's info screen and online until very recently. When I added a new Mini a couple of months, my account correctly showed purchase of Lifetime Service for my Bolt.
> 
> Suddenly, this unit's Lifetime Service is gone from the Tivo.com account area, replaced with Annual--and this unauthorized charge is now on my credit card.
> 
> Rather than waste more time trying to find a warm body at Tivo support, I'm disputing the charge with the credit card company. They have the record of my payment in 2016, so the chargeback should be a slam dunk.


Seems a lot of things have changed since Xperi took over. Seems they are doing a bunch of house cleaning, and some of it WRONG. I will say this, anytime I make a purchase from Tivo now, new device or any sort of transfer, I will login to my account and take a PICTURE of my devices with account statuses. You will probably succeed with the charge back but that does not mean Tivo will just accept it. While you may get the money you might have them "after" you, collection agencies, hits on your credit report etc. I'd be careful, consider the amount, if low enough maybe suck it up, may not be worth the credit hit and phone calls from agencies....................... A full year might be worth a charge back, a month or two probably not, IMO.


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## Rodney (Jan 26, 2002)

I also received that online message regarding my Bolt. I remember when I purchased this (used on eBay) back in 2017 Tivo gave me a 1-year free subscription, and they never charged me for the ensuing years, so for me it is legit. I think I'll call them to see what my options are. Doesn't make sense to pay $549 for lifetime when i can purchase a Bolt on eBay with Lifetime for around $300.


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## Webmistressming (Jun 27, 2020)

So after a frustrating go-round via chat and phone with Tivo, their position is this:

Their claim: I bought a box with a ONE-year subscription, and they just forgot to bill me for three years, until now. 

No help at all from the folks at Tivo, and they claim "this is happening to lots of people".


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## Rodney (Jan 26, 2002)

I contacted TiVo and there are no current promotions for Lifetime. I'm not willing to pay $549.99 for it, especially considering the uncertainty of where TiVo will be as a company in the coming years. I will pay for the annual service and re-assess next year. I figure the prices on eBay will only go further down as these get older if I decide to purchase one with Lifetime, or maybe a promotion will pop up that makes sense to take advantage of. All in all I figure I did pretty well with getting three years of free subscription on this Bolt.


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## karlegas (Dec 3, 2013)

I am with Rodney, but check how much will be the charge monthly or annual of your Tivo Bolt, Customer service told me $19.99 monthly.

Instead if I purchased a new Tivo Edge I will pay $9.99 Montly and $99.99 annual, so if I sell my old Tivo Bolt I will replace with a new for $200. 

I aggre that 3 years of free subscription was a good deal and my wife did not like the Edge new interface I hope that will be safe for lther 3 or 4 years more.

Karl


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## tommiet (Oct 28, 2005)

tivoboy said:


> I just got an odd onscreen message as well. Said, they neglected to bill me and that while they wouldn't back charge me they were going to charge my CC on file for an annual sub or cancel next week.


I go the same message.. I pay annually and I did pay it 10/5/2019. If they charge my card, I'll get my CC to refund it. Won't bother calling India to get it fixed.


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## mark1958 (Feb 13, 2005)

Rodney said:


> I also received that online message regarding my Bolt. I remember when I purchased this (used on eBay) back in 2017 Tivo gave me a 1-year free subscription, and they never charged mme for the ensuing years, so for me it is legit. I think I'll call them to see what my options are. Doesn't make sense to pay $549 for lifetime when i can purchase a Bolt on eBay with Lifetime for around $300.


I did the same thing Rodney picked up one off fleabay with the one year free in March 2017, and have never been billed since, this morning there was a video message saying that they hadn't billed me But that was going to change to the tune of 149.99 a year.
The bad thing is the network jack just died on mine and sisters Bolt only lasted a year and a half, at the present time I don't have a lot of faith in the bolts.
I have an 20hr HD unit that's been running strong since 2009 and 2 Roamio pro's since 2016, any way I saw this post last week and had my eye open for a replacement for the Bolt, and found a Roamio Plus on fleybay brand new in the box for $100.00, I also have a 3Tb WD drive just like the pros have to throw in it. by by Bolt!


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## dsm42 (May 23, 2005)

FYI: I've had a similar issue. I purchased two lifetime subscriptions previously, and could have sworn that I had transferred one of them to the Bolt I purchased in 2016. 

In 2017, I received a renewal notice, saying the following:
"Unless we notify you otherwise, the price for the renewal of your TiVo annual service plan is $0.00 (plus any applicable taxes) per year. "

I suppose they have now notified me, and with the whole family being home, and the Tivo being our only TV, I don't really have a choice at the moment but to pay what they're asking ($159 including tax).

But will definitely be on the lookout for a better option before I have to pay next year!

Anyone know of a good alternative to the Bolt that:
*Can have 2+ terabytes of storage
*Supports the "fast play" mode with sound (we use that extensively for sports!)
*For which starting and stopping fast mode works reliably (which it does not on Tivo - as it sometimes randomly skips)
*Supports all the streaming services including HBO GO (which Tivo/Comcast does not), Disney Plus (which Tivo does not), Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc...
*Supports Apple AirPlay 2 (which Tivo does not)

All these issues have been accumulating, and am now motivated to find a better solution!


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

You want lots of storage, great trick play features and access to all apps? As well as access to cable tv?? This will take more than one device. If what you wanted existed we would be on THAT forum!


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## tivoboy (Jan 14, 2002)

Well, tivo really offered me no options so I had to pay their 149$ ransom. At the moment, I can't find all my billings from THREE years ago where I paid 99$ to migrated a lifetime plan to this bolt. And, I don't have that older premier (which had the lifetime on it at the time) anymore, since it was sold for parts since it didn't have a service contract anymore. So, in the next 12 months i'll be looking for my options to move away most likely after over 20 years with Tivo.


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## ilovedvrs (Oct 21, 2004)

I got my Tivo in 2017. On Thu, Jun 28, 2018, 6:38 AM I get this email








yesterday I get an invoice for $150

No way I'm paying any money to Tivo. Sad day to leave Tivo after 21 years.

Also the fire tv stick 4k was a joke. you can't stream your tivo recordings to it.. lame!!

I will just switch to my primary over to FireTV recast that has no subscription.
Guess I get a payday instead by selling my Tivo stuff on ebay. Will buy another FireTV 4k stick so I stream to another room. You even get a free year of cooking channel today.


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## John Harkins (Jul 5, 2020)

I got a similar message. In my case, I purchased a bolt several years ago from Amazon I think. It included a free year of guide service and it turns out Tivo never notified or charged me after the first year. I have several devices and with all others I purchased lifetime service so I assumed I had lifetime with the bolt as well. But when I went back to check my records, I discovered that they were correct and I never upgraded my contract after that first year.

While I’m not happy about the mixup, I think Tivo is at least doing the right thing to excuse past charges for their error. Hopefully they will put lifetime service on sale again and folks will be able get their boxes back under that plan for a more economical price. Understand that looking at a $500+ bill during this time is going to be difficult for many. Sounds like they have a bit of a mess on their hands though.

Good luck.


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## ilovedvrs (Oct 21, 2004)

Phone support said too bad this morning 7-6-2020, no service for you if you don't pay up $150. Even tho the unit was lifetime and I have email showing no fee on renewals for the last 3 years.

I have one of these I got on sale for $199 with no subscriptions 
https://www.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Recast-over-the-air-DVR-500GB-75-hours/dp/B074J1GPB8

Works great with HD Fire TV dongles. I have 3 and about to order a 4th.


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## Phil L (Jul 10, 2020)

same thing happened to me. Bought the lifetime bolt in 2016 and all of a sudden they say it’s an annual plan and they forgot to bill me for three years of service which is complete BS!! What a bunch of crooks!


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