# Direct TV wants the Direct Tivo Returned!



## A4EP (Jun 3, 2003)

I attempted to cancel my Direct TV service today and have three boxes, two regular non DVR Direct TV boxes that came for free with the signup and dish. The other box is a Direct TV Tivo DVR that I bought at Best Buy after getting the service set up. When I tried to cancel my service today Direct TV said I need to return all three boxes. When I said I bought the Direct Tivo seperatly for something like $500 and it is not leased they said it still needs to be returned. This can't be correct can it? What should I say to Direct TV on this one, I mean I am not leasing the box!


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Doesn't sound right to me. You own it, not them.


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## bonscott87 (Oct 3, 2000)

What does it say on your bill? Lease fee or additional receiver fee? If additional receiver fee that means it's owned in their system and you can just point to that.

And assuming you got the DirecTivo before March of 06 then yes, it should be owned.


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## A4EP (Jun 3, 2003)

bonscott87 said:


> What does it say on your bill? Lease fee or additional receiver fee? If additional receiver fee that means it's owned in their system and you can just point to that.
> 
> And assuming you got the DirecTivo before March of 06 then yes, it should be owned.


No, I got the DirecTivo in June or July of 2006. Does that make a difference?


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

Yes, that makes a difference. It is leased, not owned, and must be returned.


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## vigfoot (Dec 1, 2003)

stevel said:


> Yes, that makes a difference. It is leased, not owned, and must be returned.


is it "leased" only because it was incorrectly noted as such on the account? i thought that's why everyone is making sure the units they buy outside of D are listed as owned, not leased?


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

vigfoot said:


> is it "leased" only because it was incorrectly noted as such on the account? i thought that's why everyone is making sure the units they buy outside of D are listed as owned, not leased?


Only units they buy from say ebay can have that done. But any tivo bought from a retail establishment make you sign a lease addendum stating you will return it. nIf you buy a used machine from a private person it should be listed as owned  but if you bought it from a store such as circuit city ect. It is leased and must be returned.


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## TonyTheTiger (Dec 22, 2006)

If you're cancelling service, the box is virtually useless to you anyway. You can give it away, maybe sell it for $50 (or whatever) or strip it and use the drive in your PC, so it's no great loss to you.

You may find that D* will accept the returned box in place of a cancellation fee. I'm afraid it's a game of CSR roulette until you find one that will help. It's a common game that a lot of people win around here.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Even if you purchase it from eBay... it will be still classified as leased..
Unless you prove, and convince them that it was owned by the previous "holder" of the unit... or if you paid the full purchase price for it.


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## bonscott87 (Oct 3, 2000)

vigfoot said:


> is it "leased" only because it was incorrectly noted as such on the account? i thought that's why everyone is making sure the units they buy outside of D are listed as owned, not leased?


No, it's because he got it after the leasing program started back in March 2006. After that date any receiver you activate is leased. Period. No matter where you get it.

Unless you can browbeat a CSR otherwise or as Earl posted you can prove that if you bought it off eBay it was owned by the seller or you paid full purchase price (example: HR20 is typically free to $299 leased, $750+ full price).


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## wolflord11 (Jan 17, 2007)

As the Op purchased the Unit from a Retail Store No Doubt you also agreed to the *Terms and Conditions* with that unit which means you MUST return the unit upon cancelling Service.

Always read the fineprint of any Unit you purchase.

Yes you can purchase not only Directv/Tivo units but also Directv units that you own. When you add them to your account make sure they are listed as "Owned" and not "leased".


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## rabbit73 (Oct 13, 2006)

My tivo took a powder somewhere around xmas and I bought a new (identical) unit from ebay. I swapped out the power supplies and got my old unit working again so I wouldn't lose my recordings. Before I did that, I wanted to make sure the ebay box worked and activated it. Is there a way to see the status of the other tivo - leased vs owned? I looked online under "my system" but it only shows the active receiver. Once I got it working I made the other one dormant or inactive or whatever. I want to make sure it says I own it.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

The only way you can tell... via your online account...

Is the line items for the mirroring fees...

"Additional Receiver Fee" denotes it is an owned system
"Leased Receiver Fee" denotes it is a leased system


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## rabbit73 (Oct 13, 2006)

It just says "not mirrored". Guess I gotta dig it out of the box, get the IRD#, and call. Thanks though.


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## wolflord11 (Jan 17, 2007)

ebonovic said:


> The only way you can tell... via your online account...
> 
> Is the line items for the mirroring fees...
> 
> ...


Great advice from ebonovic!

See the difference?

How many have had a unit on their account listed as Additional, then surrendered it to Directv when they have upgraded?

I bet alot.


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## sloan (Feb 13, 2003)

When you add a used unit to your account, they will default it to "leased" even though it isn't.

You'll have to call and try to get it to be "owned". The caveat here is that you MUST BUY A NEW ACCESS CARD. (Again, this is my experience, and I've done this about 6 times between my own account and my parents account).
that'll cost you $20.

THEN you can call in and say "I have a new access card, make my unit "owned"".

Whenever I make a unit "owned", I still look at the next bill and sometimes call them to confirm its marked at "owned". Because even when the CSR says its correct, sometimes it isn't.

So using my experience as a guide, you may have to pay $20 first, to get it to be owned ~~then cancel.

Sounds backwards I know.

So do you want to keep it or is it worth $20.

Again, this is MY EXPERIENCE. I find there are exceptions (via this website), but after 6 times of dealing with "I own it", I find this is the way that it will actually make my units "owned" instead of leased.

I only have 1 leased unit, and that's when they were basically giving away HR10-250's as they moved to their own version.


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## wolflord11 (Jan 17, 2007)

You do not need to purchase a New Card. You can always transfer a Card you already have on your Account from One unit to another.

And the $20.00 Card thing. I purchased a Card here lately. Showed on my Bill as $20.00 then right undernealth a $20.00 Credit. So my New Card costed nothing


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## sloan (Feb 13, 2003)

Yes, I know you ~can transfer the card from one to another.

What I am saying is that if you do this (transfer), they will list the unit as Leased, even if you say "I own it".

...........

So go ahead and try the transfer method (OP that is), and then check to see what it is on your account.

Then when they say its leased, call in and say "What do I need to make it owned?"

I'm 99.9% sure they'll say "First, you'll have to get a new access card".

At least that's been my experience for 6 times in a row over the last 2.5 years.

..


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## wolflord11 (Jan 17, 2007)

sloan said:


> Yes, I know you ~can transfer the card from one to another.
> 
> *What I am saying is that if you do this (transfer), they will list the unit as Leased, even if you say "I own it".*
> 
> ...


I have transferred 6 Cards into units I owned in the last 4 Months, and YES they are still listed as Owned. So this Transfer BS is just that.

Also, I transferred 2 of the Cards from "Leased" to "owned" units not a problem. And they still show up as Owned not leased.


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## Stanley Rohner (Jan 18, 2004)

Billy Bob Boy said:


> Only units they buy from say ebay can have that done. But any tivo bought from a retail establishment make you sign a lease addendum stating you will return it. nIf you buy a used machine from a private person it should be listed as owned  but if you bought it from a store such as circuit city ect. It is leased and must be returned.


  nIf  you buy a used machine from a private person it won't necessarily be listed as owned.


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## appleye1 (Jan 26, 2002)

ebonovic said:


> The only way you can tell... via your online account...
> 
> Is the line items for the mirroring fees...
> 
> ...


Doesn't tell you anything about the primary receiver though, only the additional mirrored ones. I assume you'd have to call about the primary to make sure it was owned.


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## Blurayfan (Oct 6, 2003)

appleye1 said:


> Doesn't tell you anything about the primary receiver though, only the additional mirrored ones. I assume you'd have to call about the primary to make sure it was owned.


A Primary Leased receiver will be listed on your recent account activity.
*(xxxxx9999) Primary Leased Receiver (-$4.99)*
*(xxxxx9999) Primary Leased Receiver - charge ($4.99)*


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## parzec (Jun 21, 2002)

DirecTV's shift from Owned to Leased model has been an extremely sloppy transition - as evidenced by the numerous posts describing your same issue. Write your State Attorney General's Office and detail the situation with the DTV non-DVR units that you own and CC DirecTV. This may not have an immediate effect, but if enough people alert the authorities to DirecTV's unfair and deceptive practices, they might eventually take action on your behalf. Also, the government can put much more pressure on DirecTV than you or any individual.

Regarding the DirecTivo, you may be out of luck because of the activation date. (Although, DirecTV was kind of sneaky in doing this and never emphasised the change to its customers) 

Now spread your negative experiences with DirecTV to all your friends!


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## ssheffield (Jun 14, 2003)

So what does it mean if my bill shows this? (And yestI have a TIVO)
DIRECTV DVR Service Fee Monthly 5.99


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

It means that you have DVR service, which includes TiVos. Isn't connected to lease/owned.


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## wolflord11 (Jan 17, 2007)

ssheffield said:


> So what does it mean if my bill shows this? (And yes I have a TIVO)
> DIRECTV DVR Service Fee Monthly 5.99


It means you have DVR service on your account that covers Both Directv units and Directv/Tivo units. Nothing to do with a unit being "Owned" or "Leased".


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

These are the only lines on my bill:



> 06/05 07/04 TOTAL CHOICE Monthly 47.99
> 06/05 07/04 DIRECTV DVR Service Monthly 5.99


It doesn't look like anything there tells me whether they think my unit is owned or leased. Is there anywhere else to check?

I bought my dtivo in '03 for $99.


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## ssheffield (Jun 14, 2003)

That's the same as mine, no mention of owned or leased


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## or270 (Feb 4, 2006)

Robin said:


> I bought my dtivo in '03 for $99.


It would be owned then.

After February 28 or March 1 2006 is when the lease came into play.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

I figure it -should- be owned, but I've moved and changed packages and I'd like to confirm they haven't screwed anything up in my account. Is there any way to verify?


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## or270 (Feb 4, 2006)

Does Leased Receiver Fee show up on you bill?


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## landshark21 (Jun 17, 2004)

This is what my account looks like.

07/24 Additional Receiver 4.99 

07/24 Additional Receiver 4.99 

07/24 Additional Receiver 4.99 


I own all of my recievers the last of which I added in October of 06. I was given the unit, R10, when I moved by the tech who installed my new system. I called to activate it and told them I bought it from a friend. When I next checked my account it was listed as leased. I called told the CSR about it and they changed it to owned.


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## dthreet (Jan 18, 2006)

I think directv does not want any of the tivos back either leased or owned. I had an hr10-250 die about 8-9 months ago, i have the protection plan so they sent me another hr10-250. Then they told me to dispose of the unit. all my units on my account show owned on my bill


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## snickerrrrs (Mar 31, 2006)

First off, I called D* yesterday about changing out a leased receiver for one that I now owned. When I finally got to the person who could make the change she said I have one leased dvr and one that I owned. I corrected her saying that I owned both dvrs (this one I purchased from Bestbuy) as I had purchased them a long time ago. She double checked and said yes you are right and I'll correct it on your account. Apparently this is a pretty common problem.

Second my brother in law canceled D* and ordered Fios from Verizon (several of my relatives have old D* equpment that we trade back and forth). When he canceled the account they told him he'd have to send the R10 back. That was a few months ago. When I checked the status on the R10 yesterday she said that account was in good standing so I could use his R10 or receivers if I wanted. Long story short (too late) they didn't really want the old Directivo back. I think the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing at D*.

I hope this helps.


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