# Just called to cancel my annual subscription and got $99 lifetime on my Bolt+



## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

Hey all. I was never that active here and haven't posted in a couple years at this point, but thought to return to share this just in case people didn't know this was possible. A few months ago we went streaming only and ditched cable, so our TiVos were no longer all that useful. My only two tuner Premier and Roamio Basic were lifetimed, but the Bolt+ I got in 2016 was still on an annual plan because at the time I didn't trust TiVo to still exist long enough to make lifetime make sense.

Knowing the subscription would renew in a month, I called today to cancel it and make sure it didn't. I told the rep I had gotten rid of cable and had no use for the box. She said she'd like to look up offers first and I gave her a minute with no intention to accept any, but I was curious. I did not expect her to come back with lifetime for $99.99 plus tax. Of course I accepted that given what it does for the resale value of the box. For now I'll just stick it in the closet, but this was a no brainer anyway whether down the line I sell it, gift it, or return to cable.

If TiVo offering this is well known, ignore me. If it isn't, there you go.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

abovethesink said:


> but the Bolt+ I got in 2016 was still on an annual plan because at the time I didn't trust TiVo to still exist long enough to make lifetime make sense.





abovethesink said:


> She said she'd like to look up offers first and I gave her a minute with no intention to accept any, but I was curious. I did not expect her to come back with lifetime for $99.99 plus tax. Of course I accepted that given what it does for the resale value of the box. For now I'll just stick it in the closet, but this was a no brainer anyway whether down the line I sell it, gift it, or return to cable.


Surprising to see that offer on a 2 year old Bolt! Based on other posts I think we would have expected a $199 offer (although even then we've seen that for Roamio's but I'm not sure we've seen it for Bolts though).

Scott


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## schatham (Mar 17, 2007)

After reading this I called to cancel. I was offered nothing, so I went ahead and canceled. I went the whole way through thinking they would offer something. It will cancel at the end of my cycle. 

So what where the magic words to get a all in one offer?


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## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

All I said was that we don't have cable anymore and that the box has no use without that. What reason did you give for cancelling? And was it a Bolt+?


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## DVR_Dave (Apr 19, 2017)

schatham said:


> After reading this I called to cancel. I was offered nothing, so I went ahead and canceled.


How long have you paid for service on your Bolt?


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## schatham (Mar 17, 2007)

Mine was a Roamio, 2 or 3 years active. I told them I was canceling cable TV, they said hold for a minute. I thought they were getting info to offer me something, but just came back with a cancelation number. No offer of any kind. They seemed happy to do it.

I'm a long time customer, I've had series 1, 2 and now the Roamio.


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## DVR_Dave (Apr 19, 2017)

Call back and ask for an all-in offer?


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## schatham (Mar 17, 2007)

DVR_Dave said:


> Call back and ask for an all-in offer?


Would I have better luck waiting until it cancels at end of billing cycle or before? Sept 5 cancel date.


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## DVR_Dave (Apr 19, 2017)

Try before. If not successful, try after.


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## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

DVR_Dave said:


> How long have you paid for service on your Bolt?


Two years of annual service.


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## avaddict (Nov 23, 2014)

Thanks for sharing this. 
Although I have nothing but good words to say about the front line Tivo telephone support, I did notice a difference in motivation of some representatives to get something approved for the betterment of the customer. That extra mile stuff can vary.


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## rjrsouthwest (Feb 19, 2016)

I found that you do not get any good offers calling the sales number and all they have is the normal standard service options but if you call the support line they have the ability to make offers that are far better. When my first year of included service on my bolt was a little over a month from the end I called and the agent suggested I call back in the final week of the plan. I did that and after the customer support retention person put me on hold and came back on he offered me $6.95 a month for as long as I want to keep it or until I cancel service.


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## schatham (Mar 17, 2007)

DVR_Dave said:


> Try before. If not successful, try after.


I called back and the best they would do was $199. I took it since I did not want it to actually cancel. Plus at $15 a month that's just over 12 months payments. This will also get me in on any future lifetime transfer deals.


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## ellinj (Feb 26, 2002)

Any recent experience. I have a Roamio I am paying $15 a month for.


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

I got my Roamio Plus for $62 on eBay 3 years ago. I think prices have actually gone up since then. I pay $9.99/mnth


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## janitor53 (Jun 9, 2016)

I called today and was told there are no deals, I'd need to pay regular price if I want all-in service.


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## ellinj (Feb 26, 2002)

janitor53 said:


> I called today and was told there are no deals, I'd need to pay regular price if I want all-in service.


Did you threaten to cancel ?


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## janitor53 (Jun 9, 2016)

ellinj said:


> Did you threaten to cancel ?


no


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

And did you note any extenuating factors? E.g. customer loyalty, years as a customer, amount of TiVo equipment, amounts spent on subscription fees, etc.


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## janitor53 (Jun 9, 2016)

Mikeguy said:


> And did you note any extenuating factors? E.g. customer loyalty, years as a customer, amount of TiVo equipment, amounts spent on subscription fees, etc.


nope


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

IMHE, nicely mentioning/pleading the factors can help--even today, I think that TiVo likes to be a "good guy/gal."


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## pldoolittle (May 2, 2002)

I played every card in the deck. 3yrs @ $15/mo, 20yr customer, a dozen devices since S1, etc. Switching to Recast w/ no fee, etc.

They wanted $529, zero latitude. Which is silly considering the pres.day sale ($349) was only 3 days away.

One thing I think is really stupid is that they won't charge you the OTA rate if you're using a BOLT for antenna. They know what features I'm using, bill me appropriately.


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## philco782 (Sep 28, 2014)

I got lifetime on my Premier4 for $99 after pointing out that I’ve paid monthly for 4 years and have already given them more than they would have earned through an all-in plan. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

pldoolittle said:


> I played every card in the deck. 3yrs @ $15/mo, 20yr customer, a dozen devices since S1, etc. Switching to Recast w/ no fee, etc.
> 
> They wanted $529, zero latitude. Which is silly considering the pres.day sale ($349) was only 3 days away.
> 
> One thing I think is really stupid is that they won't charge you the OTA rate if you're using a BOLT for antenna. They know what features I'm using, bill me appropriately.


Time for some TiVo customer service rep. roulette.


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## Mr Tony (Dec 20, 2012)

ellinj said:


> Any recent experience. I have a Roamio I am paying $15 a month for.


Is it a Roamio OTA? Reason I ask is those models only have the $15 monthly option. Lifetime/All In was part of a promo Tivo has had previously (unit + lifetime) but otherwise its 14.99 a month


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## cpgny9 (Mar 1, 2006)

Over the last 6+ months its changed. No matter who you talk to at customer service, they don't make the offers like they use to or seem to care if you threaten to cancel (or even actually cancel). I'm not saying that they should have to or that they are a terrible company or anything.... but in the past it always seemed like they cared more about keeping you as a customer and helping you out with rates if you were a long time subscriber. Again, I'm not saying shame on them for not giving discounts or expect them to, just that it used to be nice when they did. I recently called in to see what they could do...was told a 6.99 plan was the best they could do for my bolt i had in a guest room, I was really hoping for a lifetime rate. I asked them if it was ok if I called back later or tomorrow to think about it. They gave me a case number and all. I called back the next day to take them up on their offer, gave the case number (which they found). The lady said, yes I see this case and the 6.99 offer no problem. Put me on hold for 45 minutes (kept coming back telling me - no problem, it will just be a few more minutes and we will have that new rate) - finally came back and said, "Sorry, I spoke with my manager and that promo rate is no longer available and it is not possible to give you that rate". So i canceled my plan - there was no attempt to offer me anything else or push back when I said "cancel it then".


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

philco782 said:


> I got lifetime on my Premier4 for $99 after pointing out that I've paid monthly for 4 years and have already given them more than they would have earned through an all-in plan.


I did the same thing/price last month on a two-tuner Premiere. I just asked.


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## pldoolittle (May 2, 2002)

cpgny9 said:


> Put me on hold for 45 minutes (kept coming back telling me - no problem, it will just be a few more minutes and we will have that new rate) - finally came back and said, "Sorry, I spoke with my manager and that promo rate is no longer available and it is not possible to give you that rate". So i canceled my plan - there was no attempt to offer me anything else or push back when I said "cancel it then".


That was my experience also. But the bogus offer was $249 lifetime.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

if they are really serious about making money off ads, they would want more boxes with service. something seems real fishy with all this, if i were a stockholder, i would dig deeper...


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