# HR10-250 - Circuit City Unbelievable deal!



## pdxrunr (Dec 17, 2004)

If you purchased your HR10-250 and the Protection Plan from Circuit City, you can contact them if your unit fails.


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## tazzmission (Oct 15, 2002)

Lucky you. I hate CC. They suck. Too many horror stories for me to ever shop there again.


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## summerall (Aug 5, 2001)

CC is better than BB.


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## bmb (Sep 13, 2005)

For once a store like CC does the right thing, or what I might even consider "above and beyond." That is great news for you if you actually get the check... should be more then enough to get a Series 3.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

summerall said:


> CC is better than BB.


I feel the 110% opposite... I avoid our CC like the plague....

But then again... if they do honor the warranty like you state above......

That is not too bad.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

I'll be amazed if he gets that check in the mail. I can't see them refunding 100% of the cash paid 3 years later.


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## hiker (Nov 29, 2001)

Most warranties on electronic equipment work like this. 

I had the Warrantech Repair Master on a 42" plasma that had the panel go bad. Since it would cost more to fix it than to buy a new one, I was offered the newer model. I wanted to upgrade to a 50" plasma so I asked for a refund and was sent a check for what I paid less the cost of the warranty. 

I see people criticize extended warranties all the time and now I get one on anything that cost more than $500.


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## rlj5242 (Dec 20, 2000)

Take that money and get you a new drive and copy of InstantCake. I did that a few weekends ago and was back up and running in about an hour.

-Robert


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## Dssturbo1 (Feb 23, 2005)

bb had a complete 4 year warranty for only $39 on the new Toshiba HD DVD player. It was a no brainer since it is first gen product. they have changed the price of the warranty up to $79 now, hope it's not because so many returned them with problems.


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## tazzmission (Oct 15, 2002)

summerall said:


> CC is better than BB.


Not in my opinion. CC sells higher end product than BB does for the most part though.


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

Both stores equally have their faults, but I prefer BB's online presence and ordering process to CC's. 

Anyone ever ordered online via CC? First, the item you're looking at may or may NOT be in stock, but you wont' know that until after you pay for it. Second, BB provides a confirmation and order number immediately, but with CC, you have to wait for the order to actually be processed. If your entire item is backordered, this means you wont' get an order number until the first item is available, and then you'll see the order number in your email. What a stupid system! 

BB also has Reward Zone and Wish Lists, two programs that CC should try out. 

But anyway, it's great you're getting your money back, so good for you!


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## Guindalf (Jun 13, 2001)

It totally depends on where you live as to which is the better store. I travel for a living and I can say that in my personal experience, generally BB stores are better maintained and stocked. However, there are bad BB stores and bad CC stores - and good ones of each too.

As for the comment that CC sells higher end products, this is totally untrue! I bought a Yamaha receiver last week and CC doesn't even stock it. They tend to just stock different brands from each other where possible to avoid having to price match each other.

BB has the Magnolia stores within theirs which stocks items like Pioneer Elite and Denon, whereas CC stocks a lot of Hamon Kardon and Onkyo.


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## durl (Dec 1, 2005)

Our CC is very good. Any time I've had a customer service issue, they've taken good care of me.

Several years ago I bought a receiver from them. A week or so later, I saw that BB was offering a free set of bookshelf speakers when you bought the same receiver. I went to CC and the first person to offer me help was a manager. I explained what I saw and he went right to a register and handed me cash equivalent of the BB speakers.


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## Juppers (Jan 26, 2001)

I'm a CC fan myself. Got my 57in Sony WS HDTV for really cheap as an unblemished open box, then they put it on sale and had no trouble getting a $583 refund for the pricematch, over 25% of my original total purchase of the TV, entertainment rack, and a few other small things. About to get the extended warranty on it later this month, as the factory 1 year is about to expire.


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## jluzbet (Apr 20, 2004)

Get the Prtotection from DTV, 30days later make a claim and get a working unit (Maybe)


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## willardcpa (Feb 23, 2001)

drew2k said:


> ....Anyone ever ordered online via CC? First, the item you're looking at may or may NOT be in stock, but you wont' know that until after you pay for it.....


I usually go for the "in-store" pickup option. On their web site you can chose up to three local stores and it will tell you if they have the item in stock before you put it in your cart. I just checked it. And the three stored that I picked closest to me all had HR10-250s in stock. It showed up on the screen when I first went to the HR10-250 page.


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## Guindalf (Jun 13, 2001)

jluzbet said:


> Get the Prtotection from DTV, 30days later make a claim and get a working unit (Maybe)


This may be what YOU would do, but it's morally and legally wrong and should not be encouraged in this forum.


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## Directvlover (Apr 12, 2004)

ebonovic said:


> I feel the 110% opposite... I avoid our CC like the plague....
> 
> But then again... if they do honor the warranty like you state above......
> 
> That is not too bad.


I avoid them too...in fact the CC in our city closed a couple years ago. I always felt like i was in a car dealership in there with a bunch of sleezy salesman. CC couldn't make it work here....however we have 3 Best buys that are doing just fine. Just goes to show you that the way CC goes about things doesn't work.


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## Stanley Rohner (Jan 18, 2004)

I bet the gal on the phone was wrong and this won't get approved once it gets past her.


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## unixadm (Jan 1, 2001)

I'm sure that they will want the old unit back before they give you the money.

I've returned things to CC and they've given me full credit back in the form of a gift card, but they take the faulty unit back. I can then buy a new one with the credit they gave me. In a couple of cases, the new unit has dropped in price (as it has in the HR10-250's case) and I have a gift card for the original amount and have money left over after purchasing the new unit.


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## IOTP (Aug 7, 2001)

Two phrases to live by I learned from fatwallet.com.

Circus City

and 

Worse Buy

I think that covers it.


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## bmb (Sep 13, 2005)

IOTP said:


> Two phrases to live by I learned from fatwallet.com.
> Circus City


I personally prefer Circuit S**tty


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## rpdre1 (Feb 20, 2005)

pdxrunr said:


> New drive ordered.....what is InstantCake? Weaknees told me the new drive would be ready to go once installed.
> 
> I will report back when/if I receive the check
> 
> L


he meant buy a regular hard drive (a lot cheaper, you can get a 320GB drive for $105).

if you can open a tivo and connect the new drive to your tivo's IDE cable, why cant you open your PC and connect it to your PC's IDE cable? its not difficult at all.

all you need to do is put the drive in your PC, leave InstantCake ($20) running on the drive for a few hours and then when it finished it'd be ready to go inside your tivo.... InstantCake's very simple for a newbie to use, it's not confusing at all.

but you already bought the weaknees drive

http://www.weaknees.com/hughes-hr10-250.php

those prices are really expensive :/

Replace your drive(s) with 30 HD, 200 SD Hours* - Single 250gb Drive - more info
$199 + FREE SHIPPING

i would check if you could still cancel the order.


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## weymo (Jan 26, 2003)

I will be super suprised if you actually get the full refund. When I've had issues like this they typically pro-rate the cash back based on what the replacement value would be and then they want to encourage you to use that bit as a discount against a new purchase.
Since you gave them your credit card, you may get the new one, a bill for the new one, and then get a store credit for a pro-rated amount remaining.
I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. If you get this deal, your CC lady needs a margarita.


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## RMSko (Sep 4, 2001)

weymo said:


> I will be super suprised if you actually get the full refund. When I've had issues like this they typically pro-rate the cash back based on what the replacement value would be and then they want to encourage you to use that bit as a discount against a new purchase.
> Since you gave them your credit card, you may get the new one, a bill for the new one, and then get a store credit for a pro-rated amount remaining.
> I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. If you get this deal, your CC lady needs a margarita.


I've had CC warranties on a number of items and can confirm that it ABSOLUTELY works the way that the OP said. I've gotten some CC checks to prove it. I've actually never had a bad experience with CC and their warranty system is very good (at least for me it has been). I actually think they recently changed or are thinking about changing their system, although the change won't apply to existing warranties.


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## rlj5242 (Dec 20, 2000)

rpdre1 said:


> he meant buy a regular hard drive (a lot cheaper, you can get a 320GB drive for $105).


 That's what I meant. I bought a 320GB Western Digital drive from Office Max for $99 after instant rebate. I went home and downloaded Instant Cake from PTV Upgrade for $19.95. Burned it to a CD. Followed the instructions and I had a working drive in about 30 minutes. Took about 10 minutes to install.

-Robert


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## cstelter (Mar 18, 2002)

Hmm... Very interesting-- I have an HR10-250 purchased from CC with the 3yr protection plan. The HDMI went out over a year ago-- I was holding off trying to get a fix until it was clear they had units that reliably fixed the problem and until I had trimmed my now-playing list. Sounds like now may be a good time to try and get it repaired...


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## baws22489 (Jan 14, 2004)

I also purchased one from Circuit City with the Protection Plan in 2005 and called on Monday to get a replacement as my hard drive was going bad. I was given a case#. This morning I called, hoping to hear the same thing as I wanted my $1000 back, instead I was given a tracking number and I checked, the item is being delivered today. So I guess pdxrunr was lucky, I will be interested to see if you do get the check!


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## rpdre1 (Feb 20, 2005)

pdxrunr said:


> I don't have time to mess around with all of that....I don't mind paying them for the service to have it done right. Also, from what I understand, the drives that they sell are not the same drives that you purchase for your computer..they are designed for a longer life and designed for digital video.
> 
> L


i still think you would have been MUCH better off buying a regular drive.

all that about longer life/made for digital video is a lot of marketing hype.

if you werent willing to open up your tivo yourself, i would understand. if you're willing to open up a tivo though, its not any more difficult to open up a pc.

you burn the instantcake cd, leave the cd inside the drive, turn off your pc, open it up, stick the hard drive as the secondary master (the IDE cable your cdrom/dvdrom is on), turn the pc back on, watch your pc boot the cd, and instantcake will load.

theres no commands to type in or anything like that. it'd take you literally less than 1minute to answer, its two questions:

Are you making a 1 or 2 drive tivo? 
and
Do you wish to continue?

then you'd leave it alone for 30mins while it does it thing.


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

rpdre1 said:


> i still think you would have been MUCH better off buying a regular drive.
> 
> all that about longer life/made for digital video is a lot of marketing hype.
> 
> ...


I've never tried instanctcake, but from what I've read about it, aren't you leaving out an important step to disconnect all other drives leaving only the CD drive and then add the drive to be loaded with the instantcake image?


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

Both BB and CC suck as far as the quality of the gear they sell. It's all middle of the road mass market junk for the most part. You have to go to a high end salon for the good suff, but you'd better be willing to pay for it.

BB is a joke when it comes to auditioning any hardware. Just try and test a DVD player in any of their stores to see what I mean. They don't have a single player connected to a TV so you can try it out. Their HDTVs all run off a DVD player at 480i upscaled to 720p at best. CC used to be the absolute pits but they've gotten much better in recent years. At least you can play with the equipment and see it in action.

Kudos to the OP for his windfall in any case. My advise would be to buy a new HDTivo off ebay for one-third what you originally paid for it and put the rest away for a rainy day or towards that piece of dream equipment you've always wanted.


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## unixadm (Jan 1, 2001)

Interesting thing happened......

I purchased mine at Circuit City and got the extended warranty mainly because of the failing HDMI ports (which happened to my first one and was replace in store)

I have had some stuttering and slow down on mine (sometimes it just doesn't respond to the remote for minutes).....It got better recently and I figured I would replace the drive with a larger one if it got any worse again.

After reading this thread, I decided to call Circuit City to ask about a replacement. If I got lucky like the OP, then they give me my money back and I can use it to replace the drive, which would save all of my previously recorded shows. I told them that it has been acting up, but is working ok right now and I wanted to see what my choices were as far as repair since I didn't want to lose the existing programming. They told me that they don't repair and only replace (which I knew). They could do advance replacement with a credit card, or they can just send me a box and I could send to mine them and they would send a new one after they receive it. I told them to send me the box. If I needed it, I could use it, if not then no loss. I did not give them any credit card.

Today, there is a box from Circuit City at my door. I pick it up and it is heavier than an empty box. I open it and there is a new HR10-250 in it (no accessories or cords and no DTV access card...just the unit bubble wrapped. There is a note inside saying that they DO NOT want my old unit back and to discard it! It gave instructions on switching my card from my existing unit over to the new unit.

So now what do I do? Mine is working ok at this point, and I wouldn't want to lose the shows I already have recorded. I don't really have a need for a 2nd HD TiVo and wouldn't be able to use it without a card. I could pay $20 for a new card and add it to my account, but I don't see the need. I may call CC and tell them that mine is working fine right now and see what they want to do....but they pretty much already knew that.


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## hiker (Nov 29, 2001)

unixadm,
I would keep it to replace your other one when it fails which will happen eventually.


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## willardcpa (Feb 23, 2001)

unixadm said:


> ....Today, there is a box from Circuit City at my door. I pick it up and it is heavier than an empty box. I open it and there is a new HR10-250 in it (no accessories or cords and no DTV access card...just the unit bubble wrapped. There is a note inside saying that they DO NOT want my old unit back and to discard it! It gave instructions on switching my card from my existing unit over to the new unit.
> 
> So now what do I do? ......


Wait a week or so, and then call em up and ask em what happened to the empty box they were going to send you.  
Seems like quite a bit of variance between Plan A (get the guys CC #) and Plan B - just send him a free one. 

Ohh, and while we are on the subject of merchandise returns, I want my money back on the Spaun switch I bot from you about five years ago (well, probably just a little under 5 - in order to get in under the warranty plan). I found out last friday that apparently they don't work with triple LNB dishes, I had mine hooked up to two dishes, on pointed at 101 and one to 119 for years without any problems. Just kidding.


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## unixadm (Jan 1, 2001)

willardcpa said:


> Ohh, and while we are on the subject of merchandise returns, I want my money back on the Spaun switch I bot from you about five years ago (well, probably just a little under 5 - in order to get in under the warranty plan). I found out last friday that apparently they don't work with triple LNB dishes, I had mine hooked up to two dishes, on pointed at 101 and one to 119 for years without any problems. Just kidding.


Sorry, but the extended warranty ran out on that last week.....now if you want to buy an extension on the extended warranty let me know! It's only $150 for 4 more years


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## Budget_HT (Jan 2, 2001)

My Spaun from unixadm died late last year. I have the DirecTV Protection Plan, so they came out and replaced the unit, except that they don't provide 5x8 units so I lost my easy ability to diplex to all of the multiswitch outputs.

I was happy to get years of service from the Spaun. No regrets at all.


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## marcello696 (Jun 18, 2004)

I called Circuit City this morning and they gave me the $999 rebate without me saying a word. I was even told to keep my current HR10-250. They said I will have the check within the next 30 days.


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## McTivo (Mar 20, 2003)

marcello696 said:


> I called Circuit City this morning and they gave me the $999 rebate without me saying a word. I was even told to keep my current HR10-250. They said I will have the check within the next 30 days.


Anybody who's been promised a refund from CC, please follow-up and let us know if you get it!


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## Rollo27 (Jun 21, 2006)

I've lost HDMI and have occasional loss of picture. Called CC today and was told no replacement is available. Offered $499. Never got to what to do with existing receiver. Stopped the process right there. Paid $999 for ownership, bought warranty to be made whole in event of malfuntion. If they cannot honor their warranty, I told them I want the $999 back. Paying that much I need to own it. Even if it becomes a $999.00 paperweight, because it will mine. Now if they refund the $999 and I have to payfour or five hundred for a new one (leased box), the five or six hundred I keep and the almost two years of equipment use will ease the pain. Waiting to hear from CC corporate. Will Update.


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## marcello696 (Jun 18, 2004)

Rollo27 did you purchased the CC warranty?? If you did they should refund you the entire $999 without question. Can you be more specific with your issue?


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## hiker (Nov 29, 2001)

Most extended warranties will only refund what the defective unit is currently selling for or the value of any newer available model that provides same functions. Not saying that the CC warranty works like this since I don't know for sure. Just giving my experience with these warranties and I suspect CC works the same. Like for example if the HR20 was available maybe they would replace the HR10 with the HR20 or refund the price the HR20 sells for. Now if the HR10 wasn't available, would they refund last list price or...? Don't know.


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## marcello696 (Jun 18, 2004)

hiker said:


> Most extended warranties will only refund what the defective unit is currently selling for or the value of any newer available model that provides same functions. Not saying that the CC warranty works like this since I don't know for sure. Just giving my experience with these warranties and I suspect CC works the same. Like for example if the HR20 was available maybe they would replace the HR10 with the HR20 or refund the price the HR20 sells for. Now if the HR10 wasn't available, would they refund last list price or...? Don't know.


No that is my point I have/had the CC protective warranty and I called two days ago on my HR10-250 and without me even asking they are refunding me the entire $999 and not a prorated amount. They are also refunding me the remainding amount of my warranty which still had a year left on it so this is why it seems odd that they are telling rollo27 only $499.


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## Rollo27 (Jun 21, 2006)

I purchased the CC warranty with the unit because of the problems cited on this forum. I bought early for the $999 price. Was not real happy when all the deals came from DTV very soon after purchase and prices dropped sooner than I expected. Read about existing owners getting rebates of hundreds. I tried and got nothing. Then there were more deals floating around from time to time, but I couldn't score one. I agreed to pay the price I had, so I really couldn't complain. I moved on.

HDMI has been out for a while and I lose the picture during some fast action scenes. I called CC warranty for replacement of the unit. After holding a few minutes I was informed the unit could not be replaced and I would be refunded $499. I'm supposed to take that and purchase a new unit, not one that I would own, but one DTV would own. So I would be out eight or nine hundred bucks for something I don't own.

CC entered into a contract stating that in event of failure, I would be brought back to the position I was in before the failure, or better (newer model, more features). They took the money. Now I expect them to perform. I understand that they may be unable to perform because of reasons beyond their control, but that is not my problem. If they can't perform, then CC should refund the money they accepted upon executing their contract. They can't expect to not perform and keep the money both. Well they can...but I'm darn sure not going to just let them. Warranties in Florida, I do believe, are regulated by the insurance commisioner. There's the state's consumer affairs office and the pit bull of a consumer advocate on the local TV station to appeal to.

I want a new box or the money, all of it. They take care of that, and they will have earned their warranty fee. It's just business.


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## McTivo (Mar 20, 2003)

It looks like they caught on and are no longer issuing a full $999 refund. I was just offered $499 + a prorated amount of my unused protection plan. I would have preferred the full refund, but I'll take the $499.

The woman I spoke to put me on hold as soon as I mentioned I was calling about my HR10-250. She never even asked what was wrong with it.


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## marcello696 (Jun 18, 2004)

Well they told me $999 when I called and if I get a check for $499 I will not accept it. The warranty I purchased was for $999 so I expect nothing less. So even if they did "catch on" to it that was not the case when I called.


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## McTivo (Mar 20, 2003)

marcello696 said:


> Well they told me $999 when I called and if I get a check for $499 I will not accept it. The warranty I purchased was for $999 so I expect nothing less. So even if they did "catch on" to it that was not the case when I called.


When I asked her about getting the full $999, she said that they factor in depreciation and that with the $499, I could go back to CC (or any other retailer) and replace my HR10-250 and still have some money left over. That made sense to me, but the only difference is that the new unitl will be leased instead of owned. I'm not sure that matters to me, so I didn't put up much of a fight.


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## Rollo27 (Jun 21, 2006)

McTivo said:


> When I asked her about getting the full $999, she said that they factor in depreciation and that with the $499, I could go back to CC (or any other retailer) and replace my HR10-250 and still have some money left over. That made sense to me, but the only difference is that the new unitl will be leased instead of owned. I'm not sure that matters to me, so I didn't put up much of a fight.


If you bought the warranty, which it appears that you did, they are supposed to put you back to where you were, or better, before you had the problem. They take money for a warranty, they should honor the warranty. They say DTV only authorizes this or that, but you bought from CC not DTV. You bought CC's warranty, you deal with CC. Their problems with DTV are theirs, not yours. Consult your state insurance commissioner. Warranties are insurance.


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## Dssturbo1 (Feb 23, 2005)

my brother bought the new samsung bluray $999 player last night at CC. The salesman and then the manger were trying to sell the added on CC warranty, some $119 for 3 years from purchase or $169 for 5 years. It is a first gen product like the hr10250 was some 2 years ago. So my brother although not a warranty fan knew the bluray would be updated *sound and hdmi1.3 in future) and probably come down in price and was interested. 

He had the store manager explain that yes with the "special" CC warranty they would refund the complete full retail price paid for the item if they did not repair or replace it if any problems came up with it.

He explained that yes, as example they had sold edtv projectors for $5000++ dollars and if a customer had a problem they had come back and under the "special" CC warranty they had refunded the monies completely, so the customer had bought a new 50" plamsa 3 years later and still walked away with $$ money in the pockect.

My brother asked and they told him he had 14 days to add it if he didn't last night. and the manager even said he would give him up to 45 days as it was his disgression to allow the purchase if my brother needed the time to think about it.

so rollo stick with it, they do not factor in depreciation BS. Can you go back to a CC store and talk to a manager? They should repair it, give you a new unit that is owned by you or adhere to their warranty and refund your original retail purchase as described.

note, the Bluray is not all that.


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## cstelter (Mar 18, 2002)

cstelter said:


> Hmm... Very interesting-- I have an HR10-250 purchased from CC with the 3yr protection plan. The HDMI went out over a year ago-- I was holding off trying to get a fix until it was clear they had units that reliably fixed the problem and until I had trimmed my now-playing list. Sounds like now may be a good time to try and get it repaired...


So I called them this morning. As mentioned in this thread already, they are now offering a 'fair value' buyout not a full purchase buyout. I can't complain. They say they will send out a $499 check and a $50 check (my calculation of a prorated unused agreement) which I can use to purchase a new box. I'd say its a fair deal because I can get a brand new box here for only $399. But I think I'll instead figure it that rather than paying $979 ($899 original price + $79 warantee) for an HD Tivo, I spent $329 for an HDTivo with component output only, no hdmi. That's a bargain considering I've been using the box for nearly 2 years now.

To press my luck I called customer retention-- I have an excellent account status and have *never* asked for a credit in my life. Comcast has been coming close to stealing my business so D* offered me a $150 credit +$10/month discount on my bill for 1 year. $270 total. One way to think of itis is that a year from now I'll have paid a grand total of $60 for 3 years usage of an HD-TiVo (as long as it doesn't die on me in the mean time). A bargain considering I've never regretted parting with the $899 to begin with.

Probably could have done better, but how can I really complain?


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## hiker (Nov 29, 2001)

Of course you can complain. It's the American way.


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## marcello696 (Jun 18, 2004)

Well sadly CC has bumped me down to $499 as well. I called and complained but they pull out the fine print card on me so while Im upset I'll just have to swallow the pill and move on because in the end is it really worth arguing over when they are giving $499 and letting me keep my DVR


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## Rollo27 (Jun 21, 2006)

marcello696 said:


> Well sadly CC has bumped me down to $499 as well. I called and complained but they pull out the fine print card on me so while Im upset I'll just have to swallow the pill and move on because in the end is it really worth arguing over when they are giving $499 and letting me keep my DVR


What fine print card? I called the CC web site the other night. I was told warranty was for repair. If they cannot repair item, they replace it with equal or greater value. If they cannot replace it, then the total cost would be refunded. That's the warranty they continue to sell.

They are not replacing the unit, you have to accept a refund and buy one you don't own. Now there's a concept. They are not refunding the full $999 either. They say D* has changed the rules and there's nothing they can do. How does a rule change by D* this year negate the contract CC made a year or two prior? The answer of course is...nothing. We are supposed to be where we were, or better, than before the problem occurred, or they refund the money. That's their policy, the one they are still selling. Losing ownership is not putting us back where we were. And, since I bought from CC, not D*, what D* does shouldn't matter anyway.

I've filed a complaint with the Florida Insurance Commission and State Consumer Affairs offices. I'll see if gets me anywhere.


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## kbcrowe (Dec 12, 2000)

Marcell,

How did you find out they bumped you down? Did you call them? Did they call you? Or have you already gotten a check for $499? Hope the OP will update his status as well. Wonder if he got the full $999 or did his posting on here cost him $500 as well?


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## Rollo27 (Jun 21, 2006)

Received a letter from CC today thanking me for taking the time to speak with one of their executives, but you ain't getting more than $499 for your $999 receiver. I have not yet begun to fight.


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## dirk1843 (Jul 7, 2003)

Has anyone used the extended warranty from VE yet??


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## workindev (Oct 13, 2003)

You guys do realize that extended warranties have 70%+ profit margins, right? There is a reason why these stores try to sell warranties with everything that you buy - it's usually the only thing they make money on.

Unless, of course, you also bought a bunch of cables and accessories, because they make lots of money on those too.


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## willardcpa (Feb 23, 2001)

I usually buy the extended warranty on all the cables I buy, that way I don't have to worry about every having to buy another set. And the deal even includes free annual checkups and cleaning.


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## bigrig (Jul 1, 2004)

Rollo, you can buy a new HR10-250 for $400 now, so I don't see what the problem is. You can have a brand-new Tivo and $100 in your pocket.

Edit - My understanding is that it's only a lease if you buy it through D*

Matt


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## Jebberwocky! (Apr 16, 2005)

bigrig said:


> Rollo, you can buy a new HR10-250 for $400 now, so I don't see what the problem is. You can have a brand-new Tivo and $100 in your pocket.
> 
> Edit - My understanding is that it's only a lease if you buy it through D*
> 
> Matt


Despite the win-win situation you describe, one must consider one's pride.

Seriously, how could you not take the $$$ and run to the store and buy one cheaper????? Seems like a better deal than getting say, a new replacement and no $$$. What are we missing???

One correction, it's only a lease if you obtain (e.g lease) it through D*


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## BizarroTerl (Oct 1, 2002)

summerall said:


> CC is better than BB.


That's like saying getting poked in the left eye with a sharp stick is better than getting poked in the right eye with a sharp stick.


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## kbcrowe (Dec 12, 2000)

> what is up with the arbitrary date of June 16th?


Well you started this thread on the 14th so I imagine they were flooded with sudden "broken" HD TiVos by the 16th


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## Rollo27 (Jun 21, 2006)

Jebberwocky! said:


> Despite the win-win situation you describe, one must consider one's pride.
> 
> Seriously, how could you not take the $$$ and run to the store and buy one cheaper????? Seems like a better deal than getting say, a new replacement and no $$$. What are we missing???
> 
> One correction, it's only a lease if you obtain (e.g lease) it through D*


Having sold a six store retail chain in the last year, I believe I have a feel for what is fair. I own a unit, and feel that I should own the replacement. It's not pride, I just want the service I gave in my business afforded to me. I paid for a warranty to leave me in the same shape I was in before the problem. Their expressed policy is that if they cannot do that, they refund the entire purchase price. Ending up with a leased unit is not the same as ownership. You state it's a win-win situation, yet after it's done I've paid out $900 for a unit I don't own. And it's now a lease no matter where you get it, not just from D*. I expect those that enter into contracts to honor then, and those that criticize to be accurate.


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## Jebberwocky! (Apr 16, 2005)

You buy it at CC, you own it - no lease. afaik, it's only a leaase if you buy it from DirecTV.


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## JoeyJoJo (Sep 29, 2003)

Jebberwocky! said:


> You buy it at CC, you own it - no lease. afaik, it's only a leaase if you buy it from DirecTV.


Not true. Any retailer you buy it from at a reduced price (I belive it's $399 now) is a leased unit. If you can find a retailer willing to sell you one at an unsubsidized price (I believe is around $750) then you own the unit.


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## Rollo27 (Jun 21, 2006)

Jebberwocky! said:


> You buy it at CC, you own it - no lease. afaik, it's only a lease if you buy it from DirecTV.


Now I am confused. CC website calls the $399 an upfront equipment upgrade fee.
Called their 800 number and was told the $399 is an equipment deposit which would be refunded upon return of the unit. Csr didn't say where the box needed to be returned to. Called D* and was told, as you state, that if I buy the box, I own the box. If they give me one, it must be returned when service is terminated.

Last week however, I was told by a CC csr, his supervisor and a member of their "E Suites", all three of them, that after getting a refund, the unit I buy for $399 belongs to D* and must be returned to D* if service is stopped. I cannot keep it.


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## Tivo_Pilot (Jul 9, 2005)

Does anyone have a telephone # for CC service for the HR10-250. I have been calling 888-333-2333 for 4 days now and cannot get to a live person.


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## bigrig (Jul 1, 2004)

The website is inconsistent...one place it says "For home and car electronics call 1-800-871-2761"


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## MikeCC (Jun 19, 2004)

Tivo_Pilot said:


> Does anyone have a telephone # for CC service for the HR10-250. I have been calling 888-333-2333 for 4 days now and cannot get to a live person.


Huh... I called them a few times to that number, and have never failed to speak with a rep. Called on the HR10250, and called later on my Samsung DTiVo. Both times spoke with reps and arranged refunds of the units, plus prorated refunds of the Circuit City Advantage Protection Plans.

I'm not sure why bigrig is confused:


> The website is inconsistent...one place it says "For home and car electronics call 1-800-871-2761"


That phone number is for CDs, movies and small/portable electronics.

A look at the Protection Plan shows the phone number for TVs, home audio, video and satellite receivers is exactly what Tivo_Pilot noted: 888-333-2333. Check out this page. You'll also see the number bigrig noted is for portable electronics.


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## baws22489 (Jan 14, 2004)

McTivo said:


> Anybody who's been promised a refund from CC, please follow-up and let us know if you get it!


To follow up: I called on June 13th and was told they would send out a replacement, got a refurbished unit on June 16th and I called back saying that was un-acceptable. Was told that I would get a refund of my $899 and pro-rated warranty. Last week I got a check for $4 and today a check for $499. I called and asked about the $899 and was told that a new unit could be purchased for $499 and that is all I would get. The $4 check was for the unused warranty. How they came up with $4 is beyond me, it has been about 20 months since I did the original purchase in 11/2004.

I plan on calling again tomorrow to complain.


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## kbcrowe (Dec 12, 2000)

I just noticed that the OP edited his original post considerably and apparently also deleted all his subsequent posts on this topic. I wonder if CC made or someone else made him do that


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

kbcrowe said:


> I just noticed that the OP edited his original post considerably and apparently also deleted all his subsequent posts on this topic. I wonder if CC made or someone else made him do that


Hmm. The OP reported this "unbelievable deal" and suddenly everyone started "cashing in" on their service plans.. I wonder if the OP got slapped around by a CC lawyer or rep and he decided to quickly and quitely try to help the world forget that he ever brought up the issue?


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## Rollo27 (Jun 21, 2006)

I've given in. I called to take the $499 refund for the unit and the pro-rated insurance balance. Getting a free HR10-250 and SF for keeping ST from D* softened the blow. I was told to keep the unit. I lost HDMI on it, but the component picture looks great. So, I'll just keep the refund. $500 out of pocket with two Hr10-250 Tivos in hand is easy enough to live with.


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## Tivo_Pilot (Jul 9, 2005)

Has anyone got their money from Circuit City for the HR10-250 ?? If so how long did it take ?


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## cstelter (Mar 18, 2002)

Tivo_Pilot said:


> Has anyone got their money from Circuit City for the HR10-250 ?? If so how long did it take ?


I got my Extended service refund about 2-3 weeks after I called in. I got the $499 last Saturday (So Jun 26 - Aug 4). Tivo is still broken (no hdmi) but a lot less expensive now.


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## brota (Dec 17, 2004)

Tivo_Pilot said:


> Does anyone have a telephone # for CC service for the HR10-250. I have been calling 888-333-2333 for 4 days now and cannot get to a live person.


I sat on hold for hours with not pickup today.


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## narrod (Nov 23, 2002)

Did the original poster ever receive the $999 refund he was promised?

-Wendell


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## brota (Dec 17, 2004)

Just was offered $499 
I think I may go to the store and talk to a manager.


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## pdxrunr (Dec 17, 2004)

Greetings everyone! I'm happy to report that after a nearly 2.5 month fight, I have finally received $999 and the remaining amount of the protection plan (pro rated). I removed my orginal posting while trying to secure the final $500 payment just in case someone at CC saw it...didn't want to upset anyone just yet 

So to recap, I called on June 14th and was told I would receive a FULL refund of $999 and to keep the non working HR10-250. I then called back a few weeks later to check on it and was told I was only getting $499. I told them that was not what I was promised and asked to speak to someone higher up. I received a check for $499 a few weeks later. I was transferred to someone in the CC corporate office (an executive assistant) who listened to my story and told me she would do some research and get back to me. She called back 2 days later and said I would be receiving a check for $500. I told her I was pleased that they would live up to their word. The check showed up a few days ago.

I commend CC for living up to their word, but they didn't make it easy for me. BTW, I was very polite when I spoke to the higher up and explained I only wanted what I was promised.

Hope this helps someone else....keep on trying.....if they paid me the $999, they should pay everyone who has a failed unit.

C



kbcrowe said:


> I just noticed that the OP edited his original post considerably and apparently also deleted all his subsequent posts on this topic. I wonder if CC made or someone else made him do that


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## brota (Dec 17, 2004)

pdxrunr said:


> Greetings everyone! I'm happy to report that after a nearly 2.5 month fight, I have finally received $999 and the remaining amount of the protection plan (pro rated). I removed my orginal posting while trying to secure the final $500 payment just in case someone at CC saw it...didn't want to upset anyone just yet
> 
> So to recap, I called on June 14th and was told I would receive a FULL refund of $999 and to keep the non working HR10-250. I then called back a few weeks later to check on it and was told I was only getting $499. I told them that was not what I was promised and asked to speak to someone higher up. I received a check for $499 a few weeks later. I was transferred to someone in the CC corporate office (an executive assistant) who listened to my story and told me she would do some research and get back to me. She called back 2 days later and said I would be receiving a check for $500. I told her I was pleased that they would live up to their word. The check showed up a few days ago.
> 
> ...


Any chance you can post a copy of the letter or check if it shows anything that we can use? What number did you call to talk to corporate?

Thanks
Brian


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## pdxrunr (Dec 17, 2004)

Try 800.251.2665


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## purple6816 (May 27, 2003)

CC is better then BB. My onkyo's warentee expired after 5 years. 2 years later It started to have issues. I called CC and they extended my warentee for 3 more years. I then sent in my unit in and they could not fix it. So they gave me a credit for 5k I paid for it and gave me a new one that cost 6k. So they are ok with the warentee's for me.


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## harley3k (Jul 19, 2006)

Statistacally you are better off not buying any of the extended warranties and only spending money to replace the one or 2 items that will actually break. This is universally true (obviously some individual experiences may vary), or the extended warranty business wouldn't be profitable and they wouldn't sell it so hard. Of course a lot of people can point to an instance where something failed and a warranty would've been nice, but add up all the times they tried to sell you one and how much you would've spent. It's annoying when you spend money and then something breaks, because you feel like you wasted your money. But to pay in ADVANCE for EVERYthing to break is even more annoying [to me]. But if it makes you feel better then I guess that's the point. If you must buy extd warranties limit it to things that would be really inconvenient to have repaired, like your 70" LCD TV that won't fit in your Civic to return to the store.

I understand the stores are just trying to make money, and compete with online sales, but between the Hard Sell of the Warranties, Geek Squad Service, and the Rebate Game, I've completely abandoned buying at retail. So much easier to click NO on amazon.com then to say "NO" 3 to 6 times at a retail store.

If I must buy locally, I have developed some good responses to the Hard Sell that usually shortcuts the sales pitch:

1. I'm buying this for my boss and he never buys those things (hence, don't try to convince me otherwise since it is futile).

2. I will upgrade to a newer model before the manufacturer's warranty expires (this is often actually TRUE).

3. I would rather spend my money on a better brand/model that won't break - so are you saying the one I'm buying is a piece of crap? (this really doesn't work, but can be entertaining)

4. I'm so frickin' rich that when this crap breaks I will just pay full price to buy a new one. (This is absolutely a lie).

5. NO THANKS! And if you ask me one more time and I will walk out (I have actually done this one).

-h


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## brota (Dec 17, 2004)

I recently got my refund check for the $500.
Now the h10-250 is not available on the website even if I wanted to get a new one.
I guess I will try calling them back tommorrow.


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## rsmith (Jul 27, 2001)

I will never purchase anything from CC again. I once missed a payment by 1 day on a 0% interest deal and they charged me the full interest for the entire 36 months.

I was at fault and broke the contract but I told them that if they would not negotiate with me, I would never purchase from them again.

Since then I have purchased 40" Plasma, Recordable DVD, Sony Laptop Computer, 21" LCD Monitor, Noise Reduction Headphones, Countless CD's and DVD's, External Hard Drives and an HD Camcorder from BB. I estimate my total spending at around $15K.


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## ebockelman (Jul 12, 2001)

rsmith said:


> I will never purchase anything from CC again. I once missed a payment by 1 day on a 0% interest deal and they charged me the full interest for the entire 36 months.
> 
> I was at fault and broke the contract but I told them that if they would not negotiate with me, I would never purchase from them again.
> 
> Since then I have purchased 40" Plasma, Recordable DVD, Sony Laptop Computer, 21" LCD Monitor, Noise Reduction Headphones, Countless CD's and DVD's, External Hard Drives and an HD Camcorder from BB. I estimate my total spending at around $15K.


So let me get this straight: You are "punishing" Circuit City because of something you admittedly did wrong, that wasn't even with Circuit City themselves? (Chase is the one that administers the financing.)


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## MikeCC (Jun 19, 2004)

rsmith said:


> I will never purchase anything from CC again. I once missed a payment by 1 day on a 0% interest deal and they charged me the full interest for the entire 36 months.
> 
> I was at fault and broke the contract but I told them that if they would not negotiate with me, I would never purchase from them again.
> 
> Since then I have purchased 40" Plasma, Recordable DVD, Sony Laptop Computer, 21" LCD Monitor, Noise Reduction Headphones, Countless CD's and DVD's, External Hard Drives and an HD Camcorder from BB. I estimate my total spending at around $15K.


And I bet you make damned sure you don't miss a payment by even one day, right?

Just see what happens if you delay a payment by a day or two with zero percent financing from BB.


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