# Canceling Tivo Service: Don't take the free months



## Sebaztian (Dec 5, 2006)

I'm a TiVo evangelist since January 2003. Background: I canceled my Charter Cable in August because I just couldn't stand them any longer. Because of poor OTA reception in my area, TiVo had suddenly become useless to me for the first time in over seven years. As much as I hated to leave, I just couldn't justify the monthly charges on two boxes. I called to cancel and was offered a free month of service as a thank you (which would be fine for a little Netflix action.) At the end of that period billing resumed. I called immediately and got an apology and an offer of two months free. As it turns out, it was 1) we'll finish out this month that you paid for accidentally and 2) we'll give you one free month after that. Then billing resumed and I called back again. I was very insistent that I was canceling (much more so than my reluctant cancellation before.) I was offered more free months and a reduction of my monthly fee. In the end, I still have no television subscription and therefore no use for TiVo.

I write this only to offer the following advice; If you want to cancel your service, don't let your love of TiVo make you reluctant to cut it off cold turkey. As it turns out, I was an evangelist up until the point that I tried to quit. Only in quitting did I realize that TiVo isn't different. They use manipulative practices to try to squeeze every penny out. They don't lose money by offering free months to someone who's canceling... they only stand to gain when it slips your mind and resumes and they refuse to refund even if you call that day.

Had I quit when I originally tried, I'd still love TiVo as a company and tell everyone who would listen. I've now left with a bitter taste in my mouth over $36. So, by all means, love TiVo as long as you want... but when it's time to get out, just get out and don't look back.


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## solutionsetc (Apr 2, 2009)

They told me when I signed up for yearly on one of my boxes I could go month to month if I decided to after my year was up. I specifically asked "If I go yearly now, can I switch to monthly if I choose to after my year is up". The answer was "yes".

But a little piece of information they did NOT volunteer was that switching plans to month to month requires another one year commitment. Semantics? maybe. But it left a bad taste in my mouth as well. I welcome the day when I can cut the cord on both TiVo and Comcast&#8230; but for now; for what I watch, it is the only game in town (and of course I am committed for another year).


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## terpfan1980 (Jan 28, 2002)

How about we lock the OP here and (I believe I'm talking about the right individual) netringer both up in a room where they can curse both DirecTV and TiVo until it's all out of their systems?


Realistically, I'm sorry that anyone might have a bad experience with either company, and as solutionsetc notes there may be issues with both when it comes to contracts being extended when they shouldn't be and/or providing adequate notice to customers when such things would be happening, but some people (DirecTV haters) would have you believe it only happens with one company and not another.

In the end, Dish Network, DirecTV, TiVo, Verizon, AT&T, Vonage (who tried to do it with me) and others have all been guilty of using small print and un-discussed extensions of contracts to lock customers in when the customer had no idea it would be happening.

The one best piece of advice to offer to anyone that would be dealing with a service provider of any kind is to ALWAYS ask about required commitments and early termination fees and always assume there will be some sort of commitment and ETF. If you assume it going in you won't be surprised later.

One final thought -- if you do ask the questions, write down as many details as you can about what you asked, who you spoke to, what date, what time, etc., and ask if there is some way to get written confirmation about any commitments that are being made. The more documentation you have, the more likely you'd be able to fight later if you needed to. If you didn't write anything down, can't remember who you talked to, when you called, or anything else, who do you think is going to win the argument?

...

Just remembered something else to add: if you pay by credit card, you should be able to complain to the credit card company and get the charges reversed or at least temporarily reversed during a dispute. Depending on your credit card company you may have very good luck in getting a charge over-turned, though the service provider may wind up sending the charge to collections or something similar in order to try to get the money from you later (if they have adequate proof you owe them).


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## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

Just about every company that sells a monthly service will try to offer you a 'free month' when you call to cancel. Their hope is always that you'll continue to use and pay for the service after the free month has elapsed (otherwise, why would they offer you anything?). 

I just don't see what the issue is here.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Being a "fan" of anything other than your family and friends is foolishness. 

Capitalism is a great thing but you really need to divorce your feelings from what ever transaction you are involved in. That doesn't mean you can not enjoy the fruits of your negotiations (purchases etc.), just that you need to understand that companies & people selling whatever have become very sophisticated and have no issue manipulating a peoples feeling if it is to their advantage. One only needs to look at companies like Apple or whole industries like Professional Sports to see the sophisticated techniques being used to manipulate people based on their feelings.

I continually remind myself that they really do not give a sh** about me personally and that their only concern is to get me to do what they want me to do, be it to buy something, vote one way, watch something, or to donate something. After that doing what I think is in my own best interest becomes much easier. 

Thanks,


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## Sebaztian (Dec 5, 2006)

smbaker said:


> I just don't see what the issue is here.


The issue is that I feel like a sucker, so I'm just venting a little and hoping someone else can benefit from my mistake. I have been month to month for years now, felt guilty about having to leave TiVo for Charter's sins and took the free months to mean "Hey buddy, no hard feelings, thanks for being such a good customer," but as it turns out it was, "let's just see if you forget about this until we can squeeze another fee or two out of you." If it wasn't, then they would have terminated my service at the end of the "thank you," or at least refunded the charge when I called back.

It doesn't leave me mad, just a little crestfallen, and it changes my answer to "what do you think about TiVo as a company."


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

Sebaztian said:


> I'm a TiVo evangelist since January 2003. Background: I canceled my Charter Cable in August because I just couldn't stand them any longer. Because of poor OTA reception in my area, TiVo had suddenly become useless to me for the first time in over seven years. As much as I hated to leave, I just couldn't justify the monthly charges on two boxes. I called to cancel and was offered a free month of service as a thank you (which would be fine for a little Netflix action.) At the end of that period billing resumed. I called immediately and got an apology and an offer of two months free. As it turns out, it was 1) we'll finish out this month that you paid for accidentally and 2) we'll give you one free month after that. Then billing resumed and I called back again. I was very insistent that I was canceling (much more so than my reluctant cancellation before.) I was offered more free months and a reduction of my monthly fee. In the end, I still have no television subscription and therefore no use for TiVo.
> 
> I write this only to offer the following advice; If you want to cancel your service, don't let your love of TiVo make you reluctant to cut it off cold turkey. As it turns out, I was an evangelist up until the point that I tried to quit. Only in quitting did I realize that TiVo isn't different. They use manipulative practices to try to squeeze every penny out. They don't lose money by offering free months to someone who's canceling... they only stand to gain when it slips your mind and resumes and they refuse to refund even if you call that day.
> 
> Had I quit when I originally tried, I'd still love TiVo as a company and tell everyone who would listen. I've now left with a bitter taste in my mouth over $36. So, by all means, love TiVo as long as you want... but when it's time to get out, just get out and don't look back.


You can't possibly think that if you accepted the free months of service, that Tivo would cancel the service after the free months had expired.


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## Sebaztian (Dec 5, 2006)

shwru980r said:


> You can't possibly think that if you accepted the free months of service, that Tivo would cancel the service after the free months had expired.


Sure I did. I also can't believe that I'm not getting any sympathy from the Internet. Isn't that what it's known for?


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

shwru980r said:


> You can't possibly think that if you accepted the free months of service, that Tivo would cancel the service after the free months had expired.


Many years ago I purchased a Series 2 Humax DVD unit the the seller told me he had xfered off the Lifetime Service to his new Series 3 and I would get one year of prepaid service on the Humax, I purchased it so I could make some DVDs of VCR tapes I had at the time so i did not care that the TiVo was not in my TiVo account, within two month the Lifetime changed to account in good standing as expected, this TiVo ran for over two years!! so the seller started paying the monthly TiVo service and did not know it, I called TiVo and they told me it was being paid and said only the owner could cancel the service. The poor seller waisted over a year of paid service to TiVo, must be a lot of people like him.


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## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

Sebaztian said:


> but as it turns out it was, "let's just see if you forget about this until we can squeeze another fee or two out of you." If it wasn't, then they would have terminated my service at the end of the "thank you," or at least refunded the charge when I called back.


They're a company that operates for profit. They don't give anything for 'free' that isn't expected to yield a profit. If they failed to disclose that billing would continue, then perhaps they're at fault for that. I just can't imagine anyone having the expectation that Tivo would reward them with free service and receive no benefit to the company.

Every time I've discontinued service I've been offered a free month of Tivo service. The same thing has happened on every cellphone I've ever discontinued, internet service, cable service, even the newspaper.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Sebaztian said:


> Sure I did. I also can't believe that I'm not getting any sympathy from the Internet. Isn't that what it's known for?


You obviously haven't taken a look at Consumerist. It could be a story that the company CEO pulled out a gun and shot your poor defenseless toddler and some commenter will say you should have expected it.


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

Sebaztian said:


> Had I quit when I originally tried, I'd still love TiVo as a company and tell everyone who would listen. I've now left with a bitter taste in my mouth over $36. So, by all means, love TiVo as long as you want... but when it's time to get out, just get out and don't look back.


What sense does it make to blame Tivo for your mistake?
What you should do is tell everyone how great Tivo is, but that if they do any business with you that they should consider themselves warned that you have a history of not paying attention to the details and lose money because of it.



shwru980r said:


> You can't possibly think that if you accepted the free months of service, that Tivo would cancel the service after the free months had expired.





Sebaztian said:


> Sure I did. I also can't believe that I'm not getting any sympathy from the Internet. Isn't that what it's known for?


I can almost (not quite, but almost) understand being ignorant the first time, but after that it's 100% on you for not cancelling before being billed again.

_There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in
Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me
once, shame on - shame on you.
Fool me - you can't get fooled again._​
and why would anyone with no use for a tivo subscription, accept any free service rather than declining and cancelling as intended?


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

netringer said:


> It could be a story that the company CEO pulled out a gun and shot your poor defenseless toddler and some commenter will say you should have expected it.


So true! There is so little empathy on these forums. 

The OP rightfully warned people to be careful accepting "free offers". Nothing is "free". Businesses are just stringing you along hoping you'll change your mind.

It just happened to me last week with Blue Mountain Cards. I told them that I wanted to cancel and they said that I should enjoy 3 free months for holiday cards. I then asked them about what happens after the 3 months, and was told that I can call back and cancel if I still want to do so.

Yeah, right. I told them that I don't want to call back so go ahead and cancel now. They did so and I put the cancellation information to file (just in case).


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

"*What sense does it make to blame Tivo for your mistake?"*

I 100% agree with that, one of my favorite sayings apply here. "you cant blame a guy (in this case TiVo) for trying.

I have seen a lot of gripes about the way TiVo handles renewals and account terminations. Look at it from their end or your end if you owned TiVo. The reps do everything they can to keep you as a customer, meaning keeping you paying as a customer and everything CSR's do or say is geared towards getting your hard earned cash, thats their job, some are pretty good at it. If a person is so spineless as to not just say no when they mean NO then they got what they didnt want to pay for didnt they? Understanding NOTHING is free anymore especially with TiVo.

To TiVo's credit with my own account in the last week i have been offered $299 Lifetime service for my 2 y/o TiVo HD and have got an email telling me my CC would be auto rebilled for 1 year in Feb. if i do nothing to prevent it and I got a message through TiVo stating the same. If i wanted to cancel TiVo now would be the time to act as TiVo has given me plenty of notice as to their intention of billing me in Feb, if i do nothing and get rebilled I guess its because i do not wish to take TiVo up on their offer for Lifetime on a 2y/o TiVo HD. 
This might have got a little off topic and if so im sorry but i think it applies to that when its time to make a decission make it and if you mean no say so and if you didnt when it was time, dont cry about it!


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## johnd01 (Dec 17, 2002)

lessd said:


> Many years ago I purchased a Series 2 Humax DVD unit the the seller told me he had xfered off the Lifetime Service to his new Series 3 and I would get one year of prepaid service on the Humax, I purchased it so I could make some DVDs of VCR tapes I had at the time so i did not care that the TiVo was not in my TiVo account, within two month the Lifetime changed to account in good standing as expected, this TiVo ran for over two years!! so the seller started paying the monthly TiVo service and did not know it, I called TiVo and they told me it was being paid and said only the owner could cancel the service. The poor seller waisted over a year of paid service to TiVo, must be a lot of people like him.


As I under stand it... At least in my case I got a discount on my last 2 dvrs because I lifetime on 3 older units. each of the units I "transferred" still has a lifetime on it... At least that is what I was told would happen... I do not use them anymore so I cannot tell if they still have lifetime.


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## JaneiR36 (Oct 18, 2007)

Sebaztian said:


> Sure I did. I also can't believe that I'm not getting any sympathy from the Internet. Isn't that what it's known for?


You have my sympathy. Most cancellations I've done will give you a prorated charge if you need to cancel mid cycle. Comcast, power company both did it that way for me. Sprint did not. IMO they took money for services not provided which makes them thieves. Yeah, can't blame a guy for trying. Trying to steal, that is!

On the other hand, my TiVo account lapsed because I hadn't paid a bill since my 3-year prepay account went month to month. When I called to take advantage of the $99 lifetime on my S2DT they charged $12.95 to brig my account current, charged the $99 lifetime and then refunded the $12.95. So it would seem like they are taking a bit too much from customers like you but giving to customers like me. Oh well. Thanks for your contribution to the TiVo family, I hope you remember the good times more than the bad


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

Sebaztian said:


> Sure I did. I also can't believe that I'm not getting any sympathy from the Internet. Isn't that what it's known for?


You made a request to cancel service. Tivo made a counter offer of two months of free service. You accepted the counter offer. The counter offer made no mention of terminating your service after two months. You should have made a counter offer of accepting the two months of free service and having your Tivo service canceled after the two months expired.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

hehe. same thing here. I called to quit my Series $7/month fee and they offered my a free month the next month and I took it.

CAlled again before that expired to cancel and was offered a few free months and ended up being on the phone for way too long telling the guy I wanted to cancel. He kept trying to talk me out of it. He went through every angle on his sheet.

It didn't care to them that I hadn't used the thing in 6-9 months. That I already had given them the monthly fee that whole time. That a Series 2 is basically useless now. That I just upgraded to a Premiere. etc. etc. 

It was annoying to say the least.

NEver took the 2nd batch of free months though. Funny how the guy was so let down when I finally just said NO, NO, and NO, I WANT TO CANCEL!!!!!


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

Apparently a lot of people are in need of some assertiveness training.


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## Sebaztian (Dec 5, 2006)

Joe01880 said:


> "*What sense does it make to blame Tivo for your mistake?"*
> 
> This might have got a little off topic and if so im sorry but i think it applies to that when its time to make a decission make it and if you mean no say so and if you didnt when it was time, dont cry about it!


Quick update: I mustered all the assertiveness I had in the second cancellation call... I even got two cancellation confirmation emails. Without question I was finally and completely a TiVo customer no longer.

Guess what showed up on my credit card today? Two $12.95 pending charges for service next month. Seems that all I managed to cancel was my multi-service discount. 

I don't want belabor my point, but I think it's being missed. The audience for my OP were fellow TiVo Fanboys like myself who buy into the casual and friendly demeanor of the CSRs, look at the glass as half-full and gratefully accept a thank-you when offered. It was never intended for you grizzled pessimists. You're one step ahead of us.

Not one to end on a negative... I'm optimistic that an additional call to TiVo will finally and totally cancel my subscription and they will quickly and apologetically reverse the new charges.


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## Jack Fultz (Jun 25, 2003)

Sebaztian is absolutely correct - Tivo will stick it to you. I've been a loyal customer and evangelist for Tivo for more than 10 years now. I transferred my lifetime service contract from a Series 2 to a new HD3 for a $199 charge (so much for lifetime contract). Tivo oh so kindly told me they would continue the service on my old machine till the end of the year (2 - 3 months) free of charge. I told them I was simply decommissioning the old machine so it didn't matter to me either way. NEVER was there a mention of my being charged a monthly fee at the start of the new year and it was many months before I noticed Tivo's monthly charge (my bad for not looking at my monthly cc detail) - but Tivo knows that old machine was never reconnected to their service, had no evidence of my agreeing to pay monthly service to it (why would I - I'd just bought a new machine and paid to transfer my service). After months of battle, I got 3 months reimbursement - less than half of what they extorted from me.

Now my HD3 hard drive apparently has just died (less than 4 years old) and Tivo will replace my machine for $149 and then require me to pay another $199 to once again transfer my "lifetime service" contract. Essentially they're just switching my machine with a refurbished machine so they can say it's a "different" machine and therefore a service transfer is required.

If there was a viable competitor to Tivo's excellent product/service, I'd switch. Very deceptive practices.


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

Jack Fultz said:


> Sebaztian is absolutely correct - Tivo will stick it to you. I've been a loyal customer and evangelist for Tivo for more than 10 years now. I transferred my lifetime service contract from a Series 2 to a new HD3 for a $199 charge (so much for lifetime contract). Tivo oh so kindly told me they would continue the service on my old machine till the end of the year (2 - 3 months) free of charge. I told them I was simply decommissioning the old machine so it didn't matter to me either way. NEVER was there a mention of my being charged a monthly fee at the start of the new year and it was many months before I noticed Tivo's monthly charge (my bad for not looking at my monthly cc detail) - but Tivo knows that old machine was never reconnected to their service, had no evidence of my agreeing to pay monthly service to it (why would I - I'd just bought a new machine and paid to transfer my service). After months of battle, I got 3 months reimbursement - less than half of what they extorted from me.


Another person that didn't actually cancel their subscription and blames Tivo for it.
Do people not realize that they look more foolish blaming Tivo (especially when they make a spectacle of themselves by doing it in a public forum), than if they just accepted their own mistake and learn the lesson?



> Now my HD3 hard drive apparently has just died (less than 4 years old) and Tivo will replace my machine for $149 and then require me to pay another $199 to once again transfer my "lifetime service" contract. Essentially they're just switching my machine with a refurbished machine so they can say it's a "different" machine and therefore a service transfer is required.
> 
> If there was a viable competitor to Tivo's excellent product/service, I'd switch. Very deceptive practices.


Just exactly how is giving you something at a discount when you are entitled to get absolutely nothing considered very deceptive practices?


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

Jack Fultz said:


> Now my HD3 hard drive apparently has just died (less than 4 years old) and Tivo will replace my machine for $149 and then require me to pay another $199 to once again transfer my "lifetime service" contract. Essentially they're just switching my machine with a refurbished machine so they can say it's a "different" machine and therefore a service transfer is required.


For $348 you could probably just find a second used Tivo HD with lifetime service on-line. I wouldn't go through Tivo to fix this.

Look for a used Tivo HD without lifetime service on-line and swap hard drives. You might find a real cheap one on Craig's list.


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

Sebaztian said:


> Background: I canceled my Charter Cable in August because I just couldn't stand them any longer. Because of poor OTA reception in my area, TiVo had suddenly become useless to me for the first time in over seven years. As much as I hated to leave, I just couldn't justify the monthly charges on two boxes. I called to cancel and was offered a free month of service as a thank you (which would be fine for a little Netflix action.) At the end of that period billing resumed. I called immediately and got an apology and an offer of two months free. As it turns out, it was 1) we'll finish out this month that you paid for accidentally
> 
> I write this only to offer the following advice; If you want to cancel your service, don't let your love of TiVo make you reluctant to cut it off cold turkey.
> 
> Had I quit when I originally tried, I'd still love TiVo as a company and tell everyone who would listen.





Sebaztian said:


> The issue is that I feel like a sucker, so I'm just venting


and unfortunately you should. It is fine to love a product and sure, many of us here love our TiVo DVRs but why on earth would you accept free months when the TiVo could not record anything, and then took more free months on top of the first go round. You could go buy a cheap Blu-ray player and get a better Netflix interface or get a Roku box and have more streaming options on top of Netflix.

So you took the free month and DID NOT CANCEL and then TiVo started charging again, umm DUH......

thus the lack of sympathy here. You chose unwisely, it is on you.


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## solutionsetc (Apr 2, 2009)

shwru980r said:


> Look for a used Tivo HD without lifetime service on-line and swap hard drives.


That won't accomplish anything as TiVo service is tied to the motherboard not the drive.

Jack recommend you replace the drive yourself or order one from an outfit like weakness if DIY is too much of a bother.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

solutionsetc said:


> That won't accomplish anything as TiVo service is tied to the motherboard not the drive.


I think it will work. Replace the hard drive from the existing lifetime Tivo with the hard drive from the used non lifetime Tivo. It's roughly the same thing as buying a hard drive from weaknees only much cheaper and you also get a backup power supply if the original goes bad.


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## solutionsetc (Apr 2, 2009)

shwru980r said:


> I think it will work. Replace the hard drive from the existing lifetime Tivo with the hard drive from the used non lifetime Tivo. It's roughly the same thing as buying a hard drive from weaknees only much cheaper and you also get a backup power supply if the original goes bad.


Sorry somehow I misconstrued your point. If it were me though, I'd just put a bigger drive in it. 1


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

Swapping hard drives is fine, the service is tied to the motherboard, not the hard drive.


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