View Full Version : Leased reciever charge
I have 2 receivers . One was a Tivo and the other a plain receiver. Tivo stopped working so I went to Best Buy and got a R15. Now I had to cancel the Tivo service and pick up th DVR service. No big deal. Now I get my bill and the receiver I bought from Best Buy is showing as a leased receiver?? I did buy this Dvr myself so i wouldn't have to lease it. Has anyone run into this? I am going to call tomorrow. I didn't have this with the Tivo?
sdicomp
12-10-07, 08:32 PM
I have 2 receivers . One was a Tivo and the other a plain receiver. Tivo stopped working so I went to Best Buy and got a R15. Now I had to cancel the Tivo service and pick up th DVR service. No big deal. Now I get my bill and the receiver I bought from Best Buy is showing as a leased receiver?? I did buy this Dvr myself so i wouldn't have to lease it. Has anyone run into this? I am going to call tomorrow. I didn't have this with the Tivo?
Any new D* receiver now is a lease, even if you get it at B/B. It should say that on the box.
Pink Fairy
12-10-07, 09:02 PM
Yes, it would say it on the box, as well as the paperwork included in the box as well. :)
Sirshagg
12-10-07, 09:06 PM
Best Buy also makes you sign something when you purchase acknowledging that it's a leased unit (at least they did when i bought my HR20 from them).
Pink Fairy
12-10-07, 09:11 PM
Hmm, my husband bought our H20 at BB - I will have to ask if they made him sign something.
jodavis
12-10-07, 09:18 PM
When I bought my HR20s at BB I was very specific with them that I was buying them and not leasing. I have had this conversation with D* several times. If and when I cancel my service I will just dispute the charge with my credit card company if they try to charge me a fee for not returning the receivers.
sdicomp
12-10-07, 09:25 PM
When I bought my HR20s at BB I was very specific with them that I was buying them and not leasing. I have had this conversation with D* several times. If and when I cancel my service I will just dispute the charge with my credit card company if they try to charge me a fee for not returning the receivers.
It's my understanding that, unless you pay mega-bucks($700-$800) for an HR20, it's a lease.
Might want to check with your credit card company, but it is my understanding that once you pay what you were charged for the HR20s, you can't dispute the charge. Also, all of the c/c agreements I have seen have a time limit on disputes.
The Merg
12-10-07, 09:25 PM
When I bought my HR20s at BB I was very specific with them that I was buying them and not leasing. I have had this conversation with D* several times. If and when I cancel my service I will just dispute the charge with my credit card company if they try to charge me a fee for not returning the receivers.
I wouldn't hold what a BB employee tells you to 100% accuracy as they don't work for DirecTV. Make sure you check any paperwork that you received/signed when you "purchased" the receiver. If it mentions anywhere in there that the receivers are leased, you're not going to have much luck disputing the charge.
The receivers retail for about $800, so if you paid the $199/$299 fee for them, it is definitely a lease.
- Merg
Kiteflyer
12-11-07, 05:24 AM
When I bought my HR20s at BB I was very specific with them that I was buying them and not leasing. I have had this conversation with D* several times. If and when I cancel my service I will just dispute the charge with my credit card company if they try to charge me a fee for not returning the receivers.
When buying an R15 or an H20/21 either from retail or directly from DIRECTV the Lease price is $99. The Purchase price to Own the equipment with no commitment is $349. Good luck disputing the charge as they WILL send your account to collections and put a really nasty smear on your credit rating.
JLucPicard
12-11-07, 05:59 AM
I have 2 receivers . One was a Tivo and the other a plain receiver. Tivo stopped working so I went to Best Buy and got a R15. Now I had to cancel the Tivo service and pick up th DVR service. No big deal. Now I get my bill and the receiver I bought from Best Buy is showing as a leased receiver?? I did buy this Dvr myself so i wouldn't have to lease it. Has anyone run into this? I am going to call tomorrow. I didn't have this with the Tivo?
It's hard for me to tell from your post, but are you saying that you had a plain receiver and one was a stand alone TiVo recording the signal from that receiver? Or you had a plain receiver and a DirecTiVo with the satellite inputs connected to it without a receiver in between? When you say you are cancelling the TiVo service and picking up the DVR service, it makes me think "stand alone TiVo".
If it was a stand alone TiVo, the only DirecTV receiver on your account was the plain one. There are no additional receiver/leased receiver fees on your primary receiver - only on your second and subsequent ones. By keeping your plain receiver active and activating the R15, you now have two DirecTV receivers on your account. There is now a $4.99 a month mirroring fee for the R15.
As has been stated by others, even if you got your R15 at Best Buy, if you didn't pay $349 for it (which you won't at BB, they only lease them at the $99 price), it is a leased unit. Because it is a leased unit, the mirroring fee that now shows up will be listed on your bill as a "Leased Receiver Fee". If you actually owned the unit, it would be billed as an "Additional Receiver Fee".
If you were to deactivate your plain receiver, leaving only the R15 active on your account, that "Leased Receiver Fee" would either disappear all together, or it would be offset by a $4.99 credit. The "charge/credit" scenario has come about if your state actually taxes leased equipment, but the net result is still no $4.99 charge for having only one receiver on your account.
It's been this way since March of 2006, so this listing of "Leased Receiver Fee" is nothing new.
Stuart Sweet
12-11-07, 07:03 AM
Honestly the lease model works pretty well, it means that you can get a new one for just S&H if it breaks, and the fee is the same as the old "mirroring charge". DIRECTV keeps costs down by recovering receivers from those who leave as well.
Sure you can't sell an old on on eBay but that's about the only downside.
...the receiver I bought from Best Buy is showing as a leased receiver?? I did buy this Dvr myself so i wouldn't have to lease it. You didn't buy it, you obtained a leased receiver for a startup fee. Read your copy of the paperwork that you signed at the store.
As for the monthly cost, it's the same as when you owned the equipment; first receiver/DVR included in the package cost and $4.99 for each additional receiver on the account. It's now called a "leased receiver" fee. Previously was called a "mirrored receiver" fee.
You're better off leasing anyway. The boxes are useless to you if you disconnect service (even the OTA tuners, IF included) won't work without a subscription). And if the new boxes go out, just call DIRECTV, INC. and they will FedEx you a replacement box. At most, you'll only be out a small shipping charge. They even include a prepaid FedEx return label for returning the defective box.
randyk47
12-11-07, 07:45 AM
As a converted "no lease for me" customer I've got to say that the whole notion of ownership is way overblown. Maybe this only applies to me, or a limited number, but I see no reason to pay several hundred dollars for say an HR20/21 just so I can say I own it. If it's not my primary receiver I'm going to pay the same mirroring charge, owned or leased. I typically keep my equipment until it's so obsolete as to be of no value and have 2 or 3 old receivers stuffed away in the attic storage as it is. So now I "lease" my HR20. With no plans to dump DirecTV anytime soon I suspect I'll keep it until it breaks or gets overcome by new technology. I own my other two receivers and will probably do the same with them, replace them when I need to. Next time I'll save myself some money and grief and just lease the equipment....it's not a big deal.
When I bought my HR20s at BB I was very specific with them that I was buying them and not leasing. I have had this conversation with D* several times. If and when I cancel my service I will just dispute the charge with my credit card company if they try to charge me a fee for not returning the receivers.
Snazzy!
Have fun with that. If you bought it at Best buy for $299, and didnt pay the $749 via DirecTV, then you've got 2 leased HR20's. And if/when you ever cancel your service, you can dispute the charges, but DirecTV will win, as there were plenty of signs that it was leased, suchas, the price, and the sticker on the box, and if you had to sign any paperwork.
Also, you may have been made aware of it when activating the receiver (as some CSR's do say something about it.).
Sirshagg
12-11-07, 08:15 AM
Honestly the lease model works pretty well, it means that you can get a new one for just S&H if it breaks, and the fee is the same as the old "mirroring charge". DIRECTV keeps costs down by recovering receivers from those who leave as well.
Sure you can't sell an old on on eBay but that's about the only downside.
You don't need the protection plan for this???
Upstream
12-11-07, 08:35 AM
Honestly the lease model works pretty well, it means that you can get a new one for just S&H if it breaks, and the fee is the same as the old "mirroring charge". DIRECTV keeps costs down by recovering receivers from those who leave as well.
Sure you can't sell an old on on eBay but that's about the only downside.
You don't need the protection plan for this???
No. Without the protection plan, defective receivers are replaced for the S&H cost. But you also renew your 18/24 month commitment.
If you have the protection plan (or if you receiver is under warranty), there is no commitment extension when a receiver is replaced.
Protection plan also covers wiring and dish repair/alignment.
kaminsco
12-11-07, 10:24 AM
Best Buy also makes you sign something when you purchase acknowledging that it's a leased unit (at least they did when i bought my HR20 from them).
Agree, the senerios is identical to my. I replaced my TIVO and just bought the R-15 two weeks ago myself and yes you sign the lease agreement before you purchase. The receipt even states "lease" in the description. I had the Tivo since 2003 and was paying an additional fee not called "DVR service fee"
You didn't buy it, you obtained a leased receiver for a startup fee. Read your copy of the paperwork that you signed at the store.
As for the monthly cost, it's the same as when you owned the equipment; first receiver/DVR included in the package cost and $4.99 for each additional receiver on the account. It's now called a "leased receiver" fee. Previously was called a "mirrored receiver" fee.
You're better off leasing anyway. The boxes are useless to you if you disconnect service (even the OTA tuners, IF included) won't work without a subscription). And if the new boxes go out, just call DIRECTV, INC. and they will FedEx you a replacement box. At most, you'll only be out a small shipping charge. They even include a prepaid FedEx return label for returning the defective box.
Sorry it took so long to get back on here. When I purchased the dvr I went with the salesman and told him my scenario with the tivo not working and wanted the dvr. He brought me to the unit and said this is what you want. I took it to the register and paid and out the door I went. I didn't have to sign anything? I will have to dig up my receipt and look for lease info.
If you didn't pay $700 or so for it, it's a subsidized leased receiver.
What I don't understand, is what advantage you see in owning vs leasing.
bobnielsen
12-13-07, 08:11 PM
When Directv switched to leasing the equipment in March 2006, many of the retailers didn't have any "lease" paperwork. I got a H20 at Best Buy in June 2006 and there was no contract or anything else to sign (I did have to sign when I bought a HDVR2 a few years earlier, agreeing to activate the box within 30 days). I knew the new one would be leased, however (I suppose if I hadn't activated it Directv wouldn't have any way to tell, but it wouldn't have been much use to me anyway). For the past year or so, the dealers have been posting signs saying the equipment is leased and there are now stickers on the boxes also indicating this. It wasn't handled very well in the beginning, however.
If you didn't pay $700 or so for it, it's a subsidized leased receiver.
What I don't understand, is what advantage you see in owning vs leasing.
My Tivo died and I needed one. Direct didn't have the Tivo receiver anymore. So I went and bought the dvr same day from BB. I just was confused on the leased reciever on my bill. I never had that with the Tivo receiver from Dtv on my bill. I dont see a advantage in owning vs leasing!
frederic1943
12-13-07, 09:35 PM
If you have the protection plan and have an owned HR10-250, if that goes out they'll replace it with an HR20/HR21 and list it as owned rather than leased. Of course you may have to go round with customer service to have your account reflect that.:)
If you have the protection plan and have an owned HR10-250, if that goes out they'll replace it with an HR20/HR21 and list it as owned rather than leased. Of course you may have to go round with customer service to have your account reflect that.:)
It all makes sense now with the leased thing. I should have went and ordered from DTV but it died on a Friday morning and needed one. Didn't want to wait for one to be shipped. One Last question. I was going to go HD Dvr package within the next year. Will DTV take this receiver back when they update the system? And will my old plain Hughes receiver work with the new dish for HD for nonHD signals?
1) Yes, they will more than likely want it back. Just took an R 15 out of service, they are sending a recovery kit as it is only about 1 year or so old.
2) Yes, your old reciever will work with the new dish.
JLucPicard
12-14-07, 10:37 AM
One Last question. I was going to go HD Dvr package within the next year. Will DTV take this receiver back when they update the system?
If you keep this receiver active they will not want it back. If you replace it with the HD DVR and don't keep this one active, they'll want it back.
Honestly the lease model works pretty well, it means that you can get a new one for just S&H if it breaks, and the fee is the same as the old "mirroring charge".
Don't count on it being a new receiver. I've had to return 2 R15's and was sent a refurbed unit both times. I've had no working issues with the refurbed units, but it is annoying when you "buy" a new unit to lease and the replacement looks more worn than the one you returned.
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