[Guest]

A 12 month commitment is now being started by Direct TV for existing customers who purchase used equipment and sign up for service....they also require you to purchase a new card for $20. Existing customers purchasing new subsidized equipment will also be subject to a 12 month commitment. Adding a additional receiver will also trigger a 12 month commitment before they will turn it on. Since almost all receivers purchased on the internet are subsidized you can expect to see you are committed to a contract when your bill arrives. So much for Direct TV.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

If this is true (and I have no reason to believe that its not) then Cable should climb all over this.

No one should be locked in a contract unless the equipment was given to you at a great price in exchange for a years commitment.

 

[Kenster]

Isn't most of our equipment heavily subsidized by the satellite companies, especially for new customers? If they give a $200 receiver for $50 (or whatever) I don't think it's too much to ask you to stay with their service for 12 months to give them a little time to recoup some of their expenses. However, if you buy some used equipment, it presumably has been amortized and the subsidy recovered, so I can't see a required commitment for that. But, since the equipment is not compatible with the competing company, what can you do?

 

[Win Joy Jr]

One reason for the change. To keep the new P4 cards out of the hands of the pirates. DirecTV is starting to get a string of receiver re-activations since the P4 is only going to be shipped for current units. The Pirate community was trying to organize a mass activation to get a load of P4 cards, and then they were going to deactivate the units after the cards were received. DirecTV cut them off at the pass.

DirecTV is doing everything it can to limit the distribution of P4 cards into the hands of the pirates.

 

[JAYPB]

I just purchased a replacement receiver to add to my account from www.abtelectronics.com (Hughes GAEBO) and I had to sign a waiver/agreement to keep continuous service on that receiver/card for 12 months. I can live with that...I guess.

My question/issues lies with this: If the receiver goes bad and I have to get a new one...what happens? The old card/receiver will have to be deactivated (since theoretically it won't work) and according to my agreement I'll be charged a fee (I believe 150$$)

DTV (always??) wants you to activate a new card with any receiver you activate. I tried to activate an existing card (HU NOT H) with a new receiver I picked up without a card. The rep said, "No we can't do that...but we'll send you a new card via Fedex for $20.00".

So I guess my concern is: How does company xyz know if your receiver/card is active for the whole 12 months? Do they get monthly/quarterly reports?

Sorry for the length....but I have been trying to get an answer to this question on various forums on the web.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Kenster]

Jay, my brand new UTV machine lasted one day. Took it to Best Buy yesterday and got a replacement. D* had told me to keep the old card so BB let me keep it. When I called to activate the new machine, they didn't question that I was putting in the old card.

 

[JAYPB]

Kenster,

Thanks for the reply. Guess it depends on who you get (CSR wise) AFA whether they let you use your existing card. I bought the receiver without a card off of Ebay (Dolby Digital....without the card it was MUCH less than I would've paid to get it with a card through a retailer).

 

[Mike500]

Originally posted by Win Joy Jr
One reason for the change. To keep the new P4 cards out of the hands of the pirates. DirecTV is starting to get a string of receiver re-activations since the P4 is only going to be shipped for current units. The Pirate community was trying to organize a mass activation to get a load of P4 cards, and then they were going to deactivate the units after the cards were received. DirecTV cut them off at the pass.

DirecTV is doing everything it can to limit the distribution of P4 cards into the hands of the pirates.

Have you checked recently how many P4 cards are on sale on Ebay? Do you think that the new policy is working? Nah.....