A friend of mine just went thru this and was able to get $10/month credit for 12 months to offset the $99 charge.barkster99 said:
New HR21 - $99 + $5/mo. lease???
I've been a Directv subscriber for +12 years, never had any freebies or special deals. Currently using Samsung Tivo. Per recent annoucement, my locals will be available in HD soon and I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on HR21.
If I order via Directv website, they want $99 for HR21 (special deal as a "valued customer") - plus $5/mo. lease fee. WTF is that??? If I'm leasing it, what's the $99 for???
What can I reasonably expect if I call them?
Thanks for any advice.
If I order via Directv website, they want $99 for HR21 (special deal as a "valued customer") - plus $5/mo. lease fee. WTF is that??? If I'm leasing it, what's the $99 for???
What can I reasonably expect if I call them?
Thanks for any advice.
1 - 20 of 67 Posts
...and instead of waiting for them to make and offer, suggest one yourself and see if they will do it.
They may agree.
They may agree.
barkster99,
DIRECTV has used this model for some time now. In fact when the HD DVR first came out 2 years ago the standard up-front fee was $299 instead of the $99 you've been offered on DIRECTV's web page.
Think of it this way .. You pay $99 up front + $5/month lease with DIRECTV and many cable companies charge $0 up front + $10+/month lease fee. Depending on how the actual charges and your usage breaks down, DIRECTV's method could be cheaper for you in the long run. Either way, it is the lease model that DIRECTV has chosen. If you call, you may be able to get a better deal than that
.
DIRECTV has used this model for some time now. In fact when the HD DVR first came out 2 years ago the standard up-front fee was $299 instead of the $99 you've been offered on DIRECTV's web page.
Think of it this way .. You pay $99 up front + $5/month lease with DIRECTV and many cable companies charge $0 up front + $10+/month lease fee. Depending on how the actual charges and your usage breaks down, DIRECTV's method could be cheaper for you in the long run. Either way, it is the lease model that DIRECTV has chosen. If you call, you may be able to get a better deal than that
.
The $5/mo "lease" fee replaces the $5/mo "additional receiver" fee, so that part is a wash. The upfront fee could be considered as a prepaid lease.
Call D*. Say "cancel" at the prompt. When the IVR asks you, tell it you want to cancel service. THen, when the CSR comes on - tell her that you would like to upgrade to HD, but you have been getting competing offers from DISH and Cable and would like to know what offers D* has to keep current customers.
If you get a good CSR, they will give you the HD DVR for free, plus they will sometimes offer you FREE HD (10/month credit) and free HBO/SHOW/MAX for 3 months.
That is what I did back in December and it worked.
Good luck.
~J
If you get a good CSR, they will give you the HD DVR for free, plus they will sometimes offer you FREE HD (10/month credit) and free HBO/SHOW/MAX for 3 months.
That is what I did back in December and it worked.
Good luck.
~J
That sounds like dangerous advice nowadays - other threads have indicated the CSR may very well take you up on the Cancel offer.DrummerBoy523 said:Call D*. Say "cancel" at the prompt. When the IVR asks you, tell it you want to cancel service. THen, when the CSR comes on - tell her that you would like to upgrade to HD, but you have been getting competing offers from DISH and Cable and would like to know what offers D* has to keep current customers.
If you get a good CSR, they will give you the HD DVR for free, plus they will sometimes offer you FREE HD (10/month credit) and free HBO/SHOW/MAX for 3 months.
That is what I did back in December and it worked.
Good luck.
~J
You'll also be charged $9.99 / month for the HD Access Package in addtion to the LEASE charge per receiver.
You lost me there. I only have one receiver and currently pay no lease or additional receiver fee.bobnielsen said:The $5/mo "lease" fee replaces the $5/mo "additional receiver" fee, so that part is a wash. The upfront fee could be considered as a prepaid lease.
So, paying the monthly lease fee is just normal these days, even though they charge $100-$300 up front??? Something smells.
The lease fee is to mirror the programming to every additional receiver after the first one. The first one is a part of the programming package. On owned unit it is just called additional receiver instead of lease fee.
If that is the only unit you have than you will not have to pay $4.99 a month for it.
If that is the only unit you have than you will not have to pay $4.99 a month for it.
And I have to admit that part of me sorta enjoys that. I guess I'm awful.bhelton71 said:That sounds like dangerous advice nowadays - other threads have indicated the CSR may very well take you up on the Cancel offer.
My take is that "cancel" talk should only be used when you are willing to follow through on it.
As someone else mentioned, you SHOULD be able to get a credit for some programming to make up for the cost of the receiver. If they charge you $99, ask nicely to see if they'll give you 10 month of the $9.99 HD ACCESS PACKAGE for free to make up for the initial outlay of money ... they've been very good at accomodatiing people to get us to sign up for the 2 year lease agreement. YMMVbarkster99 said:You lost me there. I only have one receiver and currently pay no lease or additional receiver fee.
So, paying the monthly lease fee is just normal these days, even though they charge $100-$300 up front??? Something smells.
Every receiver after your first one is $4.99 a month to mirror the programming to it. It's been around since DirecTV started, 14 or so years ago. This is nothing new. Your first receiver has this fee included in your programming package so the first receiver is "free", every additional is 4.99/mobarkster99 said:You lost me there. I only have one receiver and currently pay no lease or additional receiver fee.
So, paying the monthly lease fee is just normal these days, even though they charge $100-$300 up front??? Something smells.
And you pay that even if you owned the receiver.
What you'll see on your bill:
"Additional receiver fee" = owned receiver
"Lease fee" = leased receiver
Same 4.99 a month no matter if owned or leased. So you're not being screwed here on monthly fees just because the receiver is leased.
If you feel $99 up front is too much then make a deal or go to cable. But you'll end up paying more with cable.
DirecTV - $99 up front, 4.99 a month
Cable - no up front, $14.99 a month
So after 10 months with cable you just paid the same amount you paid up front to DirecTV and with cable *you keep on paying* forever. DirecTV you're done. Up to you which you like better I guess.
How close are you to Lake Michigan?barkster99 said:So, paying the monthly lease fee is just normal these days, even though they charge $100-$300 up front??? Something smells.
Remembering that two years ago, what you were getting for $299 [many got the $199 price] had two OTA tuners [that were disabled], a gawky looking behemoth dish and the chance to get in on the ground floor of one of the largest scale non-Micro$oft product debugging programs to date.Doug Brott said:DIRECTV has used this model for some time now. In fact when the HD DVR first came out 2 years ago the standard up-front fee was $299 instead of the $99 you've been offered on DIRECTV's web page.
Now DIRECTV has reduced their cost of the HR21 by $250 and they've reduced the lease entry price by $200.
DIRECTV is not supremely confident that they will get more than their 24 months out of the customer, so they feel the need to make sure they recover their cost one way or the other.
As wonderful as DIRECTV may be, they have a pretty huge SAC and somebody's got to pay for it before they switch providers.
Hmmmm....... Then I wonder why Dish is losing so many subscribers??harsh said:Remembering that two years ago, what you were getting for $299 [many got the $199 price] had two OTA tuners [that were disabled], a gawky looking behemoth dish and the chance to get in on the ground floor of one of the largest scale non-Micro$oft product debugging programs to date.
Now DIRECTV has reduced their cost of the HR21 by $250 and they've reduced the lease entry price by $200.
DIRECTV is not supremely confident that they will get more than their 24 months out of the customer, so they feel the need to make sure they recover their cost one way or the other.
As wonderful as DIRECTV may be, they have a pretty huge SAC and somebody's got to pay for it before they switch providers.
Lease acquistion costs - aka a down payment on the device, readthe newspaper on automobile leases you will pay 2,000 + up front the a monthly reoccurring.barkster99 said:You lost me there. I only have one receiver and currently pay no lease or additional receiver fee.
So, paying the monthly lease fee is just normal these days, even though they charge $100-$300 up front??? Something smells.
If you want there is a unit you can purchase outright - beleive the cost for it is around $499.00 and you still pay a monthly charge on it and have a commitment, just you are stuck with unusable gear if you decide to move on
As mentioned above you will not have to pay the $5 lease fee if it is your only box. The $5 lease fee shows up on your bill and then they issue you a credit for it so it is a wash. The lease is better than owning because a box like this would cost way more than $99 to buy outright. I remember buying standard D* boxes for more than that a while back and unless you end up quiting your D* service in the near future the box will be obsolete by the time you want to upgrade again anyway so it wouldn't have much value if you were to sell it. I have an old Tivo I paid over $500 for and it is collecting dust right now because nobody would want it. The only thing that would be better is if they would give us the boxes for free. The $99 deal you are being offered is awesome IMO. I don't know if they changed things since I ordered mine but that also includes and new HD capable dish and free basic installation.
Sounds like some serious double-talk here .. I can't tell if you're complaining about the cost 2 years ago or the fact that it's much less now?harsh said:Remembering that two years ago, what you were getting for $299 [many got the $199 price] had two OTA tuners [that were disabled], a gawky looking behemoth dish and the chance to get in on the ground floor of one of the largest scale non-Micro$oft product debugging programs to date.
Now DIRECTV has reduced their cost of the HR21 by $250 and they've reduced the lease entry price by $200.
DIRECTV is not supremely confident that they will get more than their 24 months out of the customer, so they feel the need to make sure they recover their cost one way or the other.
As wonderful as DIRECTV may be, they have a pretty huge SAC and somebody's got to pay for it before they switch providers.
Yes, two years ago, the cost was $299 .. many got it for $199 .. There were OTA tuners included in the HR20 which was the only receiver available at the time .. OTA is not available inside the HR21, but an add-on module makes it equivalent to the HR20.
What does Subscriber Acquisition Costs have to do with whether or not this particular customer is surprised by the up front fee as part of the lease?
So, again what is it that you are complaining about .. The fact that it was $299 2 years ago or the fact that it's now $99 ($200 less than 2 years ago)?
You could be sad about giving up $99 to lease the box, but I can tell you there are worse ways to make money disappear. Take a look at the shelf in my garage. Here sits over $1000 that I spent in equipment almost 3 years ago. Today, I "might" be able to get $100 for the HD Tivo and $20-$40 for the SD Tivos. So..I can sell my $1000 worth of receivers for, at best $320. That's a loss of $680 on 5 receivers and that's before E-Bay fees and if somebody is willing to buy them.
The HR21 experience is definitely worth the $99 bucks.
The HR21 experience is definitely worth the $99 bucks.
1 - 20 of 67 Posts
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