Programming package question...Am I being overcharged?

Not any more, and yours wasn't it. Yes, though you want to make sure that your non-HR20 DVRs are actually leased and not owned.

You are not being overcharged. It looks like you have a grandfathered rate, paying $54.99 for the old Total Choice Plus package. Total Choice Plus is essentially the same as the current Choice Xtra package, but it is $3 cheaper. You could move to the Choice Plus DVR package (which is Choice Xtra with the DVR fee built in), but you would lose the $3 grandfathered discount.


The package rates are:

Choice Xtra: $57.99
Choice Plus DVR: $62.99

If you paid for Choice Xtra and the DVR fee separately, it would be $57.99 + $5.99 = $62.98. So DirecTV essentially charges you a penny for the convenience of having the DVR fee built into the package.

Upstream said:

You are not being overcharged. It looks like you have a grandfathered rate, paying $54.99 for the old Total Choice Plus package. Total Choice Plus is essentially the same as the current Choice Xtra package, but it is $3 cheaper. You could move to the Choice Plus DVR package (which is Choice Xtra with the DVR fee built in), but you would lose the $3 grandfathered discount.

The package rates are:

Choice Xtra: $57.99
Choice Plus DVR: $62.99

If you paid for Choice Xtra and the DVR fee separately, it would be $57.99 + $5.99 = $62.98. So DirecTV essentially charges you a penny for the convenience of having the DVR fee built into the package.

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Good explanation...same situation here....a whopping $3 savings for being a "grandfather"...

94SupraTT said:

I have DirecTV Choice Plus and 3 DVRs one of which is a HR20.

My current bill reads.

$54.99 Choice Plus
$9.99 HD Access
$5.99 DVR service
$4.99 leased receiver
$4.99 leased receiver

Isn't there a package which already has the DVR included? Am I being charged the right amount?

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I have about the same is you only difference i have one less lease receiver and have HD extra so i think it's the same money.

Upstream said:

You are not being overcharged. It looks like you have a grandfathered rate, paying $54.99 for the old Total Choice Plus package. Total Choice Plus is essentially the same as the current Choice Xtra package, but it is $3 cheaper. You could move to the Choice Plus DVR package (which is Choice Xtra with the DVR fee built in), but you would lose the $3 grandfathered discount.

The package rates are:

Choice Xtra: $57.99
Choice Plus DVR: $62.99

If you paid for Choice Xtra and the DVR fee separately, it would be $57.99 + $5.99 = $62.98. So DirecTV essentially charges you a penny for the convenience of having the DVR fee built into the package.

Click to expand...

Actually, it saves you about a $1 to go with the package:

$57.99 (Choice Xtra) + $5.99 (ala carte DVR fee) = $63.98 is more than the $62.99 they charge for Chice Plus DVR.

The grandfathered deal + DVR still saves you a couple of bucks a month though.

And since he's paying for HD as well then Plus HD DVR package is $72.99 a month which includes all the channels, HD fee and DVR fee.

But his grandfathered package still saves him $3 a month.

94SupraTT said:

I have DirecTV Choice Plus and 3 DVRs one of which is a HR20.

My current bill reads.

$54.99 Choice Plus
$9.99 HD Access
$5.99 DVR service
$4.99 leased receiver
$4.99 leased receiver

Isn't there a package which already has the DVR included? Am I being charged the right amount?

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Do you have 3 receivers or 2? They are charging you for 3 unless you didn't list the credit for the included receiver.

sbl said:

...though you want to make sure that your non-HR20 DVRs are actually leased and not owned.

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Even if those receivers were owned, he would still be paying the 4.99 a month as "additional receiver" charges rather than "leased receiver."

beestea said:

Do you have 3 receivers or 2? They are charging you for 3 unless you didn't list the credit for the included receiver.

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Not sure what you are saying. I have four receivers and the op has the same package and services as I do. The only difference in my bill is it shows a third leased receiver @ 4.99.

erict said:

Not sure what you are saying. I have four receivers and the op has the same package and services as I do. The only difference in my bill is it shows a third leased receiver @ 4.99.

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I've noticed that DirecTV makes mistakes pretty often when adding new receivers/removing old receivers and still charging you for one you don't use anymore. I have a friend that has been paying for two receivers for almost a year when he only uses 1.

The reason it gets confusing is from what I have seen DirecTV sometimes lists all of your receiver lease charges, and then at the end a receiver lease credit. However sometimes they don't list the lease charge for the one receiver that is included in the programming chargers.

So if you have 3 receivers, and see 3 lease charges you might not realize its wrong and that you should only be paying for the 2 additional receivers.

However, I see he clearly stated he has 3, so I guess this was irrelevant. The issue I mention above is just something ive seen at least a couple times recently so it came to mind when someone mentioned being overcharged

beestea said:

The reason it gets confusing is from what I have seen DirecTV sometimes lists all of your receiver lease charges, and then at the end a receiver lease credit.

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This is so you can be charged state sales tax. In this case you get charged the lease/mirror fee, tax is charged, then a credit back for the lease/mirror charge.

beestea said:

Do you have 3 receivers or 2? They are charging you for 3 unless you didn't list the credit for the included receiver.

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I have 3. Two of them are "leased". My 1st HR10 I own. The 2nd one I got for free and understood it was a "lease" and the HR20 is "leased" as well and I got it for free.

Also, thanks everyone for the clarification. I thought I might be getting shafted. I've been reading up on dropping locals and unfortunately it looks like if SD locals are an option here I can't drop them. Its a shame though because I get all of my locals OTA so I don't need them from D*.