[fluffybear]

Have a neighbor who just left DirecTV for UVerse and said that they are not returning their HD-DVR's (HR21 and HR22) just in case they want to come back to DirecTV at a later date.
When I mentioned to them about the unreturned equipment fee, they stated that DirecTV said they would be charged $250 for each unit but after which, they would "OWN" these receivers.

Is this fact or fiction?

I thought I recall reading in the past that unreturned equipment could never be reactivated.

 

[dpeters11]

I've always been under the same impression as you. I'm assuming it's too late to suggest they simply suspend their account?

 

[Stuart Sweet]

I was under the same impression... if it's unreturned, you don't own it even if you pay the fee.

 

[ndole]

As someone who's bought a few IRDs, you do not own them afterward.

 

[fluffybear]

I've always been under the same impression as you. I'm assuming it's too late to suggest they simply suspend their account?

That was my suggestion when they told me AT&T was doing the install but they didn't want to hear it & were prepared to sign a 2 year commitment with UVerse in order to pay $29.99 (plus HD & DVR fee) for 6 months.

For grins: I was told afterwards that AT&T soaked them for almost $500 to do the install claiming the wiring throughout the house was not up to specification.

 

[Jon J]

I was under the same impression... if it's unreturned, you don't own it even if you pay the fee.

That sounds like a very unreasonable position to me. You've paid the fee supposedly to reimburse DirecTV for its full cost so you should own the equipment and be free to reactivate it. JMNSHO

 

[dpeters11]

That was my suggestion when they told me AT&T was doing the install but they didn't want to hear it & were prepared to sign a 2 year commitment with UVerse in order to pay $29.99 (plus HD & DVR fee) for 6 months.

For grins: I was told afterwards that AT&T soaked them for almost $500 to do the install claiming the wiring throughout the house was not up to specification.

Wow, sounds like long term pain for no gain. Not only is their 6 months savings gone (even without the DirecTV receiver issue), if your area has the lower HD stream limits, they're stuck.

The issue that concerns me though is a CSR giving the wrong info. We know it happens, but that's a big one.

 

[fluffybear]

I received the following e-mail, a short time ago:

Thanks for writing. I understand you want to know if you will own the HD DVR, once you have paid for the $250 non return fee. I would like to take this opportunity to explain the situation to you.

For your reference, even though you will pay for the non return fee it will not change the status of the equipment from leased to own. And if the receiver was previously leased on an account it cannot be activated and must be returned to DIRECTV.

For you to own a HD DVR receiver, you can purchase it for $499 whether from DIRECTV or from a retailer. But many customers find leasing a receiver to be an easy, affordable alternative to purchasing one.

Leasing your DIRECTV receiver not only saves you money at activation, it also makes upgrading equipment much more affordable.

Thanks again for writing. I understand this is important to you. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

Sincerely,

[Edit]

 

[Elephanthead]

So the non return fee is an utter and total scam, much like the money you save by leasing. My new 401K contribution is going 100% into Directv stock.

 

[spartanstew]

I don't think I'd call it a scam. There has to be a penalty, doesn't there? Or else, nobody would ever return them. You might say $250 is too much, but I don't have the research behind that fee. I do know, however, that if a leased receiver is not returned, it costs D* money. That's what the fee is for.

Since an owned receiver costs $500, it shouldn't convert to owned status once paid either. Maybe they should up the non-returned fee to $500 and also convert it to owned when paid?

 

[Yoda-DBSguy]

Actually I have personal experience with this issue.

I was renovating my home and redid the flooring, ceiling, walls, some additions to the structure etc. At some time during the process, an HD DVR (HR24) ended up missing along with some stereo/surround gear. I have my suspicions on which contractor took them; however called directv to report the incident. They adviced me that there was a $250 charge for the non returned receiver and further instructed me that if I "found or recovered" the receiver it would then be owned.

Sure enough, 2 months down the line, it along with the stereo equipment were indeed recovered when one of the contractors was cleaning out their storage unit and returned to us. Some excuse of one of their employees having theft issue priorly yadayadayada...

I have since reactivated it as an additional receiver at our residance and confirmed it is now listed with a ststus of "owned".

 

[Shades228]

There is a pretty generous time frame to return the receiver and be able to get the fee reimbursed.