What to do with my HR20

yeah and the worst part is if you bought it at best buy or from directv when you have it turned off, you are out of 300 bucks because they want you to send it back to directv, go figure?

really? I'm not paying a dime to direct TV.... if I'm entering a service agreement, I have to be able to have service! When it doesn't want to tape my programs... well I might as well use it as a 300 dollar coaster.

shaun-ohio said:

yeah and the worst part is if you bought it at best buy or from directv when you have it turned off, you are out of 300 bucks because they want you to send it back to directv, go figure?

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If you purchase the unit from BB or another store, don't you own it? How could D* require you to send it back without a reimbursement of what you paid?

..

Rambler said:

If you purchase the unit from BB or another store, don't you own it? How could D* require you to send it back without a reimbursement of what you paid?

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I think all units from D* these days are leases...

Rambler said:

If you purchase the unit from BB or another store, don't you own it? How could D* require you to send it back without a reimbursement of what you paid?

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You can't BUY it from BB or anywhere else except D*, and that will cost you $749.
When you pay $299 at BB you are leasing it, so it still belongs to D*.

Just like leasing a car.

Call and email DirecTV (retention) to complain about the issues you are seeing with the unit. Demand that something be done. My first time calling, they offered my $10 / month credit aplus free programming for a year.

They should not be profitting from releasing a beta unit and then charging us for it. Demand compensation. Most retention agents can approve $10 / month for a year w/o even a supervisor because of all of the issues with this unit. If you get a bad agent, simply hang up, and call back to get another. It actually took me 2 agents to get a reasonable one.

Andrew_J_M said:

You can't BUY it from BB or anywhere else except D*, and that will cost you $749.
When you pay $299 at BB you are leasing it, so it still belongs to D*.

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This must be kind of a new situation then? I purchased a D* H10 HD receiver from BB not quite 2 years ago, and D* told me I owned it and could do with it whatever I wanted, when the HR20 replaced it.

tbackus said:

I've read alot of posts on this site that Praise this system. I've also seen alot that trash it.

Well, my experience is that I really don't like being a Beta tester for this system. I don't like it locking up or giving me unwatchable recordings. What is the point on paying 300 dollars for something that doesn't work correctly?

I'd like to hear some feedback on what my options really are...

Personally, I want to take the box back to Best Buy, get my money back and maybe buy a new DVR (non-HD). Or I could just pocket the money and go back to my old DirectTV TiVo player. My only concern is with my programming commitment... although I e-mailed them and they said I only have until October of next year...

What should I do?

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Get a new HR20 and credits for programming from D* via retention. Some people on this forum have had 2-3 HR20s, and for many, the third one worked (don't even ask why, because no one really knows). It's a fact that the $299 you paid to BB is a lease price, but because your HR20 isn't working, you should be able to get back the cost of the box from D* via retention. I know this, because I did it (and got a few more credits too, but that's a long story).

Be nice when you call, tell them your HR20 has been missing shows, freezing, etc. You want a replacement, and you'd like the cost of the box in programming credits. As long as the replacement doesn't work, get a new one (refurbished, more than likely) every time. If you are a long-time customer with a fairly high programming package, they will give it to you.

Rambler said:

This must be kind of a new situation then? I purchased a D* H10 HD receiver from BB not quite 2 years ago, and D* told me I owned it and could do with it whatever I wanted, when the HR20 replaced it.

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The lease program started this year, I believe around March if I remember correctly.

Do we have the equipment lease dicussion here once a week now or are we up to twice a week now ?

Seems like at least once a week now the equipment lease thing get's mentioned and someone says - I paid $300 for the HR20 and I have to lease it ?!!

Twice a week, but only this week! Thanksgiving don't ya know

So is it possible to get my money back and get rid of the box? I don't have the time or patience to deal with all these issues. I just want to go back to my old R10 box that never had problems. I'mon the phone with them right now and they say they won't let me out of my service agreement.

This sucks. I wish I had known about these forums before I bought this POS.....

tbackus said:

I've read alot of posts on this site that Praise this system. I've also seen alot that trash it.

Well, my experience is that I really don't like being a Beta tester for this system. I don't like it locking up or giving me unwatchable recordings. What is the point on paying 300 dollars for something that doesn't work correctly?

I'd like to hear some feedback on what my options really are...

Personally, I want to take the box back to Best Buy, get my money back and maybe buy a new DVR (non-HD). Or I could just pocket the money and go back to my old DirectTV TiVo player. My only concern is with my programming commitment... although I e-mailed them and they said I only have until October of next year...

What should I do?

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If you deactivate that box, then DirecTV will send you a return kit via FedEx within a few weeks of deactivating it. If your looking to go to SD DVR, then DirecTV will probably give you one for free, since they usually retail for $100. Express your aggravation and they will cut you a deal.

Personally I feel once OTA is enabled it will resolve many of the bugs, and will function better... but this is merely my personal opinion. Many disagree with this, and feel OTA will add more problems. Give it another month before you quit with your HR20.

tbackus said:

So is it possible to get my money back and get rid of the box?

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Unless you've had the box less than a short period of time (two weeks???), you cannot get your money back and they won't let you out of the contract without significant penalty. The best you can hope for is to stack up enough credits to compensate.

This shouldn't be a huge problem as long as you stay with DirecTV.

They send you a kit for you to return it but what if you don't? Will they charge your Credit Cad for the difference between the lease price and the purchase price for not returning it?

tbackus said:

So is it possible to get my money back and get rid of the box? I don't have the time or patience to deal with all these issues. I just want to go back to my old R10 box that never had problems. I'mon the phone with them right now and they say they won't let me out of my service agreement.

This sucks. I wish I had known about these forums before I bought this POS.....

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If you happen to be a lawyer, it would be interesting to hear what D* would do if actually handed a lawsuit for releasing a unit that didn't work according to their operations manual.

Otherwise, you are probably going to pay to get out of your commitment.

VLaslow said:

If you happen to be a lawyer, it would be interesting to hear what D* would do if actually handed a lawsuit for releasing a unit that didn't work according to their operations manual.

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I'm guessing they'd get a big laugh out of it.

There's some issues with the box right now but what you said is kinda ridiculious.

A lawsuit due to software issues. The courts would have to be in session 24/7 to handle every lawsuit someone filed over software issues.

Mixer said:

They send you a kit for you to return it but what if you don't? Will they charge your Credit Cad for the difference between the lease price and the purchase price for not returning it?

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I think that if you read the contract, it is your responsibility to initiate the return. You call D* and get an RMA and they send the kit.