2 Messages
Am I forced to take an upgrade along with a 2 year contract
Howdy folks, I have an old HR22 box that has been having quite a few issues as of late. It'll power cycle itself randomly, but fairly frequently now. About 1-2 times per day which is annoying as it takes 15-20 mins to boot back up every time. We've had a tech come out which refused to do anything about it because it was so old and advised to call customer service to get a replacement box dispatched. I did that and they said we could upgrade to the genie 2 receiver which I was fine with. I indicated to the rep that I was not interested in this upgrade if it involved a renewed agreement without promotional pricing. On the phone I was told that this was just to replace my broken equipment. The second tech came out with the upgrade boxes and told me that it would include a renewed two-year agreement, so I refused it. I tried a little electronics repair on the box myself which fixed it for a few weeks, but now it's even worse. Every time the receiver is turned off it has to fully refresh its power cycle. Called again and they're sending someone else out tomorrow to see what the problem is.
Since my equipment is so old and essentially broken, is my only option to be able to regain access to the content that I pay for through a new contract commitment. I'm kind of annoyed that the reps keep pushing me that way, especially since I pay for monthly equipment coverage to cover repairs and my bill is nearly $100 more than if I were a new customer.
Accepted Solution
Juniper
ACE - Expert
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22.8K Messages
15 days ago
Warranty replacement does not come with a 24 month agreement. You get same model or newer of the same model line. HR22 is a regular HDDVR, so a warranty replacement would be an HR24 (if any left in stock). Those are drop shipped as tech not needed to plug in a box.
Going to a different model line is an "upgrade" with a 24 month service agreement. That can be going to a Genie (HR34, HR44, HR54), Genie-2 (HS17), or even an HD non-DVR (H25, has Autotune instead of DVR). Adding another TV is total is an upgrade as well.
As mentioned, getting from an Authorized 3rd party retailer even the same model line comes with a 24 month agreement which you are paying the one-time lease cost for. Only DirecTV itself can provide a warranty replacement.
Unfortunately, regular HDDVRs haven't been made in years. During their ownership, AT&T pushed DirecTV to an all-in-one setup, preferably (for them) the Genie-2. It is hoped the company that now owns DirecTV will eventually return to customer flexible setups, but we shall see.
New customer pricing is temporary. They get that additional welcome basket. Once it is over, then they have their pricing like you. It is not sustainable to apply limited intro discounts continuously to existing customers.
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shannon02
ACE - Expert
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20.9K Messages
16 days ago
DTV considers the Genie line HR34,44.54 and the HS17 Genie 2 as an upgrade so comes with a new 2 year commitment. DTV hasn't made the HR20-24 in years so no longer has any in stock for replacements. It may be possible to get an HR24 from a third party retailer like Solid Signal at the full upfront lease price.
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Lithium12
2 Messages
16 days ago
Hi Shannon, thanks for the response. To make sure I understand correctly, directv will not provide equipment for me to continue to access service unless I commit to a renewed agreement or obtain properly working equipment at my own expense?
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shannon02
ACE - Expert
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20.9K Messages
16 days ago
I forgot to add that any new equipment added to the account like a refurbished HR24 from an online retailer also starts a 2 year commitment.
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