Tutor
What the H*** am I paying for?
When I purchased my house in 2018, I purchased a package from Century Link. I went with CTL because of my previous positive experiences with AT&T. As I added things to my smart home, my internet speeds went down to < 10 Mbps. Meanwhile, I have Direct TV. I'm basically happy with DTV, but here's what I am paying for:
One Choice package for $92.99 per month.
Protection Plan for $20.99 per month (what is this?)
TV Access fee for $14.00 per month (what is this?)
Advanced Receiver for $15 per month (what is this?)
Regional Sports fee for $3.80 per month
TV Access fee for $7.00 per month
Sales Tad for $1.70 per month.
Total Direct TV $155.48 per month . . . yikes!
Now I am getting ready to get rid of Century Link.
I want to keep the DirectTV but I need to understand what I am paying for. DTV advertises the choice package at $69.99 per month. I tried to log onto DTV chat, but nobody answers. I left my phone # and e-mail on the chat and someone called me but I couldn't understand him with all the background noise and his thick accent.
I need to talk to someone about what I am paying for and what I am getting. I need to justify this bill. I want to know ~ what I will be paying per month for a long term, ~ 5 years or more. I'm not interested in getting a year 1 price and then the caveat "will be higher in year 2" sales (Edited per community guidelines).
If I can't get any help, I will look at other providers.
TIA for any help
Accepted Solution
Official Solution
Juniper
ACE - Expert
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22.9K Messages
4 years ago
The advertised price is the introductory rate for the 1st 12 months before it goes to full cost. So you've already had your year 1 price and will not get it again.
Choice is your programming package.
Equipment Protection Plan is optional. Level 1 ($8.99) covers service calls for repair ($99), delivery of replacement boxes ($19.95), and remotes ($15). One time costs tend to be cheaper in the long run, and remotes cheaper through other retailers, so I personally don't see a lot of value in it. You have Level 2 which is Protection Plan Premier. In addition to what level 1 covers, it also covers a variety of 'eligible' entertainment devices (such as your TV). That might be worth it, if you don't have a manufacture warranty or other coverage on those. But I would look into a bit more.
DIRECTV Protection Plans - Equipment Coverage & Upgrades (att.com)
You pay $7 for each authorized TV on the service. So the $14 means 2 TVs. Though you mention another $7, so that would be a 3rd TV. I suspect you have a Genie and 2 Mini Genie Clients since all 3 charges are not together (Clients are not full receivers so track differently in the system though you pay the same as still for the TV).
Advance receiver $15 is your DVR and Whole Home DVR service. That is required as long as you have at least 1 DVR.
Regional Sport Network (RSN) Fee covers the professional teams where you live. The RSNs are included in packages Choice and higher. So only the Family, Select, and Entertainment packages don't get the fee. Unlike other providers it is not hidden in the package cost, especially since it is different across the country. Yours is one of the lower cost areas.
For what channels and teams: www.directv.com/rsn
I assume Sales Tad is Sales Tax.
I would take this time to review the channels you watch to verify if Choice is still the best package or not. DIRECTV Channel Lineup List (att.com)
If you have a combined bill with CenturyLink, be aware that when you cancel they may return the last billed amount back to DirecTV (if it is before they have billed you for it) which goes onto your next DirecTV bill resulting in 2 adjoining service months on one bill. Just happens the one time when opting out of a combined bill, but can surprise some people. I prefer to avoid joint billing as only bare bones info gets transferred, whereas the company's own bill will have more detailed info.
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Stumpie
Tutor
4 years ago
Thanks for your comments Juniper,
I was able to work it out with Sarah with DTV customer service. I originally had DTV installed and had 1 TV in the house. When I moved, I had 2 more cable boxes installed. That apparently cancelled my introductory price, according to Century Link. So . . . I'm getting my introductory price back, cancelling all the extra insurance I don't need because all the teenagers running around my house that used to have all the fancy electronics are now middle aged and have teenagers with all the fancy electronics running around their houses. I just live alone now with a freezer full of frozen dinners and a fridge full of beer. And the $15 per month charge for some fancy cable box that records programs that I don't care about will be in the package because I don't record programs to watch later. I have no problem with $7 per month for extra cable boxes, but one of these days, I'll look into purchasing some and replacing the rented ones probably after installing my mesh wi-fi network. The sports fee and the access fee are OK because, like the sales tax, are mandated. So all in all, this should bring my bill down to under $100 per month with the choice package so I'm happy. Next year at this time, you can rest assured that I will be "Johnny at the rathole" to see what kind of price breaks they can give me going forward. So when I dump Century Link for T-mobile and have a wireless internet connection giving me closer to 100 Mbps, Direct TV will bill me directly. There are other technical issues with CTL like twisted pair so they're not interested in updating their network here. But in any event, I appreciate your detailed answer. It has helped me understand everything and come up with an acceptable workaround.
Cheers!
Paul
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shannon02
ACE - Expert
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21K Messages
4 years ago
DTV doesn't rent receivers they are leased and you can't buy any to own. DTV doesn't need internet to work.
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Stumpie
Tutor
4 years ago
I realize that DTV doesn't need the internet to work, but my smart home does.
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Juniper
ACE - Expert
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22.9K Messages
4 years ago
Moving does not remove intro price from DirecTV. Those discounts automatically come off after the 12 months. Moving might affect any discounts on CenturyLink side if was before they completed.
Protection plan is more for those that like a guaranteed small cost in their monthly bill then dealing with reserve funds if a one-time cost comes up.
The $15 is regardless of how many boxes can or do use it. The only way to get rid of it is to not have a single DVR. For if you have 1, then you pay for the service.
You cannot purchase to own boxes, they are lease only (since the launch of the original Genie years ago). Even in the old days when purchase to own was an option (i.e. $499 HDDVR), you still payed the $7 per TV. It is not an rental/lease cost, but is for the authorized TV to mirror the services to it. So you pay for it even if the TV has no box at all (DirecTV Ready/RVU Client TV).
RSN fee has always been there, but a few years ago DirecTV separated it from the bill. So it is now transparent and based on your address instead of all being the same (since you don't have access to the same teams).
Price breaks (discounts) are few an far between these days. Their CEO had discounts pulled back for the time being to address an issue of customers too close to operating at a lose (or some that actually were). Once they return, they are expected in moderation. There are no permanent discounts as they are a temporary perk. So certainly ask if any are available and enjoy them while they are there, but always plan for full cost.
(edited)
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