[Vision2020] Direct TV Converter Boxes and Stuff

Wed Aug 8 08:57:57 PDT 2012

They are very creative at the art of deception.  I think it's disgusting.  What is so difficult about clearly disclosing all costs up front?  I got the whole schpiel about 'free installation' for high speed internet only to find out on my first bill that I had been charged a $46 'activiation fee'.  You're right about the modem rental too.  I pay $6.50 per month for a crappy modem that I could buy in full off of ebay for $30.  Yet my provider will refuse to configure / connect to anything I buy 3rd party claiming they can't guarantee quality / reliability even though this is the exact same manufacture & model number.

I'm likely to get rid of my smart phone too because I don't want to pay for an extra charge for the data plan that I don't use since I'm always wifi connected at home, work, or Starbucks.  You'd think it would be easy to just tell your provide to nuke the data plan, but they require it so they can make extra money whether you use it or not (I have mine disabled in my config).

The list goes on and on.  Apparently there aren't enough people who complain about these sorts of things...

-Scott

Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2012 23:56:42 -0700
From: donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Direct TV Converter Boxes and Stuff
To: scooterd408 at hotmail.com; starbliss at gmail.com; thansen at moscow.com
CC: vision2020 at moscow.com

Donovan and 15 others like this!

I think all these cable companies are corrupt. They deceive you. I have had similar experiences with most the other companies like Cable One, Dish Network, Adelphia, and now Comcast. They say it is only $40 a month, but really, it is $40, for 6 months on a 24 month contract, plus $200 install, $10 for the cable box, $10 for the HD, $10 for modem, and $10 in fees and taxes. It is crazy. I can only recommend you get reliable high speed Internet and watch all your shows for free online. 

Donovan J. Arnold

From: Scott Dredge <scooterd408 at hotmail.com>
To: starbliss at gmail.com; thansen at moscow.com 
Cc: viz <vision2020 at moscow.com> 
Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 6:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Direct TV Converter Boxes and Stuff

I just nuked DirecTv last Tuesday after being a 'loyal' customer of theirs for 11 years.  They're an awful company and this is evident by how they screw their partners like Viacom and TiVo and how they mistreat their customers.  The fatal mistake I made with them was 'upgrading' to an HD TiVo DVR which shipped 2+ years later than it originally announced to be delivered and was completely de-featured upon arrival absent the TiVo Premiere feature and with no plans to add it.  After the fact, they let me know that the $199 I had paid for the DVR was for the 'privilege to lease it' for $10 a month + an additional $10 a month for HD service and they also informed me that with any equipment change 'you agree to a 24 month service contract' which, of course, I did no such thing.  I packed up my DVR and all the accessories yesterday and shipped it all right back to DirecTv.  And I'm paying the early termination fee because
 DirecTv is like the mob and will just continue to rack up charges on you and then turn it all over to collections.  I have one friend who has $25 taken from her checking account monthly until her nearly $1000 bill is paid off.  And the internet was full of similar DirecTv complaints.  I won't do any business with them again unless they dramatically clean up their act.

Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2012 13:19:59 -0700
From: starbliss at gmail.com
To: thansen at moscow.com
CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Direct TV Converter Boxes and Stuff

If you mean an older Directv receiver box, they can be re-used, rather than recycled, for another Directv account, when purchasing a new access card, 20$ the last time I checked.  The user of such a re-used receiver thus is not leasing the receiver from Directv.  

However, some of the older receivers will seriously limit the options of the customer.  

For example, Directv moved the NASA channel so now only HDTV equipped
 systems can receive it!  This seems to me to be highly questionable, given the NASA channel is taxpayer supported thus arguably offering programming that should be available to all Directv customers, even if they have a dish and receiver that is not HDTV capable.  And on top of that, the NASA channel is not in HDTV!

There are a lot of other options lost with using some of the older receivers....

>From the Directtv website:

http://support.directv.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3241/%7E/is-nasa-tv-still-available-on-directv?

Is NASA TV still available on DIRECTV?

Yes, DIRECTV will still offer NASA TV on Channel 346. However, starting August 3, 2011, NASA TV will only be available to customers who have DIRECTV HD equipment and are subscribed to Advanced Receiver Service-HD. But please note: NASA TV will remain a standard definition channel.
--------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 7:03 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

V-Peeps:

To make a long story short . . .

During the course of our move from south Moscow to north Moscow, we switched satellite providers from DirectTV to Dish (Dish has improved over the years, less expensive, better packages, yada yada yada).

Once the switchover was completed, DirectTV instructed me to return one converter box, both access cards, and various electronic cables (along with the remote controls) using a pre-paid USPS box they provided.  This I did.

This left me with an old DirectTV converter box which they (DirectTV) do not want returned to them, not to mention a complete satellite dish that I had removed from the outside wall of our old apartment on Taylor.  Thanks to the fine people of Dish, who took the satellite dish off my hands, it is no longer my concern.

Question:  Is there anywhere
 in town that accepts old TV converter boxes for recycling . . . or whatever?

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students.  The college students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)

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 List services made available by First Step Internet,
 serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
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          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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======================================================= List services made available by First Step Internet, serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. http://www.fsr.net mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com =======================================================
=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet,
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
              http://www.fsr.net/
          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================

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