Just scored a HR10-250 for -$9.91 from D*TV

[maynard900]

I just got off the phone with D. This is what they "finally" offered.
$599 HD DVR
-$200 Instant Rebate
-$250 Customer credit
-$20 for 6 months on programming
-$10.99 for 3 months for HD programing
free shipping and installation.
Total cost = they owe me $9.91 LOL

It took 3 calls to get this deal. I called this number each time 1-800-824-9081.
The first time I called and said I just got a HD TV and was wanting to switch to HD and asked what they offered. They said $599 less $200 instant rebate. That was the best they could do. I told them I was going to call around and see if I could get a better deal through cable and hung up.

The second time I called I told them I was thinking of switching to cable because they offer a HDDVR and HD service for $12.99 month. (rent the receiver)
They then offered a $100 credit and 3 months free HD ($10.99) and -$20 per month for 6 months.
I said that was a good offer but still I could not justify paying $299 for a receiver I could get for free somewhere else. She then raised the customer credit to $150 and said that was the best she could do. I told her to enter this deal in my file and that I would call back later after I called and checked again with my local cable company.

The third time I called I told the operator to cancel my account. She asked if there was a problem. I told her about the deal they offered and I could do alot better with cable. She said she might be able to get me a better deal and put me on hold. When she came back on she was able to give me a $250 customer credit. She said that was the maximum allowed and I agreed. It will be installed on 1-24-06. I can't wait!! :D

[sdchrgrboy]

I just got off the phone with D. This is what they "finally" offered.
$599 HD DVR
-$200 Instant Rebate
-$250 Customer credit
-$20 for 6 months on programming
-$10.99 for 3 months for HD programing
free shipping and installation.
Total cost = they owe me $9.91 LOL

It took 3 calls to get this deal. I called this number each time 1-800-824-9081.
The first time I called and said I just got a HD TV and was wanting to switch to HD and asked what they offered. They said $599 less $200 instant rebate. That was the best they could do. I told them I was going to call around and see if I could get a better deal through cable and hung up.

The second time I called I told them I was thinking of switching to cable because they offer a HDDVR and HD service for $12.99 month. (rent the receiver)
They then offered a $100 credit and 3 months free HD ($10.99) and -$20 per month for 6 months.
I said that was a good offer but still I could not justify paying $299 for a receiver I could get for free somewhere else. She then raised the customer credit to $150 and said that was the best she could do. I told her to enter this deal in my file and that I would call back later after I called and checked again with my local cable company.

The third time I called I told the operator to cancel my account. She asked if there was a problem. I told her about the deal they offered and I could do alot better with cable. She said she might be able to get me a better deal and put me on hold. When she came back on she was able to give me a $250 customer credit. She said that was the maximum allowed and I agreed. It will be installed on 1-24-06. I can't wait!! :D
Big Deal, you got hosed. I got a much better deal than that. Do a search

[chudel]

Less luck for me. I received the offer of $200 instant rebate and $100 credit on the first call -- everyone gets 3 months free HD by the way -- but on my second call, the CSR wouldn't budge, and told me all the "evils" of cable. I also tried unsuccessfully to argue that their "hundreds of HD" channels was misleading because most of them are spot broadcasts for local HD. She insisted they were going to offer hundreds of HD channels with their newest satellite.

I don't have the "guts" to call and cancel -- wife would kill me if I left the child without noggin -- if I needed to call their bluff. And really, cable does suck. :)

But congrats and best of luck to you. Also, you should probably indicate the committment you made (if any - but likely 2 year).

[aktick]

How long have you guys been customers? I'm going to call and see what I can get, I've been a customer for over 12 years now. With my luck they'll try charging me the old $1000 price for it :p.

[chudel]

You will probably have better luck - I have only been a customer for 3 years, and most of that has been spent with their "Total Choice + Locals" tier, which doesn't have much PPV/HBO/profit attached.

Cheers!

[maynard900]

You got a better deal? Let's see what kind of deal you got.
#244865

In that thread you stated this:

"Just purchased my 2nd HR10-250 from Best Buy, $699.99 - less 50% off coupon, plus tax $377.11, less $250 D* retention credit, plus HD package free for 6 mos. ($65.94) and HBO for $2 for 6 Mos ($60) equals a grand total of $1.17. God I love D*"

Maybe I am missing something. I got free Installion and a free antenna for locals, did you?
Maybe you have a different way of doing math than I?
I just don't think you got a better deal. If you did please post it.

[maynard900]

I forgot to mention there is a 2 year commitment. They would not waive that. I have been a customer for 5 years now.

[Ed_Hunt]

nyah, nyah , nyah, (sticks out tongue) and my dad can beat up your dad.
come on kids, grow up.

[aktick]

Maynard - what programming is your "-$20 per month for 6 months"?

I just called, and was offered basically what you got offered during your 2nd call - $200 instant rebate, $100 credit, HBO for $2 for 6 months, Showtime free for 6 months, and of course the free HD package fro 3 months.

So that works out to about $300 before the programming, $150 after programming rebates.

As soon as she saw how long I've been a customer, she gave me the $100 credit.

What did the CSR you talked to sound like? Was it an older middle-aged woman? I just don't want to call and start asking them to cancel my account and have them follow through with it :D.

[maynard900]

The -$20 a month for 6 months is a $20 credit off of my programming package.
All three people I talked to sounded like middle aged women. I would call back and see if you could get a bigger cust credit. Be nice. If you threaten cancelling and they will not give a better deal then just tell them you will call back after you talk it over with your wife.

[maynard900]

I forgot to mention I have the premium package. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

[toneman]

maynard900--please don't take this the wrong way, but when you closely analyze your deal...D* doesn't really "owe" you $9.91 (I assume the $9.91 credit includes S/H--otherwise the numbers you provided don't calculate to -$9.91). How folks reckon that they wind up being "owed" any money from D* is hilarious...unless they're saying that in the sense that their net cost is that.

When you read between the lines regarding deals such as the one maynard900 posted, you'll find that in reality D* does not "owe" you money...you just wind up paying less out of pocket. I mean, if D* really owes you $9.91 or whatever...does that mean they're gonna send you a check for $9.91 or perhaps credit $9.91 to your account? Not even close...

Look at maynard's deal--first off, he has to pay $149 out of pocket for the DVR (other previous credits notwithstanding); then, the $20 is taken off your bill each month--not all at once...and ditto the $10.99 for HD. So I ask...how is it that D* is "giving" you back any money at all? Unless you have some massive monthly credits owed you on a monthly basis, wouldn't you still wind up paying D* anyway...only less than you normally would?

I'm just nitpicking (i.e., arguing semantics) so please don't think I'm trying to make a big issue out of this; I'm happy that some of you folks are scoring HD Tivos for a net profit when all is said and done, but it cracks me up that some of these folks view it as D* owing them money...for the most part, such is clearly further from the truth. ;)

[maynard900]

Yes, I got free S&H and a free local antenna. I think they charge somewhere around $40 for that. I did not even include that in my post.
I am not stupid and I am sure no one reading this is. I know that they do not actually owe me money. I was just being funny. But, in the long run I will save $9 and have a HD DVR.
It is a win/win situation for anyone who gets a deal like this.

[Stanley Rohner]

No matter what you got, someone else got a better deal.

When I signed up for DIRECTV last month they gave me a free car.

[txfeinbergs]

They sent a hooker to my house.

[Jotas]

They sent a hooker to my house.

Dang how did I miss the car and free hooker deals? I should've just held out! :D

[Cubfan]

Gosh, by this logic, since I don't have HBO and Showtime, D* is paying me $20 a month. Wow, that's really cool!

[MTW1961]

Well, I appreciate the original post, being one who has waited a long time with no HD DVR. I'm getting ready to call and I like hearing the latest anecdotes of what others were offered.

Thanks, maynard!

[aeisner007]

I guess nobody got a car with a hooker inside and a monthly stipend.

[aktick]

Just called back after "checking with my wife."

I ended up getting:

$600 HD-Tivo
-$200 customer credit
-$200 mail-in rebate (I'm going to get my own at BB so I can have it ASAP)
-$60 ($5 off bill for 12 months)
-$33 HD Programming 3 months
-$60 ($2 HBO for 6 months)
-$60 Free Showtime for 6 months

No shipping/handling since I'm getting my own.

Total of about -$13.

Granted, I probably wouldn't have had Showtime, so that $60 isn't really "savings." Not getting the instant credit by purchasing at BB kind of sucks, but now I'll have it tonight at least...paying $600 now instead of $400 does stink though.

I kind of threatened to leave for Dish Network because of their cheaper HD-DVR and more HD choices, and she offered the extra $100 credit and $5 off for 12 months, which got me close to $0 and satisfied.

Thanks for the phone # and info Maynard :up:.

[Jotas]

I guess nobody got a car with a hooker inside and a monthly stipend.

You never know, there might be an onslaught of calls to D* inquring about the retention deals mentioned here.

"But a friend of mine got the hooker/car deal, just throw in the monthly stipend and I'll sign on for another year!"

[Andy in NYC]

You're an IDIOT!
All of us know that to get all three you need to sign on for a TWO year commitment.

(Whether that mean being committed, committed to the hooker for two years, or somthing else entirely, however, I don't know).

I do know that I got in on the $299 deal with $100 rebate, $150 credit, $20 off on movies and $5 off on HD (both for 6 months); got something else too, but I can't remember. I did pay for shipping.

Now that I have a pair of 400 GB drives in the machine (a replacement - the original quickly had an HDMI failure), I LOVE my HD DTivo. Seems that most of the stuff we record is off the antenna, though. Wonder if a hack will come along to allow continued use once DTV kills this model?

You never know, there might be an onslaught of calls to D* inquring about the retention deals mentioned here.

"But a friend of mine got the hooker/car deal, just throw in the monthly stipend and I'll sign on for another year!"

[willardcpa]

...free hooker deals? I should've just held out! :D
If you do that what good is the hooker? ;)

[carlivar]

I just tried myself. I don't think I had as much leverage as some folks because I've only been a basic package subscriber for 3+ years. Though I have had Sunday Ticket every year.

The first time I tried a month ago I could only get the $300 HD Tivo price and nothing else. This time they did that, plus $20 off Total Choice Premier for 6 months and the usual 3 free months of the HD package.

What's interesting is she was talking all about MPEG4 and a 5-LNB dish at first. Of course no DVR yet for that, so I told her I wanted the current DVR and an upgrade later. But it's nice to hear them talking about MPEG4.

Carl

[EMoMoney]

Yawn!!

[cheer]

Why would I want the hooker from DirecTV? Have you seen the hookers they use? They're slow and running an old version of the software, and stupid D* refuses to upgrade them.

They also, erm, have some ports that DirecTV hasn't enabled.

OK, I'll stop now. No, wait. I also heard that the hookers are difficult to hack. OK, now I'm done.

[cardpetree]

Big Deal, you got hosed. I got a much better deal than that. Do a search
Originally Posted by maynard900
I just got off the phone with D. This is what they "finally" offered.
$599 HD DVR
-$200 Instant Rebate
-$250 Customer credit
-$20 for 6 months on programming
-$10.99 for 3 months for HD programing
free shipping and installation.
Total cost = they owe me $9.91 LOL


I got the same deal yesterday except -$300 customer credit and Showtime free for 6 months. They're both good deals though and I ended up talking to about 8 different people. Some of those CSR's will not budge.

[JJA]

I'll bet you can't wait to watch the playoffs and Super Bowl in HD. oops, I forgot, no networks on D* in HD. Well maybe if you put a big antenna on your roof you can get OTA

[ADG]

Why does everyone have to be so damned rude?

[gthorson]

Why do people have to unnecessarily curse? :)

[cardpetree]

I'll bet you can't wait to watch the playoffs and Super Bowl in HD. oops, I forgot, no networks on D* in HD. Well maybe if you put a big antenna on your roof you can get OTA


Not a problem bud, got a DB4 on the roof and the farthest TV station from my house is 9 miles. All my networks come in crystal clear. I preciate the concern though.

[sdchrgrboy]

You got a better deal? Let's see what kind of deal you got.
#244865

In that thread you stated this:

"Just purchased my 2nd HR10-250 from Best Buy, $699.99 - less 50% off coupon, plus tax $377.11, less $250 D* retention credit, plus HD package free for 6 mos. ($65.94) and HBO for $2 for 6 Mos ($60) equals a grand total of $1.17. God I love D*"

Maybe I am missing something. I got free Installion and a free antenna for locals, did you?
Maybe you have a different way of doing math than I?
I just don't think you got a better deal. If you did please post it.
Did you add in the $100 I just got because I called and said I never got my rebate check? Or The $250 I got for selling my Samsung 360 on ebat which I got for free from D*.?

[Montana Man]

Ha you guys want to know the best deal?

I got on the bandwagon back in october. I got the $299 deal with $100 mail in rebate. They gave me:

Free HD pack for 6 months = $66
$20 off bill for 6 months = $120

Not so good yet right. Well they screwed up my install 2 times netting me another $200 in credit. Then they screwed up my OTA antenna so they gave me another $50 credit. Then i talked them into a free Superfan upgrade for Sunday Ticket.

Best part of the whole deal is that somewhere in the mess of all that went on over the 2 weeks i tried to get this installed they totally forgot to bill me for the HD Tivo unit and the OTA antenna.

So in the end i got $436 in credits and was never charged for the Tivo. Also a free superfan pack worth $99.

So in essence Dtv paid me $535 to install my HR10-250. Now i didnt send in the rebate thinking that that may be overkill. But now they keep sending me the rebate form saying i forgot to submit it. I still dont think ill send that in since i never paid for the unit but i find it funny that they keep trying to get me to submit it.

[toneman]

...Best part of the whole deal is that somewhere in the mess of all that went on over the 2 weeks i tried to get this installed they totally forgot to bill me for the HD Tivo unit and the OTA antenna.

So in the end i got $436 in credits and was never charged for the Tivo. Also a free superfan pack worth $99.

So in essence Dtv paid me $535 to install my HR10-250. Now i didnt send in the rebate thinking that that may be overkill. But now they keep sending me the rebate form saying i forgot to submit it. I still dont think ill send that in since i never paid for the unit but i find it funny that they keep trying to get me to submit it.
Now when you say that D* "forgot to bill" you for the HD Tivo--is that statement confirmed by the fact that your D* billing statement(s) have yet to reflect the fact that you indeed ordered/purchased an HD Tivo from them? I know you said that you'd probably not bother sending in for the rebate--probably just as well since one of the requirements for qualifiying for the rebate is that you need to show valid proof of purchase of the HD Tivo unit. OTOH--if you do decide to tempt fate and send in for the rebate...maybe D* might get lazy and not bother validating the order confirmation letter (which can be submitted in lieu of an original dated receipt if you ordered your unit directly from D*--this assuming you don't have a receipt to begin with) you send in as proof of purchase. But...if they do attempt to cross-check your receipt/letter and find out that indeed you hadn't been billed for the HD Tivo? Better you not send in for the rebate... :D