I've been chucked

[douglasg]

I have been a tivo subscriber for 3+ years. I have 2 tivos and one of them is connected to a tv that is not working at the moment. (Part is on order)
There was a problem with my credit card and instead of sending me notification to my e-mail address or calling me on the phone, they send past due messages to the tivo where there is not a working tv.
My account was $6.95 and it went 30 days past due, so they canceled my account.
Now to re-establish my account on this tivo, I would have to commit to 1+ year of service to get the same price of $6.95.
So for $6.95 they have lost a customer. I will be finding another service or contacting comcast about their DVR options. I am disappointed that no one can do anything about this. I am partly to blame, but this is over $6.95 and 30 days.

See ya Tivo, I guess you have more customers and don't need me.

[MikeMar]

Call and see if you can get them to reinstate your account to where it was before, without a contract

[kenrlz2]

Call and see if you can get them to reinstate your account to where it was before, without a contract


Just make sure you watch your credit card statement to see what they actually charge you.

[douglasg]

I did call them and they said there was nothing they could do.
I see it more like nothing they are willing to do.

How am I supposed to get a message on a tivo connected to a tv that is currently not working?

[ZeoTiVo]

when my credit card expired they sent me an email. maybe their system is not set to email for other types of issues like being denied when they try to bill or whatever.

That does suck but they only asked for a year to get the 6.95 rate?
might be a computer system thing that needs someone higher up the ladder to override.

[gastrof]

I did call them and they said there was nothing they could do.
I see it more like nothing they are willing to do.

How am I supposed to get a message on a tivo connected to a tv that is currently not working?

TiVo has no way of knowing your TV's not working and that you couldn't get the message.

As for getting a different response to your request for reinstatement, have you tried contacting TiVoJerry or TiVoStephen here by way of a private message?

[douglasg]

TiVo has no way of knowing your TV's not working and that you couldn't get the message.

As for getting a different response to your request for reinstatement, have you tried contacting TiVoJerry or TiVoStephen here by way of a private message?


No. Because I didn't know this was an option. I am just disappointed in the lack of willingness to fix this from customer support.
Perhaps I should take a moment, cool down and re-evaluate the situation.

[Bonanzaair]

Perhaps I should take a moment, cool down and re-evaluate the situation.


Try customer service again, ask for a supervisor. Failing that ......A Comcast DVR over $6.95 a month for a year. We are talking less than $84 that you would have spent anyways on that Tivo box service. A Comcast DVR?????? Think about it.


Bonanza

[supasta]

Try customer service again, ask for a supervisor. Failing that ......A Comcast DVR over $6.95 a month for a year. We are talking less than $84 that you would have spent anyways on that Tivo box service. A Comcast DVR?????? Think about it.


Bonanza
Blasphemy.

[douglasg]

Try customer service again, ask for a supervisor. Failing that ......A Comcast DVR over $6.95 a month for a year. We are talking less than $84 that you would have spent anyways on that Tivo box service. A Comcast DVR?????? Think about it.


Bonanza

It's a principle thing. They lost a customer (and I am going to chuck my other tivo which makes this a $20 per month issue) over a policy I felt was unfair. Why should I have to commit for a year because they canceled my account over $6.95?

[gastrof]

...Why should I have to commit for a year because they canceled my account over $6.95?

Again, you may not have to.

Speak to a supervisor, or contact Pony, Jerry, or Stephen.

A side thought to consider:
Isn't it a technical point? Wouldn' t you have spent that year's worth of $6.95 payments anyway?

[Mickeygre]

Don't you have to sign up for 3 years to get the $6.96 MSD?

[supasta]

Why should I have to commit for a year because they canceled my account over $6.95?
Umm...maybe because your account would not have been canceled had you made the payments? Credit card problem or not. How in the world is this TiVo's fault? Seriously. You didn't pay your bills, they canceled your account. TiVo didn't have to send you reminder messages at all, whether or not you had a broken TV is besides the point.

[Bierboy]

Try customer service again, ask for a supervisor. Failing that ......A Comcast DVR over $6.95 a month for a year. We are talking less than $84 that you would have spent anyways on that Tivo box service. A Comcast DVR?????? Think about it.


BonanzaHideous.

[ddillard]

I would have to agree with the others here. Tivo has no way of knowing that you TV was not working, and I completely understand that as a business they cannot continue providing service if a customer does not pay their bill. And since it went on for more than 30 days than I can definitely agree with there being some form of "penalty" in this case asking you to make a commitement. In my area if you do not pay your utility bills and it gets disconnected you are forced to not only pay the balance due but have to pay a deposit in order to have the service reinstated. These deposits are usually a couple hundred bucks and you ususally have to pay another deposit if the service gets turned off again. By asking for the 1 year commitment that is Tivo's insurance that if they have to turn your service off again because of non payment then they have the recourse of charging the early termination fee.

[rdrrepair]

Perhaps I should take a moment, cool down and re-evaluate the situation.Your response sounds normal - relax, ask to speak to someone higher up the ladder. Explain the situation to someone else.

I feel for you, it doesn't sound right. If they offered to reinstate you for only $6.95 a month for a year service I would grab it in a heartbeat.

Good luck, please keep us posted on the outcome. I hope you don't ditch your TiVo's for a cable company DVR.

[douglasg]

I would have to agree with the others here. Tivo has no way of knowing that you TV was not working, and I completely understand that as a business they cannot continue providing service if a customer does not pay their bill. And since it went on for more than 30 days than I can definitely agree with there being some form of "penalty" in this case asking you to make a commitement. In my area if you do not pay your utility bills and it gets disconnected you are forced to not only pay the balance due but have to pay a deposit in order to have the service reinstated. These deposits are usually a couple hundred bucks and you ususally have to pay another deposit if the service gets turned off again. By asking for the 1 year commitment that is Tivo's insurance that if they have to turn your service off again because of non payment then they have the recourse of charging the early termination fee.
I understand what you are saying, I am not 100% clean on this, I just think a little flexibility would have shown good faith for a long time customer. Since they can't make that commitment why should I?
I will continue to use 1 tivo until I find an alternative source. Then they can take the 1 year commitment and run with it to someone else.

[ZeoTiVo]

I understand what you are saying, I am not 100% clean on this, I just think a little flexibility would have shown good faith for a long time customer. Since they can't make that commitment why should I?
I will continue to use 1 tivo until I find an alternative source. Then they can take the 1 year commitment and run with it to someone else.
but since the typical period for the 6.95 rate is 3 yearsit seems TiVo is showing some flexibility for something that is not of their doing.

[warrenn]

There was a problem with my credit card and instead of sending me notification to my e-mail address or calling me on the phone, they send past due messages to the tivo where there is not a working tv.
My account was $6.95 and it went 30 days past due, so they canceled my account.


Well, I think Tivo screwed you over. I would say that Tivo was completely in their right to suspend your account for non-payment. That is to be expected. But they should re-activate your account at the old rate. That is terrible customer service to force you into another payment plan.

Tivo is making a lot of assumptions that you will see the message on the screen. Maybe the Tivo was in a kid's room or a guest room. It is easy to imagine that the message would not be seen.

Like I said, I can't fault them for suspending your service, but it's a rotten thing to force you into a new payment plan without contacting you through a more reliable means. Like you said, they could have emailed or regular mailed you and the matter would have been resolved quickly.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

Umm...maybe because your account would not have been canceled had you made the payments? Credit card problem or not. How in the world is this TiVo's fault? Seriously. You didn't pay your bills, they canceled your account. TiVo didn't have to send you reminder messages at all, whether or not you had a broken TV is besides the point.

very true. no one can take responsibility for their own lives any more...

it has been reported consistently that Tivo emails you if they have a problem with your account, so between the nag screen/messages and email, you were probably more than adequately notified.

[Phantom Gremlin]

In my area if you do not pay your utility bills and it gets disconnected you are forced to not only pay the balance due but have to pay a deposit in order to have the service reinstated.
In the Portland Oregon metro area the utilities give relatively long grace periods, perhaps a total of 90 days, before they disconnect you. Not 30 days like above. They will even come to your door with a "5 day" notice before they disconnect you. :)

Back before the local utilities got greedy/smart and started charging penalties, it was cheaper for me to not pay for a few months and pay the "interest" on the balance due. E.g. I didn't use much power (before the days of computers running 24/7) and the interest was less than the price of a stamp.

So, how much is 1 months interest on a balance of $6.95? Seven cents? Which only proves that TiVo is being short sighted and greedy with their disconnection policy.

[Adam1115]

I have been a tivo subscriber for 3+ years. I have 2 tivos and one of them is connected to a tv that is not working at the moment. (Part is on order)
There was a problem with my credit card and instead of sending me notification to my e-mail address or calling me on the phone, they send past due messages to the tivo where there is not a working tv.
My account was $6.95 and it went 30 days past due, so they canceled my account.
Now to re-establish my account on this tivo, I would have to commit to 1+ year of service to get the same price of $6.95.
So for $6.95 they have lost a customer. I will be finding another service or contacting comcast about their DVR options. I am disappointed that no one can do anything about this. I am partly to blame, but this is over $6.95 and 30 days.

See ya Tivo, I guess you have more customers and don't need me.

First, your TV has been broken for THIRTY DAYS?

Second, you have two TiVo's, one of them is processing your credit card fine and the other one is declining?? :confused:

Third, You didn't KNOW your credit card didn't work for a MONTH? Don't they MAIL you statements??

Sounds like you might be a good candidate for the pre-paid plan so you don't have to worry about this. Most company's change you something for the hassle of chasing you down to pay your bill. I know the phone company charges you to reactivate your account, even if the bill was lost in the mail...

[ddillard]

My main thought on this is that, at least in my experience, Tivo charges for the service on the same date EVERY month. I know what days it is charged for each of the Tivo's that I own and I watch my account to make sure that they went through each time just as I do with any and all bills that I have to make sure that the payment was taken care of so that I don't have to deal with surprises. To me this is just part of being a responsible adult and I don't see any sense in getting upset because you did not pay your bill. Why should it be Tivo's responsibility to make extra effort to contact you to tell you that you owe them for the service when you already know when it is due.

[wolflord11]

I am still waiting for my $60 rebate from Tivo.

Was told April 13th I would get it, then Two Days later. Now its somewhere around the 15th of May.

I pay my bill every Month. Am in good standing, and have waited long enougth for a promised rebate.

Tivo are quick at taking your money, but getting it back is another story......

[MonkeyBoy668]

All rebate programs suck. Back before companies getting wise to their antics, the companies who ran programs would intentionally lose a large portion of all mailed in forms, because the company kept whatever funds were leftover after the rebate program ended. Basically your check probably isn't coming from Tivo, it should be coming from another company who is handling their rebates for them.

I can't tell you how many rebates I've perfectly filled out, included all the necessary items, only to never get a check. The one time I bothered to raise hell about it I was told "X was missing from the package, so your rebate couldn't be processed" when I damn well included X. It was the UPC code from the package or something equally inane. Hasn't happened in a few years, though they do like to take their sweet time - by the time the check arrives, I've forgotten all about it.

[TiVo Troll]

I understand what you are saying, I am not 100% clean on this, I just think a little flexibility would have shown good faith for a long time customer. Since they can't make that commitment why should I?
I will continue to use 1 tivo until I find an alternative source. Then they can take the 1 year commitment and run with it to someone else.

Hell, get a Comcast DVR and compare it with TiVo. Comcast's DVR costs more than $6.95 monthly but requires no service commitment and is probably a dual tuner hi-def model. At least see what you think of it. A lot depends on the S/W running it.

Too bad that TiVo wasn't gracious on this issue, assuming that you have an otherwise good payment record with them. If what you're stating is true, TiVo is within its rights, but isn't making a good business decision.

If a Forum TiVo rep. sees this thread and contacts you, that'd be a good thing, but you don't have to plead with them. Chalk it up to experience, and use the experience to compare TiVo's service with Comcast's. Who knows?

[riddick21]

Hey what service level does your TiVo say? I bought a TiVo off a guy on craigslist but instead of canceling his account he just cancelled his credit card. Now the TiVo is at level 6: Past Due and I can't add it to my account. After 30 Days when it goes from past due to cancelled does that free up the box so I can add it to my account? Oh and if anyone is wondering I tried to contact the guy but he's not responding.

[IHDB]

My main thought on this is that, at least in my experience, Tivo charges for the service on the same date EVERY month. I know what days it is charged for each of the Tivo's that I own and I watch my account to make sure that they went through each time just as I do with any and all bills that I have to make sure that the payment was taken care of so that I don't have to deal with surprises. To me this is just part of being a responsible adult and I don't see any sense in getting upset because you did not pay your bill. Why should it be Tivo's responsibility to make extra effort to contact you to tell you that you owe them for the service when you already know when it is due.You mean you take personal responsibility for managing something as important as your personal finances?

That sounds interesting, I'll have to look into that.

Seriously, I'm probably more anal than most, I keep track of all of my accounts in Quicken and update it at least once a week. All of my regularly scheduled transactions are scheduled to go on, so if the transaction doesn't clear within a few days it's immediately obvious that I have a problem. It takes me less then an hour a week to do, and I'm completely aware of any problems such as this one.

Now, if Tivo wants to do the "right thing", obviously they should reinstate your account, but that's not something that a first line CSR is going to be able to do.