Tivo wont let me get lifetime subscription>DTV Tivo transfer

[jrod9707]

Hey guys kinda annoyed at Tivo CS. I called a week ago and the guy I spoke to said if I bought a Tivo HD and wanted to purchase the lifetime subscription it was ok even if I had a Directv Tivo unit.So of course I bought it everything works great and called CS to activate and the lady there said that the unit does not transfer and i cannot purchase the lifetime subscription. I'm Frustrated and would like your guys comments about this.

[dswallow]

The lifetime TRANSFER offer specifically excluded DirecTV w/TiVo units... anyway that offer's over (or rather you have to have bought the unit by 11/8/2007; there's still time to do the transfer). That was for $199.

You can however buy Lifetime directly right now as long as you have an existing TiVo receiver... which you may not since it's a DirecTV w/TiVo you have... so you'd need to buy and activate another receiver first, or find someone who already has a TiVo receiver who's willing to buy the unit for you and buy lifetime for it then transfer it to your account. That offer is for $399.

[bicker]

Always get any assurances that are critical to your purchase in writing.

[jrod9707]

The lifetime TRANSFER offer specifically excluded DirecTV w/TiVo units... anyway that offer's over (or rather you have to have bought the unit by 11/8/2007; there's still time to do the transfer). That was for $199.

You can however buy Lifetime directly right now as long as you have an existing TiVo receiver... which you may not since it's a DirecTV w/TiVo you have... so you'd need to buy and activate another receiver first, or find someone who already has a TiVo receiver who's willing to buy the unit for you and buy lifetime for it then transfer it to your account. That offer is for $399.

I was commenting at the annoyance of TIVO's cs reps, and after I hung up I looked up the fine print and sure enough DTV doesn't qualify. And I dont have any friends that have Tivo's so I'm out of that option. I could buy another unit activate it and then buy the lifetime for another and return the original(cancel the service 30 return) but god knows Tivo would probably at some point cancel my lifetime for dishonesty then I'd really be out $400 with no subscription.

[bkdtv]

The representative was just confused. DirecTV handles all the support questions for the DirecTivos; Tivo's customer service reps don't know much about them.

When you paid for lifetime on the DirecTivo, you paid that money to DirecTV. TiVo didn't see that money.

[jrod9707]

The representative was just confused. DirecTV handles all the support questions for the DirecTivos; Tivo's customer service reps don't know much about them.

When you paid for lifetime on the DirecTivo, you paid that money to DirecTV. TiVo didn't see that money.

No I never paid for lifetime on the DTV tivo I still pay $5.99 a month for the unit. I just wanted to now buy the Lifetime on the HD Tivo for $399.

[bkdtv]

No I never paid for lifetime on the DTV tivo I still pay $5.99 a month for the unit. I just wanted to now buy the Lifetime on the HD Tivo for $399.Ahhh, I see.

[Combat Medic]

The representative was just confused. DirecTV handles all the support questions for the DirecTivos; Tivo's customer service reps don't know much about them.

When you paid for lifetime on the DirecTivo, you paid that money to DirecTV. TiVo didn't see that money.

Actually, originally the DirecTiVos had the lifetime paid to TiVo.

[CrispyCritter]

Actually, originally the DirecTiVos had the lifetime paid to TiVo.As far as I know, that's an urban legend. It's been rather conclusively disproved by TiVo (e.g., the person in charge of the billing system at the time has commented on it). I've gone through the DirecTiVo messages in the archive here and the policy in the messages here was payment to DirecTV from the beginning. The last I heard, the jury was still out on the possibility of a handful of people having their payments mistakenly taken by a TiVo rep in the first few days, and that might have been handled behind the scenes by TiVo; but even that has never been confirmed.

[bizzy]

I've owned a Philips DSR700 SD DirecTivo and the HR10-250. Neither time did I have any interaction with Tivo for subscription payments; just DirecTV. I've always wondered what folks were talking about when they mention they had lifetime on a DirecTivo.

[dswallow]

I've owned a Philips DSR700 SD DirecTivo and the HR10-250. Neither time did I have any interaction with Tivo for subscription payments; just DirecTV. I've always wondered what folks were talking about when they mention they had lifetime on a DirecTivo.

DirecTV used to offer a lifetime subscription on the DirecTV w/TiVo receiver. Very early on, a handful of people paid TiVo directly for this subscription, who then notified DirecTV of the payment, but for the most part once the ordering system was established, people paid the fees directly to DirecTV.

[JJ]

I've owned a Philips DSR700 SD DirecTivo and the HR10-250. Neither time did I have any interaction with Tivo for subscription payments; just DirecTV. I've always wondered what folks were talking about when they mention they had lifetime on a DirecTivo.

I was
one of those very early adopters and TiVo would not consider this as a qualified lifetime account. Clearly this is in line with policy but another example of TiVo forgetting those of us who were there at the beginning. DirecTV lost me when they tried to replace my DirecTiVo with the horrible HR20-700 long before it was ready for primetime (no comment about it ever being ready) that turned us towards Dish Network as the most TiVo-like option...

[Phantom Gremlin]

... that turned us towards Dish Network as the most TiVo-like option...
According to TiVo lawyers, Dish Network is just a little *too* TiVo-like. :)

[JJ]

According to TiVo lawyers, Dish Network is just a little *too* TiVo-like. :)

I can
easily see that. Thats why I only lease receivers. If there is a future issue I plan on returning them since I have no commitment and would take advantage of Comcast for a "deal" to leave satellite...

[BMoreE]

I have an identical story (we probably talked to the same guy the first time.) I specifically asked him "if I have DirecTivo, I can still buy this lifetime?" and he assured me I could.

So after buying the unit and THEN spending an hour on the phone last week I finally got a floor supervisor to submit my case to "special investigations" or something. I tried explaining that I wanted to just pay the $399 (which is the exact same price that I'd end up spending by purchasing their new HD Gift offer + unit + wireless) but he just didn't have a way in their system to make it happen. I'm still in Tivo Limbo waiting for this to get resolved (and when I call CS to find out the status, I have to go through the whole discussion over again in order to get through to someone... "no, I don't want the 3-year plan, let me explain..."

Very frustrating - they're doing their best to try to lose a LONG time customer who has bought numerous lifetime subs for relatives, but wasn't smart enough to buy one for myself! (and one that will likely spend more with them later if they just do the right thing!) I told them as much.

[IJustLikeTivo]

The representative was just confused. DirecTV handles all the support questions for the DirecTivos; Tivo's customer service reps don't know much about them.

When you paid for lifetime on the DirecTivo, you paid that money to DirecTV. TiVo didn't see that money.

Nope. Tivo got my money.

[IJustLikeTivo]

As far as I know, that's an urban legend. It's been rather conclusively disproved by TiVo (e.g., the person in charge of the billing system at the time has commented on it). I've gone through the DirecTiVo messages in the archive here and the policy in the messages here was payment to DirecTV from the beginning. The last I heard, the jury was still out on the possibility of a handful of people having their payments mistakenly taken by a TiVo rep in the first few days, and that might have been handled behind the scenes by TiVo; but even that has never been confirmed.

Semantics. My CC bill had Tivo on it when I paid for the lifetime since I didn't buy it from Tivo. I don't much care who they then sent that money to.

[MoneySink]

More suckers getting fleeced.

"On January 1st 2008, Tivo will be charging $2.99 everytime a user accesses their website. This includes page refreshes."

[BiloxiGeek]

More suckers getting fleeced.

"On January 1st 2008, Tivo will be charging $2.99 everytime a user accesses their website. This includes page refreshes."

Ok, I'll bite. Where did you read this or did you just feel like throwing out a troll here?

[scandia101]

I have an identical story (we probably talked to the same guy the first time.) I specifically asked him "if I have DirecTivo, I can still buy this lifetime?" and he assured me I could.

So after buying the unit and THEN spending an hour on the phone last week I finally got a floor supervisor to submit my case to "special investigations" or something. I tried explaining that I wanted to just pay the $399 (which is the exact same price that I'd end up spending by purchasing their new HD Gift offer + unit + wireless) but he just didn't have a way in their system to make it happen. I'm still in Tivo Limbo waiting for this to get resolved (and when I call CS to find out the status, I have to go through the whole discussion over again in order to get through to someone... "no, I don't want the 3-year plan, let me explain..."

Very frustrating - they're doing their best to try to lose a LONG time customer who has bought numerous lifetime subs for relatives, but wasn't smart enough to buy one for myself! (and one that will likely spend more with them later if they just do the right thing!) I told them as much.

Those other people that you bought lifetime subscriptions for have qualifying accounts to purchase a $399 Tivo HD lifetime subscription. That subscription can then be transfered to another account.

[bizzy]

I've had an easier time solving a Rubik's cube than figuring out how to pay for my tivo without getting ripped off. They are making Comcast look like Mother Theresa.