Posting the same thing in multiple forums is unethical too.

 

15. Termination of Service. Subject to any Service Commitment to which you may be bound, you may terminate your account, this Agreement, and your right to use the TiVo service, at any time and for any reason or no reason, by contacting TiVo Customer Support at 1-877-367-8486. Please note that without a subscription to the TiVo service, your TiVo DVR will not work! Please see Section 7, above. The TiVo service will be terminated at the end of the service period for which you have paid and unused subscription fees are nonrefundable. If you terminate your account or this Agreement before meeting any applicable Service Commitment, TiVo reserves the right to charge you the early termination fee agreed to by you at the time you subscribed to the TiVo service. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, TiVo retains the absolute right to immediately suspend or terminate your account, and terminate this Agreement, if the charges to your credit card for the fees described in Section 9 ("Subscription Fees and Service Commitment") and Section 11 ("Payment Authorization") are refused for any reason, if you breach any provision in this Agreement, if you misuse the TiVo service, and/or if you alter your TiVo DVR or use the TiVo service or software in such a manner as to infringe upon the intellectual property rights of TiVo or any third party. In addition, TiVo reserves the right to terminate your account and this Agreement for any other reason or no reason if TiVo gives you at least 30 days advance notice of such termination. Upon any such termination of your account, you will remain obligated to pay all outstanding fees and charges relating to your use of the TiVo service before termination.

Here is the full agreement:
http://www.tivo.com/abouttivo/policies/tivoserviceagreement.html

You should have just used it for the rest of the term instead of beating it to death.

Robb

 

I'm not seeing the unethical part.

 

Next time read the agreement. You can read right?

 

Wah Wah

 

The TiVo service will be terminated at the end of the service period for which you have paid and unused subscription fees are nonrefundable.

Wouldn't this imply that there would not be an auto renewel?

 

Wouldn't this imply that there would not be an auto renewel?

By failing to cancel before the end of his first year and letting Tivo auto renew by however few days, his second annual took effect. That is what the OP is in now, his second annual.

Robb

 

Maybe I'm reading his post wrong, but was he automatically renewed for a second year without his knowledge after a one year subscription expired? If so, that's something to complain about, but I can't really tell what he's saying.

Edit: Just saw that it says on the website that it will auto renew, guess you have to know what you're getting into.

 

This is typical for annual service contracts, auto renewal is very common. Pay attention and cancel any service you don't want and read any agreements you enter into. TiVo has followed the written terms of the agreement, no big surprise really. Try to get your credit card company to reverse the charge, otherwise I don't think there is much you can do since it isn't against the law to offer and enter into such agreements.

 

There isn't really anything unethical going on.

I would say that it is unfortunate that they don't offer pro-rated refunds for unused subscription time, but they don't, and it is pretty clearly spelled out in the contract as noted above. They also do note that the contract auto-renews, as many annual service contracts do.

I would also say that it would be better customer service if they sent a TiVo Message, email or postal mail message letting a customer know that their subscription is about to be auto-renewed, but again, they don't. This still isn't unethical, it's just unfortunate.

Depending on which TiVo you have (or had, if you weren't being a bit melodramatic when you mentioned you had a temper tantrum and destroyed and discarded the unit), it may in fact still be good for recording your OTA broadcast channels, so you could at least make the best of an unfortunate situation and continue to record OTA programming.

 

There isn't really anything unethical going on.

I would say it is unethical.

ANYONE who autocharges my credit card is unethical.

I HATE those companies. I would dispute it with my credit card.

 

I would say it is unethical.

ANYONE who autocharges my credit card is unethical.

I HATE those companies. I would dispute it with my credit card.

Even if they tell you beforehand that they will do it?

 

I would say it is unethical.

ANYONE who autocharges my credit card is unethical.

I HATE those companies. I would dispute it with my credit card.

Even if they tell you beforehand that they will do it?

And you agree to it?

It's not like they're doing it without your permission or knowledge.

 

OP just sell it on ebay or something.

 

...Come to find out they already charged my account for another year and regardless of the fact that I have not used and do not intend to use (my device is destroyed and in the trash, after the phone conversation I had)...

OP just sell it on ebay or something.

Too late. Ignorance begets ignorance.

 

I think most companies would do the refund in good faith....Tivo is not most companies. They have arguably some of the worst customer service in the industry.

 

I don't see why they would need to. The OP is an adult and needs to take ownership of their own situation. Just need to take their lumps and sell it on ebay or something.

I think most companies would do the refund in good faith....Tivo is not most companies. They have arguably some of the worst customer service in the industry.

 

If tivo is a scam then i like scams

I just tried to cancel service that I have not used in 2 months. Come to find out TiVo is a scam. You buy a unit that is useless until you get a subscription. Once I did get the subscription I decided to pay in advance for a year. Currently, I have moved from the location I used the TiVo device and decided since I have other pressing issues taken care of I would call TiVo and cancel service. Come to find out they already charged my account for another year and regardless of the fact that I have not used and do not intend to use (my device is destroyed and in the trash, after the phone conversation I had) they will not pro-rate my card from today forward for service I already paid for. They would cancel any further transactions, we will see. Now I have to wait and see instead of having peace of mind that this service is cancelled.

I moved 8/1/2010 and was charged 8/12/2010; I had no idea since it had been over a year with signing up with this company. Filling a Better Business Bureau complaint and not recommending TiVo to anyone, unless I do not like them. TiVo was great until the phone conversation I had today. I cannot believe if a customer pays in advance, they do not have the option to cancel, lesson learned, thanks TiVo. I get it and this will never happen again, you lost a customer that really liked your service.

I hope in this technological age your service becomes obsolete and you go bankrupt. If I did have a contract that was fulfilled and anything after 8/12/2010 should be able to be refunded. This is not the case. TiVo did not e-mail current charges (all TiVo e-mails go into a TiVo folder). I was asking to cancel today 10/21/2010 and prorate forward since I paid in advance and only have over the air TV and Netflix I stream through my Wii. What should have been a simple ending of relationship has become an issue for me and I do not like it or TiVo service anymore.

 

A service contract is a service contract. I can think of dozens of other services (cellphones, insurance policies, cable television, internet service, web hosting, ...) that work the same way. I don't always like it, but it is what it is.

If you were charged on 8/12/2010, why did you not contact them until 10/21/2010? That is well in excess of a billing cycle on your credit card. I would expect a company to be reasonably understanding within 30 days of the transaction, but waiting over 2 months and then asking for a refund is probably a stretch.

You can always try a dispute through your credit card company, but that is a long and tedious process, and you're already on the wrong side of the legal argument regarding the service contract.

You should not call something a "scam" unless it is in fact a scam.

 

I would say it is unethical. ANYONE who autocharges my credit card is unethical. I HATE those companies. I would dispute it with my credit card.

When YOU give THEM permission to automatically renew it becomes YOUR responsibility. Wake up.

 

I don't see why they would need to. The OP is an adult and needs to take ownership of their own situation. Just need to take their lumps and sell it on ebay or something.

I do agree with you that Tivo shouldn't have to refund. Most companies just do though....... Just one more thing that sets Tivo apart from the rest of the world I guess.....

 

I wish I could get a refund of the time I just wasted reading this post.

 

I wish I could get a refund of the time I just wasted reading this post.

The TOS for the Internet clearly notes there will be people who display their ignorance without giving any warning and indeed are likely very unaware they are displaying their ignorance for all to see.

 

I wish I could get a refund of the time I just wasted reading this post.

 

I get a postcard from Sirius prior to my credit card being charged for an annual renewal.

Some states require notification prior to auto charging a renewal of a year or more.

You dispute a credit card transaction within 60 days after the bill with the dispute is mailed to you.

A dispute is not a tedious process. Some credit cards let you do it online.

Charging a credit card for an annual renewal without a reminder is unethical. Might be illegal.