Direct TV
Charged Lease Fee for DVR Purchased at Walmart

I purchased a DVR from Walmart in Jan 07 for use with Direct TV. No rebates were given. I called Direct TV and told them that I would like to have DVR service and that I had already purchased the DVR. Direct TV came out and completed installation of the DVR/Service.

The following billing showed that I was being charged a service fee for a DVR and a "leased" fee for a DVR. I called Direct TV, and their statement to me was that, yes, they are charging a fee for my "already owned" DVR and the service fee to actually use the system. I asked them, "What if I had not purchased the DVR by Direct TV from Walmart and had directly called them?" Their answer was, "You would be charged for leasing and service anyway."

But now get this: the representative for Direct TV said, "When you stop service with Direct TV you get to keep your DVR instead of sending back ours." Well, "slap me silly and post it with a sticky." Consumers, please tell me what need I would have for a Direct TV DVR after I cancel service. I put it in the form of a question to the representative and said, "So this is really a scam/rip off?" His answer was "Yes." I wish that I could have recorded the whole conversation.

Now to enlighten you HDTV potential users. It doesn't matter if your expensive HDTV has the tuner already built in. You still have to lease theirs in addition to the service. My suggestion is that you go to amazon.com and purchase an HDTV antenna for under $36.00 and get most of your local HD programs for FREE.

Company: Direct TV
Country: USA
State: North Carolina
City: Charlotte
Site: directv.com

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