# Buyer Beware when purchasing "Owned" DIRECTV receivers



## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

It appears that times may be changing and one should be very cautious if purchasing an Owned DIRECTV receiver from a DIRECTV employee. I am not a DIRECTV employee so I don't know all of the rules they have to follow but it looks like if you purchase a receiver from an (Ex)employee that you may not be able to activate it.

ADMIN EDIT: This thread is for discussion purposes only. This is not official information from DirecTV therefore it must be considered rumor. With that said, it is highly suggested to do your homework before buying ANY receiver.


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## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

As long as the employee is an EX employee and one that has owned equipment, it is transferable. AFTER seperation of employment, you can purchase/activate it IF the account is in good standing. Some peeps work for DTV in a contracted position that may involve different rules. If in doubt always call DTV and ask for the Access Card Department. Before shelling out any $$$


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## iceturkee (Apr 1, 2007)

Not anymore.. New policy but former employees can no longer sell their stuff. Dtv will not activate.


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## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

> Not anymore.. New policy but former employees can no longer sell their stuff. Dtv will not activate


NOT true FORMER employees can sell their equip if they own it, and in some cases like vendors or HSP's they don't ......CURRENT employees can't sell their equip or even trade it...


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

Bottom line is: Always get the Receiver ID number (RID), then call the access card department and ask whether or not you could activate the unit if you purchased it. This applies to any used, allegedly owned, receiver/DVR whether it is from a former employee, on an auction site, or in a yard sale.


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## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

^+1 good call


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

I would follow Scotts advice on this one.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

I have added the following to the first post in this thread:

This thread is for discussion purposes only. This is not official information from DirecTV therefore it must be considered rumor. With that said, it is highly suggested to do your homework before buying ANY receiver.


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## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

^werd!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Chris Blount said:


> I have added the following to the first post in this thread:
> 
> This thread is for discussion purposes only. This is not official information from DirecTV therefore it must be considered rumor. With that said, it is highly suggested to do your homework before buying ANY receiver.


This is the correct number to call to get the Access Card Dept.: 877-887-7994. I wouldn't trust anyone else when it comes to buying an owned HR. Most of the HRs for sale on eBay are leased. I call a few times a week about them and I haven't seen an owned HR (a model that I would buy) in quite a while. Some of the folks that sell them on a regular basis (have no idea where they get them) I never check, but the prices are too high for those. I think.

Rich


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## iceturkee (Apr 1, 2007)

go to the former dtv employee selling equipment thread in the buy, sell, trade thread. in addition to my comments, there is a comment from a dtv employee and a dbstalk member who was told he couldn't activate the equipment he recently purchased from a former employee.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

iceturkee said:


> Not anymore.. New policy but former employees can no longer sell their stuff. Dtv will not activate.


I dont think that is a clear cut answer. What if I own my recievers and then I start working with DirecTV? I should still own what I owned before I started with them.


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## AntAltMike (Nov 21, 2004)

Since nearly all "new" DirecTV receivers have been leased rather than owned for several years now, what are we talking about here? Some old Hughes HAH series and maybe some Sony TIVOs? It is my understanding that the impetus for still buying receivers is to get the model that one wants, which DirecTV cannot or will not arrange, so it seems implausible that an employee would have "bought" his receiver from DirecTV rather than taking the leased model, since he would not get the benefit of guaranteeing the model he received.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

AntAltMike said:


> Since nearly all "new" DirecTV receivers have been leased rather than owned for several years now, what are we talking about here? Some old Hughes HAH series and maybe some Sony TIVOs? It is my understanding that the impetus for still buying receivers is to get the model that one wants, which DirecTV cannot or will not arrange, so it seems implausible that an employee would have "bought" his receiver from DirecTV rather than taking the leased model, since he would not get the benefit of guaranteeing the model he received.


There are some things you are not getting here. Someone could leasea HR34, cancel it and not send it back, then pay the DNF fee and own it. They could have owned equipment and have a older unit replaced with a HR24 and then start working for DirecTV. There ae ways. Seems like some are being way to narrow minded. Things are possible.


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## iceturkee (Apr 1, 2007)

joshjr said:


> I dont think that is a clear cut answer. What if I own my recievers and then I start working with DirecTV? I should still own what I owned before I started with them.


anything that dtv would give you gratis while you are employed would not be eligible to be sold, even after you terminated your employment. that's what two people on the customer advocacy team told me. take it however you want.


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## AnonomissX (Jun 29, 2006)

I don't think anyone really wants the deactivated Hughes SD-HBH's I have lying around somewhere, LOL!


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Going full circle back to the original post.

It is clear the intent of this information was to alert folks here to be *aware* of a rumored change in policy for DirecTV employees (they used to get equipment as owned and could sell it as owned, regardless of being a current or past employee), as well as the fact that purchasing any receiver or DVR as an "owned" unit carries some risk. The only exception to any risk is buying it from DirecTV, but that will likely be at full retail price.

It can be done (I just bought an HD DVR in the past 60 days, and *all* my equipment is owned), but extra effort and research is part of that purchasing process. I am not affiliated with nor an employee of DirecTV. You should also plan that a $20 new Access Card will be required for any new owned hardware you buy, as activating a previous owner card is no longer an option.

Since DirecTV has been leasing equipment, *especially the newer hardware *for many years now...owned equipment is getting to be far less common.

As a "buyer beware" post, readers should simply heed the recommendation and proceed accordingly.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

AntAltMike said:


> Since nearly all "new" DirecTV receivers have been leased rather than owned for several years now, what are we talking about here? Some old Hughes HAH series and maybe some Sony TIVOs?


There are a lot of owned receivers out there. Any owned receiver replaced via the PP is owned. MDU receivers in many cases are still considered to be owned. Also, DirecTV employees can get receivers at little or no cost and many of them are considered to be owned.



joshjr said:


> There are some things you are not getting here. Someone could leasea HR34, cancel it and not send it back, then pay the DNF fee and own it. They could have owned equipment and have a older unit replaced with a HR24 and then start working for DirecTV. There ae ways. Seems like some are being way to narrow minded. Things are possible.


DirecTV will not activate the HR34 in the example that you posted. Even though the DNR fee was paid, DirecTV will flag that receiver and it will not be able to be activated.

- Merg


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

The Merg said:


> There are a lot of owned receivers out there. Any owned receiver replaced via the PP is owned. MDU receivers in many cases are still considered to be owned.


 Regarding mdu, as of July 2009 new mdu subs went over to the lease model. So purchased pre-2009 yes.

Lots of mdu folks actually would throw out receivers when they moved. In some larger properties with a large tenant turnover building management literally had them stacked to the ceiling (mostly SD boxes but plenty of DVR's and HD-DVR's) and would beg the mdu providers to come and take them away.

If you lived near an mdu type property usually you could score a couple of owned HR's with relative ease for a six-pack to the building manager.  Of course now with the change to the lease model almost 3 yrs ago that is pretty much gone except for some long time residents who move out. The newer folks who left their leased boxes behind will be in for a rude awakening a few months later when the fees hit their CC's. :eek2:


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## LOCODUDE (Aug 8, 2007)

*Re OP*: Very good advice. I am currently stuck with an expensive paperweight.......


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

iceturkee said:


> anything that dtv would give you gratis while you are employed would not be eligible to be sold, even after you terminated your employment. that's what two people on the customer advocacy team told me. take it however you want.


Your still missing the point. If I my equipment, start working for DirecTV and one fails and I swap it out under the Protection Plan and then leave DirecTV then it has to still be owned. I was given you examples as you seem to think its impossible to have owned equipment if you are or were a DirecTV employee. What if they baught a HR21 PRO? Wake up. There are exceptions.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

The Merg said:


> There are a lot of owned receivers out there. Any owned receiver replaced via the PP is owned. MDU receivers in many cases are still considered to be owned. Also, DirecTV employees can get receivers at little or no cost and many of them are considered to be owned.
> 
> DirecTV will not activate the HR34 in the example that you posted. Even though the DNR fee was paid, DirecTV will flag that receiver and it will not be able to be activated.
> 
> - Merg


I beg to dfiffer. When I called to get my HR34 I was informed at that time by multiple people that is one way to get an owned one. Why would it not be owned if you paid their price for it the DNR fee?


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

joshjr said:


> I beg to dfiffer. When I called to get my HR34 I was informed at that time by multiple people that is one way to get an owned one. Why would it not be owned if you paid their price for it the DNR fee?


Not sure why DirecTV does that, but there have been multiple cases (including people posting here) that people have bought a receiver from somone that had paid the DNR. When they try to activate the receiver, DirecTV will not do it.

It appears that DirecTV still considers the receiver to be leased and just paying the DNR fee does not automatically change it from leased to owned in the system.

- Merg


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

The Merg said:


> Not sure why DirecTV does that, but there have been multiple cases (including people posting here) that people have bought a receiver from somone that had paid the DNR. When they try to activate the receiver, DirecTV will not do it.
> 
> It appears that DirecTV still considers the receiver to be leased and just paying the DNR fee does not automatically change it from leased to owned in the system.
> 
> - Merg


Correct paying a NRF(DNR) does not change the status of the receiver. There is a very generous time frame in which a receiver could be returned and the NRF would be refunded automatically by the system. If they swapped it to owned then people couldn't return it and get their money back. While it could be said that after it passes the refund time frame to get the refund I don't think they would want to put the money into something that really doesn't impact them anymore.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Shades228 said:


> Correct paying a NRF(DNR) does not change the status of the receiver. There is a very generous time frame in which a receiver could be returned and the NRF would be refunded automatically by the system. If they swapped it to owned then people couldn't return it and get their money back. While it could be said that after it passes the refund time frame to get the refund I don't think they would want to put the money into something that really doesn't impact them anymore.


Thanks Shades. I remembered there was a reason why DirecTV had this policy, but couldn't remember what it was for the life of me.

- Merg


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## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

Not really true...IF an NRF fee has been paid on a unit it will be swapped to owned...but as Chris posted...best to do your homework, and yes call the ACDT dept....frontline CSRs arent aware of all the stipulations


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## iceturkee (Apr 1, 2007)

joshjr said:


> I beg to dfiffer. When I called to get my HR34 I was informed at that time by multiple people that is one way to get an owned one. Why would it not be owned if you paid their price for it the DNR fee?


sure, you can pay the full price of a leased unit and you can own it. that is wht i was told when i asked if i could purchase my leased hr24. they told me for $499 i could buy it!


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## visionlogic (Nov 5, 2008)

wahooq said:


> ..., and yes call the ACDT dept....frontline CSRs arent aware of all the stipulations


Definitely call, give them the ID of the receiver being sold and you'll get the answer you need to make your decision. I've purchased several receivers over the years and made many calls checking ID's first. Never gotten burned that way.

But today I've left the herd. Cancelled DTV after years of being a customer. Just couldn't justify the ever deteriorating cost/benefit ratio any longer. Best of luck to all of you who remain!


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

visionlogic said:


> Definitely call, give them the ID of the receiver being sold and you'll get the answer you need to make your decision. I've purchased several receivers over the years and made many calls checking ID's first. Never gotten burned that way.
> 
> But today I've left the herd. Cancelled DTV after years of being a customer. Just couldn't justify the ever deteriorating cost/benefit ratio any longer. Best of luck to all of you who remain!


Good information but also amazing...a first post and last post in one post. :eek2:


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## visionlogic (Nov 5, 2008)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Good information but also amazing...a first post and last post in one post. :eek2:


Maybe not. I've lurked and learned here for years. Perhaps I can contribute back some in the future. Not here to knock anyone or any service. It's just that times and circumstances change.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

visionlogic said:


> Maybe not. I've lurked and learned here for years. Perhaps I can contribute back some in the future. Not here to knock anyone or any service. It's just that times and circumstances change.


Cool!

Just happened to notice you had been here for years.

You bet - stuff happens and things change - good luck to you.


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## coldsteel (Mar 29, 2007)

carl6 said:


> Bottom line is: Always get the Receiver ID number (RID), then call the access card department and ask whether or not you could activate the unit if you purchased it. This applies to any used, allegedly owned, receiver/DVR whether it is from a former employee, on an auction site, or in a yard sale.


This is true with Dish also. Get the RID, call in and check BEFORE buying/bidding. If the seller refuses to give the number, I'd bet money it's leased.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

coldsteel said:


> This is true with Dish also. Get the RID, call in and check BEFORE buying/bidding. If the seller refuses to give the number, I'd bet money it's leased.


They naming it as *CAID*, not RID as DTV.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Here is what I don't understand about all this.

Why does DirecTV care if it is owned or leased? If I send my receiver back to them, they in theory refurbish it which cost money, then someone else orders it and they have to pay to either ship it or install it.

But if I give/sell it to someone else who wants to activate it on their account, then DirecTV incurs no expense and starts getting $72/year. So yes, maybe I get the $200 instead of them, but why they would refuse to activate it is confusing. Especially if they have hit the previous owner with a DNR fee. Would they rather the box be thrown in the trash than used?

I'm do understand they don't want everyone all of a sudden selling receivers instead of returning them, but to permanently put a receiver out of service doesn't make sense either.


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## BAHitman (Oct 24, 2007)

Herdfan said:


> Here is what I don't understand about all this.
> 
> Why does DirecTV care if it is owned or leased? If I send my receiver back to them, they in theory refurbish it which cost money, then someone else orders it and they have to pay to either ship it or install it.
> 
> ...


that is done to protect you and DirecTV.

Say someone goes around acquiring receivers and figurs out some way to clone the RID. that could make it easier for someone to possibly steal service.

I know the risk still exists for owned receivers, but that pool gets smaller with passing time...


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

BAHitman said:


> that is done to protect you and DirecTV.
> *Say someone goes around acquiring receivers and figurs out some way to clone the RID.* that could make it easier for someone to possibly steal service.
> I know the risk still exists for owned receivers, but that pool gets smaller with passing time...


Why you brought such non-existence here ?
That's way out of any limit of speculations !

It's well known fact (proved by many years of using) - the RID is in silicon, protected like Fort Knox.

With such magnitude you could make up same non-sense about DTV smart cards.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

Herdfan said:


> Here is what I don't understand about all this.
> 
> Why does DirecTV care if it is owned or leased? If I send my receiver back to them, they in theory refurbish it which cost money, then someone else orders it and they have to pay to either ship it or install it.
> 
> ...


There are fraud issues however the main reason is just costs.

If everything was still owned they would have to keep ordering more receivers which has a higher cost than refurbing a receiver.

Also when these were all owned you would be surprised how many would fall off trucks and so forth. Now if it's leased eventually it makes it's way back even if something fraudulent happened.

This helps keep costs down for everyone.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Shades228 said:


> There are fraud issues however the main reason is just costs.
> 
> If everything was still owned they would have to keep ordering more receivers which has a higher cost than refurbing a receiver.
> 
> ...


An interesting set of explanations that seem to make a good deal of sense.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Shades228 said:


> There are fraud issues however the main reason is just costs.
> 
> If everything was still owned they would have to keep ordering more receivers which has a higher cost than refurbing a receiver.
> 
> ...


Without real numbers, I would estimate the 'natural' loss is fit in small fraction of one percent. Definitely less then 'usual' 2% in stores because of unique serial number and mandatory registration for obtain the service.
Not buying the argument too ...


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

I remember the days of walking into Best Buy and seeing huge stacks of DirecTV receivers. I even bought a DiirecTiVo that way.

These were also the days of rampant service theft through access card cloning. People would buy receivers just to get a virgin card.

I also remember when the receiver cost was about half of the total new customer acquisition cost, which was already north of $400 long before DVRs. People tend to apply general consumer electronics price patterns to satellite recievers. The per unit cost of a new HR24 is likely a good bit more than most people think. Refurbishing the HR2X models is a LOT cheaper than buying new ones.

Bottom line, DirecTV makes more money with a leased model versus a purchased model. Since a receiver is of little use when you discontinue service, it makes very little difference to the vast majority of users.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Shades228 said:


> There are fraud issues however the main reason is just costs.
> 
> If everything was still owned they would have to keep ordering more receivers which has a higher cost than refurbing a receiver.
> 
> ...


I completely understand why the do what they do. But if a customer has acquired a receiver and wants to activate it, why not do it? Sure make them jump through some hoops about how they got it etc but if it is a receiver that someone just didn't return, then activate it. Sure beats a mad customer throwing it in the trash.


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## racinlm (May 22, 2012)

I had purchased an r22-100 from ebay and when I first called the unit was owned and clear. Once I received the r22 I called to get a card, and then they informed me it was owned by a dtv employee and could not be activated. I spent a good hour on the phone trying to get it straightened out and went up the chain. I was not able to get it activated and sent it back with a refund thank goodness. This was not more than two months ago and they refused to activate it.
With that said, I had an r22 and we thought it was great, it went bad a couple months ago and we tried to get a replacement, and all we received as a replacement was a r15 which we absolutely hate after having the r22. We are still std def and we are looking for another r22 (owned if possible as I dont want a contract). If anyone has an owned r22 that is in good working condition please contact me as we really want another, 
Thanks,
Chris


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

If you are already on automatic billpay, you could ask if DirecTv will give you the free HD for two years promo and then just get an HR2*, and just use it in standard def mode. You can still buy refurbed HR21PROs on Solid Signal, or owned HR boxes on other sites.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> An interesting set of explanations that seem to make a good deal of sense.


Especially the part about the cost of "refurbing a receiver".....:lol:

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Titan25 said:


> I remember the days of walking into Best Buy and seeing huge stacks of DirecTV receivers. I even bought a DiirecTiVo that way.
> 
> These were also the days of rampant service theft through access card cloning. People would buy receivers just to get a virgin card.
> 
> ...


You actually believe they "refurbish" any receivers? I've never seen any evidence of internal work, and the only evidence of cosmetic work was a 20-700 I got a few years ago that had new doors on the access card slot and the other door. The 20-700 didn't work, but the doors looked nice.

Rich


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## iceturkee (Apr 1, 2007)

racinlm said:


> I had purchased an r22-100 from ebay and when I first called the unit was owned and clear. Once I received the r22 I called to get a card, and then they informed me it was owned by a dtv employee and could not be activated. I spent a good hour on the phone trying to get it straightened out and went up the chain. I was not able to get it activated and sent it back with a refund thank goodness. This was not more than two months ago and they refused to activate it.
> With that said, I had an r22 and we thought it was great, it went bad a couple months ago and we tried to get a replacement, and all we received as a replacement was a r15 which we absolutely hate after having the r22. We are still std def and we are looking for another r22 (owned if possible as I dont want a contract). If anyone has an owned r22 that is in good working condition please contact me as we really want another,
> Thanks,
> Chris


i have an owned hr 21 pro, recently deactivated, that i wanna get rid of!


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