# Owned Receivers



## gomezma1 (Mar 28, 2006)

I have completed my obligation with D but do not want to extend my contract by upgrading equipment. How are people obtaining equpiment like a H25 and considering it owned when it has not even been out that long. I want to upgrade to HD but do not want to buy a HD receiver and get another two years added. Can someone please answer my question?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

There are a few ways. Buying one directly from DirecTV for full price through the access card department, replacing an owned receiver under the protection plan and getting lucky enough. Buying one from an employee (though it has been said the rules have changed there.) those are the main ways of getting an owned box like a 25.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Buy an owned one from a) a DirecTv employee selling one, b) a person in the test program selling one, or c) from DirecTv access card department.

In all cases except c), verify the RID number with the access card department to make sure it is owned, and available for transfer to your account. A $20 access card fee will apply.


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## gomezma1 (Mar 28, 2006)

I sent D an email. Then Directv sent me an email and told me that if I buy from an authorized retailer that it would be considered owned but would have to commit to two more years.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Danger! Danger Will Robinson!

That is not accurate. If you get one for $100 from a reseller, it is leased with two year. If you buy one owned, you'd pay more (even used), no contract.

Keep in mind though, if you got a 25, you would need to have SWM.

If I were getting one, and one wasn't posted in the buy/sell forum, I'd call the access card department and ask the price. Do not go through a regular CSR, only the access card department. This is an exception to the you get whatever we send rule, but you'll still need to deal with getting the rest of the system upgraded.


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## JoeTheDragon (Jul 21, 2008)

Davenlr said:


> Buy an owned one from a) a DirecTv employee selling one, b) a person in the test program selling one, or c) from DirecTv access card department.
> 
> In all cases except c), verify the RID number with the access card department to make sure it is owned, and available for transfer to your account. A $20 access card fee will apply.


I think that Commercial Customer boxes are owned as well.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

And all HR21Pros but that won't help the OP.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Why is it so important that your H25 be "owned"? Worst case if you terminate early you'll just to have to pay a penalty. But the total cost, even with the penalty, will likely be cheaper than the "full price" own the box outright without a 2-year commitment. 

Generally the only real benefit to "owning" is if you want to frequently activate and deactivate the Receiver.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

litzdog911 said:


> Generally the only real benefit to "owning" is if you want to frequently activate and deactivate the Receiver.


Or you want to be able to Replace the small drive with a large 2 TB Internal Drive without Violating the Directv TOS Agreement!!!


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Good luck doing that on an H25 

Or on a DVR use an external drive, if money is no object, a raid 1 setup is better than one drive.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

dpeters11 said:


> Or on a DVR use an external drive, if money is no object, a raid 1 setup is better than one drive.


Not if you use a DVR as a Backup DVR so you can simulaneously Replicate those Recordings you don't want to lose plus you have a DVR in other Bedrooms for Guests and I have 350 Series Links also plus 14 Tuners to Record What I Want Where I Want and if one DVR fails I have those Recordings Backed Up on another DVR.

Of course, this Backup Method is Not for everyone!!! :lol:


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Richierich said:


> Or you want to be able to Replace the small drive with a large 2 TB Internal Drive without Violating the Directv TOS Agreement!!!


The OP asked about an H25 HD Receiver, not an HD DVR.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

litzdog911 said:


> The OP asked about an H25 HD Receiver, not an HD DVR.


Yes, I know but you Never Know that he may just think about buying an Owned HR24 and then put a 2 TB Drive in it and be done!!!

Just giving him Options.


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## bobvick1983 (Mar 21, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> And all HR21Pros but that won't help the OP.


You are correct about that, but if anyone buys one, you about have to go through an act of congress to get it changed to owned.
When I got one from Beach Audio about two weeks ago, I was assured when I activated it that it was owned.
So, just to be sure, I called, and they had it is a HR21-200 leased.
So, I sent an E-Mail to the office of the president, they said that it was leased too, that I did not pay the full $599 price for it, and therefore it was a lease, they kept telling me that the serial number I gave them showed up as a HR21-200, not a HR21P
Finally, I called the access card department, sent them a fax of the invoice, and a fax of photographs of the back of the receiver where the serial number, model number, etc.. is and a photo of the box that the receiver itself came in.
FINALLY, they called me back from the access card department and said they had updated it to a HR21P-200 in the system, and that it was owned.
I got it for $234 which I thought was probably a pretty good deal. I wanted the HR21P because I could own it, and I took out the 500GB hard drive and put in a 2TB drive.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

bobvick1983 said:


> You are correct about that, but if anyone buys one, you about have to go through an act of congress to get it changed to owned.
> When I got one from Beach Audio about two weeks ago, I was assured when I activated it that it was owned.


Anyone that does have an owned [new/used] receiver, might be wise to start with the access card department in the beginning to get it listed as owned.


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## bobvick1983 (Mar 21, 2007)

"veryoldschool" said:


> Anyone that does have an owned [new/used] receiver, might be wise to start with the access card department in the beginning to get it listed as owned.


Good advise. Had I known, that is where I would have went. Anyway I got it fixed but learned the hard way.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

Since the monthly statements no longer list receivers as "additional" (owned) or "leased", it might be a good idea to confirm your owned receivers with the AC team .


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## wingrider01 (Sep 9, 2005)

veryoldschool said:


> Anyone that does have an owned [new/used] receiver, might be wise to start with the access card department in the beginning to get it listed as owned.


had a owned hr20 replaced with a hr21 through the protection plan, the frontline rep was able to activate it as owned, have verified since then with the access card department that it is actually flagged as owned, so it appears that frontline people can do it also


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

bobvick1983 said:


> You are correct about that, but if anyone buys one, you about have to go through an act of congress to get it changed to owned.
> When I got one from Beach Audio about two weeks ago, I was assured when I activated it that it was owned.
> So, just to be sure, I called, and they had it is a HR21-200 leased.
> So, I sent an E-Mail to the office of the president, they said that it was leased too, that I did not pay the full $599 price for it, and therefore it was a lease, they kept telling me that the serial number I gave them showed up as a HR21-200, not a HR21P
> ...


Talk about the hard way. I own a few HR24's but have been curious about owning my HR34. I guess one way to own any receiver you currently have is to deactivate it and then just pay the DNR fee and then activate it back as owned. At this time D* does not seem to have pricing for a DNR HR34.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

joshjr said:


> Talk about the hard way. I own a few HR24's but have been curious about owning my HR34. I guess one way to own any receiver you currently have is to deactivate it and then just pay the DNR fee and then activate it back as owned. At this time D* does not seem to have pricing for a DNR HR34.


Not sure what you mean by DNR fee, but I believe I've read posts that if you pay the non returned equipment fee, that you can't reactivate the receiver or get it changed to owned status.


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## David Ortiz (Aug 21, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> Not sure what you mean by DNR fee, but I believe I've read posts that if you pay the non returned equipment fee, that you can't reactivate the receiver or get it changed to owned status.


Probably another Drucifer approved acronym?

Anyway, then there's this: http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=2952406&postcount=11


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

David Ortiz said:


> Probably another Drucifer approved acronym?
> 
> Anyway, then there's this: http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=2952406&postcount=11


Thanks, I now stand corrected.


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

When I had my HR34 installed, I deactivated an owned HD receiver. The CSR agreed it was owned and said it did not have to be returned when i placed the order. 

When the installers showed up they insisted on taking it with them. The installers said there were no owned receivers anymore.

I let them take it (I was having trouble with it anyway and did not plan on reactiviting it) but there seems to be a lot of confusion with installers on owned vs leased. 

I would have put up a fight if I had paid big bucks for an owned HR24 or 34.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> Not sure what you mean by DNR fee, but I believe I've read posts that if you pay the non returned equipment fee, that you can't reactivate the receiver or get it changed to owned status.


I've actually heard the term, it's what you pay if you Did Not Return.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I've actually heard the term, it's what you pay if you Did Not Return.


Having received a few notices from DirecTV over this, they refer to it as non returned equipment charges, but hey....


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Richierich said:


> Or you want to be able to Replace the small drive with a large 2 TB Internal Drive without Violating the Directv TOS Agreement!!!


I dare you to upgrade or replace the hard drive in an H25. I double dog dare you!


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

It's actually called a Non Return Fee or NRF with DIRECTV. Paying the NRF does not change the receiver to owned. If you activate the receiver, or return it, in a certain time frame they just reverse the charge. DNR usually stands for Do Not Return with most companies.

If an owned receiver has a replacement ordered for it the system will flag it as owned if you have the protection plan. Only specific departments can change the status and the agents who activate them cannot. 

For the OP you can order owned equipment from a regular agent which will not come with an agreement. However model number is not guaranteed so if you want a H25 then order one on another site and then call ACDT the day you activate it to pay the difference to convert it to owned. However with that said unless you plan on canceling within 12 month the math doesn't make sense to do this.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

Phil T said:


> When I had my HR34 installed, I deactivated an owned HD receiver. The CSR agreed it was owned and said it did not have to be returned when i placed the order.
> 
> When the installers showed up they insisted on taking it with them. The installers said there were no owned receivers anymore.
> 
> I let them take it (I was having trouble with it anyway and did not plan on reactiviting it) but there seems to be a lot of confusion with installers on owned vs leased.


You could have kept the failing receiver you own and signed up for the Protection Plan. After a period of time the PP would have replaced your owned receiver with another owned receiver.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

Phil T said:


> When I had my HR34 installed, I deactivated an owned HD receiver. The CSR agreed it was owned and said it did not have to be returned when i placed the order.
> 
> When the installers showed up they insisted on taking it with them. The installers said there were no owned receivers anymore.
> 
> ...


As I understand it, DirecTV employee's are no longer owning their equipment outright from day one. I never heard anyone say if all employee's went from owned to leased the day the changes were made. I understand no more owned for them moving forward but there are people with owned items. As long as they are willing to change it to owned if its not returned as well there will be owned unites available. Considering doing that with my HR34 at some point down the line.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

veryoldschool said:


> Having received a few notices from DirecTV over this, they refer to it as non returned equipment charges, but hey....


When I called to ask about this fee the rep referred to it as the DNR fee. As earlier stated its called the Did Not Return fee.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

Shades228 said:


> It's actually called a Non Return Fee or NRF with DIRECTV. *Paying the NRF does not change the receiver to owned.* If you activate the receiver, or return it, in a certain time frame they just reverse the charge. DNR usually stands for Do Not Return with most companies.
> 
> If an owned receiver has a replacement ordered for it the system will flag it as owned if you have the protection plan. Only specific departments can change the status and the agents who activate them cannot.
> 
> For the OP you can order owned equipment from a regular agent which will not come with an agreement. However model number is not guaranteed so if you want a H25 then order one on another site and then call ACDT the day you activate it to pay the difference to convert it to owned. However with that said unless you plan on canceling within 12 month the math doesn't make sense to do this.


My understanding was paying that and then activating it again at that point should trigger the change. If I personally ever try it I would only deal with the access card department which is who told me as well as Case Management.


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## rrdirectsr (Jan 30, 2011)

Davenlr said:


> Buy an owned one from a) a DirecTv employee selling one, b) a person in the test program selling one, or c) from DirecTv access card department.
> 
> In all cases except c), verify the RID number with the access card department to make sure it is owned, and available for transfer to your account. A $20 access card fee will apply.


As of January 1, 2012 no Directv Employee owned receivers are transferrable.


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## rrdirectsr (Jan 30, 2011)

joshjr said:


> As I understand it, DirecTV employee's are no longer owning their equipment outright from day one. I never heard anyone say if all employee's went from owned to leased the day the changes were made. I understand no more owned for them moving forward but there are people with owned items. As long as they are willing to change it to owned if its not returned as well there will be owned unites available. Considering doing that with my HR34 at some point down the line.


DTV employees still own their equipment. However if they are still an employee with a employee account they can not sell the equipment. If they quit and their account is converted to a regular account they may sell the equipment.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

rrdirectsr said:


> DTV employees still own their equipment. However if they are still an employee with a employee account they can not sell the equipment. If they quit and their account is converted to a regular account they may sell the equipment.


This is not entirely accurate.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Shades228 said:


> This is not entirely accurate.


That is rather vague...


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Davenlr said:


> That is rather vague...


I thought the policy was changed so that if they quit D* the owned equipment became leased.

Rich


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## bengalfreak (Sep 17, 2008)

litzdog911 said:


> But the total cost, even with the penalty, will likely be cheaper than the "full price" own the box outright without a 2-year commitment.


Not necessarily true. I bought an HR24 and R16 (owned) together for $150 and bought an HR22 (also owned) for $100. I've got $250 in the three boxes and no two year commitment. And if I ever decide to cancel D*, I guarantee I can get my money back by selling the three DVRs.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Rich said:


> I thought the policy was changed so that if they quit D* the owned equipment became leased.
> 
> Rich


Weird rule. If as an employee it's owned but they can't sell it, and when they leave it becomes leased what would be the advantage of it ever being owned?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

TBlazer07 said:


> Weird rule. If as an employee it's owned but they can't sell it, and when they leave it becomes leased what would be the advantage of it ever being owned?


Advantage to D*. Guess they got sick of their employees selling the HRs. If I'm right...not sure about that.

Rich


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Rich said:


> Advantage to D*. Guess they got sick of their employees selling the HRs. If I'm right...not sure about that.
> 
> Rich


You can be pretty sure about that. DirecTv had no fewer than 3 people from their administration call me about my owned HR24 which I bought from an employee in Denver a few weeks after it was released. They were not at all happy about it. They were asking all sorts of questions about how I found it (Craigslist), how much I paid. Apparently because this particular employee was somehow obtaining multiple HR24's, and selling them.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Davenlr said:


> You can be pretty sure about that. DirecTv had no fewer than 3 people from their administration call me about my owned HR24 which I bought from an employee in Denver a few weeks after it was released. They were not at all happy about it. They were asking all sorts of questions about how I found it (Craigslist), how much I paid. Apparently because this particular employee was somehow obtaining multiple HR24's, and selling them.


Am I correct about them making the owned boxes leased if the employee leaves D*?

Rich


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I read something to that effect a couple months ago. I recall I was wondering how a corporation could make something you owned, something you no longer owned, since that would mean you never owned it in the first place.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Davenlr said:


> I read something to that effect a couple months ago. I recall I was wondering how a corporation could make something you owned, something you no longer owned, since that would mean you never owned it in the first place.


I don't get it either. Should have grandfathered the employees who had owned equipment and given leased units to new employees. Typical "Corporate Doublespeak".

Rich


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

I am sure they changed their policies because frankly, DirecTV employees selling their boxes can easily be considered fraud if they don't have to pay for them, or pay very little for them.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

inkahauts said:


> I am sure they changed their policies because frankly, DirecTV employees selling their boxes can easily be considered fraud if they don't have to pay for them, or pay very little for them.


 Fraud? **If** they OWN them how can it be fraud to sell something you own whether it is given as a gift, a "benefit" or if you pay $1 for it? Don't think so unless their agreement specifically states they can't be sold and if they can't be sold they never owned them! If it doesn't say they can't sell them it's simply a fringe benefit they leveraged to their benefit. 

I do agree that if they changed their policy it was because people were taking advantage of it so NOW it would be fraud or theft.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

TBlazer07 said:


> Fraud? **If** they OWN them how can it be fraud to sell something you own whether it is given as a gift, a "benefit" or if you pay $1 for it? Don't think so unless their agreement specifically states they can't be sold and if they can't be sold they never owned them! If it doesn't say they can't sell them it's simply a fringe benefit they leveraged to their benefit.
> 
> I do agree that if they changed their policy it was because people were taking advantage of it so NOW it would be fraud or theft.


I would imagine they have a clause in their employee purchases agreements that they can not buy products and then turn around and sell them at full pop within a certain time frame, which is what some have been doing. I know I had that everywhere I have ever worked where I could buy a product. You had limits on how much of anyone thing you could buy, and where not supposed to resell it for a certain length of time. Hard to control that though.


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

What should an owned receiver say on the bill? It used to say additional and leased. My bill online they all say additional. The only difference is the one that is owned there is no tax flat out $6.00 is this correct. Also to turn service on and off does it just take a phone call or do you have to play the CSR roulette


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

JACKIEGAGA said:


> What should an owned receiver say on the bill? It used to say additional and leased. My bill online they all say additional. The only difference is the one that is owned there is no tax flat out $6.00 is this correct. Also to turn service on and off does it just take a phone call or do you have to play the CSR roulette


I deactivated an owned receiver about 6 weeks ago, with no problems at all. CSR could see that the receiver was owned and knew it did not need to be returned.

This was before the bill wording change. Hopefully, they still have access on their screens to the correct own/lease status.


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

Thanks


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

JACKIEGAGA said:


> What should an owned receiver say on the bill? It used to say additional and leased. My bill online they all say additional. The only difference is the one that is owned there is no tax flat out $6.00 is this correct. Also to turn service on and off does it just take a phone call or do you have to play the CSR roulette


I'd go thru the Access Card folks to do that. Probably be easier and they do know which HR is owned. Not that you can't get a bad CSR there, but I've been pretty lucky with them.

Here's their direct phone number: 877-887-7994. No waiting, as a rule.

Rich


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

DogLover said:


> CSR could see that the receiver was owned and knew it did not need to be returned.


CSRs have said this before and boxes have shown up. Other times, they've said the equipment did need to go back but the box never showed.

The key is to find someone who will tell you with certainty that you do or don't need to return the equipment and I'm pretty sure a CSR doesn't qualify. You don't need to get into an argument over a $275 non-return fee just because the CSR sounded sure.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

I recently had to have an owned receiver replaced. I have the protection plan so the replacement became owned as well. It was explained to me, by the access card department, that if the replacement is marked as owned the old receiver must be returned but if the replacement is a lease you do not return the unit. I believe the only time the replacement is marked as leased, other than a screw up, is if you don't have the protection plan.


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

harsh said:


> CSRs have said this before and boxes have shown up. Other times, they've said the equipment did need to go back but the box never showed.
> 
> The key is to find someone who will tell you with certainty that you do or don't need to return the equipment and I'm pretty sure a CSR doesn't qualify. You don't need to get into an argument over a $275 non-return fee just because the CSR sounded sure.


Well, as I said, this was before the bill change, so *I* am sure that it was marked as owned, and it did not need to be returned. Also, she specifically said that she could "see that it is owned". She wasn't assuming that it didn't need to be returned because it was old. (It was an H24.)

The OP was also sure it was owned, and I assumed had been marked that way on his bill. (Which is why he noticed the change.). Since the "default" for those CSRs that don't know better would be to assume that it was leased and did need to be returned, the real risk is that he would get a CSR that would want him to return it. For that reason, the advice to go to the access card department is good advice.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> I recently had to have an owned receiver replaced. I have the protection plan so the replacement became owned as well. It was explained to me, by the access card department, that if the replacement is marked as owned the old receiver must be returned but if the replacement is a lease you do not return the unit. I believe the only time the replacement is marked as leased, other than a screw up, is if you don't have the protection plan.


Yup, if you don't have the PP and return a used HR, the replacement will be a leased unit. But, even if you have the PP, you still gotta check that they have properly classified the unit as "owned". Best to check with the folks at the Access Card Group. The phone number is on one of my posts on this thread.

Rich


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