# What to expect after a two year contract renegoiation?



## mrfatboy (Jan 21, 2007)

My father is thinking about getting Dtv. They offered him a free HRxx, Hxx, SWM, MRV, HD, and Dish with install ($0-$99) depending on how complicated it is.

Basically, it will cost him $51/month the first year then jump up to $82 for the second (Choice Xtra). I told him at the end of the 2 year contract he can switch to something else, stay the course, or renegotiate with Dtv to see if he can lower the monthly cost.

He is retired and believes $82 (don't we all) is way too much for TV. Can anybody tell me what typically Dtv does (discounts) after the 2 year contract if he calls retention? What type of discounts can he expect if any to stay with Dtv after 2 years?


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## JeffBowser (Dec 21, 2006)

You can expect pretty much nothing, maybe some premiums for a few months.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

DOn't expect any discounts after the 2 years....it is what it is. If you want to pay less, you either go to fewer receivers, or cut back on programming, or switch providers, which is what many do...apparently its not about quality of service anymore, its who can I get it cheapest from...then they complain constantly about the quality of service from the cheaper provider they just switched to...


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## mrfatboy (Jan 21, 2007)

thanks for the info. At least he will know what he is getting into. I have been with dtv since '99. Never called them once and had autopay. I then called 18 months ago to inquire about HDTV. They credited me $650. Installed a new dish and let me buy my own HR23. I just wanted to make that was not just a two or so deal


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

While DirecTV will offer discounted equipment upgrades and such, they virtually never discount the programming costs except for maybe a couple of months of a premium channel for free.


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## Blankman2k5 (Oct 21, 2010)

mrfatboy said:


> My father is thinking about getting Dtv. They offered him a free HRxx, Hxx, SWM, MRV, HD, and Dish with install ($0-$99) depending on how complicated it is.
> 
> Basically, it will cost him $51/month the first year then jump up to $82 for the second (Choice Xtra). I told him at the end of the 2 year contract he can switch to something else, stay the course, or renegotiate with Dtv to see if he can lower the monthly cost.
> 
> He is retired and believes $82 (don't we all) is way too much for TV. Can anybody tell me what typically Dtv does (discounts) after the 2 year contract if he calls retention? What type of discounts can he expect if any to stay with Dtv after 2 years?


The best advice is to call and ask. Every account is different and eligibility is based on tenure, payment history, current equipment, and programming. Call and ask and you may be surprised at what is available.


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## jaxtoo (May 6, 2011)

After 10 years with them, we cancelled this last Monday. They said if we would stay we could have the current new customer special plus the DVR upgrade. So today, after finding out that the cable company had lied to us too, we called to reinstall our DirecTV. We got instant reactivation, Choice Xtra for $41 a month for a year which includes everything except tax (2 year commitment of course), and no install fees or equipment fees.

And a new DVR coming tomorrow. I'm pretty happy for the moment (although if they do not bring the right DVR tomorrow I might get unhappy again)


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## AttiTech (Feb 21, 2011)

jaxtoo said:


> After 10 years with them, we cancelled this last Monday. They said if we would stay we could have the current new customer special plus the DVR upgrade. So today, after finding out that the cable company had lied to us too, we called to reinstall our DirecTV. We got instant reactivation, Choice Xtra for $41 a month for a year which includes everything except tax (2 year commitment of course), and no install fees or equipment fees.
> 
> And a new DVR coming tomorrow. I'm pretty happy for the moment (although if they do not bring the right DVR tomorrow I might get unhappy again)


Bring the "right" dvr? You know they choose what's on the top of the pile and bring that to your house, right?


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## Max Mike (Oct 18, 2008)

If you are actually willing to play hardball and cancel if you do not get programming discounts equal to those offered new customers you can probably get the discounts…but you may have to actually cancel and do without for a week or two.

Last fall I cancelled because I was switching to Charter to get higher internet speed bundled with TV. Within a week of me canceling DirecTV called virtually begging me not send back the equipment and offering 1 year programming discounts equal to those offered new customers, I declined and sent back the equipment. Direct continued to call about once every five days… after two more weeks I came to detest Charters DVR and Charter had already screwed up my billing. Direct then called and offer me a complete new install with whole home DVR a HR24 and 2 HD receivers for free, a $60 dollar onetime credit, a 12 month discount of $24 on the Ultimate package, and offer to pay any early cancelation fees Charter wanted up to $200 (with a new 2 year commitment). I basically got a new customer deal. I decided it was an offer I could not refuse so I cancelled Charter who let me go due to their billing errors with no termination fees.

So you may be able to get significant discounts if you are willing to play a hardball game of chicken… a game you could lose. One thing on your side is that it is cheaper for Direct to give you a deal than have you send the equipment back and them have to replace you with a new customer.

And before one of you fan boy knuckleheads chimes in I am the reason you have to pay higher rates… you deserve to pay higher rates if you are unwilling to negotiate the best business deal you can.


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## jaxtoo (May 6, 2011)

AttiTech said:


> Bring the "right" dvr? You know they choose what's on the top of the pile and bring that to your house, right?


Of course I do, that is what we have been discussing here. But we will not settle for less than what we want.

Mike:
We really did not play chicken, we fully intended to go with cable. But when they did not give us what they had promised we decided to check back with DTV to see what they had. So it did work out in our favor. But we have paid the price, 10 years with only small upgrades along the way, it was time for us to get a good deal out of them.


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## jaxtoo (May 6, 2011)

My apologies to AttiTech, sorry, I got my threads mixed up, it was a different thread where we were discussing that they do not guarantee a certain box.


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## Max Mike (Oct 18, 2008)

jaxtoo said:


> Of course I do, that is what we have been discussing here. But we will not settle for less than what we want.
> 
> Mike:
> We really did not play chicken, we fully intended to go with cable. But when they did not give us what they had promised we decided to check back with DTV to see what they had. So it did work out in our favor. But we have paid the price, 10 years with only small upgrades along the way, it was time for us to get a good deal out of them.


The play chicken was a general comment not directed at anyone in particular. When I dropped DirecTV I also fully intended to go with cable but the cable company convince in three weeks that was a mistake.

Why is it cable companies. telephone companies. and even DirecTV are all so catastrophically incompetent. I have had one of the above screw up my billing in each of the last four month, this month was a two-for... the phone company and DIRECTV. I called DirecTV last night over the billing issue and got someone who could barely speak English and though he assured me the problem was fixed I have zero confidence that it is. The phone company has convinced me to buy a Ooma and drop them and at the end of my contract DirecTV will get the axe if they do not offer me significant discounts, with $110 I can buy a lot of programing elsewhere.


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## AttiTech (Feb 21, 2011)

jaxtoo said:


> My apologies to AttiTech, sorry, I got my threads mixed up, it was a different thread where we were discussing that they do not guarantee a certain box.


No worries, mate! Just making sure you knew what happens. Keep us posted on what you get! Hopefully something in the 24 family!


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## jaxtoo (May 6, 2011)

> The play chicken was a general comment not directed at anyone in particular. When I dropped DirecTV I also fully intended to go with cable but the cable company convince in three weeks that was a mistake.


Oh yes, understood, I was just sayin'.....  And I totally agree with you about the incompentence. Back in my day had we performed on our job that way, we would have been fired.

This last go around with cable and DTV has just proven to me how true your statement is. I was lied to and mislead so many times it makes my head spin.



> No worries, mate! Just making sure you knew what happens. Keep us posted on what you get! Hopefully something in the 24 family!


Will do, and thanks for your gracious reply to my newbie error.

We have been instructed by directv to turn away the installer if it is not an HR24... and that is our plan.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

It's bizarre how differently customers (old and new) are treated by DirecTV.

A friend of mine had DirecTV for years with two Hughes receivers he bought and installed himself and Total Choice Plus. He paid on time and never got an offer for ANYTHING-in fact the only contact he had was his monthly bill.

He decided to get HD and a DVR but when he called he was offered an HD upgrade with an HD _receiver_ (not DVR) for free with, of course, a two year commitment. Period.

Instead, he went to DISH and got a free DVR, install, programming discount for the first year etc. etc.

DirecTV never called him after the day they shut off his service BUT exactly two years later they started pestering him and offering the new customer deals (pretty clever keeping such careful records, eh?).

PS: He told them NO.


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## jaxtoo (May 6, 2011)

ThomasM said:


> It's bizarre how differently customers (old and new) are treated by DirecTV.
> 
> A friend of mine had DirecTV for years with two Hughes receivers he bought and installed himself and Total Choice Plus. He paid on time and never got an offer for ANYTHING-in fact the only contact he had was his monthly bill.
> 
> ...


That's pretty sad. But also our experience until we decided to leave. We never heard anything from them, never offered anything or thanked for paying our bill on time every month for 10 years. We did get one receiver upgrade when we moved about 6 years ago, other than that, nothing.


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## jaxtoo (May 6, 2011)

I am on my way out of here, there is just way too much negativity in some of these other threads for me. But upthread I did say that I would post what our outcome was so I want to do that before I go.

We got our HR24 as "promised". I know, I know, the promise they gave us was worthless, but we did get what they said we would. We have been with them for 10 years and will probably stay another 10, hopefully more. We'll see what happens up the line, I guess.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

You can get free hardware every two years, especially if you upgrade. This fall will be my anniversary, and I plan to switch to a supported MRV system, with DECA and SWiM, and a HD DVR to replace a receiver. This being a new SWiM set-up, I believe that puts me at the head of the line for a HR24, which would be nice because that would get placed in the media room. I might have to pay for labor but I even doubt that.

I usually go to Retention to get the deal I want but I'm friendly, upfront about my requests and I've always found someone who can make my dreams real.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

jaxtoo said:


> That's pretty sad. But also our experience until we decided to leave. We never heard anything from them, never offered anything or thanked for paying our bill on time every month for 10 years. We did get one receiver upgrade when we moved about 6 years ago, other than that, nothing.


Why would any company proactively give credits for something people are happy to pay normal price for? They do give loyalty and anniversary promotions, which are good or suck depending on who you talk to, but overall I can't think of any company I've ever had that proactively gave me something free outside of normal business practices unless I inquired about them.

Companies are in business to make as much money as they can. Doing this would go against that. Most companies will give discounts/credits/offers whatever you want to call them but they'll only do that if you bring something up to them.

Of course I would love to get calls saying "Hey here's a discount" but companies have no reason to do it proactively unless something major happened.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

jaxtoo said:


> I am on my way out of here, there is just way too much negativity in some of these other threads for me. But upthread I did say that I would post what our outcome was so I want to do that before I go.
> 
> We got our HR24 as "promised". I know, I know, the promise they gave us was worthless, but we did get what they said we would. We have been with them for 10 years and will probably stay another 10, hopefully more. We'll see what happens up the line, I guess.


No negativity, just cold hard facts that you were unwilling to listen to.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Shades228 said:


> Of course I would love to get calls saying "Hey here's a discount" but companies have no reason to do it proactively unless something major happened.


That would be incredibly awesome, but unfortunately not a reality.

Heck, the "free gifts" I do get from DirecTV are useless. They once gave me "Free Showtime for 3 months" for an anniversary gift but I already get Showtime as part of my Premier package. :lol:


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## davel (May 1, 2007)

just sign up again under a different name and phone number (same address) to get the new customer deal. I plan on doing that when my contract is up. I'm not playing around with this BS customer service tactics either provide me the best price when I call or I'll get it through their offerings and it will cost them an install new SWM and their wasted time.


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## jaxtoo (May 6, 2011)

> No negativity, just cold hard facts that you were unwilling to listen to


And just exactly what are these cold hard facts that I was unwilling to listen to?


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## mrfatboy (Jan 21, 2007)

I'm going to jump back in here before it gets too ugly 

I know from experience that if you are a long time valued dtv customer (good credit, autopay, doesn't complain, doesn't ask for much) they can treat you nice when you need it. Timing is everything. I am the perfect example of this.

My initial post was more aimed at the first time customer that fulfills his/hers 2 year commitment deal with DTV. After 2 years you would have to be prepared to leave and definitely call call Retention for a better deal. If you don't call Retention you are a fool. They are the only ones with power. 

I was just wondering what first time customer would get after 2 years if he/she renegotiated. Sorry if I was not clear.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

If you want a year free HBO, you aren't going to get it. That makes them money. The secret is to ask for things that don't make them money - hardware.

Find something that needs upgrading. A buddy recently got all new recievers and a HD DVR for free in order to switch his locals over to the MPEG4 feed. DirecTV has a package for that. We also got them to throw in the hardware for the Whole House DVR package. We called just for a new HD DVR and ended up getting more than we could have dreamed of. As his old hardware was 12 years old, he needed a complete upgrade to get things like VOD, stuff DirecTV does make money on. DirecTV was glad to give us the HD DVR, plus two replacement receivers, mount a new dish and the re-wire to SWiM and DECA. We had a local contractor do the work so it cost my buddy labor for the inside the house work, but he spent less than $200 and got a whole new system.

*mrfatboy*, in your example, if the system is two years old, it probably doesn't have SWiM and DECA. Add that and the Magic Doors For Deals swing open.


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## mrfatboy (Jan 21, 2007)

I was talking about somebody signing up with dtv today and what would happen 2 years from now. My father wants a swm setup with an hr24 and h24 with mrv. 

His concern is the montly cost since he is retired. $82/month makes him wince  i was wondering after two years and discussing it with retention would dtv lower the price significantly like new customer pricing. 

From what i gather from these posts only having 2 years under your belt wont get you much (pricing wise).


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Probably not. Best choice for him, is to play provider roulette. Get the new customer deal from one, when contract is over, switch to another, then go back to the original provider as a new customer.

I have seen them give one time credits, but never heard of anyone getting a basic package for a discounted price. Not saying it isnt possible, just never heard of anyone getting it. Cant hurt to call and ask though.


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## HarryD (Mar 24, 2002)

When I called to cancel... All I got as an offer was $10 off my bill plus HBO, Showtime, TMC free for six months...


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