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DirecTV

Yahoo Message Number: 87583
I have maintained a separate DirecTV account for our motorhome for years so we could get access to distant network stations. We no longer need that feature so we want to get the MH receiver added to our home account. Having dealt with the nice folks at DirecTV many tmes I dread the upcoming experience like going to the dentist.
I am curious as to whether anyone has gone through this in recent times in order to know what to expect when I call. Will they allow a MH receiver on the home account ow days or do I need to be "moving it into the house"? Any experience would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jim

2007 Tribute 260 #81077

Re: DirecTV

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87586
If you Own your own Directv DVR which I do but most customers don't then you can legally take your DVR with you in your MH wherever you go.
However, when you leave the Spotbeam Coverage you will No Longer get your local stations as you are out of coverage of the Spotbeam.
If you don't Own your DVR but Lease it as most customers do then you technically can't take it with you but they do allow you to take it to your Vacation Home which could be your RV. Once you are where you are going to be for a while you can change your Service Address to that location with Directv and get the local stations there.
However, Directv does not like to do this a lot and does not advertise this as they would rather have you set up a separate RV Account so they can make more Revenue.
They do not know if your DVR is in your house or your RV unless you tell them because you want your local stations at your current location and you change your Service Address. Some Directv CSRs will even tell you incorrectly that you can't do this temporarily but most will comply and let you in order to keep your business.
If you have an OTA Antenna on top of the RV you can connect it to a Directv AM21 OTA Tuner that will then connect to your DVR and it will seemlessly add those channels into your Guide which is what I plan on doing. It costs $50 last time I inquired but that what a year ago and I own two of them.

Re: DirecTV

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87587
Let me jump in here. I used to have DirecTV in our couch and Comcast at our home which meant I was paying double for our TV services. In talking with a DirecTV agent, I was told that I could switch my home to DirecTV and then our RV would just be another bedroom for just $9 a month plus the lease fee for the DVR in the RV and a fee for East and West major networks. I have been doing this for 4 years now with no problems at all.
The only thing that is sometimes annoying is that if you do not use the DirecTV service for 4 weeks, then you have to either call them or get on line and tell them the service problem number on the screen and they will quickly reset it and you are good to go. This has saved us over $100 per month by declaring the RV as another bedroom.

Jim

2002 Allure 30745

Re: DirecTV

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87588
We have the receivers in our coach on our home account and they are named "RV Living Room and "RV Bedroom" DirecTV has never asked where the receivers are located. I would cancel the RV account, move the receiver(s) in the coach to the home account. Shouldn't be a problem. Sometimes when you give them too much info, they get confused.

Lonny & Diane Livingston
'04 Allure #31065

Re: DirecTV

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87589
Jim: I have 3 receivers, 2 in the house and 1 in the MH, all listed with them and have no problem. If you call and get an unknowledgable person just hang up and call back. That arrangement is available. In fact if your MH is where your home is they will come out to sevice that receiver. Barrie Boas 94 Concept 5111

Re: DirecTV

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87591
Our experience was the same as Jim's. We fulltimed for 4 years and when we bought the house we called Directv and they treated us as a move. The came and installed a dish on the house for free, gave us another DVR (we lease), added the motorhome as a bedroom receiver for $9.00 and we get local Tucson and West Coast local channels on the motorhome and the house. I think they figured out that people who spend a lot of time in the motorhome will stay with Directv instead of getting cable when they move into a house if they treat the customer right.

Bob

'05 Intrigue 11872

Re: DirecTV

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87597
I just went through exactly the same process. To have the "distant networks", one has to have an FCC waiver on file with DTV and this takes 45 days to accomplish! And, you are not allowed to have a receiver in your stick house and another one in the MH with the distant networks. Thus, the "must have two accounts" and thus, "the two bills"! Been getting screwed by them for a number of years over this. Whenever I want to store the MH and not pay the separate bill, I've had to "suspend" service on the MH, which they will let you do once per year and for not more than six months. If you "deactivate" the MH receiver, you have to file a new FCC waiver to get the distant networks. This is the case IF YOU LEASE the receivers.

If you own the receivers, it is a different story, but they really don't like people to do this since they loose the lease income. I finally got fed up with the double payments while I'm in the MH (I don't "suspend" the home receiver because other people sometimes use the house), so I put both of the leased receivers on the home account and labeled one "living room" and one "rv living room". Now I pay $6 for the extra receiver and something for the DVR for the MH receiver in addition to the one home account charges for the package I subscribe to. I am told (although I haven't tried it yet) that when I am in the MH, I simply call and give them the zip code where I am and they will set me up for those locals. A royal pain to have to talk to the idiots in their call center every time I move, but better than paying another $80 or so a month for the MH when I'm not using it.

As soon as my lease term is complete (when "suspended" , the MH account does NOT move forward, i.e. the lease periods suspends, too) I WILL buy receivers for both my house and my MH and be somewhat done with this nonsense.

I've been fighting with them for 15 years over this issue and invariably get a different answer from the idiots in the call center. I usually ask to be connected directly to the CRG (Customer Retention Group)...at least they speak an English I can understand and sometimes know what they are talking about.
I'll let the list know if this works when I next take the MH out. I suspect that if folks are able to beat the system, it is simply because they don't know exactly what is going on. Yes, I have come to hate DirecTV, but that alternatives are few.

Dave Glen

'06 Magna 6591

Re: DirecTV

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87606
I switched to dish network because DTV would give me such a hassle over changing to the local channels. All they would give me is NY or LA for a charge. Why do I want to watch NY or LA when I am in somewhere else?

Tom

2005 Inspire 51177

Re: DirecTV

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87608
Even if you BUY a receiver, DTV considers it to be LEASED. The only "owned" receivers are ones that were purchased years ago before they changed their policies. Weird, but this is true and you can no longer "own" a receiver unless you buy it second-hand from someone who bought it before the policy change. There are owned receivers frequently on EBay, but you must get the serial number and call DTV to verify or you may wind up buying a leased receiver that is advertised as owned. Also to make sure all charges are paid up on that receiver. Then you must buy a new card for that used receiver, for which DTV charges $25.

Re: DirecTV

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87613
When I added HD receiver to the RV, I simply had them add it as a clone to my home account. No problem - now have one at full price, 2more in TX as clones, and 2 in AR as clones. They were very helpful.
JiminTX

Re: DirecTV

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87616
Jim

I also used to maintain two accounts. I consolidated to one about a year ago when DirecTV changed their account suspension rules. When heading out on a trip, I take two receivers from my home - one DVR, and one HD receiver - and hook them up in the coach. I have to change a setting on each one, as I have the whole home network at home, but not in the coach. As I travel, I call DTV at each stop and change my service address to my current location - usually the address of the park I am staying in. I then receive local channels based on my location. Easy! No problem whatsoever with DTV rules - in fact this was their preferred approach.

Phil Webb, '06 Inspire #51836

Quote from: James"

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Re: DirecTV

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87622
Is there any validity to the rumor that older, purchased receivers are going to shortly become deleted from service and you either upgrade or give it up?

Mike Cebula
'95 Magna 5266

Re: DirecTV

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87625
Dave

I believe that you are going to find out that buying the receiver does not change anything. I just purchased a new receiver and DVR with the new SWM technology and was told that DTV still considers the receiver to be leased.
You could run into an issue with your set up if the DTV receiver needs to be replaced as DTV will only send the receiver to the location where it is installed. I used to do what you have done but when I got the new motor home I told them one was in the home and one in the motor home and they have shipped me overnight two receivers in the last 4 or 5 years. I gave up on local programming while on the road there not much to watch anyway and DTV still has the best sports packages. I don't own stock in DTV.

Dan 2006 Allure 31348

Re: DirecTV

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87626
You did Not Purchase a DVR but you Leased a DVR. However, you can buy them from Directv Employees and other companies who have them as Demo Units and if you call the Directv Access Card Dept with the RID # they can tell you if it is indeed Owned.

Then you can Suspend it as many times as you want to.
 

Re: DirecTV

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87654
I have a vacation home that has only owned recievers, and they still won't allow me to suspend it for more than 6 months per year.

Marc

Wellington, FL

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