So 3 months of free service makes up for 18 months of being overcharged by at least 50%? Maybe a little less weather-related chat and more insistence on them making things right would have helped.

Did Yasmina put you on hold before passing you to Cindy? If so, it was a warm transfer, and she explained what you wanted to Cindy.

And Advanced Customer Care is probably customer-speak for Retentions, which are normally the only ones who can cancel a line.

@jbviau: You signed up for a service, and agreed to a contract with a set price. It's not their job to make sure you get the best price.

It's like those Sprint commercials where the new kid gets the big box of crayons. I had a similar experience a few years ago with a local DSL provider.

I was one of their very first customers when they started offering DSL, and the price for that plus my phone was over $80 a month at that time. I watched the price go down on their website and waited for my bill to drop, and it never did. I called them and was told "that's your contract price" and I reminded them that my contract had expired two years earlier. They lowered my price.

Fast forward a year or so later and, voila, the price had dropped again. So I called again, and they lowered it again, but only when I told them I was going to disconnect.

I'm wondering, though, how many people are still paying $80 a month for their DSL from this company!

P.S. Yes, I'm still with them. The price is competitive and the service is reliable beyond belief. Even better it's an independent local company so my money stays here.

@silver-bolt: But his contract/service agreement had expired long ago. Could the guy have been more diligent? Yes. Would I have been happy with this resolution? No.

Everyone gets 3 free months if they simply call and ask to cancel. Tivo didn't do you any favors. Sucker. :)

You'll note that you can't cancel your service online. Still think this is great customer service? Heh.

I was a TiVo earlier adopter. Their terrible, awful, ridiculous customer service forced me to switch to a Time Warner DVR.

You know your customer service is bad when you switch to Time Warner for better service!

TiVo has always had CSRs that are empowered to actually help people rather than just drop scripted lines. I <3 them!

This is why I have a no-subscription-required DVR (Philips 3455H). Unfortunately, it's not HD, and HD-DVRs without a subscription seem to be more or less nonexistent these days.

TiVo is a rip-off. The one-year warranty is actually a 90 day warranty. meaning that unless any hardware problem happens within the first 90 days you have to pay TiVo $50 to fix your still-under warranty machine.

when the product and lifetime service costs about $600 and they extort another $50 if the machine fails after 90 days but before the one year mark... it is a rip-off.

Two words: Myth TV

My husband was an early TiVo adopter; he raved about how great it was when we got together over 7 years ago, and I quickly became a convert myself.

We still own that original 40-hour box, and it still works great, though we don't use it anymore. We now have 3 different boxes; an 80-hour standard, an 80-hour dual-tuner, and a 140 hour. We paid $12.95 for the first and $6.95 for the second (grandfathered in from way back when that was all a second box cost). When we added the third, we were under contract at $12.95 for a year, but they were able to put the other $12.95 box down to $9.95 (current charge for multi-box discount).

When the contract ended, instead of just continuing as we were, for some reason our $9.95 box got bumped up to $12.95. No biggie; I called to fix the error, but instead what happened was the CSR put that box back down to $9.95 and then put the $6.95 box to $12.95 (still with me?).

I called AGAIN and they fixed the second box back to $6.95, and then I got put on hold for a LONG time. When the CSR came back, he told me that the system only allows so many price changes, and it wouldn't let him change the first box back to $12.95. He'd even run it by his supervisor, but they said nothing could be done, so they were letting me keep the discount. So yes, I pay $9.95x2 and $6.95x1.

That's some darn good service IMO. Here's a customer saying "Please, charge me what I'm supposed to pay!" and they say "Nah, just keep your discount."

@jbviau: I actually had the same thing happen with my Tivo account. The overcharge was my own fault for not knowing I could get a different rate.

@MauriceCallidice: Dish Network DVRPal is a great one.

@Stephen Schenck: DTVPal, sorry

I noticed I was being overcharged by TiVo a few months ago and called up POLITELY to see what was up, and got "yeah, that's what you signed up for so that's what we charge you" and that was it. I had to go back online to "change" my subscription to the correct, lower price and got NO help from TiVo. I sent in a note to consumerist, but I guess just posting a warning that everyone should check their tivo billing because they overcharge and won't help wasn't a good enough story.

@jbviau: He was NOT being overcharged. As per the TiVo policy which he agreed to when activating his service. There must be one TiVo unit at full price and any additional units will get a discounted rate. I used to be a TiVo CSR.

@silver-bolt: In my experience as a TiVo CSR we would only do a warm transfer to the highest levels of support, the Customer Service Investigators (CSI). We were required to take case notes, and Cindy probably just pulled those up and make the changes to the account.

@james275: So, just because you can't cancel online it makes TiVo a bad service? If you like the service then you don't really need to be thinking about canceling.

@james275: Please stop typing on your laptop from your Comcast truck :)

You'll note that the TiVo beats the frak out of any cable company DVR. Oh, and this little internet company ([www.amazon.com]) you may have heard of lets me watch on demand on my TiVo. Yes I am a fanboy (also known as a consumer with a brain.

I don't understand why people just don't buy a lifetime sub.. I did with my S2 Tivo and it paid for itself in 24 months!

As for newer models like the S3 and TivoHD.. the whole switched digital thing on a lot of cable systems requiring a tuner is a headache. I miss my Tivo interface but until they correct that issue I won't be replacing my old S2 one with a new digital model.

If only Comcast and Quest has been so friendly and accommodating earlier this month when I called them, I wouldn't be preparing to cancel my service with them!

@Stephen Schenck: Thanks, I'd overlooked that one since I don't have satellite service, but I see it's not a satellite device. That might be what I've been looking for.

TIVO has given me RELATIVE (to most other CSRs) good service. They will not volunteer information to you if they think you are canceling but if you ask directly will come across with the correct information. That is my only complaint. Otherwise, they speak US English and are polite to me.

@TinaBringMeTheAx: I still have a first gen TiVo with a lifetime subscription ($120).

Still works and they still support it!

I've always found TiVo customer service to be above average. I upgraded to an HD TV earlier in the year and I wasn't sure I wanted to shell out the $300 for an HD TiVo. I decided to just rent an HD dvr through the cable company to gauge how much I'd actually use it to record HD. Comparatively speaking, it wasn't anywhere near as good as a TiVo, but it was adequate.

I called TiVo to cancel my service and as mentioned previously, they offered me three months free to think about it, but also offered me a brand new HD TiVo for $99, so I enjoyed three free months on my new HD TiVo.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I regret not getting the Lifetime sub when it was $120 and I was mulling over the fact that the hardware might not last or TiVo might not stick around. Now they want $220 or something close.

I've had far different experience with Tivo. I purchased a brand new Tivo HD from a retail store, to replace my existing Tivo series 2. It came with an offer of 3 months free service. When I called to activate my new Tivo, they told me I would not be getting any free service. Since I was already an established customer too bad.

That, and their punitive stance on service contracts (you owe the entire year of service if you cancel no discounts or buy out ), when there was previously no requirement for a contract, makes me think of them as the Sprint of the DVR industry.

@MauriceCallidice: Depending on your circumstances (what you're trying to record, what equipment you have, how geeky you are), you can roll your own. [mysettopbox.tv]

The expense depends on how much spare computer equipment you have sitting around the house, and the program guide is $20 a year.

@loueloui:

Oh, and I forgot to mention them spying on, and selling your viewing habits to other companies, and the stupid, intrusive -Learn more about the Releze Band now!-advertisements I can't get rid of.

@Splendid:
TiVo is expensive, but I tried going the cable-company DVR route, and their DVR couldn't do most of the things my TiVo box can do. In fact, it would often miss recordings and had no wish-list feature. So back to TiVo I went, on my hands and knees.

You were on a month to month after your contract expired. When you renewed for a new contract it comes with a new two year period and an early termination fee. May not be a bad deal in your case. It sucks that they require the new contract and ETF even if you are bringing your own equipment though... When I stopped Tivo service a year a go, I was paying $12.95 for the first unit and $6.95 for the second...

@loueloui: They aren't spying on you any more than your grocery store is spying on your buying habits with their discount card. You agree to those terms as part of the agreement.

Just buy the 3 year (paid in advance). The monthly cost is then only $8.30 a month, and by the end of the three years, the credit card you used for payment will have expired, and they can't automatically switch you to the high month-to-month rate. When they start nagging you that your card is expired, ignore it. Just keep track of when the three years is up.

@TinaBringMeTheAx: I am a TiVo early adoptee too. I've been pretty happy with the customer service, and have taken advantage of many promotions, and Lifetime Service.

The best thing about TiVo over all other companies is the interface. Forget about the company or the hardware or the service, if you don't have the software, you don't have TiVo.

All companies will have varying levels of service and varying levels of hardware quality. But don't even attempt to company software!

Don't be fooled by the Tivo come-on. A lot of their stuff is/was great. But the main product in their lineup today -- the Tivo HD -- has a major defect that Tivo has known about for years.

These units are known to suddenly stop receiving analog channels. Thus, the unit often fails to record shows; it's rasion d'etre! A reboot restores the signal, but a reboot take almost 5 minutes (!) and whatever show was unrecorded during the signal loss is gone.

The company has not fessed up to this issue publicly, or refunded fees. They keep saying, either it's all in our heads, or the next update will fix it.

People should stay away from Tivo until 1) this issue is fixed, and 2) Tivo commits to be honest with the public about product defects. Until then, I beg you, please do not do business with Tivo.

@tbax929: I can't afford it. Not only in money, but in time. If I could record all the shows I WANT to watch, I'd never get anything done.

A similar thing happened to me with AT&T's CallVantage service. They lowered the price by $5/month, but left all existing customers on the higher price. When I found out over a year later, they refused to offer me a refund. They said it was up to me to contact them to change the price (they never sent a notice about the price change, I only found out because I went to the "change my plan" screen on a whim).

Of course, had they raised the price, I'm sure I would have automatically had my plan's price changed.

The baby in the picture must be a boy; he's already kidnapped the remote. HA!*

*still scarred from being forced to watch wrestling with the ex*

@superhalo: Wait a minute....you mean to tell me that CSR's out there actually take notes on the call, and that people in different departments can all see these notes, so that the customer doesn't have to explain the issue to multiple people???!!! Shocking.

@PunditGuy: If he's running Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, or XP Media Center Edition, he could go that route as well. My friend has a media center PC and it's pretty slick. :)

@Splendid: I don't think that's true. I've RMA'd TiVos up to a year after purchase. I think the 90 days is on refurbs?

@dreamsneverend: The Lifetime sub stopped being offered for several years.

I'm a dork by default, due to being blonde, but I also believe in being a loyal customer. I can't help but wonder, though, how far you're supposed to carry that loyality......I subscribed to Comcast (Time Warner) two years ago. I ordered cable, internet, and home phone service. I was supposed to get 3 free months of HBO, as a sign up bonus, but it didn't happen. Six months later, Comcast began advertising the "Bundle" for $99.00. I'm paying just over $200.00 a month. When I inquired about the bundle, they informed me that I'd have to cancel my services, turn everything in, and start all over. Less than a year into our service, we were hit by Hurricane Ike. It just blew my mind, how even though I made several phone calls a day, up to three weeks after the fact, and all my neighbors had service....we did not. We even purchased a new modem, and an amplifier, and new cable wire, and restored our service on our own. Now, two years into our service, my husband has had a stroke...the home health nurses must call me before each visit, and of course, blonde that I am, I gave them the home phone as a main contact number. For some strange reason, our services are NOT working....On their end, everything seems to be working fine, but it will take at least 5 days before a tech. will be available in my area. Thank Heaven for dvd's!

You shouldn't have stopped there. When I called to cancel they offered to lower my monthly service to $10.95. Just over a 15% decrease. I told them if they could get it to $8.95 I would keep it. The rep let me cancel.

@eds70: No no noooo, I work as a CSR for a monthly subscription service. CANCEL THINGS WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH THEM. Because your credit card company is either going to continue to honor the preauthorized charges or they will update your expired info with the company FOR you, and billing will very likely continue. And you won't have much footing to argue with customer service, who is going to say, "How were we supposed to know that you wanted to stop when you didn't contact us?" Or somebody is going to send you to collections. Bad, bad idea.

@fantomesq:

No, actually when I first bought my older Tivo they did NOT collect and sell user data -that happened later. Funny, I don't remember anyone asking me if I was okay with this, or if I would like to return my tivo for a full refund.

Just because something is legal doesn't mean that it's moral, or ethical or the right thing to do. The entire 'terms subject to change without notice' garbage is only CYA for mealy mouthed corporate types.

Tivo sold out their early customers to make a buck, and sacrificed their integrity.

@HogwartsAlum:
There's some truth to that. I remember being sold on the premise that I would actually watch LESS TV because I'd only watch what I wanted to see. I didn't account for the fact that I'd want to see a lot more if I could see anything that was available whenever I wanted to.

My TV viewing is usally done while reading, doing crosswords, working out, or surfing the net. So I've convinced myself I'm not wasting any more time than I used to.

@james275: well, he got 3 months of service free when he had none before.

plus, he didnt have to make an idle threat to do it, unlike what most bad consumers do on their unfulfilled, unprofitable cell phone contracts.

he's only a sucker if he made a commitment to something and got nothing in return... much like your attempt to troll and getting no results making you the sucker this round.