Why isn't this receiver deactivated?

[KRD01967]

Purchased a 9200 from brother in law last week.I went to his house yesterday to try out receiver and look it over.Although he had upgraded 1 month ago to a 9242 and had called to deactivate receiver, it still is displaying his channels.We were a little surprised it was displaying anything other than the saved PVR events!Is this normal?I thought once a receiver is deactivated it can't display the subscribers channels without a reactivation.

Thanks for any replies.

[hugh]

He probably had it disconnected when the original hit came down. If he leaves it hooked up, it will be re-hit and the programming will be gone. This is discussed in lots of places around here so if you search you can probably find more details.

[KRD01967]

Okay, we just want to make sure we don't have billing issues down the road(as anyone who had to call Bell can relate to) Thanks for your reply.

[scrooloose]

Have your brother in law call Bell and they will put a note on the account that he's selling the receiver to you. That should take care of any problems.

-Mike

[congo]

In the old days, it was a great 'Get Around" with Bell to disconnect the receiver then call and suspend your service (it was free back then to suspend). You then waited for a month or so and hooked the receiver back up. Wow, all your channels were still there and they had since stopped sending the code down to de-activate your receiver.

Not that way any more. It's almost like they don't stop sending the code.

Congo

[KRD01967]

I have learned the last 3 years that if I have any questions, I first ask here then and only then, I will call Bell!! It is such a "hit and miss" thing with their csrs.


Thanks again

[Ex Agent EV]

The only answer is...receiver was never dectivated!

The agent probably forgot to remove the code in the system that gives programming to second receiver. He was probably too stressed with his AHT (average handle time), following the quality evaluation sheet (that decide whether or not he will get his bonus) or too focussed on trying to make his sales attempt (that also determine whether or not he will get a bonus). Your brother in law would have to call EV again tell them he sold you the receiver, have it deactivated, put a note on his account for you to call and activate it on your account.

You can also choose to leave it the way it is. EV calls it account stacking, but they can not know you are doing it unless they call your bro to verify his receivers and he is unable to provide the info on that receiver. Even if he gets that call he also has the option to call back at a more convenient time, so he could bring back your receiver, give them the info and give it back to you.

[KRD01967]

Thanks Ex Agent. I have been with Bell for almost 3 years and have never had a call to "inventory" my receivers.I have always had 1 receiver connected to a phone line but not both. I think I read different opinions on whether they do it via phone line or via sat. connection. Just curious...

Thanks again

[jb1]

Okay, we just want to make sure we don't have billing issues down the road(as anyone who had to call Bell can relate to) Thanks for your reply.

Good luck with that. If there's one thing you can always count on, it's that Bell will screw up your bill. If there's a second thing, it's that it will be ridiculously frustrating and time consuming to get it corrected.

[Ex Agent EV]

I'm with EV myself for over 5 years and they never called me to "inventory" my receivers either. None of them are connected to a telephone line since it's not physically possible (I would have to have a cable going from one side to the other of the living room). I only had 2 receivers until October, and now 3.

This departement mostly calls account where there is 3 receivers or more...it is very rare that they would call clients that have less than 3 receivers.

Now back to the original question...if you really want YOUR programming on that receiver there is no choice but to call.

If your brother in law said when he called that he WILL sell the receiver, not that he SOLD the receiver the agent could have taught that he wanted to keep the receiver active until then. The only way tofind out is to give them a call and try to activat it on your account.

In my case the oposite happened. I bought a 5900 and called just to see if the seller called EV to let them know I will buy her machine. Instead to just verify it the agent added the receiver I haven't yet purchased and I made it clear that I DIDN'T BUY IT YET, I INTENDED TOO ONLY! Imagine if I had changd my mind and decided not to buy it! The eprson whom she would have sold it to would have never been able to activate it, cause they would have required MY PERMISSION to activate it sice the receive was transferred to me already!

[KRD01967]

Thanks for the replies.

jb1, I hear ya! Although if you do have to call, if you explain your inconvenience etc. they have always offered some type of compensation.Last year during the playoffs I had the "jump to live" bug hit me a couple of times in May. When I called, I was spitting nails! Both times I was given a $50 credit. At the time, I still would have traded it for the period and a half I missed, but come billing time I was pleased. I have been genuinely happy with their compensations when an error happens. Also, the wait times are not that bad,although they will always try to push another service or send you an email towards the end of the call.

Ex Agent, thanks again for your help.

[I_Want_My_HDTV]

I have a receiver still on my account that was sold over two years ago. I told them twice it was sold and it's still on there. It's not the first time this has happened either. You have two choices, watch your brother in laws's programming or go through the hassle of getting it straightened out. If you go the first route, don't connect the phone line.

[KRD01967]

Thanks Robert. That's funny because it is my bro in law, that thought did cross my mind! I will probably try calling again. Thanks again

[dosborne]

Originally Posted by congo

In the old days, it was a great 'Get Around" with Bell to disconnect the receiver then call and suspend your service (it was free back then to suspend). You then waited for a month or so and hooked the receiver back up. Wow, all your channels were still there and they had since stopped sending the code down to de-activate your receiver.

Not that way any more. It's almost like they don't stop sending the code.

The "new" system is quite different from the old. The difference is in the way programming is stored on the smart card.

Your progrmaming will expire in a realtively short period of time if it is not reaquthorized prior to the expiry.

For example, let start with Jan 1, I receive authorization on my card to receiver the channels I order. These channels are set to expire in 10 days. Authorization is sent every 2 days giving me 5 good chances to reauthorize for 10 more days during that period.

The # of days listed above are just an example to give you an idea how it works.

This is also why a receiver, if unplugged for a week or so, will lose programming, but it will come back automatically (in most cases) within 24 hours once reconnected.

In addition to the above method, full deactivation commands for receivers are also sent periodically based on inventory. Receivers show internally as being own by the last registered/active owner even if the unit is deactivated. 1 have 4 or 5 really old ones on my account, that were deactivated years ago.

Originally Posted by KRD01967

Okay, we just want to make sure we don't have billing issues down the road(as anyone who had to call Bell can relate to) Thanks for your reply.

Bottom line, enjoy the free programming while it lasts You likely will only get 1 day to 1 week out of it. There is no way they could "track you down" for billing, besides, it is their problem not yours so don't worry about it. (But, don't plug in the phone line to avoid potential problems)

Originally Posted by KRD01967

Thanks Ex Agent. I have been with Bell for almost 3 years and have never had a call to "inventory" my receivers.I have always had 1 receiver connected to a phone line but not both. I think I read different opinions on whether they do it via phone line or via sat. connection. Just curious...

Authorization is 100% from the satellite feed (receive only).

PPV or other charges are outbound via the phone line (transmit only). The "clear" commands then come down via satellite (phone/modem commands cannot update the smartcard - but the receiver can read and send the into).

"Inventory" verification is also outbound via the phone line. Any customer may be randomly selected or spcifically targetted based on a profile for manual verification if the automated verification fails for any reason. 1 receiver, 6+ receivers or anywhere in between.

[Ex Agent EV]

I worked in SAT departemnt that does those inventory verifications...

"Inventory" verification is also outbound via the phone line. Any customer may be randomly selected or spcifically targetted based on a profile for manual verification if the automated verification fails for any reason. 1 receiver, 6+ receivers or anywhere in between

In the few months I hae worked in that departement I only called clients having more than 3 receivers, never less. Why? The more receivers you have greater are the chances that you will be account stacking... It is useless to call clients that only have one receiver on their account, they can bring it wherever (in Canada) they want to, they can not use 1 receiver in 2 homes at the sametime. Snce there is so many clients having 3 receivers or more that they need to call to verify their receivers we never got to the point of calling client with 2 receivers only,but were told we would probably do so in the future. It's been a while, they might have reached that point...