Cgloba:
I moved into a house that already had a dish attached - no installation required by Shaw Direct. So I went and bought the HD-PVR 530 at visions in Calgary for $500 (went to the Shaw Main Office, but they were sold out so they sent me 2 blocks away to get one).
6 months later, my girlfriend and I decide to buy a house. We decided we rather not put a dish on our brand new house as it's still under builder warranty etc. We figured we'd go with Shaw cable which was already installed in the house anyways.
I called Shaw Direct to cancel my account, so I could try and sell my 530 and recoup some of the $500 I paid. I was told there was a 1 year "agreement" which I knew nothing about - rep at the SD office never said anything, nor was I told when I was signed up, I didn't think anything of it, they advertise no contracts. After over an hour of arguing with the cancellation supervisor and getting no where, I told them I want to put my account on a "vacation suspension" - which he initially refused to do, since I already told him I was moving. I asked him if he was calling me a liar, and if he can refuse to follow one policy (by not allowing me to go on a suspension), how come he can't slide the other one and let me cancel. He gave in, and let me put it on a suspension.
I then ended up putting a complaint in to the BBB and someone higher up at SD contacted me - they still wouldn't let me just cancel, but gave me 2 options. Either keep it on the suspension for 6 months, and cancel then, or send back another (305) reciever I was given by a friend - I chose the 6 months as it would cost me nothing, and I had to give up nothing.
After we moved, we did end up deciding to stay with SD as Telus TV wasn't offered in my new area quite yet - and if we were going for a dish anyways, I already had some hardware, and didn't want to rent/buy new hardware from Bell. So we signed up with a new account under my gf's name at the new address. New 505 reciever for dirt cheap, new programming credits, and transfered my 530 over as the 305 stayed on the old account.
Suck on that Shaw.
I don't buy that a 530 costs more than $500 to produce - it's a what, how many year old product? Plus the new 630 was right around the corner which I didn't know when I bought the 530. By the time the vacation suspension was up, my 530 would be worthless.