Can someone please break down the prices Verizon charges if you have a TiVo HD that accepts an M cablecard? Ie, truck roll is x amount and cablecard is x amount per month.
Thank you
truck roll = free
per month = 3.99
Wow, thanks for being so fast!!
I just got off of the phone and they told me it would be $80...I'll call back shortly and get it straightened out with them.
Thanks again...
I was just told by Verizon that I will need two M-cards and be charged $3.99 for each. Why two? It seems like others have only 1. My Tivo is Series 3.
I know I should have asked while on the phone, but didn't.
Thanks
Thanks Tim. The Verizon-rep didn't even ask me what kind of Tivo I had and when I initially had the FiOS hooked up they said the Series 2 I had wouldn't work at all with the system.
Thanks again.
Last time I checked the truck roll for cable cards was free because verizon requires a technician to install them. Their not offered to be mailed out like other STB for this particular reason. I would recommend calling in to our sales department and escalating, then mention that fact. Should help you along a bit.
Hey Tim, is there a charge for a cable card install?
(sorry- couldn't resist)
I just spent two utterly aggravating hours on the phone with two different CSRs and a CS manager who insisted that I would be charged $79.99 for my upcoming CableCard installation in Central NJ, and there was absolutely nothing that I or they could do to get that fee waived. If the installation fee has recently been eliminated, this particular customer service center knows nothing about that. They weren't particularly polite or sympathetic about it, either. Each one of them offered several times to mail me a STB or a Verizon DVR instead, and one CSR actually said to me, "Sir, we can't support other companies' equipment for free, and installing a CableCard is a complicated process, so we have to send someone out to do it, and we're going to charge you for that." In the end, the manager gave me two choices: keep the appointment and pay the fee, or cancel the installation.
So, Tim, I'm glad that you weren't personally charged for your installations, but that really doesn't help the rest of us.
$79.99 is a ridiculous sum of money to charge for a CableCard installation, especially when Verizon doesn't offer a self-service installation option like other cable TV companies do, and the level of confusion surrounding this whole thing is just an extra embarassment.
This will be my last post in this thread because no one listens. There is no way to be billed in the verizon billing system for a cable card install. If you do get charged they did not bill you correctly and the charges will get reversed. CSR is not the group that bills you. talk to the billing department, or PM TechMan28 on the forums here.
This is getting rediculous. I have been trying all week to get a straight answer and get a cable card for my Tivo unit. First, i have been having trouble with my Verizon DVR and after three days of them resetting it, and me telling them its the box. they say they will call me back. (I had the week off work so i wanted to get this straightened out). They still havent called me back, so i decided to get rid of my cable box and get a tivo. Well, today i turn in my DVR and a verizon plus store and now they tell me i cannot order a cable card until they process my return. I go back to work on Monday and cannot take off work to meet someone here. I have no idea what i am going to do at this point. When i talked to the CSR today to TRY and order the cable card needed for the tivo HD unit they said that they do not supply the M-Cards and that i would need two single stream cards.
This is frustrating.
Wow! i just called a Verizon CSR and believe it or not, it was a pleasurable and efficient session. She notified me that there will be a $80 service fee for the M-Card, I mentioned that there is a debate on the forums here stating that the fee should not be charged, she looked into it and said that is correct. The tech will be here Next week after i get off work.
As with any business, Verizon has many employees and some are jsut better at their jobs than others.
thanks, i just wanted to leave a positive post here.
@shawnmcf wrote: As with any business, Verizon has many employees and some are jsut better at their jobs than others.
I agree wholeheartedly, but we're not talking about an anomaly here. I spoke with three different people during two different phone calls and got the same ostensibly incorrect answer, and there wasn't any question about it: according to them, I was wrong, they were right, and there was no "looking into it" to get a corrected answer. I'm not the only one, either; there are plenty of people, some of whom have posted in this very thread, that have had the exact same experience that I had. That suggests a failure of the system, and I'm not convinced that Verizon's customer service management even cares. We know that customer service staff monitor these forums, and yet not one of them has posted to say something to the effect of, "We're really sorry about this, and we're taking definitive steps to inform our CSRs about the current policy. In the meantime, if you call and get a CSR who isn't aware of the policy, direct them to such-and-such resource on our internal systems, where they can read about it."
TimSykes wrote:
From what I was told a few weeks ago from one of theCSR guys on here. There was a memo going out about it because all the incorrect info given out.
I'm glad to hear that, but some people obviously haven't gotten the memo yet. It would be helpful if Verizon had this memo posted to an internal information system somewhere and then posted instructions here, in this forum, telling us how we, the customers, can direct CSRs who are not aware of the current policy to this memo. An official representative from Continental Airlines does this in the Continental forum on FlyerTalk.com all the time. So does the guy that TiVo pays to watch the TiVoCommunity.com forums.
I agree, there IS something broken as it pertains to the CSR training. I seem to remember a phrase from my childhood. "The customer is always right". Over the years in big business this phrase was forgotten. Companies that provide a service or product need consumers to thrive, but when monopolies set in, customers suffer.
I have had issues in the past 3 years with Verizon, they have always taken care of my issues, however, we shouldn't have to keep calling, wasting time arguing about how to correct issues.
It is annoying, consumers should be handled with better care and companies such as Verizon should provide more accurate training for their CSRs.
In the end, after spending time on the phone with the CSRs, they have provided me with a proper resolution, it simply should be this difficult to get one.
thanks.
So, how about it, Verizon? Now that you're aware of the training problem and the grief that it's causing your customers, what steps have you taken to correct it? To where can we direct the CSRs to find the informational memo with the updated policy?
I would send this inquiry via e-mail to a manager or executive in the customer service organization, but since you've deliberately made it difficult for customers to do so, I'm afraid this forum post is all I have.
If you are having any issues with getting a cablecard, please contact me in a private message and I will have you taken care of.
Thanks!
-CharlesH
Charles,
As I forum user, I really (truly) appreciate the standing offer of assistance. But what about the poor schlubs that don't know about the forums, or wouldn't know how to use them if they did? Do you know if anything is being done to retrain the front-line CSRs so that extraordinary assistance from excellent employees like yourself isn't necessary?
-Joe
I didn't want to toot my on horn but yes, I am working on resolving this issue on the front line aswell. What I am exactly doing I cannot comment on...but yes I have contacted the right people to get the ball rolling on this issue.
Once your TiVo has upgraded to version 11.0d, all forms of signal reduction (attenuation, splitters, etc) should be unnecessary.
No TiVo comes preinstalled with 11.0d, and it typically takes 2-4 days for a new TiVo to automatically upgrade to the 11.0d software. You can check your current version under Messages & Settings -> System Information.
Had install today of my 2 cablecards. Installer had me sign sheet but no price or cost on it.
Had my Tivo#1 S cards replaced with 1 M card and 1 M card put into my new Tivo#2.
All good. So just comes down to billing not screwing me.
I am in Southern NJ FWIW.
So has anyone outside of NJ been able to swap their S cards for M cards? I am reluctant to try again, after my 1st attempt as the VZ folks on the phone were telling me a completely different line than what folks are reporting here. I live in Northern VA and am still upset that after placing order and being as detailed as possible I still got stuck with S cards...
I too just scheduled my CableCARD install and was shocked to have the CSR tell me of the $80 truck fee. I figured there would be a fee, but $80 seems insanely steep for something that takes all of ten minutes. This is (or was??) clearly Verizon trying to keep people on their multi-room DVR (which I tried for a few months and can't stand, after having HD Tivo on DirecTV for years).
Anyway, I'll be checking back to see how folks have done with their billing...hoping the truck fee never materializes on my bill...
1st bill post CC exchange/install (M Card) and no service charge. So far so good.
I got 4 s-cards originally here in Boston for 2 TivoHD units.
When M-cards became available, 2 months ago, they CALLED ME and scheduled a FREE TRUCK ROLL to change them out.
I just got a new TiVO HD unit and here's what I just expireanced to get set up. I gave account/edit section a call and had a channel removed. Next I inquired about returning a HD Box. Go to ups send box for free yada yada.
Next regarding cable cards I was told they (reps) are instructed to send two cards priced at 3.99 per month each. I asked if those cards were single or multi stream and he didn't know. I pushed further and he went to ask a sup. and was told they didn't offer multi-stream cards so I would be sent two singles. There was no disscussions about truck rolls or tech installs, the issue went straight to them being sent in 5 days. So I said OK.
Maybe I should have asked about wheather or not I'd need a tech or truck rolls but I didn't. Do you guys think the cards will get shipped out before I get some call about how a tech needs to install? Also if no calls comes will I be able to set up without any problems, plug and play without verizon having to be here to activate them?
edit: ~Jay, Camarillo, California.
I am researching getting a Tivo HD-XL. Just got off the phone wth customer service. The rep was trying to find anywhere in writing where it clarified whether there is a charge for the truck roll or not. Finally she decided to place a "fake" order for a Cablecard. She went thru the whole process and was told that it requires a technician to install. At the end of the order there was not a charge for the truck roll.
She said that the only time she sees the $79 truck roll fee is when people opt out of self-install opportunities (like a DVR). In that case, they charge the $79 truck roll. She surmized that because we were not given an option to opt-out because the tech is required, then there is not the $79 fee. This may or may not be the case. But after it was all said and done, the resulting order DID NOT have any truck roll or installation fee associated with it.
Will post back when I do it for real in the next couple of weeks.
Yes I made sure she cancelled the "fake" order.
Well...here we go again. Talked to someone in billing and he went to schedule a cable card install and there was no truck charge. Bad news is Tivo wants to charge me more a month for their service (was on a grandfathered plan). So now, after all the hassle, it looks like Verizon's HD-DVR is cheaper than going with Tivo 😞 I love my tivo
@TexasTim wrote: Well...here we go again. Talked to someone in billing and he went to schedule a cable card install and there was no truck charge. Bad news is Tivo wants to charge me more a month for their service (was on a grandfathered plan). So now, after all the hassle, it looks like Verizon's HD-DVR is cheaper than going with Tivo 😞 I love my tivo
If you want to keep your grandfathered plan, then you can't buy your TivoHD from TiVo.com. TiVos purchased from TiVo.com require a new subscription at the new rate. You must buy it from a third-party retailer like Amazon.com or Best Buy to retain your existing rate.
To switch out your old TiVo for the new, and maintain your grandfathered rate (such as $6.95/mo), you login to Manage My Account @ TiVo.com and click "Change service number." You replace the service number for your old TiVo with the service number for the new TiVo. You can find the service number on the TiVo System Information screen.
I am thinking of putting together a HT PC. Can you give me a reccomendation on what cable cards and Tuner cards will work with FiOS?
@BucBrew wrote: I am thinking of putting together a HT PC. Can you give me a reccomendation on what cable cards and Tuner cards will work with FiOS?
CableCards are supplied by Verizon for $3.99/mo. [You can't buy your own and have them work.] You need a CableCard tuner for your PC; the CableCard from Verizon plugs into a slot on that tuner.
@at this time, there is only one CableCard tuner available for PCs -- the ATI Digital Cable Tuner, otherwise known as the ATI OCUR tuner. It is available in internal and external versions for $200-$250. Each ATI OCUR tuner supports can tune one channel using a CableCard from Verizon, so if you want dual-tuner capability to record two channels at the same time, then you would need two of these tuners (2x $200-$250) and two CableCards from Verizon @ $3.99/mo each.
In 1Q 2010, Ceton plans to introduce a new CableCard tuner for PCs. It will incorporate four tuners onto a single card, with all supported by a single CableCard at $3.99/mo. That will allow you to watch/record four different channels at the same time. This tuner product will be pricey, at $400-$600. Ceton hopes to offer a dual-tuner version for under $300 by mid-2010.
Keep in mind you must have Windows 7 Home Premium (or Pro) to use these CableCard tuner cards. You'll also want an Xbox360 in every room without direct access to the HTPC. The Xbox360 is able to act as a remote extender to view liveTV and recordings using the HTPC elsewhere in your home.
I took the plunge yesterday and order cable card for our Tivo. What an exhausting and frustrating experience!
First, I tried to do it online by logging in and locating the "Add/Change Hardware" link on the My Account page. Clicking that took me to a page with some sort of order confirmation number saying "Thank you - your order is complete". Huh? I didn't order anything.
So I get on the phone and wait on hold with bad music for 45 minutes and get nowhere. Check out the instructions on gethuman.com and even though it seems I'm routed to the same queue, I get a human after 30 seconds.
"Cable card? No problem! That'll be $79.99 for the truck roll..." Argh!! I explain to her about what's been told to other people here on this forum that the truck roll fee is waived etc and she will not budge. I ask her to check with her supervisor and she comes back and says the truck roll fee is only waived if it's ordered online. First, I explained that that makes zero sense at all. If the truck comes out, there should be fee or no fee - regardless of how the order is actually placed. What does me sitting on hold for 45 minutes vs. me wanting to strangle the web team for verizon.com (seriously web team - **bleep** is up with this site??) have to do with a fee for a truck roll. Getting no where down that logic path, I explained that I tried online and even went back with her on the phone and told her about the order confirmation team. She offered to give me a number for web support, but that they were closed. I explained that I've already got over an hour of my time after work wasted trying to order a simple cable card and that this was ridiculous. She put me back on hold and came back and said while she can't waive the $79.99 truck roll fee, she can give us $10.00 off our bill for a year.
No wonder why prices are so high from companies like this. All I wanted was to have a $79.99 fee waived, so instead they give me $120 because for some reason the phone people can't waive a fee that shouldn't be there in the first place!
Now we'll see what happens thursday when the tech comes out.
Tech arrived in the alloted appointment window and said he'd never done a cable card install before. We put the card in, he made some calls to FSC and was told to activate it via his laptop. The laptop screen asks for POD-ID which is not on the card or on the cable card menu itself. After trying different numbers and seeing the formatting required via the error message, we figured out it was the "CableCARD ID" as shown on the screen. When he tried to submit the form, it had one of those little javascript errors in the bottom left of the IE status bar area. I explained to him that no matter how many times he retyped all of the info in, that it's an error in the page coding. After 2 more tries he conceded and called the FSC (888-553-1555) and read the numbers in to a tech. Within a minute the card seemed to activate. Right before he left though the screen went to gray for about 30 seconds. I'm hoping that's just something updating or the Tivo attenuation issue that'll be fixed by a Tivo O/S update. Fingers crossed.
A number of Tivo/Cablecard users are beginning to report losing encrypted channels above channels 50/550, seemingly after the 1.7 update. Not sure what that would have to do with cablecards directly, but the error began at the same time regardless.
What's up, Verizon?
@vgsmike wrote: A number of Tivo/Cablecard users are beginning to report losing encrypted channels above channels 50/550, seemingly after the 1.7 update. Not sure what that would have to do with cablecards directly, but the error began at the same time regardless.What's up, Verizon?
Where are you located?
I would think a cablecard software update would also be required in the card. Perhaps card users are low on the priority list. Even so I would not think the 1.7 would cause pre 1.7 issues, because FIOS can not upgrade all the boxes at the same time?
From reports across various forums, dozens (maybe hundreds?) if FiOS CableCard users in the New York area all lost their cable channels in the past few days. It affects CableCard TVs, TivoHDs, Moxis, and PC CableCard setups.
I just had a second tech out to my house since I lost the CableCARD Auth Thursday night/Friday Morning. Sounds like Verizon is realizing there's something going on here. This tech told me he had several open orders, including startups, where the CableCard would not authorize. He escalated the call and told me that he was told to aggregate these calls under my current open ticket. I'm located in the Western New York area. Whatever happened Thurs night seems to have hosed the ability to auth cards.
There are separate threads building on DSL reports and the TiVO community site related to this.
Western NY (Hamburg) also am missing nearly all encrypted channels from TivoHD with Cablecard, spent about 45 mins with tech support, they sent commands to the card & had me reboot twice to no effect, have opened a ticket with video support. Clearly something to do with the head end in WNY since other areas report on Tivocommunity that they're fine. Sad that tech support had no record of similar problems. At my work we do tech support for a widely deployed web application and track problems seen by multiple customers, and it helps pinpoint the problem QUICKLY. Hope this doesn't take long for FiOS to figure out, that it affects other types of box (Moxi, PC Cablecard tuners) sure points the finger at FiOS TV.
I just got off the phone with verizon CSR after trying to order two m cards. I was completely unsuccessful, having the rep tell me that cablecards do not bypass the fios STB, being told the cards would arrive in 3 - 5 days, being told their was no truck roll required.
I eventually got the issue escalated to a manager, who basically repeated the same thing, wouldn't budge, wouldn't let me schedule a truck roll (even though I said I would pay the 80$ without arguement.)
I was told they would research the issue and call me back tomorrow.
Should I try to call another CSR or is there a different approach I can take?
I'm having trouble with one of the FiOS cable jacks in my house (no coax LAN connectivity), so I made an appointment with fiber solutions to have someone come out to look at the jack and hopefully fix it. I just bought a TiVo HD and was hoping to get the guy fixing my FiOS to install the Cablecard in the same visit to avoid (even the threat of) the $79 fee. I figured, well he's going to be here anyway, he can just pop in a Cablecard, program it, and I'll be good to go. I guess Verizon sees it differently because I was told to contact customer support to setup a new install. There was nothing fiber solutions could do about that.
She gave me a direct number so I didn't have to wait on hold, which was nice, but it turns out that their systems are not connected at all. Therefore, I would have to place a separate ticket to get a "new" installation of the Cablecard (the connected jack is there, the tech would just have to activate the cablecard since he was going to be here anyway). This would require a seperate verizon tech to come out to do this. I asked her if the there were seperate teams of people for problems vs. installation and she told me that the dispach is the same so she assumed it was all the same truck. Meaning that the truck coming to fix my FiOS jack was capable of installing a cablecard, but couldn't because fiber solutions and customer service can't talk to each other.
From an efficiency point of view this made no sense to me, but I kept trying to get at the heart of the situation. From what I could gather, customer support could not access fiber solutions' files, and therefore two separate crews would have to visit me. She was super nice and offered to make the appointment for the same day and time as my service visit, and of course charge a $79 truck roll fee.
Can someone from Verizon please help me understand this? There is a real possibility that 2 seperate Verizon crews could be at my house at exactly the same time, working on the same service, and yet I'm the one footing the bill? I am being punished for Verizon's system not being completely integrated? It seems to me that either Verizon is really poorly setup (which wouldn't surprise me) or I am being charged a punishment fee for opting to own my own equipment, or more likely a little of each. I'm willing the pay the $4/month to replace the free cable box on my secondary TV, I'm not willing to pay for Verizon's inefficiencies. In addition to the completely spotty service I have to be nickeled and dimed too? C'mon Verizon! Stop putting very nice customer service people in the middle of your crummy policies!
I get that everyone is saying that there will actually not ever be a fee applied, but I really can't take the chance of losing $79 for such a frivolous reason. I know a bunch of people are saying they're told there will be one and it never shows up but I'm just curious, can anyone say whether they have actually ever been charged this fee?
Well...
Despite all the horror stories, 2 techs came to install the card last Saturday. They
had to connect to my router (which I renamed), so had to give him the new name, which
took the tech a little by surprise,. But after about 20 minutes, they were gone. Tivo/Card
working like a charm. Did talk to them about some of the issues reported. Usually it
has to do with people not actually setting up the Tivo before they come in. Since I already
went through the setup, and all the updates, there were no real issues.
Now, to compare it with the VZ box... I've had the pleasure of having Tivo before, with the
original Directv installs. I guess I was expecting a little more than those units. One of the
real reasons for going back to the Tivo was the interface with my PCs on my network. So
I downloaded Tivo Desktop, and unfortunately i'm not very impressed. Very slow, and not
the best 'interface', even though its Tivo. Looking at Galleon now. The Netflix access worksgreat, they just need to get some better variety of instant access titles. Looks like Blockbuster
still will charge for on demand access, even with an online account.
I definitely will miss the 'On Demand' option on the FIOS DVR, especially the Premium/Local
channels series.
Does anyone now if there is a future between Tivo & FIOS to make some type of On Demand
offer ?
Also, any update on adding a Hardrive to the Fios boxes ?
-Steve
@SYSSJR
were you charged the $79 truck roll? I'm considering just going for it, but am curious
Well....
The interesting thing, was that when I placed the order, there was no mention of a charge. I will wait for the next
bill and update this post.
Well... I got Tivo to upgrade me to a TivoHD for $99 and keep my existing plan of $6.95/month. So, hopefully tehre will be no hassles. Im about to call Verizon and set up the install. Tivo warehouse is about 10 miles from my house...ships tomorrow and should be here Wednesday.So, if you guys want to upgrade, just tell them you are thinking about canceling Tivo service and switching to your cable company. The refurbs are $199, and if you say you are going to cancel, then a new door opens and there is a $99 upgrade and you keep your existing plan. They said the refurb isnt really a refurb, but more of an open box return. They package it all back up, then send it out. It keeps the new Tivo warranty.
Just got the bill. Was not charged for the truck roll !!!!
