Contract Expiring Sept 07

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jamis1979
  • Start date Start date
J

Jamis1979

Guest
Called Starchoice...they had absolutely no deal for me.

So I called Expressvu and they put me through to their retension department. She told me this is what they would offer me.
1) 6months of free rental on an HD PVR
2) 1 year free HD programming on top of my Basic package and one theme pack which I currently have.
3) Free installation and no setup fees.

On the flyer they give you in stores I currently have whats called the build your own package for $31 and then I add $8 for the one theme pack and $5 rental on my recievers. Normally if I stayed with those same channels and wanted the HD channels as well once I got an HDTV, it would be an addition $10 for the HD programming and $20 for rental on an HD PVR. So to get those HD channels it would be $30 a month and my deal looks like this

1) 1 year of free rental on an HD PVR
2) 1 year free HD programming on top of my Basic package and one theme pack which I currently have.
3) Free installation and no setup fees.

She said any HD setup is a one year contract so I told her I didn't want to pay for that rental at all throughout the whole year. She told me she would waive that rental fee all year and still give me the free HD channels.

At that point I told her I didn't really need the HD PVR right away anyway cause I don't currently have an HDTV and wasn't planning on getting one until December/January. I told her I was worried if I didn't get the Shaw deal now...that Shaw might axe the deal and then I'd have nothing to negotiate against. She told me that would not happen. She said she'd put the deal she offered me onto a note in my account and then when I wanted to switch to HD the offer would still be there for the free HD and no rental HDPVR. She told me in the mean time to keep me happy she would give me 3 months free programming of what I currently have. So in the end she is saving me 43.95 for a few month, plus giving me $30 a month off my bill for a year contract so I am still only going to pay 43.95. So not the deal looks like this:

1) 1 year of free rental on an HD PVR ($20/month)
2) 1 year free HD programming on top of my Basic package and one theme pack which I currently have. ($10/month)
3) Free installation and no setup fees. (whatever shaw had it too)
4) Free programming until I upgrade. ($43.95 for 3 months)

Honestly, that doesnt' sound to bad to me so I went with it. I have read through these forums and I have found that alot of people are not happy with the picture quality they are getting from Shaw. To be honest, I have always been happy with the service I have recieved from Bell aside from a few times lightning was in my area and it went down. There also seemed to be some issues with that free HD PVR Shaw was giving out...whereby there would be some black lines on the side of the screen cause of some auto zoom function that wasn't available on that model. I have also heard that in the next few months a new Bell reciever could be coming out and I will ask for that one so it has the mpeg4 that everyone is drooling about. Bottom line, if I'm going to spend over $1500 on a HDTV...I want the best service possible and from what I have read the best service comes from satelite providers.

As long as Bell comes through with my deal around Boxing day when I get my HDTV I will be very happy with the deal they gave to me and I will stay with Bell. If they don't I will be pissed off so badly...and I just have this sinking feeling that that is what is going to happen.
 
My contract expires this month with expressvu. I originally signed up Sept 05for a promotion in Toronto that included free installation, some programing credits, two recievers (Bell 3100 is written on the bottom left of the recievers), and my subscription included the digital standard along with the Sports #1 theme pack. I think in the beginning I was paying something like $25 + $5 rental + plus some other charges...can't remember well but I think my bill was coming to around $35 or 38. In September 2006 I moved to Calgary and used Bells moving offer for one reciever. The technician was not able to hook up the second reciever in my basement because the landlord would not let him drill through the floor or anywhere else to get a line there. I got Bell to axe my second reciever rental cost and deactivate the reciever or card inside of it (I'm not sure what they did really). At this point my Bell bill comes to $43.95 after taxes for the digital standard and the Sports #1 theme pack.

At this point I do not own an HDTV so I have no need for an HDTV reciever. I am planning however to take advantage of some sort of boxing day deal on and HDTV or if some crazy deal at RFD comes up I might jump on it. It really doesn't matter to me if I go over to an HD reciever now or then, all I care about is that I get the best deal possible which is why I am posting this thread. I would appreciate if some of you with more experience could make some recommendations on my switch over to the total HD experience (ie the HDTV and HD Reciever). Perhaps there are some negotiating tactics I could use to better a deal with Bell Expresvu, or if not, perhaps it would be better for me to buy a reciever. Perhaps I should just leave Bell altogether and try another provider? This is my first crack at researching the issue so any advice would be helpful.

One other thing. I am planning on subscribing to the NHL Center Ice package this year. So that may influence some part of the decision making.

Please post your comments.

Thank you.
 
I got a similar deal yesterday, and I'm very happy with it.

Came off contract this month after having 2 years with a new SD install including 2 purchased SD receivers and the basic $25 / month (which is now $31 / month).

Called in on Sunday, spoke with a girl who was very helpful on the sales side laying out all of the options for me. I've purchased HD TV since my original contract. So she offered me the HD receiver for $10/month and 6 months free HD channels.

Called back yesterday and told the rep that I "shopped" around and was not happy with the deals at Bell, and wanted to close. Xfer'd to Retention unit and told him the deal coupled with the raise in basic service from $25-$31 did not make me happy.

At the end, he offered me the following:

- 9100 HD PVR free rental 1 year ($20/month reg)
- HD channels free for 6 months ($10/ month)
- Free install to receive 82w
- $25 credit on next bill for the price increase in basic service
- 4 free PPV movie credits

Means that I pay $60 for my HD and PVR over the 1 year! Sounds sweet to me. Thanks Bell - I almost left.
 
While I'm always a little fond of the other sat guys, I hear Shaw has been offering a FREE HD PVR with ANY sat box.
I think that's a 600-800$ value.
That combined with a rapidly expanding HD lineup and no contracts and it's at least worth investigating.

AND you don't have to worry about MPEG4 and 8PSK and all the other crap sat provides are toying with to find bandwidth.

No ugly dishes and drilling holes through floors either, generally.

Plus you can always save a few extra bucks with an internet and/or phone bundle.
 
As with all Bell offers make sure you get the offer/deal in writing. Be it snail mail or email. It would truly suck if they didn't honour this option.
 
I asked them to email it or snail mail it and they wouldn't. But the lady on the phone today said the note is still there.
 
Go to Shaw and get the free HD PVR for switching. That is the advice I give to friends who want to go HD.
 
Is there a link at all for this shaw deal? I was having trouble finding anything on the shaw.ca site about it.
 
Jamis it sounds way too much of an offer...I know retention does a lot to keep clients but that seem like way too much credits! It's usually either a 3 months free OR a rental free

Scope deals sounds more like a retention offer they could give
 
Check the forum under the providers in your area to find out what each provider is about. Look under Canadian Television.
 
Sounds like way too much for someone with only 1 package and is a happy camper. I've been getting 7 packages, TMN and HD for years and the retention offer was not nearly that good. Never mind the fact that I've lost months of recorded programming due to PVR problems. All I have to say is WTF. :confused:
 
Stay away from cable of any type. The quality stinks... I have had both and seen both (cable and SAT) in many locations.
 
Haystack, I looked there as well. Either the people in this forum don't know how to title their threads properly, or this information is imbedded deap in some other thread. Frankly, a search should be that simple...a search. I did that last night and again this morning and still can't find anything on this deal. I shouldn't have to read through 100 pages of stuff to find information. If you know were the info is, let a guy know. Anyway, it's morning now so I'm trying to call Shaw about it.

I have however read this cable vs sat stuff. I think I would try and get the free HD PVR.
 
Client was asking promotion offered by Bell, not the competitors...

Right now we hve 10th anniversary rebate on PVR wich gives a 10% off on receivers

To get HD installed you would have to
A)Buy a rental certificate (100$)
And add 10$ a month for the receiver 6100
Or add 20$ a month for the receiver 9200
Plus 10$ a month for HD channels
-The 100$ rental certificate will be refunded and you will get free installation if you currently do not have Nimiq 2 programming
-HD channels will be free for the first 6 months

B)Buy the receiver (300$ for 6100/600$ for 9200)
Add HD channels for 10$ a month
-If you do not have Nimiq 2 programming you will ge free install of the receiver
 
If it weren't for NHL Centre Ice, I would definately advise that you sit tight until you purchase your HDTV. Even though your BEV contract will expire, you'll continue month-to-month until you upgrade. So, if you just wait until you get your new HDTV, you'll still have the freedom to switch...

EXCEPT, you've got to commit to NHL Centre Ice upfront, and I'm sure you don't want to pay the ~$200, and then switch providers and lose NHL Centre Ice in mid-season.

So, if you're shopping around now for the best deal, look at what Shaw and StarChoice offer, and compare that to BEV's offers. Pick which provider you like the best based on other factors (e.g. channels offered, etc - my key factor was the advantage of the 30 sec skip button on BEV PVRs) - all them and negotiate.

If your first choice is BEV, make up your mind before you call what kind of HD upgrade offer you're willing to accept - and here you need to know what a general offers are from competitors. The key is, if BEV can't meet your minimum, you have to be prepared to drop them and move to another provider. The whole point of "renention" offers is that BEV is trying to keep customers - if you're not serious about moving, they won't be serious about trying to keep you. Using this strategy, I was happy to stick with BEV in exchange for over $400 in credits.
 
It does sound like too good of a deal
The sad part is, once it is over, will you be happy paying what the rest of the customers pay to keep your programming, or will you switch?
I wonder how many times you can get these retention type deals, and maybe I should call....nah, too much of a hassle, and they would probably tell me to beat it, and shut my service off immediately
Before I could tell them I didnt want to cancel, just a sweet A$$ retention deal, but my call would be "dropped"!
No HD football for me tonight
 
Thanks Noelk. I personally do not use credits that much. The PPV stuff I watch tends to be things like wrestling, UFC, and stuff like that which Bell has never allowed me to use my credits for. I don't like to watch movies that much.

Honestly, you bring up a very good point about the NHL Centre Ice thing. I need to make up my mind this month or I'll be hooped. Right now the promotion Shaw has is pretty good I think. I will call Starchoice now and see what they offer to switch.

Here is a thread I created about the promotion Shaw has...it should clear some things up we were talking about earlier in the thread.
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=69397

EDIT: So I called Starchoice and they pretty much have no switch over promotion being offered. I told them what Shaw was offering and asked if they could mustard up a deal for me but they had nothing for me. I will say though their prices seem pretty good. Long term it might be a better option especially if there is truth to what I am hearing about Shaws HD bandwidth being poor.
 
I figure one or more of the following will happen before the retention offer expires.
1. EV will get their act together and match Rogers channel for channel, fix the 9200 guide problems and their HD simsub problems.
2. Rogers may get a new HD PVR and/or drop their 'Ditch the Dish' offer.

1. is unlikely but would keep me on as a customer. That would also depend on 2. EV is going all out to keep customers so I figure something must be in the works. As usual, EV is playing it very close.
 
Back
Top