We were Direct TV satellite users well for over a year. Initially we received 3 receivers from the company. We bought a 4th receiver on Ebay and had it activated. We cancelled the service last week and returned the "leased" 3 receivers. However the company is demanding the 4th receiver back and threatening to charge us $160 if we don't send it:mad:. Can they do this? We paid only $30 for the reciever. Is it worth the hassle to fight this?
Thanks
Bill

Any receiver that went into use after the leasing plan that you "purchase" from a third party is still considered leased. Did it show up as leased on your bill? What model is it?

Any receiver that went into use after the leasing plan that you "purchase" from a third party is still considered leased. Did it show up as leased on your bill? What model is it?

We activated the receiver and its just the plain vanilla receiver. Not HD or a recorder. I believe it is a D11 100. We used it when we traveled. The rest of the time it sat on a shelf. The fact that it was "leased" was not disclosed when we bought it. Our receipt says "purchased". I do not understand the legality of this leasing BS. I signed no license, so how can I be bound by one?

Sure you did. When you first signed up with DirecTV. Read the fine print. In your customer agreement, somewhere, is a statement to the fact that the agreement may be amended or modified at any time. They probably even sent you new agreements with your bill. I seem to get one every 6 months. Got a drawer full of them. One of those, no doubt, spells out the leased equipment details. So, it doesn't matter how you acquire the receiver, it's still D*'s property.

PS: Edited topic title to make it more specific.

We were Direct TV satellite users well for over a year. However the company is demanding the 4th receiver back and threatening to charge us $160 if we don't send it:mad:. Can they do this? We paid only $30 for the reciever. Is it worth the hassle to fight this?
Thanks
Bill
Can they do it is a good question, but as you suggest the hassle is a problem. It seems to me that alot of these problems are simply the result of mistakes, but if a csr doesn't understand the mistake then you're in for a long frustrating phone call. Perhaps you should make the "Cancel service" phone call in order to get to customer retention and explain the situation to them. The problem may just go away.

Can they do it is a good question, but as you suggest the hassle is a problem. It seems to me that alot of these problems are simply the result of mistakes, but if a csr doesn't understand the mistake then you're in for a long frustrating phone call. Perhaps you should make the "Cancel service" phone call in order to get to customer retention and explain the situation to them. The problem may just go away.

Yes they can. Mistakes and hassle make no difference. Not the best thing in the world but that is the way it is, unfortunately.

This is a case where, if the stakes were high enough, you probably could win with an attorney by arguing that a unilateral clause in which DirecTV claims that it takes ownership of a receiver you bought from someone else because they declared that they do and you didn't object is not an enforeceable contract because there is no "exchange of consideration" from them to you, but there are a lot of disputes that anyone can win against a big company if they just give a lawyer five or ten grand.

On the other hand, if the contract extended warranty coverage of that receiver to you, then that might be of enough value for the transaction and conveyance of ownership to be enforceable