Vodafone TV retirement plan: September 2022

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71 posts

Master Geek
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#2910567 5-May-2022 13:42

I have 2 VTV boxes. Received the email this morning saying refund process is ready and they were offering me:

Box 1: $100

Box 2: $75

On the website however they were offering me $179 for Box 1 and $75 for Box 2!

Quite strange considering I paid $149 for each of them when they were on special (a couple of months apart).

So all up the two boxes cost me $44 for what will be nearly 2.5 years of service.

Not a bad deal...😁

ZollyMonsta

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#2910583 5-May-2022 14:24

KDee:

I have 2 VTV boxes. Received the email this morning saying refund process is ready and they were offering me:

Box 1: $100

Box 2: $75

On the website however they were offering me $179 for Box 1 and $75 for Box 2!

Quite strange considering I paid $149 for each of them when they were on special (a couple of months apart).

So all up the two boxes cost me $44 for what will be nearly 2.5 years of service.

Not a bad deal...😁

That's a bit odd (but good for you!) I am following up with the team on this discrepency.

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OmniouS

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#2910586 5-May-2022 14:35

We bought our Vodafone TV box in December 2019 for $100 on special.

I've just submitted a refund request for $75 which is very generous after 2 years of service!

allan

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#2910593 5-May-2022 14:48

eracode:

The ‘return for recycling’ requirement is far from clear. In the para I quoted above, VF say they own the gear (once they’ve paid your reimbursement). However I don’t recall seeing anything on relinquishing ownership and agreeing to that when I arranged our reimbursement just now - but I may have missed it.

Despite that, on their FAQ page re VTV closure, VF say: “… as soon as you have found an alternative solution you can stop using VodafoneTV and ideally recycle the device or dispose of it responsibly using our recycling programme.” (My emphasis).

That doesn’t sound compulsory to me.

Pretty much is. The actual wording you tick to agree to is:

By accepting this offer you agree that we take ownership of your Vodafone TV Box/Boxes from the date of payment and that all details you have provided are true and correct. Your VodafoneTV will continue to work until the service closes on the 30 September 2022 when you will be required to send it to us for recycling. Return your VodafoneTV box for recycling at vodafone.co.nz/recycle. Simply fill in the form on our recycling page and we'll send you a pre-paid return courier bag.

itey

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#2910595 5-May-2022 14:57

we bought our box about 1 month before the cancellation was announced, we were offered $179 which I am satisfied with - fair all around.

eracode

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#2910608 5-May-2022 15:40

allan:

Pretty much is. The actual wording you tick to agree to is:

By accepting this offer you agree that we take ownership of your Vodafone TV Box/Boxes from the date of payment and that all details you have provided are true and correct. Your VodafoneTV will continue to work until the service closes on the 30 September 2022 when you will be required to send it to us for recycling. Return your VodafoneTV box for recycling at vodafone.co.nz/recycle. Simply fill in the form on our recycling page and we'll send you a pre-paid return courier bag.

Thanks and apologies - I stand corrected.

Still wonder if and/or how they will enforce it.

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mattwnz

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#2910614 5-May-2022 16:13

Some people may have already disposed of it or given it to someone else but still claim the refund as the person that purchased it and it being registered in their account. So I wonder if they would be required to pay back the refund if it does get enforced. I personally would like to keep the remote as it is nice to use and looks like it will still be partly usable on an android box and it seems a waste that it will get broken down

ukoda

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Master Geek
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#2910620 5-May-2022 16:28

Yes, I agree I would like to keep the remotes if they could be paired with something else as they are a good implementation. From an environmental point of view it makes more sense to be able to use them directly rather than try and break them down for raw materials. Not so worried about the main unit and PSU, with the defective firmware upgrade system it sounds like they are only good for breaking down to raw materials.

IceFragmatic

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Master Geek
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#2911108 6-May-2022 17:21

I sit here shaking my head at those that are saying "$50 for 3 years service - bargain".

Do you go to a restaurant and order a huge plate of food, eat half of it and expect a refund of some of the value?

If you had a hotel room booked and got kicked out at 2am due to a double booking, would you expect a refund of only half the room fee?

Vodafone produced a product and charged an upfront fee. After a few years they have made a descision to remove the service to benefit their shareholders yet are not prepared to refund the full cost of the device. By accepting their offer we are encouraging other large businesses to do the same. By purchasing the device you are effectively starting a contract with them. We did not have the ability to return a device a year later a get a refund of most of the purchase price - so why should Vodafone be able to cancel the service and only refund some of the cost?

I will be waiting till the service is cut off and going back to my place of purchase and asking for a full refund as per the protections afforded by CGA. I am fortunate I do keep receipts.

SteveC

stevec
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#2911121 6-May-2022 17:59

IceFragmatic:
I sit here shaking my head at those that are saying "$50 for 3 years service - bargain".

Do you go to a restaurant and order a huge plate of food, eat half of it and expect a refund of some of the value?

If you had a hotel room booked and got kicked out at 2am due to a double booking, would you expect a refund of only half the room fee?

Vodafone produced a product and charged an upfront fee. After a few years they have made a descision to remove the service to benefit their shareholders yet are not prepared to refund the full cost of the device. By accepting their offer we are encouraging other large businesses to do the same. By purchasing the device you are effectively starting a contract with them. We did not have the ability to return a device a year later a get a refund of most of the purchase price - so why should Vodafone be able to cancel the service and only refund some of the cost?

I will be waiting till the service is cut off and going back to my place of purchase and asking for a full refund as per the protections afforded by CGA. I am fortunate I do keep receipts.

... and if making a set-top box, including recording, was easy, other people would do it. (Particularly Sky, or Spark, or even DishTV.)

Vodafone took a risk with this product. I got several years of great service (notwithstanding the user interface) and have not found a replacment that works anything like it.

Thanks for the effort, Vodafone. Sorry it didn't work, and you had to fork out many millions of dollars for no return. I appreciated three years of use of the service for about $50.

Now ... if only you could improve your customer service.

Steve

michaelmurfy

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#2911145 6-May-2022 18:55

@IceFragmatic they’re a business, not a charity. I’m happy to be getting a rather decent refund and many others are too. They didn’t have to do this at all.

If you think you can do better then why not release a box yourself - charge an up-front cost and pay staff along with the server bills behind the scenes and see how long you last without ongoing income.

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IceFragmatic

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Master Geek
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#2911151 6-May-2022 19:13

michaelmurfy: @IceFragmatic they’re a business, not a charity. I’m happy to be getting a rather decent refund and many others are too. They didn’t have to do this at all.

If you think you can do better then why not release a box yourself - charge an up-front cost and pay staff along with the server bills behind the scenes and see how long you last without ongoing income.

I do not think I can do a better box - however they thought they could do better than both Spark (TiVo) and Sky (Igloo). They have not done their due diligence. They have also set arbitary dates and due to buying my device 2 1/2 months too early I only get $100 rather than $179 (the price I did pay). I am therefore paying $79 for just over a years service to Freeview.

Their offer to "buy" the units is an attempt to avoid their responsibilities under NZ consumer law.

As mentioned, would they have been so quick to give us money back if we decided the service was not worthwhile?

My issue is they have tried to say the life expectancy of the device was only about 3 years.

Yes I have history with Vodafone. I was cold called and offered a package a few years back. It was a good price and for 12 months. I was never advised the price would go up at the end of the year. I was only advised it would switch to a month by month agreement. End of the term, the price almost doubled. I called them and they still wanted a months notice even though I had never been advised of a price change (it was when I got a bill that I realised. I tried to get this sorted. In the end I went to Telco Ombudsman. Few hours later, "sorry, you can leave now with no notice". Vodafone have a track record of trying to bully the end users unless they do stand up and fight back.

This is another case of it. They know their legal obligations and have been advised this, but are trying to make extra $ at the expense of their legal obligations. And many here are allowing them to get away with it again.

DjShadow

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#2911172 6-May-2022 21:27

I got my VTV box almost as soon as it came out, back in March it calculated I think a $40 refund but when I go to claim the refund is now says $0

antonknee

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#2911350 7-May-2022 17:22

It's weird to me that users on this forum are always so very quick and numerous to defend telcos on their bad business practices (but not any other business). It's almost like a fetish or something around these parts.

michaelmurfy: They didn’t have to do this at all.

I doubt that very much - consumer law being what it is in this country.

rp1790

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#2911572 8-May-2022 13:05

Does anybody else get the email saying you're due a refund ($75 in my case) and then going to claim and it says $0. I have two boxes like this. both the same refund of $0.

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