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Scammers Exploit DTV Coupon Program
An anonymous reader writes "Analog TV users must purchase a DTV converter box before broadcasts go digital in 2009, and the US Government is offering $40 coupons to support the transition. The coupon program requires retailers to become certified by the NTIA (the Government body running the program) before processing orders for the boxes. Apparently the certification program is a bit lax, as the frenzy to purchase DTV boxes using these coupons seems to have drawn unscrupulous fraud artists into the mix. Memsen, via its web site convertmy.tv and its hardware partner Maxmedia, partnered apparently to pull a bait-and-switch game on unsuspecting consumers and the US Government." Read on for details of the scam claimed by this anonymous reader.
Maxmedia and convertmy.tv (CMTV) together promoted the Maxmedia MMDTVB03, which appeared to be the most feature-rich of the coupon-eligible converter boxes. The box drew public interest and even coverage by 3rd-party review sites.
CMTV quickly took pre-orders for the box, and promised delivery first in April, 2008, and later pushed the date back to May. The company immediately redeemed the Government coupons (in violation of the program rules, which prohibit back-ordering) and charged customer credit cards. Early-adopting consumers were willing to overlook these practices, feeling they would eventually own the best box on the market.
CMTV yesterday announced that they would not be shipping the MMDTVB03 at all — it would be replaced by the MMDTVB02, which they claim will have a better picture. Of course, the "new & improved" box will not ship until June. As an alternative, CMTV indicated it would allow customers to switch to an inferior box for $5 less.
Consumers are outraged by CMTV/MaxMedia's bait-and-switch tactics but are having difficulty finding out who these companies really are. Neither company publishes physical addresses or phone numbers on their web sites, and consumers have resorted to their own detective work to find the info.
As of April 8, 2008, the convertmy.tv web site is still accepting and processing orders for the "new" MMDTVB02 — in clear violation of the NTIA program rules, which only allows coupons to be applied to DTV boxes on its approved list.
Maxmedia and convertmy.tv (CMTV) together promoted the Maxmedia MMDTVB03, which appeared to be the most feature-rich of the coupon-eligible converter boxes. The box drew public interest and even coverage by 3rd-party review sites.
CMTV quickly took pre-orders for the box, and promised delivery first in April, 2008, and later pushed the date back to May. The company immediately redeemed the Government coupons (in violation of the program rules, which prohibit back-ordering) and charged customer credit cards. Early-adopting consumers were willing to overlook these practices, feeling they would eventually own the best box on the market.
CMTV yesterday announced that they would not be shipping the MMDTVB03 at all — it would be replaced by the MMDTVB02, which they claim will have a better picture. Of course, the "new & improved" box will not ship until June. As an alternative, CMTV indicated it would allow customers to switch to an inferior box for $5 less.
Consumers are outraged by CMTV/MaxMedia's bait-and-switch tactics but are having difficulty finding out who these companies really are. Neither company publishes physical addresses or phone numbers on their web sites, and consumers have resorted to their own detective work to find the info.
As of April 8, 2008, the convertmy.tv web site is still accepting and processing orders for the "new" MMDTVB02 — in clear violation of the NTIA program rules, which only allows coupons to be applied to DTV boxes on its approved list.
So, let me get this straight.
You gave your credit card information to a company you've never heard of that has no contact information on their website that you did not validate?
Hahahahahahahahaha.
Broadcast TV is free as a public service, and there are legitimate reasons people might want to have broadcast TV without paying for a service package. In this election year, debates and other government programming should remain available at no cost. This is an important part of a modern democracy, that is maintaining an educated public.
I and my wife only have cable TV because it's free with cable internet. We are contemplating a move out of town, beyond the service area of the cable company. If we do, the only TV service we will take will be broadcast, not satellite.
Frankly, we have too much on our hands to even watch the few things we have recorded on our recorder, but it would still be nice to have some service available for free.
The really insulting thing about the coupon program is the amount of effort and wasted money that went into it. I submitted a request for two coupons to get my parents two ancient (yet apparently inseperable) televisions. When the coupons showed up, they're the same shape, size, and weight as a credit card, INCLUDING a nifty hologram and raised letters and mag stripe. Are you kidding me? A Starbucks card is made out of flimsier material and is entrusted with far more value. They could have just printed out a piece of paper with 'It's a coupon, I swear to god!' and a serial number written on it -- vendor verifies that the serial number hasn't been 'claimed', done.
Offtopic, but I can't seem to find out enough about this from my local electronics stores. I have a non-HD TV with no cable, satellite, or rabbit ears. We've opted for DVDs instead. With the switch to HD-TV signals, I registered and received my coupons. I realize that with the converter, I still need to have some kind of antenna. I recently saw the Philips MANT310 at my local Walmart (can't find a link to just the product, so I'll post the Radio Shack link: http://www.radioshack.com/sm-philips-mant310-indoor-amplified-vhf-uhf-fm-tv-antenna--pi-2455308.html). My question is, since this receives HD-TV signals, do I still need the converter box for my non-HD TV? Would there be a benefit to getting the converter box? Thanks.
I have no
The rebate form has issues as well.
They asked me how many tvs I have have...two. How many on a cable box? Two. You don't need a converter box, goodbye...
What if I decide to cancel cable in two years???
I had to redo the form saying no cable boxes to get the cards...
if you use a cable run longer than 50-75 feet, do use a signal amplifier...
Does the government know and understand that Milk is so expensive now that people can't afford that?
Yes, they do. They are the ones who set the price floor for milk and they are the ones who buy the surplus. (and they make it into cheese, and that's the first thing they usually hand out to disaster victims) They also caused corn prices to rise by ethanol subsidies, and indirectly caused wheat to rise because farmers are growing less as it's more profitable to grow corn. (which also caused corn products in Mexico to spike, and they are a lot less able to cope with price increases)