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Elinor of Abilene TX (06/23/08)
DTV converter boxes are not available from local retailers. Coupons have expired waiting for limited shipments to arrive at retail store locations. Secondly, online retailers consistently require in person purchase and are not honoring online purchase requests.
Online application with dtv2009.gov to reissue coupons was denied. We do not have cable or satellite service and will not be purchasing new televisions. Rosemary of Iva, SC June 21, 2008
Rosemary of Iva SC (06/21/08)
Applied for Two DTV Converter Box Coupons and Never received them!! Called to check status of coupons, and was told coupons were mailed in May. I told them We never received the coupons, and they said although we never received any coupons they can't send anymore to this address! We have no control over the United States Postal Service, So how do we go about receiving two coupons of which we are entitled? Your Help would be greatly Appreciated Ken of San Antonio, TX June 17, 2008
Ken of San Antonio TX (06/17/08)
The published list of available converter boxes which is mailed with the coupon is mostly usless. Many of the products listed are not even in production yet. The retailers I have contacted only have a select few available and each retailer will carry only one brand. The consumer is being forced into choosing from the very few that are available. I live in the 8th largest city in the United States and so far have only been able to find three different brands of set top box converters available as of June 17, 2008 My coupon expires the first part of July. There needs to be a list of participating retailers available complete with the products offered. Additionally there has been virtually NO INFORMATION regarding the great number of low power TV stations which will remain analog for many more years and most of the boxes offered will not pass the analog signals.
I will likely purchase a set top box with my coupon which may not meet my viewing requirements and feel that free trade and freedom of choice have been railroaded by the FCC, and the retailers. M. of New Carrollton, MD June 7, 2008
M. of New Carrollton MD (06/07/08)
I bought two of the units since I was pro-active and applied at the beginning of the year for 40 coupons. Of course, the coupons were set to expire in a couple of days and finding a store that had digital converter boxes in stock was near impossible. Best Buy and the other big box stores had these units stocked, but they were almost 20 more than the other boxes with discount.
When asked about the arrival of other boxes, none of the sales clerks had a clue. They just told me to check back. I finally found one store, Target, which had a full stock of 49 converter boxes. All of this is in lieu of having to subscribe to a cable company and pay an unnecessary amount of money just to get local channels.
I hooked up the converter box to an amplified antennae (which picked up signals in my rather weak area) and went through the setup process. The box found not one signal! The instructions weren't really helpful and the manufacturer's website was so simplistic that it gave 4 troubleshooting tips. That's all! So now I'm back to analog and hoping that when the signal switch happens I'm at least able to tune into one local news channel. Pete of Lincoln, NE April 26, 2008
Pete of Lincoln NE (04/26/08)
I applied for 2 coupons in early Febuary of 2008. I checked on-line April 14th as I had heard nothing. On the web site it said that they were being sent that day. It arrived today the 25th of April. I know that I was dealing with a very poorly run agency the USPS, but 11 days is just poor service.
My real suprize was when I opened the envelope and found that the coupons where only good for 90 days! The expiration date was for 7/7/2008!! Which meant that the date that the coupons were sent had to be 4/7/2008. Now I'm sure that the USPS is on the low side of being efficient, but even I believe they are better then that. So I can only conclude that the TV Converter Box Program was not working in the best interest of the people that it is suppose to serve.
No where in any of the web sites that I have visted is there any mention that the coupons are only good for 90 days. Why not???? Some manufactorys have not even brought their boxes out yet! How is one to make a joice with only part of the information on which to base that joice? This is just another goverment program based on special interest groups and politicians that try to serve those groups. Is the consumer to make a haste joice and be wrong?
From what I have learned in the few hours that I have had the coupons is that, If you buy a box and it does not work, or serve your needs, if you return it for a different model the coupon is gone! Why is that??? I think that the program, as it now appears, was very poorly designed or thought out.
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