TiVo Customer Service

User Reviews, Ratings and Comments

TiVo customer service is ranked #246 out of the 630 companies that have a CustomerServiceScoreboard.com rating with an overall score of 40.73 out of a possible 200 based upon 84 ratings. This score rates TiVo customer service and customer support as Disappointing.

NEGATIVE Comments

77 Negative Comments out of 84 Total Comments is 91.67%.

POSITIVE Comments

7 Positive Comments out of 84 Total Comments is 8.33%.

Issue Resolution

Reachability

Cancellation

Friendliness

Product Knowledge

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Viewing TiVo customer service complaints
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Will Tivo ever fix their Podcast Problems? I have had problems in the past and they usually fix them on their end within a few weeks. It has been about 1 1/2 months since my first call about their podcasts, it has been up a level 3 engineering for over a month and no one can tell me if engineering is even looking at their problems. I am sick of the company's firewall they call tech support. Fix the Problem Tivo, once and for all.

Nocantivo 3/27/13 10:08AM
Very, very difficult to cancel service. They ignore your cancel order. They send you to a collection agency and then won't report to the agency that you paid. DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH TiVO, or at least be prepared to have TiVO for life.

ColoradoRows 2/8/13 5:12PM
I have had TIVO for approximately 2 years. I was under a 2 year contract which ended on October 24, 2012. At which time I cancelled my service and unplugged the TIVO box. Unfortunately TIVO has "no record of my call" and kept billing my credit card for 2 additional months. They then said that I called but I never cancelled. I called TIVO and after waiting 36 minutes and speaking to 1 representative and 1 supervisor they offered to take one month off and I would have to pay for the other month. I informed the supervisor that I was not happy and he said arrogantly that is the "way it is". I will never use this product again and a strongly recommend against this company.

Anonymous 1/22/13 8:41PM
I called or used the Tivo web site 3 (three) years ago to report a broken Tivo box and my purchase of a new box.
Last week I called them to add a 2nd box to my account.
They told me I already had 2 boxes!
That I had been charged for two for 3+ years; one on a year to year plan, one on month to month; hence I didn't spot it on my credit card statement.
Why would I NOT cancel my other box?
They claim I did not.
So they overcharged me at least $450 and will not offer a penny refund.
They knew damn well the box was not even connected all that time but could care less.
I am challenging the charges with my credit card company and then will call the California Attorney Generals office.

unhappyclient 1/2/13 2:02PM
Been a Tivo customer for years (3 boxes) 1 HD and 2 Premiere. I went to discontinue the HD service and was offered to get lifetime service for $100) good value. When I went to dicontinue service on the Premiere the price jumped to $400 (each)!!!! This is a complete joke. I was told that this investment would pay for itself in 3 years (providing it lasts that long). Keep in mind that the units are already 2 years old and luckily my HD unit died before I decided to do the $100 lifetime service which does not cover the warranty of the unit itself. I am outraged at this rediculous fee and feel mislead when I wasn't told that the premiere service was so much higher when I talking about the lifetime service for these boxes. I was told the reason for this is for the extra services being provided to me. What service??? I pay for Netflix & other services, I paid for the external hard drives, I pay for internet, I pay for the tv channels, so what amazing services does Tivo supply? NONE! This a joke and I will be ending my relationship with Tivo very soon.

Not Happy 12/18/12 2:18PM
Yes another TIVO customer service complaint. As other people have noted the product when working is great. But customer support is not so great. In particular if you get James or Jennifer on the phone HANG UP and start again.

Sombrero 12/17/12 10:49PM
I have had Tivo service for 7 years, and my last tivo box for 5 of those years. I just bought a new box and paid $399.99 for lifetiem service. The box came and would not work. I spend 5 days callign tech support each evening, and they finally said it was broken, but that I have 30 days to cancel and get a full refund on the box and service. I returned the box, and they now tell me they will only refund the cost of the box, the $399.99 life time service is non refundable, and it's based on the life of the box only. As the box is bad, the life time service is no longer valid and has been used up. I am livid. I said I will dispute the charge on my credit card, and they said they will remotely de-activate my other tivo and send me to collections if I do that.

Anonymous 12/10/12 3:40PM
My new box died after 4.5 months. Offered an opportunity to buy a replacement for 149$. Never, ever Tivo again. Still paying the 1 year sub as it cost more to cancel it then pay it, but refuse to invest another dollar in this company.

bbb 10/30/12 3:51AM
I've been loyal to tivo with 9 tivo boxes over the years (4 that are still active). Can you believe that tivo wouldn't give me more than $100 off of a lifetime service plan on my newest box, even though I've already paid $180 in service charges on it? I expect better!

markdavidw 10/24/12 5:55PM
TIVO hides how to cancel a box from the user. They provide no way online for you to cancel your account. I tried removing the service plan thinking that would cancel it, but it did not. BE CAREFUL!!

HKIND 10/18/12 3:04PM
I purchased a Tivo premiere 4 DVR replace my old Tivo DVR. I went to Tivo.com to transfer my service but after several attempts, it was obvious that Tivo had blocked this transaction. I then called Tivo support to deactivate my old DVR and transfer my new DVR box to the service I paid for a few months ago. In July of 2012 I paid for an annual service of $129.00 on my old Tivo DVR. They informed me that I would not be able to transfer my service and that even though I paid for my service in July, I would have to pay for a new service for my TIvo Premiere 4.

According to the Tivo website, my Tivo qualified for a transfer. The site states that if the change service number link is available then it should transfer your service. The link is available on my account but I was not allowed to transfer without an additional charge. Their goal was to get me to switch to their $14.99. Annually, it would be ($179.88) and that would be ok if I had not just paid for an annual service in July 2012.

In other word what the customer service rep. told me contradicts what the Tivo.com says. The Tivo site is misleading and their policies are set up to completely rip off consumers. Consumers should be allowed to upgrade/transfer without additional charges. Please join me in filing a class action suit against there unfair practices.

Not happy 10/1/12 1:13PM
Today I received an email from TiVo threatening "If we don't receive your payment soon, your account will be sent to a collection agency" Interesting... I thought, I called to cancel my service back in June this year when I moved. On that day, I spoke with a TiVo customer service rep who told me he'd put my account on hold for two months to preserve the low monthly rate until I got settled in the new house. I was on a month-to-month service basis so I agreed with his suggestion. Today, I get the email threatening to file a claim against me with collection agency for a past due payment.... no warning, no reminder, just a threat. Apparently, TiVo tried to continue billing my card after the two-month period. That card had expired thankfully, and I didn't want the service reinstated anyways. So how can they threaten a customer if they don't have a contract? I called them and spoke with a service rep and her supervisor. After a half hour on hold, I told them it was illegal to file a claim with a collection agency for (ANY) PAY IN ADVANCE, NON-CONTRACTUAL monthly service. They informed me that TiVo can file a claim for the non-payment because it's written in the service agreement that I accepted. It didn't matter if my account was "temporarily suspended". I asked her if this is how TiVo conducts business? Do they typically send collection notices after someone's account has been put on hold for two months for non-payment? Yes they do! No warning that they couldn't bill me, no email, nothing but a past-due payment collection threat. I told them after being a loyal, happy TiVo customer for the past six years, the relationship has come to a disappointing end. They did me the "favor" of rescinding the collections claim for the $12.99 that I "owed" and thought that would satisfy me. I informed them that their business practice was (un)-American and that I was VERY disappointed with their conduct.

Just thought this message would help someone who is on a monthly basis and wants to cancel service. Make sure you cancel it completely.

Rob B 9/26/12 11:57AM
Yesterday I called and was on hold for 20 minutes in the morning and had to disconnect as I had a meeting. Later that afternoon I called and was on hold for over 80 minutes before I finally gave up and disconnected. I was able to chat with a rep online but they were not able to assist me because they cannot process account cancellations via chat, which was my reason for calling. Today I have called multiple times but the customer service number goes to straight to a busy signal and then disconnects. I once again was able to get a rep via online chat and he informed me that their phone lines are down. Again he said that I would need to CALL customer service and that they could help. I reminded him that I cannot CALL customer service because their phones are down. Is this how they always treat customers??? I've been with them for 6 years and only want to turn my service off temporarily. I had no ill feelings but now they are going to lose me as a customer forever. Too bad... I really liked their product.

Waytrix 9/25/12 11:40AM
My update is that I've been waiting 1 hour and 15 minutes. What the heck? TIVO--you're the worst.

dgood 9/24/12 12:48PM
I also simply want to cancel my TIVO service. When I called, I was told the "wait time" would be 20 minutes. I have been on hold for, at least, an hour. This is ridiculous.

dgood 9/24/12 12:35PM
I simply wanted to deactivate my TIVO so that I could move it to another account. Likely that Tivo doesn't want it to be easy for anyone to cancel, they deleted the online option to do so and recommended that we call the 800 number. Well... I did and currently I have been on hold for 53 minutes.
Shameless that this once innovative company has turned into such a disappointment. I look forward to a decent competitor.

jdavis 9/24/12 12:03PM
I'm so tired...2 hours with Tivo customer service:

"Yes, my original request was to cancel in April 2011 due to being charged for years for two dvrs and only getting a $120 refund for a mistake that was caused by the representative not deactivating the replaced tivo device when we called to activate the upgraded device. Again, I'm getting ripped off by tivo due to their "auto-activation" of a 6-month free service I never asked for and now refusal to refund services at least for this year (all 2012 months) since the device was actually unplugged when I moved in December. This is not one, but two incidents and I really can't for the life of me understand why it is so hard to deactivate service when asked AND to get a refund for services I was charged for this year that clearly show the device was not plugged. I accept my share of the responsibility of not unplugging the device until moving in Dec 2011. I do not, however, accept the responsibility for checking to make sure that Tivo actually followed through on deactivating my service a second time, especially since charges appear to have begun six months after I called to deactivate all services in April 2011."

End result, cancellation but no refund...What a horrible philosophy and a sure way to keep their leaving clientele looking elsewhere. I'm disappointed and know I'll never use them, again. By the way, 20-45 minute hold times per each of the 3 transfers to the next person in the chain. The second person in the chain (Amy) was rude and blamed me for not calling, again, until now. OK, so, I should have reviewed my account 6 months after cancellation to ensure I didn't get charged for a 6-month free service option for which I never opted. Shame on me.

Hmph 9/17/12 7:21PM
My three year old TiVo died with four months remaining on my annual subscription. When I inquired about buying a new box and transferring the subscription, I was told that I would have to have a brand new subscription with no pro-rated refund of the old subscription. As a 12-year TiVo customer, I told the service rep that this was extremely stupid if not borderline unethical. I am investigating other options.

RHolland 8/19/12 12:52PM
The worst HOLD TIME ever in my history of Customer Service via phone. Once I did get someone on the line they handled my request. I cancelled service - let's hope it is not on my monthly statement.

Anonymous 8/13/12 8:21AM
I'm thoroughly disappointed with the service policy at TiVO. My monthly service plan automatically re-upped last month for a yearly payment of $130. I decided I wanted to upgrade to TiVO's Premiere box from an older model that I have. Their policy is that the $130 service is only for my old box and will not transfer/apply to service on the new box. If I purchase a new box I have to purchase a new service plan as well, and lose the $130. And, of course, they will not refund any of the $130, despite the fact that it does not buy anything concrete - only access.

bart 7/28/12 9:20AM
I love Tivo service but have a real issue with their customer support. I just ordered a new Premiere box to replace an old Series 2 that I have been using for 6 years. I can do EVERYTHING I could ever want to do on their website EXCEPT discontinue service. Instead, I had to endure 15 minutes of bad music and two transfers to get to someone to discontinue service on the one box. Boy, did I think about discontinuing all of them and going back to Cox DVR's.

dw86419 7/27/12 10:20AM
I cancelled my Tivo service but was then billed again. When I called, it took 3 people to finally agree to credit me back the amount that was billed.

sagelber 7/10/12 3:21PM
We have been Tivo Customers since 2004 and it is a shame to see how little appreciation TIVO shows if it comes to loyal customers.

Tivo has ea great product but unfortunately does not back it up with any type of customer appreciation or customer value. I can only imagine how far this company could go if it would offer truly a "total package".

I think it is just sad that Tivo actually penalize their customers for being a long time Tivo member by not even offering any type of value if it comes to upgrading to a new system as soon as a certain timeframe has passed.

It is sad to see that Tivo seemed to have lost it's way of being a "cool" company carrying and cultivating their customers and fans by treating them as there actually would be a value in staying with the company and service as many years as possible. While browsing the Internet I came across so many that seem to feel the same way and only stay with Tivo since it has a great product but actually waiting for the competition to catch up to give them a viable alternative.

In today's advanced market place, it will not take long until there will be a viable alternative to TIVO and that will be the time that whoever is responsible for TIVO's customer retention strategy will wish they would have displayed a greater appreciation for their "valued" customers.

Anonymous 7/2/12 9:01PM
I RETURNED THE EQUIPMENT - A TIVO AND A SLIDE REMOTE- UN-OPENED and before day 5 of my 30 days --where is my credit tivo- you sent me an email for only the tivo box but in the same box was the slide remote and i had to call to get you to issue a credit EMAIL..now I'm still waiting for my credit- telling me to check with my Credit Union is not sufficient as they said they don't see pending credits..i am so glad i canceled your service before it started as my cable company offers the same thing and if my box breaks i don't have to buy another nor do i have to send i too you nor do i have to buy another remote or wait fr a credit...I WILL TAKE YOU TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF MY CREDIT IS NOT THERE WITHIN THE MAX TIME FRAME AND I WANT PUNATIVE DAMGES

AFROPICK1 5/24/12 8:49AM
I am generally happy with my Tivo which I had for 10 years and paid lifetime subscription when I purchased it. The hard drive went flacky but I replaced it with a larger hard drive that gives me 138 hours. The problem is their service. You have to prove to them that it is their problem as in podcasts not recording and even when you do they won't admit to it or fix the problem. Their help desk is a helpless desk. I think they think all of their users are techno idiots.

rdb4179 5/5/12 8:54AM

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I recently purchased an OTA (over-the-air) TiVo DVR model# TCD746500 and signed up for the $15 per month service. I came to a standstill with the installation process so I called customer service figuring I was overlooking something. The CS rep tells me I now need to buy an 'N'type network adapter so that my wifi router can talk to my TiVo. I was furious and told the rep I will be cancelling the service and returning the product to Best Buy. I rudely hung up and was in the process of already arranging a return to Best Buy when the rep calls me back and explains she will send a free network adaptor model# AN0100, no strings attached. This sells on Amazon for $60 and at BB for $90. Do I think TiVo has amazing customer service? I called them like 3 times during the setup process and each time my wait is under 2 mins and I get to speak to a well educated English speaking American. This company wants your business. Also the DVR and service is awesome! I tried a few other DVRs before purchasing a TiVo and this unit just smokes the competition.

Sorter 5/9/13 11:33PM
I've been a long time TiVo owner, and on the occasion where I had to contact TiVo technical support, I was speaking to a polite US speaking person very quickly and I got the help that I needed.

UBetcha 4/13/12 5:04PM
I got the tivo premiere in July 2011, signed up for the year at 19.99 and didn't have any trouble at all with it. I am a veteran of O.I.F. and had to enter ptsd inpatient treatment for an extended amount of time. I called to try to shut the service off. Normally there is a deactivation fee of around 200 bucks. A friendly representative named Colin was able to talk to a supervisor after I told him of my situation. Colin was able to get my service terminated without any fee. Many thanks to Colin and Tivo for helping me out and making me feel that some companies are willing to go the extra mile for the vets.

Majikyle 2/22/12 6:59PM
I have been Tivo member for 4 years. Now they no long provide a dail service to Canada so that I can up date my Tivo. I have to go wireless, except that I have to purchase a wireless adaptor $60 to $80 but they don't ship to Canada so I can't even buy one. Their recommendation was to purchase one off of E-bay.

They were very understanding when I told them I no choice but to cancel. Tivo is not meant for Canadians anymore. If you are Canadian be worned.

Side note Tivo was an excellent product

Anonymous 1/2/12 2:03PM
I had an annual renewing service plan, and forgot to cancel after the first year. Fortunately the credit card they had on file was inactive so they weren't able to charge me. But my Tivo account showed a $129 balance that I couldn't ignore as it would eventually be turned over to a collection agency. I called customer service (within 30 days) and they cancelled the service and told me the balance due would be credited.

The next day I logged on to my Tivo account and the service was cancelled but the fee remained, so I called them again and was reassured the fee would be credited, and an hour later it was. Both agents I talked to were very friendly and helped in every way they could. I could have been charged early termination fees but it didn't happen. It really was my fault for agreeing to the service and not cancelling before it renewed so it was very good of them to wipe the slate clean.

jeffb 8/13/11 11:08AM
Generally helpful, knowledgeable; quick phone response

Anonymous 7/29/10 7:45AM
Tivo doesn't tell you that when you upgrade to HD that you can't use picture-in-picture and you lose the ability to download to a VCR.

It's not the fault of the Customer Service people. They are very nice when they tell you (in effect) that by spending more for your service you do get a better picture but lose functionality.

belnord 2/1/10 8:00AM

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We are supposed to be a paperless company, but TiVo does not allow email. from anyone outside the company, just faxes where there is no predefined order or method to file them. Poor customers!!!!!!!!!
Ann 3/27/12 11:47AM