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.

Misleading summary

Analog TV users are not REQUIRED to purchase a converter box. A converter box is needed if you wish to continue to view over-the-air TV after the transition. Big difference. It's not like Europa.

Re:Misleading summary

Good point. You should attempt no landings there.

[Offtopic] What is required for an analog TV?

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- [radioshack.com]

Tips! Also matrices of convert boxes to compare.

First, go to TVfool [tvfool.com] and Antennaweb [antennaweb.org] to find out where all the transmitters are and how far. Then, you need to see what type of antenna to get. Good places to discuss about DTV are at: news://alt.tv.tech.hdtv [tech.hdtv] (newsgroup) and AVS Forum [avsforum.com]. I am not an expert and still learning, but these places are useful.

I couldn't use my old fashion rabbit ears since they were too weak and they were decent for analog feeds.

For those who can't decide which converter boxes to get with the coupons, then see Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] and here [freelabs.com]. I still haven't ddecided what to get and I need to get them before May 27th, 2008 (should had waited to get better models). :(

You can't be serious.

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.

Re:You can't be serious.

Seriously. Everybody who ordered one should just dispute the charges with their credit card company. The massive influx of disputes will make the merchant bank close their merchant account and then their out of business like they should be.

Re:You can't be serious.

Problem. They have already "redeemed" the $40 coupons issued by the US Government, and it would appear that consumers are out the "money" (on both counts: the NTIA has paid the retailer, and the consumer doesn't get their $40 off the converter).

It seems doubly stupid, given the fact that a lot of people have had good luck with the Zenith converter being sold at your corner Radio Shack store.

Yep

Don't do business with internet sites that don't have any possible non-internet based mode of contact.  Like a phone number.  Or an address.

Interestingly, as an aside, all the credit reporting services run sites like that.  Which makes them pretty shady in my book.

Re:

Interestingly, as an aside, all the credit reporting services run sites like that.

Huh? Each of the 3 major credit reporting companies (transunion, equifax, and experian) have 800 numbers, and physical addresses to contact them at. I'm not sure if they're such great companies, but there's nothing particularly shady about them.

Re:Yep

Do they really need that many numbers??

Say it ain't so!

Fraud with government money? Next you'll be telling me congress wastes our tax dollars.

Nobody saw this coming?

Re:Say it ain't so!

Sending out $40 coupons for a $50 converter, rather than just telling people to take $40 off their tax liability and submit a receipt sounds like a good starter.

Coupons expire

The real issues is the coupons expire after 90 days. So delayed boxes effectively become available fo r the early order of coupons. If they process them ahead of time then they will not expire before delivery... The second part is once used, coupons can not be refunded or transfered to a different retailler. Thus you are locked into where every you processed the coupon.

Most expensive coupon design I've ever seen

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.

Re:Most expensive coupon design I've ever seen

Except some ass hat is going to print 10,000 coupons with someone else serial number. Then you will be crying "Why did they use paper, that's so stupid!"

The amount of money generate from fraud would far outstripped the money the coupon saved.

Potential Help?

For those interested, the convertmy.tv site is hosted by IQuestHosting. I would imagine that pressure put on the hosting site could cause some speedier results. Their number (freely available on their site) is: 1-877-254-8761. Digging a little deeper (with WHOIS) provides their network operations number - 1-800-844-8649. A little 'social engineering' could get one past their typical customer service line. I have used these numbers in the past to get refunds on products that were purchased but never shipped, purchased and returned but not refunded, etc...

Interestingly enough, their 'Terms of Use' states some info about violating Federal Law, which might be a leverage point:

"Lawful Purpose

IQuest Internet, LLC, reserves the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. Customers may only use IQuest Internet, LLC, services for lawful purpose. Transmission of any material in violation of any federal, state, or local regulation is strictly prohibited. The includes, but is not limited to, copyrighted material, material legally judged to be threatening or obscene, and material protected by trade secrets. The designation of any materials as described above is left entirely to the discretion of IQuest Internet, LLC, management. Regardless of the place of signing of this agreement, the customer agrees that for purposes of venue, this contract was entered into in Marion County, Indiana, and any dispute will be litigated or arbitrated in Marion County, Indiana."

Issues like these typically target the elderly (a lot like the commercials that are running!!), which doesn't speak well of our morals today!

Hope it helps!!

Flash

A Scam?? Please don't tell me ...

... that I don't need the $800 set of Monster cables they sold me with the $65 box.

Re:The coupons are already out?

You do know that you can go online and check the status of your converter coupon request, right?

It's not like http://dtv2009.gov/ [dtv2009.gov] doesn't have a HUGE graphic on the front page saying "Wondering where your coupon is?"

Re:Coupons eh?

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.

you'll love HDTV if....

you get good reception... here are few things to keep in mind:

1. you'll [generally[ need a decent UHF antenna... some channels are in the VHF range, but unless you're in one of the oddball U.S. areas, a UHF antenna optimized for reception from 450MHz to 800MHz will do just fine...

2. buy a good antenna, *not* an amplified antenna, overpriced POS antenna from Rat Shack, Target, or Wally World... i'd recommend a DB2 or DB4 design (bow-tie omni w/grid)... you'll find 'em on-line from $25 to $50...

3. keep in mind that the signal is digital and you'll need to point the antenna towards the transmitters... UHF is line-of-sight, so building, towers, trees, walls, etc. can reduce signal... that said, i use a DB2 indoors at 8-foot height and get 20 channels more than 30 miles away from the transmitters... (am using a Hauppauge PVR-950 USB into a 20" AL iMac, but may hook up to my Wega in the near future)...

4. you'll will be *very* impressed with the on-the-air signal compared to the crappy fare touted by your current cable company... nice pictures...

5. you may get better reception at night

6. storms will affect your signal

7. you need good reception or you will lose the picture

8. use a quality RG-6 cable, but don't spring for the over-priced 'gold connector' junk flouted by mindless clerks in stores...

9. outdoor antenna will be better, but you can get surprisingly good reception using an indoor antenna... (amplified rabbit ears [mini-dipoles] aren't worth the money

10. again, antenna direction, placement is key...

hth!

Re:you'll love HDTV if....

1. you'll [generally[ need a decent UHF antenna... some channels are in the VHF range, but unless you're in one of the oddball U.S. areas, a UHF antenna optimized for reception from 450MHz to 800MHz will do just fine...

Note that many stations will change channels when the analog stations go off next February. Even if all your local stations are UHF today, some may not be in a few months. For example, all DTV in Seattle is UHF today. Next February, KCTS (PBS), KSTW (CBS), and KCPQ (Fox) will move to VHF channels 9/11/13.

Luckily, often antennas designed for UHF only will actually work for VHF channels 7-13. Amplified UHF antennas are less likely to work for VHF.

Unfortunately, in a few cities VHF channels 2-6 will be used. Philadelphia (ABC), Albany (NBC), and San Antonio (CW) are probably the largest. A UHF-only antenna is not likely to work here.

Shameless self-promotion: there's a list of post-February assignments on my website at http://www.w9wi.com/dtvch/dtvch.html [w9wi.com].

Re:Coupons eh?

They aren't. The government is using money they got from selling the airwaves in the recent auctions.

Re:Coupons eh?

get off my lawn and i'll get a job

Re:"Featureful Terrestrial Digital Receiver"

"In America we think 100 years is a long time, and in Europe they think 100 miles is a long distance."

Re:"Featureful Terrestrial Digital Receiver"

Here lets give him a picture so he can compare...

This links to a satellite view of the United States:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=k&ll=38.68551,-100.019531&spn=33.079911,60.117187&z=4 [google.com]
This links to a satellite view of the same scale centered on England:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=51.508742,0&spn=53.711322,120.234375&t=k&z=3 [google.com]

Notice central Europe, Greenland, Newfoundland, Norway, Sweden, the Middle East, northern Africa, Russia, etc..., all fit in the same sized view.
Hmmm... I've seen more then one visitor from the other side of the pond completely miscalculate the length of time their road trip would take.