DTV Converter Box Coupons: Apply Now!

Update: The DTV coupon program will end on July 31, 2009. If you still need a converter box, see our new post and apply right away. - Ed.

As you probably know by now, TV as we know it will change next year as the airwaves go all-digital. Most stations now broadcast both analog and digital signals, but that will end February 17, 2009, when a new law requires them to transmit only digitally.

If you have an older non-digital TV that receives programming via rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna, you'lll need to get a set-top converter box that can transform digital over-the-air broadcasts into analog signals that can be received by their TVs. (TVs with a digital ATSC tuner will continue to receive broadcasts via antenna, and TVs connected to cable, satellite and telco-delivered TV services won't be affected.)

To help ease the burden of paying for these government-approved DTV converter boxes, Uncle Sam is offering each household two $40 coupons to buy two digital converter boxes, which are expected to cost $50 to $70. But you have to request the coupons. We suggest you apply immediately, as they're being offered on a first-come, first-served basis until the funding runs out. Another reason to act now: Most stations are already broadcasting digitally, so you can use the converter box as soon as you get one to receive the extra programming and enhanced quality of digital transmissions.

To get your coupons, you can call a toll-free number, 1-888-DTV-2009, and give them your name and address. You can also visit a website, www.dtv2009.gov, to apply. The last day to request coupons is March 31, 2009, but there's no guarantee they’ll be available at that late date if funding for the program runs out. The coupons are good for 90 days, and the federal government is supposedly timing coupon distribution to coincide with retail availability of the DTV converters. Many leading retail chains, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart, have been certified to participate in the coupon program.

Every household in America is eligible for coupons, regardless of income. For more information on the coupon program, go the FCC site at www.dtv.gov. Or you can check out these other resources: www.dtvtransition.org, Consumer Reports' online Guide to the Digital TV Transition (www.ConsumerReports.org/dtv), and HearUsNow.org, a consumer-advocacy Web site managed by Consumers Union (publishers of Consumer Reports).

Comments

[Mike]

Check out this comment section

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2008/09/dtv-coupons-con.html?cid=136845471#comments

Has lots of good info.

[James White]

I too applied in September. My coupon was to be mailed on 9/26/08. Never received them. When I contacted them, I was told they must have been lost in the mail and there was nothing that could be done and I was out of luck.

Sounds just like our government.

[Eddie W. Edwards]

I ordered and received two
coupons one no 58 9732017 432 2351 is not active. I can not
talk to anyone by phone to get
this corrected (why)

[Jennifer]

Ordered 1 coupon back in Sept. was supposed to receive it by mid- October. Went to the website to check its status today (11/11) and says it mailed out....but I don't have it.
I just applied for another one, my last hope...we'll see what happens with this one.
I thought I was the only one experiencing problems with the coupons, but after reading the rest of the blogs on this site, this is a real problem with a lot of people.

[rebecca]

I did wait until 10/5 to order my coupons- so that I could use them right away on existing stocked of Converter boxes. Online- they indicate my coupons were mailed 11/24. Today is 11/11 and no such coupons have arrived. I've tried contacting the FCC to the website distributing these coupons and no human being is reachable to convey this concern to or to help resolve this prevailing issue - that folks like me - just aren't receiving the coupons ordered. This is insane! What makes me even more crazy is my parents ordered and received their coupons. This is real - the program - the administration just completely without oversight or appropriate measures and controls. I could scream but who would hear?

[Larry Cowan]

Could someone who has actually received coupons recently and successfully used them please post? Mine are supposed to mail on Nov 21.
If no one posts and I get them, I will.

[Gene Krumlauf]

I took your advice and ordered my coupons early and then found that no one in our area of Oregon had the boxes, so put them in my car to use when I found one this fall.
I've now found that I am so far beyond the 90 days that I can no longer use them!
Another example of how well the government can manage things.

[marci]

I applied when they first started taking apps. I applied on-line and listed my business address for receipt of the coupon because I own the business and wouldn't have to change address if I moved. I was declared ineligible because it was a business address (even though that area is zoned commercial/residential). I waited a while and tried to apply again using my home address but was told that I am ineligible because I had previously applied. The upshot is that I have never received a coupon, even though I am one of the taxpayers funding this g%$ d*&^%$ program. I suspect illegals and welfare recipients are getting priority handling and won't be left high and dry the way I am. I am inclined to give up tv altogether and just watch dvds and on-line episodes of my few favorite shows. I'll be hog-tied if I'm going to pay for someone else's converter box and be denied one of my own and then pay for a new tv or cable, etc. Screw that and it reduces my exposure to advertising so it'll help my wallet in more ways than one...

[Arlene Murphy]

I request two coupons when the program first started, I think it was in January 2008. I never received them. Of course, when I go to the government's site, it shows that they were mailed in April. There is no way to talk to a real person. Maybe, it is all a scam.

[Chris]

I recently moved into a new house and requested a converter box coupon. When I tried to request a second, the system denied me, claiming that I had already received two. I filed an appeal and wrote a stilted explanation into the miniscule box that the appeals system provided.

I am impressed that others who've posted here about their experiences with appeals seem to have actually received replies referencing personal details. This is what I got:

Dear Consumer:
This email is in response to your appeal of the denial of your coupon application. We have reviewed the information you provided in your appeal and all applications submitted for your household.  Your duplicate application remains denied because your household has already been approved for, or has already received two coupons.
If you have reapplied because your coupons have expired or you have not received your coupons, we are prohibited by law from replacing your coupons. While we understand that many situations may have caused your coupons to expire, we are prohibited, under all circumstances, from replacing coupons. Individuals who are seeking additional coupons beyond the maximum allowable per household may ask friends or family members at other households to request coupons they may not need themselves. While it is illegal to sell coupons, giving a coupon away for free is not prohibited under Program regulations.
If you have applied recently, but have not yet received your coupons, you can now expect to receive your coupons within 30 days from when you apply. Should you not receive your coupons within that time period, please be patient as mailing delays have been known to occur.
Program information is available on the website at www.DTV2009.gov.
Sincerely,
Consumer Support Center
TV Converter Box Coupon Program

How sincere, my "Dear Consumer Support Center"! I don't know which line is my favorite--the one that insinuates that I'm a liar trying to perpetrate fraud, or the one that implies that I haven't bothered to read their policies! And this version omits the boldface used on the sentence that declares that my appeal has been denied.

I wrote back requesting evidence to back up their assertions that two coupons were sent to me, specifically, by name and not just address. I myself attached evidence: a pdf of my application listing one coupon, and a link to a property database that offers legal documentation for the date I bought this house and the sellers moved out (because, for all I know, the sellers might have requested a coupon before they moved--but I can't tell what the information the coupon people have because they DIDN'T SO MUCH AS LIST A NAME OR AN ADDRESS).

Do I expect a response to evidence and sound reasoning? Not really. That's why I'm wasting too much of my time posting far and wide about yet another way this administration is screwing over American citizens--because, after all, it would be so much better for their base if I took this DTV transition and this gatekeeping nonsense over the coupons as an excuse to shell out for a giant flatscreen I can't afford (after all, it IS the beginning of football season, and that makes a gigantic flatscreen an inalienable right!) and then defaulted on my mortgage, leaving--guess who?--the taxpayers to pick up the bill!

[William Dubberly]

We never got our cupons eathier and was told the same thing as everyone else what a rip off

[Joe Dunlap]

I see lots of folks are having problems with DTV converter coupons. I personally tried online and was told I can't get them because I use a PO Box. I have for 7 or 8 years. I live in a trailer park where the mail is not very secure. I have a box here that I never use. I don't even have a key to it. I may try online again and use that box/trailer number, which is like an apt. # and then see if the manager will check it to see if any coupons arrive. I for one, do not like the whole thing. There is nothing wrong with the present system of TV. I am a qualified expert on it for 50 years since I got my college diploma. I have a first class radiotelephone licence with ship radar endorsement,too. They can't fool me. It really doe not look that much better at a proper viewing distance. The stretched out appearance is not pleasing to everyone, either. I believe that plenty of bribe money changed hands over this. If anyone out there can prove it, please report to the FBI and the attorney general and the press!

[Dave L.]

Yup, the U.S. Mail lost my coupons too, or perhaps they were never mailed out? I don't know what happened but something should be done for us poor folk who did everything right and didn't get our coupons! Grrr!

[David]

I ordered coupons for my mother on June 5, 2008. Approval verification and FAQ pages say coupons will be mailed June 27. Coupons arrived about July 24 (27 days from Portland Oregon to Salt Lake City, Utah by USPS?). When I checked out the coupons today, (September 22) expecting them to expire in the next week, I found the expiration date to be September 16. This is NOT 90 days after mailing, but closer to 70 days.
Assuming the coupon company makes about $10 per coupon ordered, and $40 for each one "lost" or "expired" it's no wonder so many of them are never received or received late!
Another Bush and Company SCAM!

[Tina J.]

I requested the coupons for DTV 2009 and they gave me a confirmation number and when I checked online they told me that I had already been approved and that they had been mailed out back in July and I still haven't recieved it. I called the 800 number that was given and they say that they are transferring me and put me on hold then they say that due to high call demands I need to call back later. This is outrageous and I wish that they would just leave it the way that it is. This is the reason that we need change so bad in this world because everything right now SUCKS.

[Vince Cardillo]

This whole thing really does seem like a scam, and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I never got my coupons either, and I'm sure of it. Are we to believe that thousands of people's (if not more) coupons have just somehow gotten lost in the mail? I think there is serious folly here. I also wrote about this issue on my own blog: http://www.vincecardillo.com/blog/2008/09/17/dtv-coupons-uncle-sams-scam/

[NeverReceived]

I never received my coupon. My coupon expired. I appealed many times and never received a response. I am screwed.

[Bob P]

DTV coupons.. Same here, I was told that my coupons are expired and that even if I did not receive them they will not be replaced. I did not receive them.. what a rip.

[P Krotz]

Here is my way of remedying being ripped off by DTV 2009.
I too was told 2 coupons were mailed. I never received them and have been told they expired.
I have a household policy: If my country or community cannot support me in this matter I will not make any donations for 8 years (1 year for ea $10). That way I can save money instead of being taken advantage of!!!!

[Jim Weekley]

I have called the 888-388-2009 phone number to be told after I gave them my information that I was not eligible. What's up with this - I am retired on social security with a limited income and have an analog tv with rabbit ears. Why am I not eligble - I have followed the program and rules exactly - what is going on here! Jim Weekley

[JDG]

I ordered two coupons six months ago. I kept checking the status. At first the status was approved. Then the status was mailed on May 16, 2008. Now the status is that the coupons have expired and I never received them.

I received an e-mail today that advised,

Your coupons were mailed on 4/25/08; however your coupons have since expired. By law, we are not able to issue coupon replacements under any circumstances including coupons that were lost during postal delivery. Perhaps a friend or family member who does not need their coupons could pass them along to you. While it is illegal to sell coupons, giving a coupon for free to a family member, friend, or neighbor is not prohibited under Program regulations.

Sincerely,

LINDY BROWN
Consumer Support
TV Converter Box Coupon Program

[Andrew]

I too applied back in March. I was approved and waited forever, actually forgot about them. I went to the website to check status and it said "denied", apply again. I applied again and it says I was already approved. I emailed them asking for a status. This is the email I received back:

Your household address has previously been approved. Your reference number is #xxxxxx. Your coupons were mailed on 3/10/08; however your coupons have since expired. By law, we are not able to issue coupon replacements under any circumstances including coupons that were lost during postal delivery.

Sincerely,

FAE NICKERSON

Consumer Support

TV Converter Box Coupon Program

What kind of scam are they running? I googled "tv converter box coupons lost in mail???" and had thousands of hits! It seems to be way too common for it to be the on the shoulders of the postal service. I have never had anything gotten lost in the mail as long as I live here. I wish there was something that could be done!

[Rosalind]

Ha, when you check on the status of your order, it say not found when i did it again it say found, but i can't get the card because, i reorder it and already had a ref. # from another order that they couldn't find the first time. You know i don't even care if i don't have any TV service.

[Stephen Phillips]

As of September 5, I have not received my coupon which was supposed to have been mailed August 22. It is very frustrating that here is no way to contact the DTV coupon program to see what is going on.

[Dale Swinson]

I applied for the coupon and was denied. I need it for my TV's in Apache Juction, Az. 85219. It is a RV Park and we have a home in the RV park. There is 152 spaces there on 840 N. Idaho Rd. and I have not ever applied for the coupons and when I did I got denied. I want to know why????? Thanks Dale