XM & Serius Radio Billing.

[ctrcbob]

Its time for many of us to renew our XM Radio, if at all. Because I've heard so many horror stories about how XM/Serius bills you, I decided to pay them with a Money Order, (not a check) when I renewed. They try to get you to renew with a Credit Card by offering you one additional month (13 months vice 12 months). I did not fall for it.

In this mornings Orlando Newspaper, there was the following.
(by Diane C. Lade, Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel)
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The florida Attorney General's Office is investigating Serius XM Radio Inc. consumer complaints related to its automatic renewal and billing practices. Other consumer agencies say thay have heard similar complaints from customers.

State officials say more than 200 complaints about Sirius have been received by the attorney general's citizen services offices, the Florida Department of agriculture and Consumer Affairs, and the Better Business Bureau over several years. Mike Galvin, spokesman for the Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida and the Caribbean, said consumers claimed they had been automatically re-enrolled for services they did not want, or that the satellite broadcast radio provider made it difficult for them to drop coverage.

They also complained that Serius' collection agents aggre3ssively pursued them when they refused to pay for servicdes they felt they had not authorized, Galvin said.

Serius spokesman Patrick Reilly said the company was cooperating with state investigators. "We believe our subscription renewal practices comply with all applicable laws."
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Again, this is why I paid by Money Order, not by Check or Credit/Debit Card.

 

[postalav8]

With XM you need to have them send a paper invoice (cost $2 more for the paper) and pay with a Money Order.

Never pay sticker price. Deals are out there, ask for them. Last I heard was $77 for a year.

Even with the above method of payment you will have to call to cancel or negotiate a deal prior to your end date. If not, they will auto bill you by the same method at full price. If you cancel after you receive the new bill, you will have to pay the prorated full rate. When you sign up you agree to all of this. Buyer beware.

To much hassle for me. No XM for me.

 

[nearwater]

It's good news that XM/Sirius is finally getting busted.
I shouldn't have given them my credit card info when I got the $77 deal.
They stated they are "recording" the agreement and I stated firmly that this will be a ONE-TIME payment with no renewal.
I was still billed after the 1-year subscription.
What a way to do business.

Dan

 

[Cut-Throat]

I just renewed my XM for a 1 time payment for the life of the car. It was for around $400.

 

[MADDMOE]

im not renewing & told them to STOP calling my house, i have a portable siriius radio that i can connect to my genesis & my blackberry has Slacker Radio that i can also connect to my genesis so they can keep their xm subscription

 

[ckon]

I just renewed my three receivers two days ago for $3.99 apiece. The op said I could get the same price next time - all I had to do was ask for it - they won't or can't do it automatically.

 

[silverado]

after 6 weeks and 3 calls from xm i just renewed for $77 plus fees of $15. for one year. paid invoice by check.

 

[Dimitry]

as consumers, you shouldn't have to go through an inconvenience of having to get paper invoices to go get a MO - just issue a chargeback through your credit card and let them work their magic. I've had a few disputes over the years and amex is always a beast for the consumer

 

[Lowblow]

I just renewed my three receivers two days ago for $3.99 apiece. The op said I could get the same price next time - all I had to do was ask for it - they won't or can't do it automatically.

I'm thinking about renewing soon too. Can you guys give us more specifics on how you got your deals? It would be really helpful.

 

[Disaster]

im not renewing & told them to STOP calling my house, i have a portable siriius radio that i can connect to my genesis & my blackberry has Slacker Radio that i can also connect to my genesis so they can keep their xm subscription

I wouldn't mind a XM radio with BT and a car with A2DP, but even then, it would still be a bit more of a hassle vs. the built in radio.

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[ASHDUMP]

Call me lucky, but my XM subscription keeps on ticking..... been waay over a year.

I've got 4 additional Sirius subscriptions for my Mom, Girlfriend, Brother inlaw and my truck.

I just bought my truck and for the first 4 days I had no Sirius. I wanted to kill myself! Regular radio sucks so freakin' bad!!!!

 

[scottdk]

Call me lucky, but my XM subscription keeps on ticking..... been waay over a year.

I've got 4 additional Sirius subscriptions for my Mom, Girlfriend, Brother inlaw and my truck.

I just bought my truck and for the first 4 days I had no Sirius. I wanted to kill myself! Regular radio sucks so freakin' bad!!!!

They just caught mine, and shut if off, so no more NAV traffic, and only have XM preview channels.

XM is about as high quality sound as radio in the 1930's, so I won't miss it. Except for Nav traffic, but I'll save my money.

 

[postalav8]

I'm thinking about renewing soon too. Can you guys give us more specifics on how you got your deals? It would be really helpful.

Just call them and ask for it. Some will give it to you and others will not. May have to call a few times. If this does not work, ask for the cancellation department. They will start throwing deals at you. Do not give up until you get the $77 rate. THey will charge a royality fee for the music. I think it starts at around $20 a year but I have seen on another forum that they will go down to around $12 and in rare cases wave the fee.

If this fails let it run out (I assume free 3 months) and they will start to call you.

Remember to get a paper invoice ($2 extra) and do not pay with a credit card. Remember when your year will run out and call them back the week prior to negotiate for the next year.

 

[FIAT]

They just caught mine, and shut if off, so no more NAV traffic, and only have XM preview channels.

XM is about as high quality sound as radio in the 1930's, so I won't miss it. Except for Nav traffic, but I'll save my money.

scottdk:
How did your nav traffic work? All mine has ever done was show a bunch of red lines on the freeway. My wife has a M35 and hers will announce a traffic problem ahead. Also I have since let my subscription expirer and still have red lines on the Houston freeways.

Fiat

 

[JDC]

good info about Sirius, tks

 

[ctrcbob]

I'm at the moment in a Motel in SC. My NavTraffic was working great, until I got into SC. All of a sudden, it stopped working. I've had times in the past where NavTraffic did not work for a very short period of time, however this time, it has not come back since I entered SC. (Visited my daughter in Columbia so spent a lot of time in SC) Hope it comes back tomorrow, at least when I drive through Charlotte NC. If still not working tomorrow, I will phone XM to see whats going on.

 

[scottdk]

scottdk:
How did your nav traffic work? All mine has ever done was show a bunch of red lines on the freeway. My wife has a M35 and hers will announce a traffic problem ahead. Also I have since let my subscription expirer and still have red lines on the Houston freeways.

Fiat

I reallly liked this feature. If I pressed the DIS knob, the screen displays traffic info from closest to farthest (which you can change this setting) and next to the info may show a possible delay or problem etc. and you can click on the specific problem for more detailed information such, as average vehicle speed in the area, any road closes, car accidents and probably much more ( I can't quite remember).

Nav Traffic has saved me multiple times from sitting in traffic just by checking traffic prior to departing to my destination.

 

[ctrcbob]

I'm at the moment in a Motel in SC. My NavTraffic was working great, until I got into SC. All of a sudden, it stopped working. I've had times in the past where NavTraffic did not work for a very short period of time, however this time, it has not come back since I entered SC. (Visited my daughter in Columbia so spent a lot of time in SC) Hope it comes back tomorrow, at least when I drive through Charlotte NC. If still not working tomorrow, I will phone XM to see whats going on.

OK, left SC this morning and when I got to Charlotte NC, the "Traffic" came back on for a little while, then off again for a few miles. Came on again and stayed on for that short run through NC, then when I got into Virginia, it went off again. Stayed off all the way through VA, then on again off again in WV and MD. Am now in Harrisburg PA, and it is off.

Even when the "Traffic" icon was on, many Interstates did not show the green (or yellow or red) lines. Drove through some construction areas, and even when the Traffic icon was on, no red lines to show there were delays.
Although I have the colored lines in my area of Florida, even on Non-Interstate roads, I've come to the conclusion that this Nav-Traffic thing from XM is not really worth the price because it does not work everywhere. Tomorrow, I'll see how it functions in New York State (plus the rest of Pennsylvania that I have to drive through). I think that XM only operates it in a very few select areas and not at all in some states.

Bummer!

 

[dataguy]

Got this flyer in the mail today (despite having renewed last month at the same deal):

Money Talks
Just $77* for a full year of XM radio
Come back to XM and we'll waive the $14.99 reactivation fee!
Offer ends soon! 12 months of XM radio
Only $77*
Sign up today and save 50% on a one-year subscription.
Call 1-800-352-5115
Offer expires June 3, 2010
Savings codes: (Your car's XM radio ID)
* Offer Details: Purchase a prepaid recurring Annual Plan of "XM Everything" for $77 (versus $155.40, a 50% savings). Service will automatically renew and at our then-current standard subscription rates after your welcome-back promotional period ends, unless you cancel. May not be combined with other offers. Exclusive offer only available to recipient of this postcard, and good until above date. Other fees and taxes will apply. Activation fee of $14.99 is waived for subscriptions that qualify for this promotion. All fees and programming subject to change. Subscriptions governed by XM Customer Agreement available at xmradio.com Only available in the 48 contiguous United States and D.C. [snip]
As of July 29, 2009, new and renewing subscription packages that include music channels will be charged our U.S. Music Royalty Fee per paid month of your plan term. For details, see xmradio.com/usmusicroyalty.

My comments:

• This is essentially the same retention/winback/renewal deal that XM has been doing for years.
• If you Google $77 XM, you'll see plenty of testimonials about how easy it is to get this deal, even for multiple years.
• The key is to cancel before the automatic renewal each year.
• If you pay by credit card, it's much easier for them to automatically renew you and much more hassle if they charge you the wrong amount. You can opt for invoice billing by paying $2 a year, and then you can mail them a check. If you do leave a credit card, be very clear that you do not want to leave the credit card number on file.
• If you are denied this rate, just call back and speak with another rep.
• Despite the limited time offer, you can get the reactivation fee waived if you ask, regardless of the date or promo
• The music royalty fee is about $11 a year, and it's harder to get waived, but some people have been successful by pushing
• There are some better deals out there (free months or deals that work out to be something like 80% off), but they are always less than 6 months, which can be a hassle to remember to call in and get a new deal before it automatically renews to the full-priced plans
• Bottom line is that retaining and recapturing customers is really important to XM, and there are not really many hard costs related to maintaining or re-establishing your service, so any revenue they get is better than nothing.

Hope that helps.

 

[rmcarlton]

Good info. Thanks.