XM subscription renewal time again...any discount codes? - Page 9

Indeed, I did end up getting hosed by XM back in '08. I'd never signed or agreed to an auto-renewal program and yet they attempted to stick it to me. I bailed out on XM for 3 years over this. If they'd been an ethical company, they could have had my business for years.

I responded to the '10 proposal as I had hoped the XM - Sirrius merger and time would have led to an improved business model. Indeed, the agent I spoke with was much more pleasant to deal with than had been the creeps in 2007. There was no mention of auto renewal and I never had reason to access an XM web site or other "accept now" method.

The auto-renewal scams are illegal or at the very least un-ethical.

Are you guys some kind of shill for XM? Perhaps you should disclose your affiliation?


Nuff said.

Ha!!!!

That's hilarious! You think I'm with XM and I come on here to tell people to cancel unless they get offered 5 months for 20 bucks?

Yeah...right.

In case the amatuer lawyers on this site are not clear on legality issues, do follow these links for some clarification:

http://www.aconsumerfraudlawyer.com/...l-clauses.html

http://www.nka.com/investigations/autorenewals.aspx

The fact that you promote the 5 months/$20 perhaps just makes you more likely to be an XM marketer masquerading. Kind of like a dope peddler giving his customers a taste I think.

Astrobuf

Rats!...my slick marketing skills didn't fool you!

I just renewed for $84 for the year after calling to cancel. I'd love to know what percentage of customers pay full price for the service. XM/Sirius are like print magazines in the sense that they don't really make money off the subscriptions, but rather the *number* of subscriptions that they can promote to potential advertisers and investors. I always see the media quote the total number of subscribers and then multiply that number by $16.95 a month to come up with a ridiculous revenue number, when the real revenue number is probably *far* less than that.

Thought I would add that I also just renewed for $77(plus taxes, $85.32 total) Sirius everything for one year. The offer was for 50% off next 12 months.

So whats the deal with this $77 deal? I have never had one and am thinking about activating the one in my car. I was quoted $135 for 1 year with everything, XM and Best of Sirius.

Is that a good deal or should it be lower?

Thought I'd chime back in with my experience. Brand new car, 1st time subscriber.

I signed up on their web page providing my radio ID and contact info. About 21 days after my trial ended I started getting calls and an email offering the $77 plus taxes etc. deal. Called them back and subbed.

Thanks for all the tips/info everyone!

What did u get for the $77? The offer the gave me was for all the XM channels plus the best of Sirius for $135.

I have never had sat radio before either.

"XM Everything".

What an awful experience I am having...

I have now called 6x or more. I have actually talked to 4 different people. Each has told me something different.

I talked to a person 2 days ago that offered me the $135 "everything" deal. I was driving so I couldnt finish the deal, but they assured me that they stored the offer under my radio ID. I called back today and they said nothing was there. They told me today that $175 was the price for the year and that they could not give me the previous offer.

Buying from this company has been a nightmare so far and I refuse to pay $20 per month for radio. Thats just crazy.

Agreed-

$20 per month is too high....

So yeh, as a new customer it is not looking good for me. I am willing to pay for a year, but they need to sweeten the deal more than that. The inconsistency is very frustrating.

You are going to have trouble getting a deal with Best of Sirius included. You would be better off shooting for XM only.

ok thanks. I subscribed online over the weekend for 1 month. I plan to use it for a month and see what kind of deal I can get.

any one know of ways to get online listening promo etc. that is less then the 3.00?

My subscription is up tomorrow so I just called to cancel my renewal. I told them it was just too expensive and they offered me "half price" at $85 per year on each radio right off the bat. He said he saw were I had previously been on the 5 month for $20 promotion for the last several renewals but unforunately they didn't have that promotion any more. I told him thanks but I wanted to go ahead and cancel. He then offered me three months for free just to think about it. I agreed to that. He said just call back in three months and either ask for the promo or cancel or it would auto-renew at the regular rate.

He also said if anyone calls up and asks for a promo price and is denied, just go ahead and tell them you want to cancel and they'll send you straight to his department and you will be offered a promotional price.

Heres my experience so far with Sirius and xm:

Use to pay the standard $12.95 a month.
They took away hockey and something else, cant recall, and they took away internet access. The final straw was when they added a new fee that bumped the cost to ~$15 a month.
I had heard about people getting deals after threatening to cancel. I tried to call and cancel, and the lady was going to let me cancel. She said there was nothing she could do. This was a while back, maybe couple years or so. So I didn't cancel, but called back a couple days later and got the $20 for 5 months deal. This was before it was being advertised iirc. Anyway, I got that deal for at least 15 months. After that period, they told me they changed the rules and you could only do the $20 deal once. I said ok, well what can you do for me because im not paying $15 a month or anything close to it. She said she could do 6 months for $30. I asked if that was $30 total or would it be $30 plus tax and fees and whatever. She said it was going to be $30 plus tax and fees and whatever, but she would give me a credit for that stuff so the bottom line total was $30 for 6 months. I got her to throw in internet access as well. I wont pay more than that ever. $5 a month is a little more than it is worth to me. 95% of my listening is for stern, and I could live without it I think. Once he retires, im almost certainly canceling for good.

Now, I bought my mother a new car last year that came with 2 or 3 months free xm. I told her if she liked it, we could renew it, but let me know before the 3 months is up so I can call them. I didn't want her paying $180 a year or whatever the standard rate was. After about 3 months, I asked my mom how it was going, she said she loves it (oldies station or whatever) and she renewed for a year, $180 or whatever it was. Damn. So I call xm, tell them I have Sirius for $20 or $30 for 5 or 6 months (whatever it was at the time) and theres no way im letting my mother pay $180 a year. Guy understands completely and we get her on the 5 months $20 plan. They sent her a refund check for the difference within 2 weeks. Nice. So then her 5 months is up, and I call them to renew the $20 plan. They tell me it was a one time deal. I tell the guy I just got my Sirius redone for 6 months $30. he says he doesn't know how I got that plan and he couldn't do it for me. Then he says what he can do is give me (my mom) 3 months free. Makes sense right? So I take the 3 months free and that's where she stands at the moment.


As far as autorenewal goes:
I forget the exact steps you need to take, but you need to tell them they are not to auto bill your credit card, and they are to send you a paper bill when your sub expires. The paper bill will remind you of course that you need to call back and stop them from raping you (if youre on the cheap plan). Somebody mentioned the autorenew is illegal. I don't know, but I don't think what they are doing is autorenewing you per se, meaning, say your 6 months expires, and you get a bill for the next 6 months or whatever, you aren't obligated to pay for the next 6 months. You can simply tell them to cancel and that's it. Or you can negotiate a new deal for the next 6 months. They continue your service and are 'renewed', but again, you can call and tell them you don't want it anymore or just never pay and it will eventually get cut off (of course, im no lawyer, so don't listen to me about legal matters)

My wife called to renew her Sirius in the F150. She had been on the 5 for $20 deal. She told them she wanted the same deal or wasn't going to pay more than $5 a month or she'd cancel. They didn't offer her anything so cancel she did.

It never ceases to amaze me how little a company with such questionable finances cares so little about customer retention. When I canceled my XM service a few years ago, they basically said, "Bye, it was nice knowin' ya!"

The sharpies at XM will continue your sat service whether they have a credit card on file or not at the end of your contracted subscription. They do this at list price, say $18/month. They then send you paper notices telling you to contact them to "renew" your subscription and pay this unauthorized bill. If you ignore these requests, they will eventualy terminate your service and then turn your "bill", unauthorized though it may be, over to a collection agency.

This is illegal, at least in my state, as confirmed by our Attorney General's office. From the looks of things posted on the web, it is in fact illegal in most states.

Astrobuf

I renewed yesterday. Same experience as most. Told them I needed to cancel as the economy was blah blah blah. He immediately offereds me the $77+ deal. Total was about $85.

I wonder what percentage of renewals go this route? Or, what percentage of users pay full price?

I too did the 50% XM renewal.
I've been doing the cancel/cheaper renewal for a few years now. I had a $20 for 5 months a few times, but last October that was no longer an option. They would have done 50% for 6 months; I asked about the year as I am fine at that rate- I have 2 radios I do it for, and while I haven't been as into XM as I used to, I do like it when I travel, as well as when I feel like listening to news talk or baseball.

I wish they did offer discount on some of the other things though; I might consider adding back the online if it was 1/2 price, or the Best of Sirius if it was half price, but it didn't make sense to add those things at full price.

XM customer since 04 and cancelled today
best rep would offer was 6 months for 43.05

mine is due in a couple of weeks; got a letter saying auto-renewal will kick in; guess i will call them and see what we can do. since last time i have moved to within one mile of my work and i dont even listen to xm anymore except for the odd occasions on the weekend. it is nice for a long vacation trip but how often does that happen? I'll try and get a deal and post my results.

My 5months for $20 expires tomorrow. I called today and asked to cancel. Was offered the $85/year deal and renewed with it. The rep said I'd have to do the same in 12 months and I'd get it again!

Astrobuf

I got the $77/yr deal last week. The trick is to get to customer retention. I got there my saying "cancel" when the automated computer system asked me what I needed. I had to say it a number of times, but when I got a human, he immediately offered me the $77 deal.

Yeap, this is what happened. Right after I posted this my C.C. statement came in and 300+ dollars for the renewal urgh.... I called and canceled and they credited me (just saw my statement) and billed me $30 for 6 months. I told them I wasn't sure if I was going to keep the vehicle. I need to make myself a reminder to call in 4 months and tell them to up me $30 more for 6 months.

Any deals for 2 subscriptions? I have XM in a car that's going back to dealer in 2 months (should leave 3 months on that sub) and a portable that I'm not sure when expiring (maybe sometime this summer). Thinking about another car with XM, but only if a good deal is in the offing.

And they called her today, 2 weeks later, and offered her 5 months for $20 She's back in service!