Any Sirius/XM Gurus?

[G G]

I have a trial for sirius/xm that is set to expire on 12/14/17. I received an offer in the mail for a subscription at certain prices. I am not interested in paying what the offer is offerering. In the offer it states I can get one month for $19.99, 5 months for $32 and change, or one year for $120. I called and told them I am not interested in the offer and will let it cancel unless they can give me a better deal. I explained to them that most companies offer bigger discounts for longer subscruptions but it appears they don’t. If you look at the 5 month subscription and extrapolate that out to one year it comes to $75 a year. They say well the deals you were offered is the best we can do, so I say fine, then it can cancel or I will be wiiling to pay you $75 for a one year subscription. She says hold on let me check, and puts me on hold. Reminds me of the famous car salesman and the old “Let me go talk to my manager” deal. Comes back and tells me she can give me that deal, and she needs a credit card number. So i say to her, Is this going to be a one time charge and delete my card info, so it doesn’t auto renew at the regular price after the year? She says that it will be billed monthly at $6 and some change. I tell her then we can cancel if I can’t pay the $75 for the year on a one time charge. She says she is so sorry and that’s the best they can do. I am in disbelief that they won’t take my $75 for the year and insist on billing it monthly even though I am willing to cancel if they don’t. But they let walk. I realize as soon as the trial runs out I will receive a couple offer a week to come back. What a bunch of idiots. Anyone have any insight on why they would do this?

[Beagleone]

Yeah, they are nuts. I wonder the same thing when I went with them six years ago. It was cheaper in the long run to do the same deal they offered you ($75). That is the one I went with as well. I don't mind the month recurring charge of $6. IMHO it is worth that much for the channels I listen to most often. I don't use their online portal thanks to other streaming services and my own collection of music. I honestly don't understand their logic. I just want my First Wave station.

[dave]

No insight for you on that 'offer'. But, I've dealt with them enough years to know that it isn't likely a mistake, nor an ignorant salesperson. They have a different approach, that's for sure, but they are rehearsed and not accidental. I forget exactly what I pay, but it is around 40-45% of the renewal notice I get every year....paying maybe around $85? It takes about a half hour on the phone every year, but they always end up coming back with....'my supervisor will give you this rate for this year only'....or some such.

[Ashcan Bill]

They have a weird business plan that apparently works for them but one I won't deal with. After they get your CC data they automatically renew your subscription for the rest of your life at their standard rate, once your "special rate" expires. That's why they want your CC. The only way to stop the automatic renewal is to call them just prior to the expiration of your special and either cancel or do the dance to get a better rate. And they make it as difficult as possible if you call later to cancel. If you forget, Bam! They count on people forgetting to call and then either not caring or not paying attention to the charges once the regular rate kicks in. My subscription expired a couple years ago and I constantly get special offers good for 5 or 6 months at a discounted rate, if I just give them my CC. Not a game I'm interested in playing.

Some people (with more patience than me) sign up for the 5 or 6 month specials and then call just prior to the expiration to negotiate for another 5 or 6 months. They set reminders on their calendars and are willing to spend the time calling and renegotiating.

With taxes and fees their standard monthly rate is a lot higher than the service is worth to me. Last time I looked I think it came out to around $20 monthly. If they'd give me the couple of stations I'd listen to for, say, eight bucks a month total I'd do it. Instead they add on all these extra fees and obligate you to the auto renewal thing. Reminds me of the old "get 10 albums for 99 cents and agree to buy only four more at our regular price" deal of days past.

[pnoon]

Reminds me of the old "get 10 albums for 99 cents and agree to buy only four more at our regular price" deal of days past.

Damn we're old, aren't we? -(P

[dave]

What's an album?

[Ashcan Bill]

Damn we're old, aren't we? -(P

Hell, I just kicked over to Medicare. That's not old - that's ancient. :=:

What's an album?

And you go back to sleep. :ss

[yourchoice]

Some people (with more patience than me) sign up for the 5 or 6 month specials and then call just prior to the expiration to negotiate for another 5 or 6 months. They set reminders on their calendars and are willing to spend the time calling and renegotiating.


This is what I do. Have done it a few times now. Guess I'm pretty patient. :)

[icehog3]

Had a horror story with these guys in the summer of 2016. They sent me an e-mail offering me two years at less than my previous price for just one year. I bit.

Come to find they applied that payment to the XM radio in my Avalanche....which I traded in in 2013.

Got some asswipe on the phone that said there was nothing he could do. I asked him why would I knowingly pay for 2 years service on a truck I had traded in 3 years ago. Guys at my job who were in the office while I was on the call still tell stories about, I just went ballistic on the guy, who was definitely getting off on pissing me off. Long story somewhat shorter, got a manager on the line and got it rectified. But their customer service still sucks balls.

[hotreds]

I also have dates on my calendar to cancel. But, the way to go is to buy a lifetime subscription model on Ebay for about 2-300 bucks. That's what I have now- I also ended up getting the service for my new car, that's where I have to pay attention.

[G G]

I also have dates on my calendar to cancel. But, the way to go is to buy a lifetime subscription model on Ebay for about 2-300 bucks. That's what I have now- I also ended up getting the service for my new car, that's where I have to pay attention.

Tell me more about this my friend.

[hotreds]

Depending on what you have, you likely can get a model with a lifetime subscription on Ebay. Basically, you buy it and don't ever have to worry about a subscription again. I have the now ancient SkyFy model, but it gives me the stations just as well as the newer models. Found a lifetime model on Ebay. Noticed they have about 1 page of lifetime models on Ebay now. There is no way to know for sure if the model is lifetime, you'll hafta trust your seller. You DON'T want to ask XM- the lifetime subscriptions were sold to one owner only. But, figure you make your money after three or four years, and you're good to go after that.

[G G]

Depending on what you have, you likely can get a model with a lifetime subscription on Ebay. Basically, you buy it and don't ever have to worry about a subscription again. I have the now ancient SkyFy model, but it gives me the stations just as well as the newer models. Found a lifetime model on Ebay. Noticed they have about 1 page of lifetime models on Ebay now. There is no way to know for sure if the model is lifetime, you'll hafta trust your seller. You DON'T want to ask XM- the lifetime subscriptions were sold to one owner only. But, figure you make your money after three or four years, and you're good to go after that.

:tu

[rwiiames]

I bought XM for my big truck when they first came out, then I bought one for my POV. A couple of cars later, my POV(Ford Escape) has a SIRIUS built into the factory sound system. It comes with 6 month free trial. I call and ask if when the trial runs out can I add it to my subscription (Additional units are discounted). They tell me that because it is a Sirius and my subscription is XM, the Sirius has to have its own primary account and I don't get the 2nd radio discount. Guess what? The factory Sirius isn't activated and I still get offers from them every few months.

FWIW, I've heard the newer radios aren't that durable. I've had both my Roady 2's over 15 years and they still work great. I've had to replace the power cords a couple of times, but I found 3-packs on Amazon at a great price so I always have a spare. Also the Roady 2 has 30 presets and I hear the newer radios (Onyx and others) only have 10.

[G G]

I have been having a pretty good time confounding them since I posted this thread. My trial is running out on December 14th. I went online a couple times and saw some pretty good deals but they won’t let me pay it with a paper bill. They almost have seizures when I tell them they aren’t getting my CC info for billing. They started out telling me that they could give me the select plan for 99 plus taxes and fees but the problem is they said they can only bill it monthly with a CC. Told them no thanks. Then yesterday they called me and told me they could give me a great deal, which wound up being the same old deal we been talking about.

The person told me they could give me 5 months for 25 plus taxes and fees and they would paper bill me, told her I was interested in paying it one time for an annual plan and guess what? They have a special deal going for a year at 60 plus taxes and fees, told them to paper bill me and I will be glad to pay it, whoops nope we gotta have a credit card, told her no thanks. Then she tells me they can extend my trial for three more months for the low price of $2.31, but? You guesses it, she says we can’t paper bill for that small of a charge. I told her no thanks and I will just let it cancel.

[Steve]

It's as bad as dealing with Aetna and Aetna Online Pharmacy. No one can email me, all they can do is fax. I work for one of the oldest engineering companies in the country and we have offices world wide, but we got rid of our fax machines years ago and go strictly email. I have found ONE place around here that I can get financial information faxed to so that it remains confidential.

[Ashcan Bill]

It's as bad as dealing with Aetna and Aetna Online Pharmacy. No one can email me, all they can do is fax. I work for one of the oldest engineering companies in the country and we have offices world wide, but we got rid of our fax machines years ago and go strictly email. I have found ONE place around here that I can get financial information faxed to so that it remains confidential.

That's actually funny. I had the pleasure of dealing with Aetna's online pharmacy and whatnot last month. On the phone they're quite nice, but their computers systems must still be running DOS programs. They couldn't get my billing right for anything, and couldn't communicate with my doctor as they apparently don't use email and aren't plugged in to modern prescription protocols. They are the most technologically backward outfit I've dealt with in years.

[Steve]

That's actually funny. I had the pleasure of dealing with Aetna's online pharmacy and whatnot last month. On the phone they're quite nice, but their computers systems must still be running DOS programs. They couldn't get my billing right for anything, and couldn't communicate with my doctor as they apparently don't use email and aren't plugged in to modern prescription protocols. They are the most technologically backward outfit I've dealt with in years.

I have been trying to get a copy of a receipt for over a month; supposedly it has been sent in the mail twice. Last month and now this month we are waiting on Holly's meds that were supposed to be sent for 1st delivery and were actually sent standard overnight. Of course last month they were 2 days late and yesterdays delivery is still AWOL...

Anyways, sorry for sidetracking your thread Greg. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

[G G]

I have been trying to get a copy of a receipt for over a month; supposedly it has been sent in the mail twice. Last month and now this month we are waiting on Holly's meds that were supposed to be sent for 1st delivery and were actually sent standard overnight. Of course last month they were 2 days late and yesterdays delivery is still AWOL...

Anyways, sorry for sidetracking your thread Greg. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

No problem buddy. Sounds like the same managers at both companies. LOL

[Steve]

OH, it get's better! I just got off the phone with them trying to find out where her meds are. One of them got held up with "bad weather conditions" (same excuse as last month). The golden one is that out of the two prescriptions that the doctor sent, they only filled and shipped one because I didn't tell them that they received two. They missed one but it's my fault. Yes, the CS cube monkey actually told me that. Now I hope to get one today (if the mysterious weather doesn't hold it) and hopefully, sometime tomorrow the other one will grace us with it's arrival.

http://oldchurchbbq.com/sharedpictures/Misc_14/Understanding%20Falling%20Down.png

[shilala]

Heheh. Customer Service Cube Monkey. :lr:

Best way I found to get past dealing with XM is to get Spotify.
I have 4 or 5 of us on a plan that I pay like 16 bucks a month for.
XM cannot compare to how awesome Spotify is. It truly is wonderful.

I have an Aetna story.
One of my pensions, and it's just an afterthought thing that amounts to a box of smokes a month, they insist everything is faxed.
Because I've climbed all the way up the bucktooth corporate structure a few times, insisting on another option that's more reasonable than the equivalent of smoke signals, they actually capitulated.
I got a phone call from the VP of something and he explained I can now email documents to expedite affairs. He was super thrilled about it.

So I call their girl to get an email address.
She explains that I can email the document, she can send this month's check to my new address, but I need to mail the actual document.
If it doesn't arrive before my next check is cut, they'll just hold them.
My head exploded.
I mailed the document 6 months later cause the kid wanted money.

The reason I go through this?
They have yet to embrace direct deposit.

[rwiiames]

I tried streaming a podcast on my phone into the truck radio and the buffering drove me nuts. Although the XM signal is occasionally blocked by terrain, it's way ahead of cellular data. I've found plenty of places where my cell reverts to analog on interstate highways. It seems that every time they upgrade the signal standard (3G, 4G, 4GLTE) they start all over at the population centers on the build out and abandon unfinished work, giving a reverse wedding cake profile like a TCA.

Just my $0.02, I yield the soap box.

[G G]

I wound up going with the 5 months for 33 ish. They agreed to paper bill me for that plan but not for the 60 for a year. I will have to possibly go through the same song and dance right before it ends.

[Bruins Fan]

I just go a 60 a year notice, but it does not say for which vehicle?
My wife only uses the radio in her car for a traffic report and that is on the am side.

[G G]

I just go a 60 a year notice, but it does not say for which vehicle?
My wife only uses the radio in her car for a traffic report and that is on the am side.

I have tried my best and then some to get them to paper bill me for that plan and they just won’t bite. They will however let me have a paper bill for the 99 a year plan.

[dave]

Just got our 2018 letter...'this is not a bill', but a notification that we're going to be getting a bill; $218 invoice coming soon. I'll have to set aside an evening for negotiations. It's in my wife's car and she loves it so, into the fray....

[kydsid]

I just go a 60 a year notice, but it does not say for which vehicle?
My wife only uses the radio in her car for a traffic report and that is on the am side.

They just emailed me and thanked me for renewing my subscription on what I presume is a vehicle I haven't owned anywhere from 3-10 years now. I don't know which one either. I just know the current one, and the one I just got rid of never had it. So it has to be two or three vehicles ago.

[dave]

No insight for you on that 'offer'. But, I've dealt with them enough years to know that it isn't likely a mistake, nor an ignorant salesperson. They have a different approach, that's for sure, but they are rehearsed and not accidental. I forget exactly what I pay, but it is around 40-45% of the renewal notice I get every year....paying maybe around $85? It takes about a half hour on the phone every year, but they always end up coming back with....'my supervisor will give you this rate for this year only'....or some such.

They've tightened up their sales folks, apparently. Annual bill was way north of two bills and even after multiple calls trying to haggle them down, I've been offered absolutely nothing less than full bill price. I don't use it, but since my wife loves it, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and pay the asking price.

[Chainsaw13]

They've tightened up their sales folks, apparently. Annual bill was way north of two bills and even after multiple calls trying to haggle them down, I've been offered absolutely nothing less than full bill price. I don't use it, but since my wife loves it, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and pay the asking price.

Damn, that's a lot of money to pay. But as they say "Happy Wife, Happy Life".

[Dave128]

We listen all the time in our car. We used to have a lifetime subscription, but as you stated, they have changed they're practices. We're hooked so we now bite the bullet and pay the yearly fee.

[icehog3]

Yeah, my bill is way up too. Still deciding.

[G G]

They've tightened up their sales folks, apparently. Annual bill was way north of two bills and even after multiple calls trying to haggle them down, I've been offered absolutely nothing less than full bill price. I don't use it, but since my wife loves it, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and pay the asking price.

We listen all the time in our car. We used to have a lifetime subscription, but as you stated, they have changed they're practices. We're hooked so we now bite the bullet and pay the yearly fee.

Yeah, my bill is way up too. Still deciding.

That five month deal is about to go out in May. So just for the fun of it I called a couple days ago to see what they offers were. They told me there were none for current customers. So I told the guy that was fine, when it ran out I would simply cancel. He then said that he could offer me a deal for 6 months at a little more than i paid for the 5 months. The total came to 45 bucks and he said that they would pro rate my month I had left and blah blah blah. I told him no thanks, I would wait til the current plan had a couple days left and call back. I am not sure at this point if I stay with it or just subscribe to apple music for 10 bucks a month.

[Brlesq]

Three weeks ago I did the semi-annual "dance" with them that we've been doing for 5 years, and when I told the gal that it was annoying to haggle so often because both know where the price will end up, she gave me a full year renewal for $60. I was happy!

[hotreds]

Again, as previously mentioned, go on EBay and get one with a lifetime subscription. It will pay for itself in a couple three years.

[dave]

Thanks, Hugh. I went back and read the earlier posts about the ebay radios. Seems perfect...IF...you need a radio. I don't imagine I could buy one and then transfer the lifetime account to my Tami's car?

[Ashcan Bill]

They sure don't update their database very often. I constantly get offers for a car that was totaled a year and a half ago.

[G G]

Three weeks ago I did the semi-annual "dance" with them that we've been doing for 5 years, and when I told the gal that it was annoying to haggle so often because both know where the price will end up, she gave me a full year renewal for $60. I was happy!

I got that offer the last time but they wouldn’t invoice me for it. They would only do it if I gave them my CC info. I refuse and pay the invoice by using the prepaid cards for sirius. They would only invoice me for the $99 a year deal and I told them no thanks.

[icehog3]

They sure don't update their database very often. I constantly get offers for a car that was totaled a year and a half ago.

They actually charged me for a truck that I had sold 3 years earlier. The coworkers who could hear my end of the conversation (the first guy wasn't getting it) said it was both hysterical and frightening. :D

[dave]

Depending on what you have, you likely can get a model with a lifetime subscription on Ebay. Basically, you buy it and don't ever have to worry about a subscription again. I have the now ancient SkyFy model, but it gives me the stations just as well as the newer models. Found a lifetime model on Ebay. Noticed they have about 1 page of lifetime models on Ebay now. There is no way to know for sure if the model is lifetime, you'll hafta trust your seller. You DON'T want to ask XM- the lifetime subscriptions were sold to one owner only. But, figure you make your money after three or four years, and you're good to go after that.

Most of the ebay ads now warn NOT to call Sirius to transfer subscription....I was hoping to buy one and transfer to Tami's car - Sirius' web site indicates it can be done...ONCE...for $75, but I'm wondering if they've found a way to screw that one down, too

[hammondc]

Best way I found to get past dealing with XM is to get Spotify.
I have 4 or 5 of us on a plan that I pay like 16 bucks a month for.
XM cannot compare to how awesome Spotify is. It truly is wonderful.



Yyyyyyup.

[hotreds]

Most of the ebay ads now warn NOT to call Sirius to transfer subscription....I was hoping to buy one and transfer to Tami's car - Sirius' web site indicates it can be done...ONCE...for $75, but I'm wondering if they've found a way to screw that one down, too

I would not do that as they know you didn't buy the lifetime subscription. It's a pain, but if you get the automobile pack you can use a lifetime SKyFi unit. It's all about if you want to add stuff to the car- a cradle and a plug for the fka "cigarette lighter," and an antenna for the roof. It's a lot messier than using the built in radio, otoh you can move it from car to car.

[dave]

Got a bill from Sirius for $33.76 'past due', even though we'd let the service go...and even called a few times to see if they could make 'me an offer', since I couldn't yet accept the $230 or whatever it was they wanted.
Called them to ***** about this bill and they said not to worry, that they'd taken care of it already. Well and good enough...but they did come back with an offer to reinstate for 6 months at $40, including fees, tax, etc. Of course, that comes with the fine print of auto-renewal at full price....so now I'm on the clock like some of you...but its worth it to me to spend the time wrangling every six months in order to save some $150 a year.