Sirius Satellite Radio Consumer Reviews - Page 5

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA -- Have you ever thought that some products out there should come with health advisory labels, like tobacco and alcohol products do? Well, if for some reason they decide that we the public should be informed about what kind of health threats any certain product or service could potentially pose to our health, those SIRIUS satellite radios would definitely come labeled with something like "WARNING! Do not purchase this product if you suffer from high blood pressure, heart problems or migraines, because this product has been known to aggravate any of these conditions!!!"

That would be truth in advertisement, but before that day comes, for your health, please stay away from SIRIUS. I got it as a gift about 2 years ago. I had heard it somewhere and I liked one particular channel they had, which played world music. Never mind that about 30% of the time all I got was an "acquiring signal" message, when the antenna lost the signal, but that was probably due to its location. I was still willing to keep it, because I loved the kind of music they played so much.

Then, one day they decided to do away with the channel I liked. They now call it "world music channel", and what do they play? The Rolling Stones, 24/7. Not in my world. So I decided to give up on the whole thing, but they just wouldn't let me. They pestered me via e-mail, and on the phone, and then one day they finally told me that my radio station was back, playing world music. Great!, I thought, so I renewed my subscription, only to turn it on and what did I get? The Rolling Stones. 24/7.

I was tired of sending them e-mails that only got automatically generated responses, and calling their customer service reps got me nowhere, so I sent a letter to their Customer Service VP. And I am very sure he received it. That got me no place, which is next to nowhere, and now I am here, warning you, reader, to either wait for the advisory label to come some day, or to listen to my advice, and DO NOT GET SIRIUS!!!

OPELIKA, ALABAMA -- I wanted to share my awful experience with Sirius XM customer service. I was given a radio as a gift along with a $50 Sirius gift card. The radio does not work well in my house or most hotels. I decided to take the radio back and tried to get the money back from the gift card. Their response was "Sorry, we don't give refunds on cards purchased. That is just our policy and there is nothing we can do about it." Well, because of this POOR excuse for customer service, I will NEVER EVER use Sirius Radio, and will be more than happy to share my bad experience with anyone I come in contact with.

Also, my best friend bought the service for his girlfriend and made the mistake of using his credit card for the service. What he did not realize, was it automatically renews itself. He ended his relationship with the girlfriend, and months later he noticed he was charged another $200 to renew her subscription. After weeks of going back and forth with them, they agreed to credit his account. After they did, they tried to charge him again. These people are crooks. Stay away from Sirius XM and never give them your credit or debit card.

I have been a Sirius XM subscriber since I purchased my new car in 2007. At the time I purchased a lifetime subscription to XM Radio and also an annual subscription to NavTraffic. Last year (2010), Sirius XM discontinued the lifetime subscription plan. They also changed the NavTraffic to require a monthly subscription plan in order to subscribe to NavTraffic. Sirius then proceeded to cancel my NavTraffic, since there was no monthly radio subscription.

I called customer service (absolutely worthless) and they escalated to corporate. I was told over the phone that their new combined system (Sirius & XM merged) could not allow NavTraffic without a monthly radio contract. According to my notes, Sirius XM told me they would setup a nominal monthly billing of $1/month for the radio service in order to keep NavTraffic.

I now have learned that without my consent, they refunded a portion of my lifetime service (approx 1/3 of the original cost) and initiated a quarterly credit card charge for radio service. I called back today (12/5/11) and the customer service manager told me that if I didn't like what they were offering, I could cancel and refused to escalate my case to corporate. She told me if I didn't like it, sue us.

Well, now that she has suggested it, perhaps I should. I wonder how many others have been victimized by their illegal billing practices. This smells like a class action suit... now I need a hungry attorney:) Bottom line, if a company has no competition, subscriber beware.

I was contacted about renewal to one of my three subscriptions. What a racket! I asked very specific questions about each of my subscriptions, such as cost of each, renewal dates, etc. I couldn't get a straight answer to save my life!!! I was even told at one point that I had a credit on each account, which proved to be false! I was offered a three month renewal to include ALL three accounts for approximately $35 at one point. When I proved to be too challenging to this particular rep, I was transferred to another who basically negated everything stated by the first rep!!! Now that I'm talking to someone about cancelling ALL of my subscriptions, I am getting great service!!! Imagine that!

Be very careful in dealing with these people. They offered us a free 3 month subscription when we tried to cancel our service and we accepted. Then they charged our credit card for a 2 month fee. When we contacted them to get a credit issued, they processed it against our account but would not put the money back to our credit card. In addition, I have not been able to access my account information online so I cannot cancel my credit card so there are no more charges.

3 weeks and 4 phone calls later we are still trying to get our $77 back. I have no choice but to file a dispute with our credit card company to block payment of this charge. XM makes it very difficult to cancel service so beware of handing them any credit card information.

MCKINNEY, TEXAS -- I bought a Ford Mustang (2007) which came pre-equipped with Sirius Radio - I then renewed the subscription for an additional 6 months. After that six-month period, I had decided that I would not renew again. An automatic renewal was posted to my AmEx account and I immediately called and cancelled that subscription and all was well - and credit would be issued for the $150 annual subscription.

My credit card statement arrives and I have a credit of $47.50! So, I call them back and the customer service says "Did anyone tell you that we have a deactivation fee?" I said "I lived out the terms of my contract with you and I have the right not to renew without a deactivation fee." She said "Well, I'm sorry, that's our policy". Well, I then said that I would dispute the charge with AmEx and they could work it out; and in the meantime I would like to speak to her supervisor. She says "Uh, uh, well, let me see what I can do for you - I'm not sure that I'll be able to help - but I'll try."

Fifteen minutes of annoying hold music, she comes back and says "I've credited your account for the $87...is there anything else that I can do for you today?" Nope - case closed - thanks. But WHY do you have to go through all this just to cancel a subscription? I'll NEVER use them again.

KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA -- WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT RENEW, SIRIUS WILL TURN YOU OVER TO A COLLECTION AGENCY!!! After prepaying $144 for one year of Sirius Satellite Radio, I decided not to renew my subscription. Sirius disconnected my service. Then the calls and letters from NCO Financial, Sirius' collection agency, started. I found out that Sirius had "automatically" renewed my subscription for a year without even notifying me and was now seeking payment in advance for a year's worth of service even though my service had been disconnected for months.

I began receiving one or more harassing calls from NCO Financial each day. I also received a letter from NCO Financial demanding $239! (I still don't know how they came up with that ridiculous figure). I called NCO Financial and got their voice mail box. It was full the first time I called, so I couldn't even leave a message. The second time I called, I was able to leave my name and number. No one ever called me back.

I called Sirius and threatened to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office. Sirius agreed to back off and expressly admitted that I did not owe the $239 that NCO Financial was seeking. Instead, Sirius now claimed that I owed $31 for the service provided between the subscription expiration and the disconnection date. In order to protect my good credit rating, I sent the $31 to NCO Financial and said goodbye to Sirius.

It's a shame that Sirius has so little faith in its product that the company feels it must resort to unethical business practices to bring in revenue. Just Google "Sirius" and "collection agency" and you will find the same complaint over and over again. I will never deal with Sirius again. You shouldn't either.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- I would give a half star if offered. Sirius by far has the worst customer service of any company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. The average time on the phone is 30 minutes plus, for simple issues... such as turning off the wrong radio, activating the wrong radio, trying to blame a car dealership for Sirius errors. I would also love to talk with someone who has a decent understanding of the English language.

Some of their CS reps will hang up on you mid conversation... especially if the issue is above their pay grade, which almost certainly it is. My guess is that they work at Sirius because their intelligence level will not be sufficient to work in a fast food environment. I have 3 vehicles with Sirius... when their contracts run out, I will be 100% with Pandora. I am in hopes that finally Sirius will get enough competition to either put them out of business or at least make them aware of what real customer service is all about...

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- I had a subscription and traded in my car... easy enough I was supposed to get a year free on my new car and then upgrade to a paid package. I spent hours on hold, they billed my old account, billed me for the free year, then credited my account, then set up the wrong service on my new car. They gave me a free upgrade, then took away the free upgrade. I had to make 5 or 6 different calls. Each new person had no idea because they "did not see the account notes." Now they are supposedly going to upgrade me to Premium and "auto-renew" next year. Any bets how badly they will screw that up? The government needs to break up their monopoly if they can't service the customers!!!

I paid for a 5 year subscription that was to begin after the 3 month trial expired on my newly purchased Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have been contacted several times recently about renewing my subscription, which technically hasn't begun. On 9/17/2011 (yesterday) I was contacted once again, this time by phone, about renewing my subscription. I explained my situation and was routed to another representative who flat out hung up on me. When I called back, I spoke to a supervisor who assured me that everything was worked out. Tonight, while out with my wife and another couple, I noticed that my service had been disconnected and, of course, the listener service center is closed.

I have spoken to representatives on three different occasions, not including today's conversation with them, and I've been assured each time that my situation is worked out. Currently, I have no service, but they've had my $750 payment since July 1st!! My five year subscription is to begin on 10/08/2011. Why is my satellite service turned off??? I'm still in my trial period and, additionally, I've paid for a five year subscription. No matter how you look at it, I should have service right now!!

This company is too big to care. I was horrified when I began searching for complaints about Sirius; there are thousands! Something needs to be done about the way Sirius handles their business and how they treat their customers.