If you would have asked me a few years ago who my favorite company was, I wouldn’t have hesitated to say XM Radio. Today I filed fraud charges against them. A few months ago I noticed a bad charge on my credit card. I called them up and they told me that they didn’t have any record of the charge. I informed Chase and the charge was removed.
Then another charge was placed on the card. I called XM Radio again. After a lot of investigation they discovered that they had tied another customer account to my credit card number. They tried to blame to Chase. I told them it was their fault. They admitted fault and then assured me the charge was removed while I was still on the phone. XM Radio also promised me no further fraudulent charges would occur and a supervisor would call me within 2 days to confirm everything had been cleared on their side.
After 5 days of not receiving that call, I called Chase. XM Radio lied to me twice. The fraudulent charge was not removed. At this point I knew XM Radio would continue to make fraudulent charges against my credit card, so I had to cancel my card and get another one issued with a new number.
Photo by Simon Cunningham
If you are a customer of XM Radio (maybe Sirius too?) and you have a credit card on file, double check your statements to confirm they aren’t making fraudulent charges. I eagerly await the day XM Sirius goes bankrupt and is acquired by more competent management.
Follow Up Post: Why I Am Not Renewing My Sirius XM Radio Subscription
Nikki
May 12, 2009 — 7:41 am
Well that’s disturbing. I have a sirius subscription though it came with my car so maybe they aren’t connected to my credit card yet? Anyway, fun times…
Janet
May 12, 2009 — 3:35 pm
In March I discovered that XM Radio had been making unauthorized charges against my credit card for 3 years. I have been round with them as they tried to convince me (with 5 XM subscriptions) that they have made no such erroneous charges. I wrote, called, and faxed with no response. I then wrote to the CEO of Sirius XM and got a long-winded message on my answering machine from an employee claiming that they looked into it in response to my letter and all charges were legit. Another phone call to XM and I finally got a competent person who immediately found that XM has been charging my card for some one else’s radio for 3 years. They were going to take care of it. Today I was told that indeed I was being charged erroneously but it is my problem, not theirs and they will do nothing. They are guilty of theft and should be brought up on fraud charges. I, too, canceled my Chase card and got a new number. And guess what, XM Radio found out my new number and made another unauthorized charge this month on my new card. I have now instructed Chase to block them from charging my card and am filing a fraud complaint. I will be checking with an attorney to see what recourse I have legally and I would be happy to report back. Nothing speaks volumes as much as mention of “class action”.
MAS
May 12, 2009 — 3:43 pm
Janet – WOW!
I too have instructed Chase to block any charges. If Chase fails, then I’ll find a new Mastercard. So far Chase has been very helpful, so I don’t expect that to happen.
I *love* the service and the on air talent, but I won’t renew until they fix the management at the company.
Mel Karmazin has destroyed 2 companies. He needs to go.
Spiro
May 18, 2009 — 10:26 pm
So far (1.5 years) no issues with Sirius. They give me the option of paying up front for 2 years which I did.
Mari
Jul 28, 2009 — 9:13 am
I subscribe to XM Radio/Sirius and my beef with them is the monthly fees and the freedom they have to increase these fees… with no one to compete against, they can do whatever they want to us, beloved customers. If anyone is interested in organizing an action against their monopoly, let me know.
About fraudulent charges, the same thing happened to me with Dish Network. Someone opened an account with my ssn claiming to be my father; after wasting my time with them, climbing the personnel ladder to talk to the manager’s manager, I closed it. Two weeks later, I found out that the person reopened the account! I closed it again and filed a complaint with the better business bureau.
The problem is that you’re never filling a complaint about the big corporation, Dish Network, but a smaller branch in the middle of nowhere… I think it would be the same with XM/Sirius.
It is so easy to open an account under somebody’s name. All they want is to get a ssn and collect money…
MAS
Jul 28, 2009 — 9:24 am
XM is going to have to work VERY HARD to get me to sign up for another year. Firing their CEO Mel K would be a great start.
Costco sells a 1 TB external drive for under $150 now. That will hold a boatload of MP3 files.
Christy
Aug 4, 2009 — 1:27 pm
I’m having the same problem with Sirius right now. Two charges a month. They insist they are only billing me $14.89, but a charge for $14.93 and $15.94 show up each month. I hate to cancel, but…I seem to have no recourse.
Dawg Jones
Aug 17, 2009 — 5:51 pm
I too will be canceling the Sirius/XM screw us party. Just got my bill and now we have to pay THEM Royalty fees because they settled a lawsuit and can’t pay it?? With all the talk (Dusty Rhoades) and the other DJ’s have now, its more like local stations. Why pay for something that is free and in HD now…Can these folks who are offering us something we can get for free…
MAS
Aug 17, 2009 — 6:05 pm
Dawg –
I was unaware of the royalty fee being added to the bills until your comment. Now I am really glad that I canceled that credit card number.
Merging 2 bad companies into 1 awful company isn’t turning out so well.
Danny Bill
Aug 20, 2009 — 3:50 am
In November of 2008, I signed up for a years worth of XM Radio by phone. (I think it was around $139) Immediately after signing up by phone, I went on line and upgraded to the \”Best of Serius\” which was an additional $39.00 (approximately). In May of 2009 I got a bill for an additional $23. I immediately called them and talked to a tech guy named \”Chris\”. He said it was their mistake and \”fixed it\”. In July of 2009 I got a letter from their collections department stating I owed $179. I called again and got someone who sounded like he was from India. It wasn\’t bad enough that there was a language barrier, but apparently he didn\’t understand that I PAID FOR A YEAR IN ADVANCE! He had it on the screen that I paid, but somehow I still owed $179.00 or my subscription would be canceled! I then spoke to his supervisor who\’s English was worse than his tech guy. I have been subjected to calls from their collections department night and day, weekdays and weekends. I have sent several emails, no response. I have looked on various complaint web sites and apparently this behavior on the part of XM/Serius is rampant! Along with other bad business decisions on the part of XM (censorship, merging with Serius) they are facing major cancellations. This is what business in the future will look like if people don\’t start fighting back. I no longer wish to get XM, but I would like to be refunded the balance of my yearly subscription, since they have cut off ALL of my service! I am going to send this complaint to ALL of the top dogs at XM/Serius! I am also going to buy 1 share of XM stock and plan on attending a shareholders meeting and being a \”squeaky wheel\”. Don\’t let these stupid business practices bring this country down, make them accountable!
MAS
Aug 20, 2009 — 7:19 am
Danny –
If you paid using a credit card, there should be some receipt. I would contact your credit card provider and do what I did – file fraud charges against Sirius XM Radio. You paid your bill using their card. The money was accepted and now you are being double billed. That is fraud. Credit card companies have lots of experience going after those that commit fraud.
I fully expect Sirius XM to be in bankruptcy court within 12 months. Another entity will buy their assets on the cheap, fire the existing management and then launch a new company. That new company will then try and earn my business. Until all this plays out, I will not be renewing.
Danny Bill
Aug 21, 2009 — 2:49 am
I am in the process of doing just that! But I will wait to see if the “new” company has the same problems as XM/Sirius. I tried faxing my complaint to the head honchos in NY, but it was busy ALL DAY LONG. Seems there are others. My next step is to send a registered letter to the powers that be. Thanks for your input I appreciate the advice.
Danielle
Aug 31, 2009 — 10:51 am
Hey guys,
Just wanted to let you guys in on how i cancelled my XM serius satellite radio subscription. I called 1-877-438-9677 ( i live in canada) and chose the option to deactivate my radio / account. I was lucky enough to get a girl who spoke english and was stationed in New Brunswick. I had read all the comments and complaints from other XM customers about the big hassle involved with cancelling the service. When the girl asked me why i was cancelling my service i simply told them that i had purchased the radio and service as a christmas present for my boyfriend and that we had recently broken up. I informed the girl i was not about to pay for my ex to continue his subscription to XM radio. She stated she wouldnt want to either and said she totally understood. She then tried to offer me deals and free services to get me to stay and i sternly told her no thank you not at this time. She then told me my service would be cancelled and confirmed that i still had remaining time left in my subscription until September 25th. She stated that on the 26th day of september all service would be terminated. Today is August 31st, 2009. All I can say is that i better no receive any charges from XM radio on my next bill or all hell will break loose.
Gretchen
Oct 20, 2009 — 6:03 am
XM radio fraudently renewed my subscription by obtaining my ex husbands credit card number (which I had no access to). I cancelled my service and after numerous calls to xm, all I have received is lie after lie about my refund. They say they gave me one, but neither my ex husband nor I have ever received such a refund. I am filing a complaint with the attorney general. They have lied every single time I or my ex have spoken to them. Never use this service again.
Anthony
Dec 10, 2009 — 3:54 pm
I have been an XM Radio customer for five years. I had never had a problem until recently. Four days ago, my wife made a payment via phone to XM using her debit card. She paid only to renew my subscription. Two days later, we received another XM radio via UPS. I checked my bank account and found the debit for the renewal plus another debit for $28. I called XM to straighten out the problem. I spent two hours on the phone with their reps who assured me the issue would be resolved and provided a reference number. That same day, another charge for $45 showed up on my account. I called to dispute the charges and was told that I could return the new radio (that I never ordered) but that there would be a $75 deactivation fee. While I was sitting on the phone with them for another two hours, I logged onto my banking website only to find that my account had been debited for another $50. XM’s customer service reps all claimed that they did not see where they had made any additional charges to my account. I finally called my bank and deactivated the debit card. Although I’ve enjoyed the service and the coverage. I’m cancelling my XM account. I can’t afford the headache!!
Jorene Soto
Jan 5, 2010 — 11:25 am
Can I join you in your law suit? Here’s my story of how my family got ripped off by them. (At this point, I’m thankful that it’s only $38 and hoping that they don’t try to charge me for more):
I received a 3-month free trial period for XM Satellite Radio in my new 2010 Toyota Prius. I never used the XM. At the end of the free period, XM telephoned my husband and gave him a hard sell.
They told him that we could have another month for free. I don’t know why he agreed to another free month b/c I never used it (I’m the primary driver of the vehicle), but he did. After that free month was up, I got a $38 bill in the mail for the next month, so I called to complain.
XM’s customer service department is absolutely terrible. The first lady I spoke to could barely speak English, and she hung up on me after I was on hold for over 30 minutes. The second person I spoke to cancelled the account but refused to cancel the $38 service fee. I demanded to speak w/ a supervisor, and it took over an hour to finally speak to a supervisor. He also refused to cancel the $38 fee for a service I didn’t want and never used. He said that they had a record that we called them in Nov and asked them to extend the XM. I told him his records were wrong b/c his statement was a complete lie. The entire process took over 2 hrs.
Suzy
Jan 6, 2010 — 4:20 pm
Hey include me in your law suit. I have been trying to get a refund of 375.10 from XM….They automatically renewed my subscription for 3 years and charged my account using my debit card. I never authorized this and I to have been on the phone for 12 days everyday talking for hours at a time for my money!!! I can barely understand the person I am talking. I email the CEO and the board of directors everyday. I tried calling their corp office but was told I needed to speak with their billing dept……I refused and told the person on the phone I wanted to file a complaint. You know the rest of the story. I am working with my bank to get this cleared up, also I have notified my congressman and a local news station for assistance., I plan contacting my state attorney general’s office. This should not be allowed and the general public needs to be informed .. Something has to be done.
MAS
Jan 6, 2010 — 5:25 pm
I am unaware of any class action lawsuits against Sirius XM. It is shame how much the merger destroyed a once great company.
Josh
Jan 31, 2010 — 7:40 pm
XM just blocked my radio due to their stupid royalty fee.
My radio was PRE-PAID for two years + remaining balance on an old radio (car which I sold).
Their solution?
Pay more money. Get my credit card.
My solution?
Lawyer.
John
Feb 2, 2010 — 2:03 pm
I’m fighting a charge from XM also for them automatically renewing without my authorization. This is the only law firm I found that is looking into a class action (although on another issue). I encourage you to go to the website and tell them your story. They seem to sue a lot of big companies and hopefully the find enough interest to sue them for their billing practices.
Dave
Feb 18, 2010 — 12:48 pm
Please everyone! For the love of all things holy! We all need to band together and MAKE XM pay for their frudulant endeavors to line their pockets. My experience(s) with XM customer service angers me to no end. I cannot believe that an AMERICAN company could EVER get away with these unfair and dishonest business practices (against AMERICAN CITIZENS)!
I urge EVERYONE with experiences similar to any of the others mentioned in many of these replies to contact their respective state’s Attorney General and REPORT XM!
Melissa
Feb 24, 2010 — 1:53 pm
I should have read all of problems before I signed up with XM…I signed up with them and have enjoyed the service. Then my husband called in to activate his radio, the service rep only asked for our mailing address and my phone number…so much for security. They then activated his radio and charged MY credit card without prior authorization. I know that my husband was the one that called in, but who is to say that Billy Bob could have called in and done the same thing. The people I spoke with said that there are protections in place to prevent fraud and never answered my question as to why my credit card was charged without my permission. I requested my credit card number be removed from the account and now I have to pay a $2 fee for paper invoices.
The Ghost
Mar 13, 2010 — 9:41 pm
Hey everyone I am a former employee of XM and I would hear complaints like yours everyday… promises of call backs, refunds, messed up billing… you name it I’ve heard it.
I’ve realized a few truths about xm…
1) The center in the Philippines/India is horrible beyond words. If you’ve spoken to them chances are you’ve been charged for something you just didn’t want. The reason is that ALL of xms csrs work on commission.
When I first started working at XM a supervisor said to me “I know you thought you were here for customer service but you’re actually here for sales”. I never understood what he meant until a month into the job, there is immense pressure in the call centers to sell as much as you can to subscribers, whether it’s an unwanted radio or 3yr subscription… our jobs are to convince you that you want it. The more you sell the more money you make.
Alot of times I notice India will charge radios to subscribers credit cards because they’re desperate for sales… At one point for each radio sold at xm one would get $5 commission, now it’s down to $1, so the workers especially in India are desperate now more than ever to SELL!!
Trust me I know this because I would spend alot of time cleaning up the mess they’d make.
If you want your billing issue addressed by someone in India promise them that you’ll buy 2 radios when they have it dealt with… you’re issue will be cleared up in a jiffy! If they realise you’re not going to purchase something from them they’ll either leave your account the way it is, transfer you to another person or just leave you on hold until you hang up.
2) Nothing is ever confirmed with xm… no receipt, no confirmation of anything… its all verbal. Because of that it’s hard to prove anything at all. I’d advise everyone to just suck up the invoice fee and have a bill mailed to them
3) The person you talk to today more than likely won’t be there tomorrow. Taking someone’s Name and id # makes no difference because they fire/hire employees so much that you referring to something that “Alex” who is employee “#00008” told you, means nothing to anyone there.
4) Threatening to sue xm or report xm to the BBB if your issue isn’t dealt with means nothing to someone in Philippines or any of the representatives there. You’re probably the 18th person to say that in the last 3 hours.
5) As for supervisors – The reason it is almost impossible to get a sup is because they are almost impossible to find. They’re always busy and many of them get annoyed when you as a csr ask them for assistance and tend to brush you off because they have 56 other csrs asking them for assistance. Alot of times we will just tell our supervisors the situation and they will tell us what to do. So talking to a supervisor is almost redundant because you will get the same solution the rep gave you.
Finally If Xm has your money, good luck. They’re protected by so much legal mumbo jumbo crap that they have all their bases covered.
OH! Im pretty sure the corporate offices don’t even exist!! An email does no good either because you’ll just get a long letter which just asks you to call the CSRs so they can try to sell you something else!
MAS
Mar 13, 2010 — 9:55 pm
@The Ghost – thanks for sharing. Your explanation makes sense to me after all my calls to XM, especially #2. No confirmation number ever.
Jamie
Mar 16, 2010 — 8:26 am
My girlfriend had turned off XM for budget reasons. As part of Valentines day I offered to get it turned back on. I called XM paid $137 on 2/14 and now 30 days later on 3/15 I just noticed they charged me another $115! I call in to XM Radio 800 # and spoke to a kid named Richard. And I say he was kid because he sounded like one of my nephews, giggling, unprofessional, completely clueless. He may have been new- but refused to provide a phone extension, employeed ID #, or last name- He was Richard- I finally told him I would not let him help me without a way to identify him at some point down the road. He said I am Richard F. I asked to speak with his supervisor. After a lengthy hold I spoke with floor supervisor Caesar again no other info was provided. I explained the charges, we went back and forth. I cancelled part of our services that were misrepresented on the Sirius/XM portion and they ended up refunding $50.55. The entire time the call was going on, I could hear people in the background laughing about other customers, cutting up- it was grossly unprofessional- sounded like I had called a lockerroom after the big game. I asked the Floor Leader if they were 3rd party or actual XM employees. He said we are XM employees. I asked him about the level of professionalism because I dont feel like I should be hearing reps laughing im the background and carrying on conversations about other customers. He then told me they are professional but he isnt going to debate or offer opinons on it, “I am here to help you with your account and that’s it” I apologized- I thought he was a floor supervisor and would be responsible for the level of service. And I woudl mention that while he is telling me how professional they are- A man screamed out in the background 3x like he was watching a receiver with a breakaway pass. I said do you really think that is professional? He refused to answer. I got some money back so am going to let it go for the moment- but be warned– stay away from XM satellite radio- buy CD’s, listen to tapes- do whatever you have to do- but do not be tempted by this business.
Ray
Mar 27, 2010 — 9:07 am
January 2010, I was charged 177.22 for another year of XM service on my Discover Card. March 15, I noticed a charge of $9.72 on my MasterCard for “XM Radio Service”. I have never used my mastercard number at xm. I called and spent exactly 58 minutes on the phone with a girl I could hardly understand while she used the “resources at her disposal” to investigate the unexplained charge. She said there was no explanation of who or how the charge was made, but that he would refund the $9.72 to my MC. I requested all credit card info be erased on my account and that I receive email alerts and paper notice of upcoming renewals. Also, my first year with xm the cost was $126, the next year it was $152, this year it was $177. whats up with that? If the price goes up agian i will cancel. Are there any more satt. radio services? One more screw up and I’m GONE
MAS
Mar 27, 2010 — 9:29 am
@Ray – I’d call Mastercard and request to file fraud charges against them. Change your credit card number. I’d also change your Discover Card number.
Many cities now have HD Radio. It is a viable option to Sat Radio.
Thomas
Apr 19, 2010 — 3:43 pm
I wish I had read this first before signing up for two prepaid years on my new car. I sent the letter back with payment for two years (plus free months) then got another bill for “royalty fees”. This should have been included in the total bill and not billed separately. To me this is a shady business practice and that is why I found this blog on the internet. But there is more to worry about. When I got the bill I thought they had not gotten payment so went online to see if the check was cashed. It was but they had converted the check to an electronic payment so there was no copy of the check on my account and no account number deposited to etc.
Now after reading these blogs and after reading the fine print on the second bill, my account will automatically “renew” after the subscription expires- at the “then-current rate” . Now I understand why my check was converted to an electronic payment so they could take the money out of my account without authorization in future. I did read some months back in the WSJ that Sirius was in deep debt but the CEO was optimistic due to the upswing in car sales in the cash for clunkers program that XM sales were on the rise.
In my opinion when you run a company using trickery your days are numbered because word gets out. My next stop is the California Attorney General’s office.
PS Called the Philippine call center in the fine print and got (think I got) agreement to not automatically bill my account in two years. It was set to do so. Buyer beware!
Angel
Apr 20, 2010 — 11:14 am
XM/Sirius are thieves. They have charged my credit card twice in the last two weeks… The kicker? I’m prepaid for another 3 months.. I have been “mysteriously” disconnected 4 times today while trying to get my credit card charges credited. One of the reps suddenly developed a thick Jamaican accent when trying to substantiate charges…. XM is a criminal enterprise.
They lie. Talk in circles. Put you on hold for 10 -15 minutes at a time. I have killed 1.5 hours on the phone today, and am typing this while on still on hold. Next correspondence will be to my state’s attorney general’s office.
Mike P
Apr 20, 2010 — 1:32 pm
DO NOT GIVE XM A CREDIT CARD…PERIOD!!
If you do..you are making a big mistake.
Have them bill you. That’s what I do. I like the service but I don’t trust them. They have spent 100’s of millions of dollars on Stern, Oprah, NFL, MLB and are not in the black. They are bleeding cash and not profitable. They will do anything (other than provide good customer service) to get your money. When they get your cash…you will NOT get it back.
Thomas
Apr 20, 2010 — 1:57 pm
Spent my lunch forwarding my previous blog to the class action attorneys with the blog I did yesterday: I posted the following information about XM Radio on a fraud blog. My paper check payment was converted to and electronic payment with a recurring charge without my authorization. I intended (and expected) my charge to be a one time charge not an open-ended recurring charge. In addition my payment of $272 was hostage when they sent a second bill for $31 “royalty fees”. Don’t pay more (not explained in original prospectus) and you risk losing the up front fee. This is customer abuse and I hope the law has remedy to protect innocents like me.
Andrew
Apr 20, 2010 — 9:23 pm
Recently my credit card number to the card i use with XM was stolen, so i had the card deactivated. I decided i was sick of XM so I’d just let my subscription expire at the end of my prepaid period. Well it expired, i ignored the multitude of automated calls(that still continue). I just noticed on my bank statement i was charged 23.xx$ to XM. Somehow they have my new bank card number and are charging it. I called today and it was a waste of time. 1st they told me i logged in and changed my billing information on-line on the 11th of April. Later in the same call their story changed to saying i called in on the 18th and gave them my information. They put me on hold for a supervisor a few times before taking my number down claiming one would call me. Obviously just smoke and mirrors to get on to the next caller.
XM can smoke a pole
Bob
May 1, 2010 — 6:13 pm
Add me to the list. After working my best deal for a year of service for one price, my credit card was charged more than agreed upon without my approval. Calling them was a challenge, as I was on hold waiting for a supervisor for over an hour to try to get these “local and state taxes” credited to my account that they said they forgot to tell me about. I was told that these “taxes” only apply 24 hours after the orders are placed. These are in addition to the royality charges that I was made aware of. When I wouldn’t give in to the new total price, they hung up on me. I called again and was given credit to my account but I think I will be cutting my losses and cancel it before they renew me. This was the worse customer service I ever had to deal with. The only thing that came close was Direct TV. Maybe it is because they don’t have a local office that you can get in touch with a live person when you need to, just a PO box. I love the programing provided but I can get what I need to listen to from other sources. It sounds like their customer service department will be running them into the ground, like what happened to Circuit City. They can abuse their customers but we are at fault if we let them continue by renewing our supscriptions.
Sandi Hankins
May 25, 2010 — 6:27 am
I’m having a battle with XM Radio also. Oct 2009 I received a “We Want You Back” letter in the mail offering a full free trial of all the channels. So I reactivated my account – in order to do so, I had to give my credit card #. I used my check card which was obviously a BAD idea since you can’t simply dispute a charge as you can with a regular credit card. The radio would not pick up the signal so I called and canceled the account the same week. The next month I had a $24.96 charge taken from my account for XM Radio. It took 3 calls to XM before it was finally credited back. Now .. 6 months later I have another $24.94 taken from my account. I called May 20th and talked to Allison at the Iowa site who said the credit would be issued in 24/48 hours. It’s now May 24th and the credit is not even showing as pending – so I called again and NOW they can’t seem to find the new charge OR the one from November. Matthew @ the Texas site says the last charge they show is from 2007 !! I’m absolutely PISSED right now. I had to fax a copy of my statement showing the charge (and, yes, I blacked out everything on the page except the XM Charge).
I don’t know who I need to write or call – but I’m not going to just let this go. How many people a day do they do this to that doesn’t stay on top of their accounts and never notice the money they are STEALING ??!
MAS
May 25, 2010 — 8:23 am
@Sandi – You need to have the bank that holds your card to do your fighting for you. That is why they get a cut of your transactions. When bad things happen, they are they to defend you. This is why I have an AMEX card. I tell them my problem and they make it go away.
Sandi Hankins
May 25, 2010 — 8:54 am
MAS, thank you. I called the bank and if the credit isn’t issued in 3 days then I’m going in to fill out a dispute form. I’m also going to get a new check card so XM can’t keep doing this.
Oddly enough, I received an email ‘invitation to complete a survey’ regarding the call I made to XM on 5/20/10 this morning and if the issue had been resolved.
This is an absolutely PERFECT day to respond to a survey !!
rik
Jun 2, 2010 — 8:17 pm
We just bought a new Prius but it did not have the XM module installed, so I told my wife that we would add it and therefore be able to listen to nice music on long trips out west where towns are far apart. After reading the above comments, I think we will just buy some more CD’s instead.
A quick side comment: MAS is right, don’t even waste your time screwing with XM….if your credit card was charged, call them and dispute the charge. You get immediate credit while the dispute is resolved; and I doubt that XM will be able to PROVE you requested service that you didn’t. As far as XM getting new credit card numbers, you need to have a serious talk with the bank’s security department.
rik
Jun 2, 2010 — 9:47 pm
Correction to previous: if your credit card was charged, call the ISSUING BANK and dispute the charge…etc
Kmw
Jun 5, 2010 — 10:18 pm
XM customer service is the worst that I have ever experienced – by far! I agreed to a 3 month extension of my service for $80 pd. upfront. My service was never reconnected – but rather than call, I just decided that I was so over XM I would consider it an $80 lesson learned (is this any indication of how much I despise calling this company, I should never have even renewed).
8-10 months later (today) I get a bill in the mail from a collection agency stating I owe $32. WHAT? I never even got service for the 3 months I pre-paid. When I called, I was told it was a vaild charge for lack of payment in Jan 2010. When I informed her that I wasn’t getting service in 2010, she basically just sat there dumbfounded. I said, can I please speak to someone with a brain (she connected me to her supervisor – not a big step up in the brain department mind you). I debated this charge for 30 minutes and essentially got no where. She said it was my responsibility to call if it wasn’t working – (keep in mind I was not asking for that $80 refund). She said they have thousands of customers and can’t know if service isn’t working — BUT they sure as H*** manage to bill those thousands of customers! All I want it the $32 charge taken off woman! I flat out asked her if she would pay for a cable bill if she wasn’t getting cable. (She did pause, so I am assuming perhaps she at least knew what I was getting at). At one point she told me if I didn’t keep the conversation professional (yes, profanity slipped) she was going to hang up on me. I said, well I can see why they hired you, your company is great at cutting things off. THEN she told me I could call the credit collector and dispute the charge knowing FULL well the collection agency cannot do anything about it without XM’s permission…which I kindly (or perhaps not so kindly) reminded her of. FINALLY she said she would sent a report to billing – yeah right.
Clearly, customers are charged b/c it costs a company money to provide a service. Since my service was not provided, presumably it didn’t cost the company any money, therefore I’m not “donating” any money to a multi million dollar company.
Bring on the class action lawsuit.
Marc
Jul 7, 2010 — 5:19 pm
Sirius XM are guilty of theft & fraud.
My wife & I returned a vehicle to Audi at the end of our lease in December 2009. The day the Q7 was being returned I called to cancel the service, spent an hour on the phone with them before finally being told that the account was no terminated. Great!
Not so great actually…. because we just discovered today that Sirius XM are continuing to charge us quarterly for a vehicle we no longer have! The total is $130 for 3 quarterly payment they took from our bank account.
So my wife called…. got the standard 1 hour run around (I am sure that they do this on purpose hoping that anyone complaining will simply hang up) & were told that the charges are legitimate… WHAT???
This company is performing theft on a grand scale & they get away with it…
All Sirius XM would do is refund the last charge taken today… $40….
We wont be using their service again even though we both have vehicles with Sirius radios installed… I’ll also be selling the Sirius XM stock I purchased when it was $0.21 …. Great product but inept management & customer service (yeah I know thats an oxymoron… LOL)
Guess I’ll be tuning into Seattle’s terrestrial radio network from now on in future :/
Roger Larson
Aug 3, 2010 — 6:01 pm
Hi Michael,
While I’m not sure I agree with your choice in pets, I guess I want to thank you for your XM blog subject. I say ‘I guess’ because I too have enjoyed their product (In my case XM mariner weather), but have come to realize that their customer service is the worst I have yet encountered. What is the status of your fraud suit? I have a story I could tell that amounts to a fraud in the weather service in my mind, and I guess I am wondering if I should take the time to tell it. I’m a somewhat slow author.
Thanks and best regards,
Roger
MAS
Aug 3, 2010 — 6:20 pm
@Roger – I completed all the paperwork to file fraud charges on XM Radio with Chase. They restored all fraudulent charges and issued me a new card with a new number to prevent future charges. I never heard anything more from Chase or XM.
Some people in this comment thread mentioned filing a class action lawsuit. I know of no such lawsuit. My fraud report was handled by Chase.
I’m now happy listening to podcasts and Seattle FM radio.
Terry
Aug 22, 2010 — 7:02 pm
Please help. I prepaid XM for my car and cancelled because my new car has SIRIUS. XM owes me $221. I have been getting the runaround for 3 months about the refund and I contacted my credit card company and they said it was too late to dispute the charge. (I prepaid the charge in April and cancelled in May when I got the new car.) Is there anything I can do to get my money?
Terry
Aug 22, 2010 — 7:03 pm
Sorry, I forgot to check the notify box and want to be notified of the above question as to if there is anything I can do.
MAS
Aug 22, 2010 — 9:09 pm
@Terry – XM will not return your money. They are a bunch of criminals. If your credit card company will not help you, then I would call them up and cancel your card. Their role is to protect you from fraudulent charges. If they fail in that role, fire them.
Another concern you should have is that XM charges your card next year. They know your credit card number and as you can see from the numerous comments on this page, they have a history of taking more money after users have canceled.
Mike
Oct 8, 2010 — 11:36 am
Just wanted to add my 2 cents or in this case $462.87. I initially prepaid for three yrs of xm service on 9/07. On 9/21/10 I was billed for renewing the three yrs. I pointed out to XM “customer service” that section 7, paragraph e) of their customer agreement states: you must provide your authorization for XM to apply recurring charges to the valid credit card, debit/check card or banking account at activation.
I never authorized recurring charges. The run around I have been getting from XM is perfectly scripted from everyones comments. Apparently this fraud is SOP. I just filed a fraud form and submitted it to Bank of America. They will reimburse my money by tomorrow temporarily until their own investigation is complete. I will update this when I hear from them. In the mean time, if anyone knows of a known class action against this criminal organization please reply. I want in.
Dee Chappelle
Oct 27, 2010 — 9:25 am
Everyone needs to keep a close eye on your credit cards. I found out that XM was billing our business credit card account $102.28 a month for 4 months and when I contact them they have canceled our service because of non payment. I faxed them the statements to 3 different fax numbers they provided then I am informed that is the wrong fax number. They refused to give me a direct number for anyone in management and I have not been able to get anyone to do anything but lie.
I have filed a dispute with my cc company for fraudulent charges and have blocked any future charges from XM radio.
I just went through the same thing with my personal account where it took me 6 months to get back over $400 they had overcharged me on another card.
**WARNING** If you think you are safe keep a close eye on your monthly statements!
Tracey Wood
Oct 29, 2010 — 1:49 pm
Signed up for a promotional 5 month period and the tried to tell me I signed up for 12 months and charged my card. They say they will refund, we will see in 7-10 days. Luckily I write everything down and make sure everything is on the up and up.
Called my credit card, it’s on file and they can’t block the charges but they will fight it for me if I call them and XM doesn’t clear up this mess. Also left a message on the XM fraud hotline – 1 866-795-1896. Suggest everyone leave a message. Maybe they will get the hint that they can’t do this and get away with it.
Michelea
Oct 30, 2010 — 6:42 am
A few years ago I purchased a new car which came with a satellite radio & it came with a complementarily 6 month trial subscription, after the 6 month trial subscription ended- I then purchased to a 2 year subscription with Sirius Satellite Radio. Incidentally the credit card I used had been canceled due to unrelated fraudulent charges, so the credit card # Sirius KEPT on file with my account was useless. After my 2 year subscription ended, Sirius called me continuously-ENDLESSLY asking me to give them an active credit card # & I CONTINUOUSLY REFUSED & I DIRECTLY TOLD ALL OF THOSE HARASSING IGNORANT SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES THAT I-DO-NOT-WANT-TO-RENEW-MY-SUBSCRIPTION & I-AM-NOT-GIVING-YOU-MY-NEW-CREDIT-CARD#. MY-PREPAID-SUBSCRIPTION-IS-OVER!!! They continued to call & I finally just ignored their calls & then a couple months later received a bill from a collection agency-ITS INSANE- I called the collection agency & they were NO help & insisted that it is “my” debt! After a half hour of arguing, they told me to contact Sirius &/OR write a letter to their collection agency disputing the debt. I’VE WASTED A LOT OF MY TIME & I AM DISTGUSTED with the aggravation this company has caused me. Below is a copy of the letter that I wrote to the collection agency disputing the charge, however if this doesn’t resolve my dilemma then I have no idea what I could do next! If anyone has any suggestions….I would greatly appreciate it. >>>>>>>>>
October 26, 2010
“To whom it may concern,
I recently received a collection notice from your agency regarding a “bill” from Sirius Satellite Radio which is considerably a fraudulent statement. I discontinued my service when my contract ended & refused to update my credit card information because I WANTED TO DISCONTINUE MY SERVICE AFTER MY CONTRACT HAD EXPIRED! I spoke to a Sirius Satellite Radio customer service representative a few months ago & FIRMLY stated I did NOT want to continue service!!!! I WAS COMPLETELY UNAWARE THAT Sirius Satellite Radio WAS CONTINUING MY SERVICE REGARDLESS OF MY REQUEST TO END MY BUSINESS WITH Sirius Satellite Radio! I WAS NOT AWARE THEY WERE “BILLING” ME & APPARENTLY HOLDING ME RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENTS UNTIL I RECEIVED THIS COLLECTION NOTICE FROM YOUR AGENCY.
Once again, Sirius Satellite Radio HAS FAUDGULENTLY BILLED ME FOR SERVICE THAT I SPECIFICALLY DISCONTINUED WHILE SPEAKING TO A Sirius Satellite Radio customer service REPRESENTATIVE WHICH IS WHY I SENSIBLY DID NOT TO UP DATE MY CREDIT CARD INFORMATION.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE: SINCE RECEIVING THIS COLLECTION NOTICE FROM YOUR AGENCY I HAVE CALLED Sirius Satellite Radio COUNTLESS TIMES ATTEMPTING TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE AND HAVE GOTTEN NOTHING EXCEPT “THE RUN AROUND”. I’VE SPOKEN TO SEVERAL INCOMPETENT Sirius Satellite Radio REPRESENTATIVES WHO HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT THE OBVIOUS DEFINITION OF CUSTOMER RELATIONS/SERVICE IS! EACH TIME I CALLED, I WAS PUT ME ON HOLD SEVERAL TIMES FOR AN EXTREMELY LONG WAIT & YET WHEN EACH THE Sirius Satellite Radio REPRESENTATIVES TOOK ME OFF HOLD, THEY STILL HAD NO RELEVANT INFORMATION TO RELAY OR CONCLUDE MY SITUATION.
I HAVE PUT A COMPLAINT IN WITH A SUPERVISOR IN THE Sirius Satellite Radio CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT, WHO SAID HE IS FILING A CLAIM ON MY BEHALF (reference case ID# XXXXXXX), DIRECTING MY CLAIM TO THE Sirius Satellite Radio CORPORATE OFFICE TO REVIEW & THE SUPERVISOR ASSURED ME THAT THE CORPORATE OFFICE WOULD CONTACT ME WITHIN 48 HOURS. NOW ALMOST A WEEK LATER, I HAVE RECEIVED NO WORD FROM THE Sirius Satellite Radio CORPORATE OFFICE. I HAVE AGAIN CALLED Sirius Satellite Radio customer service SEVERAL MORE TIMES & I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY RATIONAL ANSWERS WHATSOEVER!!!
THERE ARE SOME SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THE FUNCTIONALITY OF Sirius Satellite Radio AS A CONSUMER CORPORATION.
I’M REQUESTING THIS UNJUST DEPBT BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY!
I WILL FILE A COMPLAINT WITH EVERY VALID SOURCE & PROCEED WITH FURTHER ACTIONS UNTIL THIS MATTER IS RESOLVED APPROPRIATELY. Thank you for your time,”
Cathy
Nov 29, 2010 — 9:31 am
I also have been ripped off from XM. They have made over $800 worth of unauthorized withdrawals from my checking account. I have called twice a day for the last 6 days and sent a number of emails still nothing. I even got the CEO’s # and called him (very rude fellow) He hung up on me the second I told him why I was calling. I hope the word gets out on how this place is a rip off, they will bleed you dry.
Michelea
Nov 29, 2010 — 2:53 pm
Cathy call your bank and tell them & cancel that account # having the bank reissue you a new secure account #.
dan
Jan 10, 2011 — 11:44 am
I’ve been fighting with this ass hole of a company for abut 6 months…I cancelled the credit card that they charged my service too, so i called them letting them know that and that I had lost my job and might as well cancel….still had the service for about 2 more months for some reason, then after that stopped, they started calling me 2-3 times a day…i would call em back and after 30 mins, got NO WHERE…this happened 3 different times….they said i owed them $182….blah blah….i told them over and over that there was NO WAY I they would EVER see ANY more money of mine…i told just keep trying, blow my phone up, I do not care…..so after 4 months of them calling 2-3 everyday, I get a letter in the mail today that it’s been turned over to CCA collection agency…so, i’m about to send off a ‘written letter of dispute’….I stand by what I say, I WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER GIVE them the money that they SAY that I owe them…..I don’t care WHAT they say they’re going to do….though it may not be the smartest thing in the world, but if this hurts my credt, so freakin be-it….my credit is good enough that this little amount isn’t going to put a big dent….screw em!!!
Bob D
Mar 27, 2011 — 7:52 pm
I too have a similar story.
I didn’t give them a CC though.
I sold my car and never canceled the service.
I then got a bill AFTER my subscription was auto renewed. I called and canceled the service hours after receiving the bill but to no surprise, they are still trying to bill me.
I am still being contacted by them claiming I owe them money.
I’ve sent them two letters, one via registered mail.
I expect I’ll be joining a class action suit at some point.
Bob
Brice Nielsen
Apr 12, 2011 — 9:28 am
I too have been ripped off for the amount of $134.??.
My story: I paid an amount for 3 months and then the service was to end. However, after checking my checking acct balance I found that they (sirius) had withdrawn $154.?? from my acct. I called Sirius and spoke with Justin who told me this:
Oh, your acct was renewal by mail. yes we did make a mistake. We have a promotion for $20 for 6 months. How about if I refund you $134. SOunded fine to me so I said okay, but my credit cardexpired so how were you able to take the money out of my acct. He said he didn’t know. I contacted my bank and the woman said that some companies can do that. I told her that they were partly responsible for this.
In any event, I’ve been trying to receive my money, the $134 and still haven’t received it. I’ve promised them that I will sue them but it doesn’t seem to bother them. If anyone starts a class action suit or finds an attorney please contact me.
Jonie
May 6, 2011 — 12:24 am
I received a letter from a collection agency claiming I owe xm $134. I use to have three xm accounts and I cancelled them almost a year ago after my husband was layed off from his job. A few weeks ago I received an email from them asking me to fill out a survey about xm radio and during the survey I was asked several times if I would like to restart my service. I declined to restart service and a few weeks after that is when I received a collection notice in the mail. I never received a call or invoice saying I had a balance due. Why would I owe them anything when I had cancelled the device and paid the balance in full back then?
Class action? I’m IN!
Thomas
May 10, 2011 — 3:38 pm
Just to reiterate, these people do everything to get their “hooks” into your money electronically. I paid by check for two years and never would have imagined that they would turn my check into a recurring electronic payment. I never intended this and never authorized this yet it was done. I discovered this when my $270 investment was held hostage for an additional not-mentioned-up-front $31 second bill- “Royalty Fees”. It was in fine print (literally) on that bill. There was an opt out by making a phone call (few people would expect or notice this) and I did call but after reading everyone else’s stories I will bet they debit me anyway even though I intend not to renew (not based on satisfaction but based entirely on shady business practices). They have lost my support forever.
skip
May 16, 2011 — 5:19 pm
I had xm on my new car and didnt renew when it ended. I was contacted by mail that they offered 5 months for $20.00 I accepted and when that ran out I decided not to renew. They made me several different offers then the guy says would you want it for free for 3 months I said sure. May 16th I recieved a bill from a EOS CCA collection agency sending me a past due bill for $38.78. They told me that I didnt cancel my service the way they require so I owe the money. xm radio is a ripoff dont give them any business
skip
May 16, 2011 — 5:21 pm
Im in on class action also……….
David B.
Jul 1, 2011 — 9:58 pm
I just had my first interaction with XM and was immediately ripped off. I called to inquire about extending beyond my 3 month free trial. The operator quoted me a 1-year subscription price that was higher than the mail offer I had received. When I told her that, she put me on hold and came back with a price that was lower than the mail offer for 1 year, and came with a free radio with it’s own 3-month trial period. Later that day, I received several emails showing that I had been charged $32 for the “free” radio. Also, she signed me up for a 6-month subscription, not the 1-year that I was told. It was one big scam and lie. I’ve been on the phone for hours trying to get it straightened out and get the charges removed. Now that I’ve read this series of posts, I’m already anticipating the battle when it is time to cancel.
Lisa Wintner
Aug 19, 2011 — 2:29 pm
I just spent a fustrating hour trying to verify my accounts with XM Radio. When I called to give them a new credit card in December for my three acounts, they failed to mention that I had a fourth account that I know I cancelled. So they just started charging me for that one too. After talking to 5 people in India, I think – operative word think – I have it straightened out but I know I will never see the money they owe me since last December. I told the customer service reps I get mailings from them every time we lease a new car and I send the info back telling them to switch the coverage to the new account. They seemed clueless about that. The reps just read from a script and must get demerits or fired when they have to transfer to a supervisor/manager because they do anything not to do that. One poor guy literally screamed at me that he could solve my problem. I told him it had already been solved but that I was disconncected when being transferred to a manager to ask a question, he told me the agents are incompetent and he was not. That I should go thru the whole thing again and he would solve my problem I think he was terrified to transfer me. I had to just hang up on him and call back.
Even if they do try do transfer, you can’t get through because they disconnect you. I e-mailed them and told them I could get nowhere with the reps and they sent me an on-line survey. I e-mailed them again telling them I expected more response than that and they sent me an e-mail telling me to call the 800 # and talk to India again to solve my problems. I told them to look more closely at their e-mails and would see I did that 6 times and I’m done. What run-around artists. Anyone know where I can file a complaint?
MAS
Aug 20, 2011 — 6:58 am
@Lisa – I don’t know if we consumers have any other recourse other than spreading the word. Share the link to this page and maybe if enough people become aware of what is happening at Sirius XM things might change.
TLK
Nov 17, 2011 — 11:15 am
Hi there. Im also getting the run around from xm. They just sent me to a collection agency eos cca. I want to “dispute the charges” and was wondering if anyone had success in doing so. Thanks
Dani
Nov 17, 2011 — 12:23 pm
What is funny is how people are talking bad about XMon various boards. I have worked for them since 2008 and if you look online people are talking about how they were “tricked’ into a new contract. I know that isn’t legit as we never hold anyone to a contract, if you want to cancel all you have to do is call 1800xmradio and we are more than happy to cancel the service for anyone. All you have to do is take the couple mins. to ask.
XM is the best co. BY A LONG SHOT that I have ever worked for, they are fair for their customers and to employees as well.
Also, if anyone wants a promo all you do is ask us for one..that simple. Right now we offer 6 months for only 25.00 plus tax!! Seriously..what else is that cheap nowadays?
Also, there has not been one price change in 6 years!!!! Whats strange is I am not over seas I am here in the good ol USA (OK.) and never heard of us contracting overseas, so I know that is false info.
MAS
Nov 17, 2011 — 1:45 pm
@Dani – My problem (and others) with XM is their billing department. The service and programming are outstanding. The price is fair, provided that they only charge it once. There are many reports of XM double billing and the hassle people have to go through to get false charges removed.
Thomas
Nov 17, 2011 — 6:04 pm
Dani sounds so warm and fuzzy but sorry girl its obvious to the public that your organization is not on the level. The undisclosed additional “royalty fees” that had to be paid after I sent my check in for two years service and the conversion of my paper check to a recurring electronic payment without my permission tell the true story. I have been so turned off by your tactics that once my subscription is up I will not renew. I just worry that even though I called your number and requested not to be automatically renewed, that your further tactics may include withdrawing the money anyway. I am wondering if I need to close the checking account to prevent this. What a hassle.
Terry
Nov 17, 2011 — 7:22 pm
I have never written back to tell what happened in my case. I was owed over $200 because I bought a new car and had already paid 3 years for xm for my old car. After calls and calls and the runaround and contacting my visa company, I finally did get my money back. I think my credit card company threatened them because I actually got through to someone soon after and they did refund my money. My new car came with Sirius (I had xm) and I did get the service. I kept all of my paperwork and I will just notify my credit card company first, then cancel Sirius when I am ready. I do like the music, absolutely hate dealing with this company. Dani, you should try to call and cancel your service sometime. Better yet, since you are in the states, give us a number we can call in the USA, maybe yours?
Art Bianconi
Jan 2, 2012 — 9:53 pm
i received a computer generated call from XM which was initially disguised as a “courtesy call” to survey customer satisfaction. A few minutes into the call it was announced that I had a past-due amount of $48.06. i paid the amount although I was puzzled because Bank Of America pays the bill promptly quarterly without fail.
i received two more computer generated call from XM the same day, again disguised survey’s whose real motive was getting money. This time I refused.
The following day I received two additional calls, disguised efforts to get money.
This time i called XM radio and spoke to a Customer Care representative who promised me i would get the erroneous payment fully refunded. He further promised me that I would receive no subscription charges until June 2012 as a gesture of good will.
He then offered me a second radio for only $12.95 a month, for which he would also wave the subscription fees until June. My only fee would be to pay shipping and handling charges. he further assured me that there would be no more phone calls.
The next day I received two more phone calls but this time, instead of being polite and appropriate, I bellowed every vulgar profanity I could think of.
Two more polite and restrained calls by me ended while i was on hold and the line went dead.
On one call they told me they could find no record of the $48.06 payment.
It’s apparent that the company is imploding. The good news is that they are a publicly traded company and must abide by the laws of the FTC. Writing posts to this site is beneficial to others but is essentially preaching to the choir and is a powerless waste of time and energy. (Notice how i am ignoring my own counsel!)
Lawyers cost money but the FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION must respond and go after violations and it costs you nothing.
Stay the course!
As for the refund, I simply advised Bank Of America of what had happened and they responded immediately. BOA will charge back XM Radio and if I ask, will refund all monies, no questions asked.
Do NOT waste your time with XM
Clear Skies
Art
MAS
Jan 2, 2012 — 10:07 pm
@Art – Thanks for sharing your story. It sounds like things have gotten much worse with their billing department. Glad I moved back to regular radio.
Dee
Jan 3, 2012 — 5:37 am
Here we go again. I canceled my XM several years ago when I had major problems with them and their billing department and ended up having to cancel my credit card and file fraud charges to get the money refunded. We purchased a new vehicle and of course it comes with the free trial offer. When it came time to sign up I refused and did not give them my cc # but they never turned it off. About a year ago they called and I told them I was not signed up for their service, didn’t want it and to turn it off. Now a year later I have a bill for $229.61. I have responded by saying this service was canceled and I am NOT paying it. I will go to court before I pay them a dime.
You don’t even have to subscribe for them to try and stick it to you.
Art Bianconi
Jan 3, 2012 — 6:07 pm
Today I went to pickup my mail at the Post Office and found a bill waiting for me from XM-Radio for $23.50. The due date on the invoice was 12/22/2011.
The calls I spoke of in my earlier post were looking for $48.06 around the same date which shows that they either didn’t even know how much is due or simply grab a number out of thin air.
In researching consumer complaints for XM Radio (I came across plenty!)I came across a law suit against XM by six state Attorney Generals and the district of Columbia!
Initiated over a year ago, all the charges dealt with matters we’ve been writing about here but I have yet to see what, if any results the action produced.
XM has depended heavily on the sales of cars to bolster revenues but with car sales sluggish, the revenues proved disappointing. According to reports I saw, they narrowly escaped bankruptcy in 2009 and had already engaged a bankruptcy law firm to help insulate assets.
One creditor, who owns a large share of XM Stock has been maneuvering for a hostile takeover. Wouldn’t THAT be nice!
XM has been burdened with high debts and needs to refinance those loans at low interest rates; a difficult task in a sluggish economy for a company who owes so much.
The first increase in subscription rates, permitted by the Feds since the merger of Serious with XM has investors nervous that current subscribers will jump ship with the increase.
I am still not certain whether I should ask BOA to refund all the recent debits and simply drop XM or not.
I’ll wait until the promised refund of $48.06 shows up, or not, and then choose.
Tom Vowell
Jan 12, 2012 — 7:23 pm
Hi.
I talked to XM before my 6 month trial was up. I told them to cancel it when it was at it’s end. Well, I assumed they would end it but they claim they kept charging me for a month before making it inactive. Now I have a collection company , CCA, trying to collect 33.82 from me. Do you know how to clear this bogus debt? Xm customer care hung up on me 3 times and I must have been put on hold for at least 2 hours total. When I did get a supervisor she said she would put a note in the system that the charges would be waived but CCA said they never put them up.
Does anyone know how to stop this madness without giving in and paying?
-TommyV
Kelly
Jan 12, 2012 — 7:28 pm
@Tom…the same thing happened to me. After trying with XM and getting no where, I filed a complaint with the BBB. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it did. A few weeks after I filed, the rep for BBB forwarded me an email from XM with the apologies and stating the charge had been removed. I never got a bill from them after. I should have never had to even take it to that level which is why I’ll never consider their services again.
Art Bianconi
Jan 19, 2012 — 8:11 am
I called the Attorney General’s office for New Jersey. While they have not taken action yet, they did volunteer that there are close to 20 formal complaints against Sirius Radio. They downloaded a form for me to fill out. However, the documentation demanded I spend hours to complete. I was not prepared to do that so I contacted Bank of America and explained the situation.
They called Sirius radio while I was on hold and the charges were reversed. The whole process took less than ten minutes and I was assured that the money would be back in my account in 5 to 7 days. It was.
The BOA representative volunteered that BOA already has a file opened on Sirius and that mine was not the first complaint by far.
What prompted me to call the Attorney General’s office was an earlier conversation with a BOA representative who also called Sirius on my behalf. He told me that the Sirius accounting department admitted that my money had been received but after two weeks, had never been credited to my account. THAT has to be illegal!
Banks have more clout with unscrupulous merchants than you or I so I urge those of you who have been abused by Sirius to not waste any more time dealing with them. Work through your bank or credit card company. Not only are they more effective but they also track these complaints and are better able to show carefully documented evidence to enforcement agencies when asked.
BTW: Those who bought Sirius stock at the initial public offering, over ten years later have lost over 55% of their investment!
Good luck
Art
Tom
Feb 28, 2012 — 7:41 pm
I am going through a scenario where Sirius XM charged a credit card that had been expired for 10 months. By the time I found out about it on my credit report my credit rating had dropped from a 725 to a 622. I am currently under contract buying my first home, and this low credit score is virtually making it impossible to get a home loan. First time calling Sirius, they wouldn’t issue a refund due to the credit card being expired, even though they charged it without having the newer expiration date, they would not issue a refund without the newer expiration.
The lady I spoke with agreed to refund the amount, but tried to sell me on receiving a check in the mail. Obviously that won’t work since the charges from the credit card wouldn’t be resolved and dismissed as the credit company promised they would do…allowing me to contact the 3 credit bureaus with a letter from my credit card explaining the mishap on a card where I have never missed a payment.
I paid my credit card company to overnight me a new card since they couldn’t provide the newer expiration date over the phone, and it takes 7 – 10 business days via snail mail. After paying $30 for shipping, I received the new credit card the next day and called sirius back. I first called at 8:45 AM central, right when I arrived at work. After an hour of explaining my situation to a subordinate, she informs me that a check was already issued. I about lost it it since the anxiety of not being able to resolve this credit snapfu was through the roof prior to the call. I was transferred over to a supervisor. The supervisor said that I was to be refunded money to the credit card, and that someone from new york main office would be calling me to handle this, since they were unable to process refunds without approval from corporate head quarters. Total time spent on the phone = 1.5 hours. Believing the man, I waited till 5 PM. No call. I called back. After being transferred 3 times, I got another supervisor who was adamant that New York would call me in the next two hours. Sure enough…no call. Total time on phone = 1 hour. In addition, the supervisor provided me with a case number, and I wrote it down. He also promised to watch the case to insure it was handled and resolved.
Today, I waited till 3 PM to call, and was told that there were no notes on the account related to the case number provided. I about had a heart attack. I explained the situation, and was put on hold for half an hour. The supervisor got on the phone, and was able to locate the notes on the file. He again offered to provide a check, and when I declined, he informed me that it may take up to 10 days for someone in New York to get in touch with me. Time on phone = 1.5 hours
For real, I have 5 k in earnest money down on my first home. I have 3 weeks to secure a home loan and really have no idea what to do if Sirius doesn’t refund my credit card so I can clear my name with the three credit bureaus. This is affecting my well being as well as my mental stability. And I thought the hard part was finding a decent home to want to move into that wasn’t way over valued by the owner and in need of tons of repairs. This has been the most absurd thing I have ever had to deal with, and I wish they would stop lying and refund me the funds as they have promised repeatedly.
Please let me know if anyone can help or offer suggestions as to what I can do to resolve this quickly.
[email protected]
MAS
Feb 28, 2012 — 8:28 pm
@Tom – I feel for you. It is really sad to hear that the problems I had with XM Radio almost 3 years ago when I wrote this blog post are now part of the merged Sirius XM platform.
Tom
Feb 29, 2012 — 10:27 am
Thanks MAS. I had no idea what unsavory business practices these guys employ. You would think that a company offering a service like stallite radio, customer service would be the second most important priority, outside of delivering a product people enjoy.
I have had a relatively great relationship previously with Sirius XM, and continue to enjoy their product. I am literally looking at a $25,000 hit on the life of my 30 year fixed mortgage, because my credit score has dropped so low. I still have not heard from anyone at corporate, and have taken the high road, and paid off the credit card so It didn’t lower my score any further.
I will update when I find out more, as I have never felt so betrayed by a company in all of my life. They continue to promise that someone will be in touch to refund the charges, but no one ever calls…. 🙁 Its sad when a company with 19 million subscribers can’t make good on it’s representatives promises.
Jamalo Howard
Jun 26, 2012 — 1:07 pm
Sirius now has a call center in Egypt, Egypt? This is where these egyptian idiots just put a Taliban as president and now I am suppose to give an Egyptian my credit card number. I am better off giving it to the guy on the street… No wonder Sirius and XM are on the brink of going under, with these idiot business decisions.
Now I have to give my number to a bunch of terrorists in Egypt??? INSANE
richard Ciz
Jun 26, 2012 — 1:46 pm
I just had the same issue with XM charging my card twice without my authorization. They get your credit card number through your bank. The bank will swear up and down they do not give XM your card number. After hours of going back and forth I had both XM and Wells Fargo on the phone. It came down to XM and Sirius have a credit card validator. This allows them to get your new credit card number through the bank. In my case it was Wells Fargo. I suggest never giving XM or Sirius your card number because in the end you will have one big mess. Also switched banks, will never do business with Wells Fargo again. They don’t support there clients they support the big businesses. Not even a call or letter stating that XM was trying to get my account number. They just gave out my personal information and let them charge what they wanted. Because they had a credit card validator machine and a agreement with the banks. Great job Wells Fargo. Way to lose a 15 year customer to University Federal Credit Union.
James Rolfe
Jul 14, 2012 — 11:34 am
Sirius Canada has poor customer service. They DEMAND a credit card be kept on file and they unilaterally charge this card as they wish. This is an antiquated policy as too many businesses are having security issues with their customer information being compromised by hackers. No business, including Sirius Canada, is immune to online security threats. We as consumers need to make it perfectly clear to those businesses who DEMAND that a credit card be kept on file, that this practice amounts to an invasion of privacy. When someone from Sirius, supposedly called us it was from an “UNKNOWN NAME” “UNKNOWN CALLER” the lady asked for a valid credit card. Now what kind of an idiot would give this information out over the phone to an “unidentified” caller. Not long after that call, Sirius had the audacity to stop our radio feed. Having spent a total of 87 minutes on HOLD over the past 3 days amounted to a total waste of time as I have better things to do. I still had a credit on my Sirius Canada account and yet they still cut off our satellite feed. This amounts to pure “GREED” on behalf of Sirius Canada as now they can charge a bogus reconnection and/or activation fee. Seeing as they have a monopoly on satellite radio, Sirius Canada feels they can do as they like, cut off service with a credit still on the account. THIEVES!
MAS
Jul 15, 2012 — 8:12 am
@James – This is the 2nd comment we’ve received regarding Canada and Sirius XM. I wonder if you guys up North have another option for filing consumer complaints? Maybe our Canadian friends can initiate some change, because nothing is happening in the USA. This post is 3 years old now and the fraud comments are still coming.
Ross
Jan 8, 2013 — 7:31 pm
I’ve had a home XM radio for five years with an automatic renewal. Recently, my radio went out and I called service with my radio ID. XM service said that was not my radio of record.
The same thing happen to my car radio that I’ve had for over a year. I had to pay $15 reconnect fee for each of two radios that had been operating. I think XM radio is making money illegally by changing ID numbers. Or they are charging for radios I don’t have. It’s no wonder Sirius failed.
John OBrien
Jul 9, 2013 — 9:16 am
I am SO glad I found this website! I HATE SIRIUS. It is truly the worst run buisness I have ever dealt with.Th e employees and “listener care consultants” SUCK!! They turned off my service( LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION)-consistently lied to me about “resending signals”-turns out they were billing the WRONG PERSON-and were in fact never sending ANYTHING-I just filed a complaint with the BBB.
I dont want to go on and on-
AVOID SIRIUS
Northern European
Sep 8, 2013 — 10:42 am
I’ve noticed that most or many (to many) North American companies have more than occasional fraud on their agenda. I’m pretty sure it is practices all around the planet, but in Northern Europe fraud is more scarce, yet still occasionally existent. Out of say 10 doctor offices I had problems with 8 or 9 and out of 10 companies I purchased from I had problems with about 7 to 8. Did I complain? Mostly not, and the result of that, more fraud? Perhaps. Well, lately I practice posting online about my experiences with restaurants, companies, banks etc. Just an one example: I placed an order for about $200 with one company. They charged my card a cool $6000 (six thousand), then apologised once I kindly notified them. They kindly removed the charge and charged me the correct amount blaming that the lady who made the charge had bad day at home. Over the years and decades later I’ve learned to protect myself. Not complain, just stay cool and protect myself and sometimes, to report the bad guys or the bad gals.
Finally, I want to thank you for this article and i will be on the lookout for my first fraudulent charge from Syrius XM Radio. So far all I get is a charge every 3 months, which sometimes is larger than before, but that is included in their terms. Still, I prefer the old XM Radio as the new Syrius XM has canceled my online radio and wanted me to pay a lot of extra money just for the online service. My consumer loyalty is hurt more every year, but I’m still with them, for now. And I hate to complain as that hurts my aura, karma whatever.
John
May 30, 2015 — 1:04 am
When you sign up for ANY SiriusXM subscription it will always “renew and bill, at the current rates.” It means when your subscription expires it renews and charges you full price for the service. If you no longer have a card on file they still renew and charge you, they just send an invoice in the mail. They read all of this to you during the sale when you sign up to cover themselves legally. Also they ask for permission to charge card for $xx.xx, and follow with “and for future charges”. It is how to are able to do all of this without being fraudulent. They sandwich the terms in with a bunch of stuff to confuse people.