Is XM difficult to cancel?

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mwalsh

Well-known member
Leaf Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
9,781
Location
Garden Grove, CA
I have XM in the LEAF but not in the Volt. Of course, I get a continuous barrage of deals trying to get me to reactivate in the Volt, the latest of which is $20 for 5 months with free activation. But it's introductory, with the regular rate following the introductory period, and you have to call in to cancel rather than being able to do it online (which I'm always suspicious of). I don't want any hassle when I let it go after the 5 months, which would be entirely probable - I'm only thinking of getting it at all right now because it would be nice for the Christmas period when we'll be doing a fair amount of distance driving and using the Volt to do it. After Christmas the Volt will go back to being Naomi's around town car.

So is it difficult to cancel? I don't mind having to say "no" a bunch of times, but I don't want monthly charges to my credit card being an ongoing problem after I've supposedly cancelled.
 
Every time I call to "cancel", they offer me another 5 months for $20, or some other deal. Last time they gave me a year (including Howard Stern) but I can't remember what I paid off the top of my head. So, if you're looking to stay a subscriber for cheap, just call to cancel. Not sure what happens if you turn down their offers and really try to cancel, however.
 
The key to dealing with crooks like Sirius/XM is to pay by check only - NO CREDIT CARD #! They can't auto-bill you that way. I renegotiate as each term expires, and usually get the $25 (actually about $28) for 5 months deal.
 
LeftieBiker said:
The key to dealing with crooks like Sirius/XM is to pay by check only - NO CREDIT CARD #! They can't auto-bill you that way. I renegotiate as each term expires, and usually get the $25 (actually about $28) for 5 months deal.

How do you manage to pay by check? Call in the order? The web form, of course, only takes credit card information.
 
The problem isn't with cancellation, it's with auto-renewal. They lure you in with cheap 5-month rates, then jack up the prices to full amount and auto-bill you for another term. And it doesn't matter what method you use to pay- they will still send you a paper bill if they can't bill you electronically.

I paid my Sirius/XM bill with a credit card that I knew would expire before the next billing cycle for this reason. Sure enough, they sent me a bill for the full price after the 5 months ended. I told them hell no, they canceled my service and removed my balance.

Sirius/XM quality sucks. Some stations are ridiculously compressed and tinny sounding. It's nice for traffic, but that's about it.

I really wish Nissan would make a more open infotainment system. Imagine if it were Android- I could just fire up PlugShare to find stations, launch Google Maps for traffic and directions, fire up LEAF Spy to check my battery status, etc.... But no, we are stuck with the crap that Nissan gives us- and then they pretend they are all advanced and high tech by giving us outrageously obsolete and restricted technology. No wonder teens these days have no interest in cars. </rant>
 
kubel said:
Sirius/XM quality sucks. Some stations are ridiculously compressed and tinny sounding. It's nice for traffic, but that's about it.

It sucks in the LEAF. It sounds OK in the Volt. I think it's the Clarion radio in the LEAF rather than poor XM quality. Or at least it's way more noticeable in the LEAF if it is just generally bad.
 
I did not keep XM past the trial period.

But One of my credit cards has a service call shopsafe, (its a MasterCard product) but Visa has a similar product also.

It give you a Limited use card where you can set the credit limit, and how long its good for, and you can turn it off at anytime.
- has a separate number then your "main" card, but it tied to it within your bank credit card system,

I use the ShopSafe card for website I don't know and for AutoRenew things, so i can turn it off, if i can't get them to cancel it.
 
And it doesn't matter what method you use to pay- they will still send you a paper bill if they can't bill you electronically.


Definitely not true. What they send you isn't an auto-renew bill, but an "invoice" of what they would *like* you to pay. It isn't a bill, and knowing that is important. Just tell them to forget it, and they will negotiate the basic rate. And DO pay only by check.
 
mwalsh said:
LeftieBiker said:
The key to dealing with crooks like Sirius/XM is to pay by check only - NO CREDIT CARD #! They can't auto-bill you that way. I renegotiate as each term expires, and usually get the $25 (actually about $28) for 5 months deal.

How do you manage to pay by check? Call in the order? The web form, of course, only takes credit card information.

I got the service free when I leased the car. When it expired, they sent me an invoice, by mail - for the *next* billing period. I was under no obligation to pay it as long as I informed them I wouldn't, which was what I did. I now get 5 months for about $28, although I have to negotiate it by phone every time. I don't know what the web form looks lie, but I suspect that if you look hard enough, you may find an option to pay by check, buried as deeply as they can manage. If they take Paypal, you can also manage auto-renewal through them, although I wouldn't do it. I also wouldn't count on an expiring credit card as being a hassle-free way to pay. Signing up for an auto-renewal with people with no scruples is always a bad idea.
 
mwalsh said:
I have XM in the LEAF but not in the Volt. Of course, I get a continuous barrage of deals trying to get me to reactivate in the Volt, the latest of which is $20 for 5 months with free activation.
I must be the only person who never heard from them. The first time I tried XM after the 90 days ran out, it went to the promo channel, but I never got any communication from them.

As for traffic, I do wish Nissan had the FM radio RDS traffic system for life, like my $100 Magellan portable GPS has. But,really, I know where the traffic is going to be bad.
 
Here's what you do when you get one of those bogus 'invoices' from them: call their toll-free number and tell the operator you want the music-only option for $20 a month ($28 when they add in the unadvertised fees). One of two things will then happen: either you will be connected to the subscriptions department to get it, or the operator will say that "That promotion is not currently being offered." In the latter case, say "Fine. I wish to cancel the subscription. Please connect me to Subscriber Services (or whatever they call it that week) so I can do so now." Once they are sure you are going to cancel, the subscriptions department will offer you that music-only rate anyway, albeit only for five lousy months. After that time is up, you get to do it all over again.
 
alanlarson said:
mwalsh said:
I have XM in the LEAF but not in the Volt. Of course, I get a continuous barrage of deals trying to get me to reactivate in the Volt, the latest of which is $20 for 5 months with free activation.
I must be the only person who never heard from them. The first time I tried XM after the 90 days ran out, it went to the promo channel, but I never got any communication from them.
Indeed. I also got a ton of snail mail from Sirius XM w/various prices, some their regular (too high) price. I ended up reactivating w/a deal similar to the above, thanks to a hint from RonDawg.

When my 5 months were up, and I called to have them not renew, they were able to offer me another 5 months at the same price, so I took them up on that.
 
Anybody remember the old days of canceling AOL? I imagine it's like that, expect to get bounced around, long hold times, but eventually you could get it canceled.
I was understanding that the financial obligation for the service continues until you cancel, irrespective of the form of payment, and an expired CC bouncing the charge would not relieve you of the obligation. How hard they try to collect once they stop getting paid is another question, they may not want to create stories of ill will.
 
That's true, but since they bill in advance, there is never an obligation to pay one of their "bills" as long as you cancel the service in a timely manner. They try to make sure that as few people as possible understand that.
 
My wife, who does little driving, enjoys listening to the free "Preview" channel in her Jeep Compass. The free 1-year subscription ran out a while ago. That channel plays full versions of pop songs, along with some advertising for Sirius/XM products, then more songs. My wife likes the songs they play, so to her, it's like free XM radio! :lol:
 
mwalsh said:
So is it difficult to cancel? I don't mind having to say "no" a bunch of times, but I don't want monthly charges to my credit card being an ongoing problem after I've supposedly cancelled.
The key to cancelling is to call a day or two before it expires-not on the expiration date. And make sure you call when they are open so you can speak to a live rep. They do NOT accept emails to cancel.
That being said, I love my Sirius radio. I have it in my Prius. I call every 5 months to renew for the best rate, around $25 plus fees. I hope at the end of my free 3 months on the Leaf, they will give me 2nd car discount. They only way I would cancel is if I had to pay full price. I do the same price negotiation with my ATT uverse acct. each year. I hate having to do that but it saves me a ton of money.
 
After my three month free ran out, I let my Sirius radio expire and the snail mail deals kept getting cheaper. Just before a long road trip, I received a $25 for six months in the mail and decided to take it. I marked my calendar to cancel the subscription on the exact day. When I called Sirius and told the rep I wanted to cancel/renew cheaply. He happily renewed me for the same rate, however, the rep told me the would refund the difference? I didn't realize they had already charged my credit card around $120 for the next subscription. However I was handled without a problem and they refunded the money to make my rate around $28 with taxes for the next six months...

So I would say no. It is not hard to cancel or cheaply renew Sirius.
 
I phoned them whent on a tyrade of how I did not autheris nissan to give them ANY of my details and to immediatly remove any and all data about me from their system or face a law suite.

No spam from them, no phone calls, since then.

I am ferious nissan put that useles garbage into the console what a fing useles button when what we desperatly fing needed was a puase button!

If you have to pay a fee it has no busines being built into a vehicle imo! If it is a fee based service it is a bolt on addition.
 
I have cancelled several times. It is just a phone call. You may have to tell them no thank you several times but it is like canceling anything these days.
 
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