Keep an eye on Sirius/XM

[OldGuyNewJeep]

The thing with Spotify (or whatever comparable streaming service) is the associated data fees. I'm not a big cell phone guy, so I'm on a 356MB/month plan...yup, 356 megabytes lol

Spotify/comparable for 10 bucks a month plus overages on my data plan OR costs to upgrade my data plan just don't make sense. Sirius for 6 bucks a month, even if I don't love every song that comes on, is still a much better deal.

Although there are ways for most services to only download music/shows when you're on a metered connection, right? Basically like burning a CD back in the day. I guess I just don't want to do prep work to listen to stuff for little drives.

I have unlimited data (company pays for it), so I have Spotify and also heavily use Apple Podcasts. They’re both fantastic, but neither replace the radio. Maybe it’s because of how I grew up, but there’s something irreplaceable about flipping through different stations find something I like, hearing a live DJ tell me about artist news/events, talk radio, etc.

Sirius is definitely worth $5 to me. On short trips to the store I’m not going to bother with streaming. That requires too much thought, as in “what should I listen to??”

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[rallydefault]

Maybe it’s because of how I grew up, but there’s something irreplaceable about flipping through different stations find something I like, hearing a live DJ tell me about artist news/events, talk radio, etc.

I totally agree.

 

[ReggieFred]

I'm having issues with XM billing right now too.

When I got the JL I called and had my account updated with the new vehicle and was supposed to have the old vehicle removed. I paid for a year upfront with the JL.

Fast forward a couple months I see an XM charge for $22. Log into my account online and no Jeep anywhere only my old car.

Turns out they didnt cancel remove my old vehicle and add my Jeep. They built my jeep a new account and kept the old one active.

Almost an hour on hold and hour trying to explain my issues and get what I want. I'm getting a refund for the 3 months they charged me. I even seen the pending transaction from XM in my account before we end the session.

Sure enough they billed me again. Both vehicles do show up in my account. I changed the card number to something made up cause I couldn't remove it. Called again and they claim I'm not being clear that I only have 1 vehicle. I'm now waiting for an escalated ticket. They claim they don't retain their chat history so they can't see I was to get a refund.

BS. They owe me 4 months of payments back at $22 bucks a month. I paid $73 for the whole year. Why the F would I pay $22 a month.

At the end of the chat there is an option for you to save the chat conversation. Just FYI.

 

[Spdu4ia]

Thanks for this , mine went up without noticing too and got it back down to $6/month for a year . Set a reminder on a phone to check again next year

 

[Rufus]

Thanks for this , mine went up without noticing too and got it back down to $6/month for a year . Set a reminder on a phone to check again next year

I am reaching the end of my 1 year trial and got the $5 renewal offer, so I did it but set a reminder for a year out to cancel it before the auto-renew at $16.95 per month. I'll cancel it and negotiate with them then. Good thing I've had so much practice doing it before with cable companies...

 

[Onward4x4]

Never renewed and ccl if I ever get it again...I have over 1200 songs in my phone so I'm good! I could never stand the fact that they want you to pay for listening then throw commercials in and to top it off going under bridges or certain areas it would cut out! yeah sure I'll pay for that! Not!

They probably figured folks are paying for cable tv and sit through commercials on top of it so they may as well charge the radio listening time for commercials the same way... It's all a racket.

 

[aeonixx1001]

They probably figured folks are paying for cable tv and sit through commercials on top of it so they may as well charge the radio listening time for commercials the same way... It's all a racket.

I do this every year. Call them and tell them to disconnect the entire damn thing. You will be transferred to Customer retention. Tell them to just disconnect everything and be firm. Suddenly you will be asked if you will keep it if they give it to you for a one time (Like I said every year) deal of $ 75 for a year. Be careful because they also have deals that are the crappy minimum service that doesn't get all the stations..

 

[Paluss]

I've been a Sirius subscriber since 2006 when Howard moved there from FM. They have always been shady with regard to their pricing. After the first year or two I figured out the the price is VERY negotiable. Every year I play the same game: the subscription comes up for renewal, I call to cancel, they offer me a dirt cheap deal to stay onboard (after 10 painful minutes with someone who barely speaks English).

Well, this year I didn't bother to call. My credit card number changed months ago (fraudulent activity), so I figured I'd save myself some hassle and not call. I'm not driving anywhere these days and, after all, they can't charge a credit card that they don't have, right? WRONG! As it turns out, when a bank issues you a new card due to fraud they (automagically) notify companies that the number has changed. I guess that's convenient, though it doesn't work everywhere...

Long story short, I noticed a $30 change on my card this morning. Went to their website and see they automatically moved me to a month-to-month plan and they have my new credit card info. I wonder how often they get away with this and no one notices?

I'm happy to say they will now negotiate over chat, which is 1000% easier than calling. No more language barrier, and it was pretty simple:

robot: how can i help you?
me: cancel
robot: why?
me: cancel
robot now a person named Will: why do you want to cancel?
me: TBH I don't, really. Let's save us both some time - just reverse that $30 and put me back to the $5.99/mo I was paying before and we're good for another year.
will: ok!

12 more months of crappy sound quality and a limited music library for me. Whoo hoo! (Yes, I have and use Spotify, but there's just something about having grown up with radio that keeps me listening.)

Maybe this year they'll fix their algorithm so that when the Eagles plays on Station #1 they don't then play them on 4 other stations within a minute. Would be great if they licensed a second Aerosmith song, too. "Back in the Saddle" is getting a bit stale. I sure do hope they keep playing Jackyl on Ozzy's Boneyard, though... I mean, who doesn't love Jackyl??

I am also a long-time subscriber and I am still amazed that they are still operating successfully using that business model. I have 2 XM accounts, back in the day XM offered life time plans for around $400, they never advertised it but a friend that worked at XM told me about it. That seemed like a lot to pay for radio back in the day, but I took a chance. Despite having the lifetime XM will only allow it to be applied to 1 radio ID (I wrote them a letter about that), so I have been doing the $5 a month deal for the JLUR, but I did get 8 months free this year as I told them I was canceling and switching to Spotify which I can stream to all my radios for one price, phone went silent and then the person said would your reconsider if I gave you 8 months free. So I am on that plan right now with the JLUR.

 

[aeonixx1001]

I am also a long-time subscriber and I am still amazed that they are still operating successfully using that business model. I have 2 XM accounts, back in the day XM offered life time plans for around $400, they never advertised it but a friend that worked at XM told me about it. That seemed like a lot to pay for radio back in the day, but I took a chance. Despite having the lifetime XM will only allow it to be applied to 1 radio ID (I wrote them a letter about that), so I have been doing the $5 a month deal for the JLUR, but I did get 8 months free this year as I told them I was canceling and switching to Spotify which I can stream to all my radios for one price, phone went silent and then the person said would your reconsider if I gave you 8 months free. So I am on that plan right now with the JLUR.

I would keep Sirius but there is something seriously wrong with their streaming. The music sounds terrible, very compressed and there is literally no mid range and low end lags. I cancelled Sirius on my Tacoma and when the dealership offer runs out I will drop it all together. My wife subscribes to the streaming, she cant give up Howard. I have personally gone with Spotify and love it..... Sirius really sucks from a quality sound perspective and their price is way out of line...

 

[aeonixx1001]

i'm up at the end of may and looking into renewing since xm has a better selection to choose from then the fm. i'm looking at the $99 a year. add the tax it like $120. so that $10 / month. thats not a bad deal. i'm also thinking of just mailing in the payment vs doing it online.

BUt you are going to get the "Basic package" no good stations, no Howard, nothing you can really listen to. Call them and tell them you are dropping them and they will transfer you to customer retention. You can work out a much better deal. I have to go through this every year. I am just dropping them for good

 

[Paluss]

I would keep Sirius but there is something seriously wrong with their streaming. The music sounds terrible, very compressed and there is literally no mid range and low end lags. I cancelled Sirius on my Tacoma and when the dealership offer runs out I will drop it all together. My wife subscribes to the streaming, she cant give up Howard. I have personally gone with Spotify and love it..... Sirius really sucks from a quality sound perspective and their price is way out of line...

I agree 100% Spotify and Tidal have much better sound quality

 

[cosine]

BUt you are going to get the "Basic package" no good stations, no Howard, nothing you can really listen to. Call them and tell them you are dropping them and they will transfer you to customer retention. You can work out a much better deal. I have to go through this every year. I am just dropping them for good

i called on monday and asked questions on the packages and lady kept repeating the same crap. so, i looked on the website and signed up for the $99 for the year. add the tax, so the total is $120. with that its like $10 / month. next year i will call again and tell them i'm not paying $247 so i'm getting out. or lets make a deal.

i looked into the al la cart deal and could do it. the problem is, i want the nascar. thats whats holding me up. theres only 10 station plus nascar that i listen to. we'll see what next year brings.

 

[gentryTX]

I am also a long-time subscriber and I am still amazed that they are still operating successfully using that business model. I have 2 XM accounts, back in the day XM offered life time plans for around $400, they never advertised it but a friend that worked at XM told me about it. That seemed like a lot to pay for radio back in the day, but I took a chance. Despite having the lifetime XM will only allow it to be applied to 1 radio ID (I wrote them a letter about that), so I have been doing the $5 a month deal for the JLUR, but I did get 8 months free this year as I told them I was canceling and switching to Spotify which I can stream to all my radios for one price, phone went silent and then the person said would your reconsider if I gave you 8 months free. So I am on that plan right now with the JLUR.

Back in the day when they were two different companies, Sirius was also offering a lifetime subscription. It was only for one radio at a time, but you could switch it 3 or 4 times. At that time they were selling the hardware too since very few new vehicles had the satellite radio built in. (2005 or so?) I slapped an antenna on the roof of my truck, ran the wire through the passenger door jam, mounted the head unit/radio with a suction cup on the windshield, and plugged in the 12V to the cigarette lighter! If I remember right it transmitted to a unused FM signal. I could also bring the radio inside and plug into my stereo system. They even provided about 25 feet of wire for the home antenna so you could run it outside the window and point towards the sky.

I almost went for the lifetime subscription but it just didn't make sense to me. I figured the technology would eventually change and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life toting around a head unit. I think I went about a year and then a 12 year hiatus before going back to satellite radio with the JL.

 

[Mad Hatter]

XM's billing practices aren't the only problem. I think they've made some programming mistakes that will hurt them. They just (5/1) changed their lineup again, replacing several curated channels such as Deep Tracks with single-artist channels like Led Zeppelin. If I want to listen only to Led Zeppelin, I can do that with CarPlay. I spent my college and young adult years listening to the semi-underground FM stations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh where real disk jockeys played real "deep track" songs, with minimal commentary and few if any ads. That was one of XM's strategic strengths--themed channels playing a variety of curated music. Single-artist channels take all of the variety out. Boo! Hiss!

I might be persuaded to drop my subscription come renewal time...

 

[Rogueman_1]

I only listen to my bluetooth music off my phone in the car. If my car didn't have AM/FM or Sat Radio I wouldn't even know the difference.

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