hectic1

I ended up with the same exact deal...thanks acurazine!

phineasboggs

I guess I haven't decided if it's worth the $5 plus royalties and taxes to me. Plus the annoyance of playing a game again in 6 months. The $77 for a year ($17 more) could be worth the trade off. Tx

JW Booth

I used the info in these threads to get xm for my new Acura last year.
I got xm plus best of sirius for one year for $77.

I made this arrangement over the phone.

I've just received a bill from them for a 3 month renewal for about $60. My subscription expired about a week ago - I hadn't kept close track of the subscription ending date.
I wasn't concerned - I figured they would either cancel the service or contact me.

When I made the arrangement over the phone, I wasn't told that there would be an auto-renewal, nor did I agree to one.

Their cs is closed now.

I've googled "XM radio auto renewal ripoff", and found tons of websites and posts with upset customers like myself.

I don't want to renew until I know what Howard Stern is doing.
Or at least don't want to renew beyond the point where he may exit XM.

I'll call their cs in the morning, but a short sampling of posts online speak of ginormous hold times and no satisfaction re: the auto -renewals.

If I am not given satisfaction, planning to call Acura Customer Care to make a complaint and ask them to intercede.

Any advice from people who have gone thru this?

Thanks.

JW Booth

PS - Also got Best of Sirius when I subscribed for an extra $24.94 for the year.
I had to call a number of times to finally find someone who gave me this - previously had been quoted a ridiculously high figure to add that.

JW Booth

Just read all the posts in this Part 7 thread.

Several people have mentioned that they called in to cancel the auto renew, once they had subscribed.

When cancelling the auto renew, were you given a cancellation number or code or anything other than being told, "OK, you are no longer on auto-renew"?


I'd also like to echo something mentioned earlier in this thread - using this website's Search feature and searching for "XM" yields "No matches".
???

Xpditor

If you search only "XM", you will get a message saying "No Matches... the term you searched is either too common or two short..."

If you search a longer term such as "XM radio", you will get all the threads you are looking for.

phineasboggs

I read somewhere in this thread, that it's important to go to Walmart and purchase a limited Walmart Visa Card to pay for XM radio. This prevents auto-renew.

I have purchased said card, but haven't yet verified it (this is a new process for me). Once I get around to doing that, I'll call and renew for some length of time. I always avoid auto-renew and really hate it when that occurs!

Oswald Vater

I never do anything with XM that involves a credit card. The best way to avoid their games is to have them invoice you. It costs a couple bucks extra but is worth it. Oh, and stay on top of the expiration date. They don't "forget" about you. Unless you contact them and make other arrangments they will continue to provide you service at their regular rate and bill you for it.

phineasboggs

Oswald, I don't think you understand the simplicity of this and the logic:

The Walmart Visa is not a regular credit card, it is a VisaCard you purchase and prefill. You pay Walmart via your regular credit card or cash. Then you can use it as a credit card, but no one has access to it again if the cash is not there. It's sorta like a prefilled cellphone.

Anyway, you can immediately pay XM, not go through some tedious, snailmail process. I learned it here and it makes a lotta sense in the way I work. It's just an option.

And of course, being invoiced sounds like another option.

Kingmeow

I don't get what's the big deal of XM having your CC number? OK, so they renew it at the regular high price and you find it on your statement. Just call them up and threaten cancel to get the $77 or whatever deal. Then they just credit your card back for the difference? You're going to have to call them anyway to renew.

I must be missing something...

Xpditor

The part that you are missing is that they don't credit your card back for the difference. By the time you get the statement, they are already deep into you at the new price.

phineasboggs

Missing something? I think it's just different communication styles and preferences.

I come from "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!" style. I'd rather not argue and get confrontational, so I'd probably let it slide instead of calling and objecting. For me, preventing an overcharge beats fixing it or arguing about it.

If that's the way you like to communicate . . . go for it.

There are many ways to handle things, and no one right way.

Oswald Vater

Actually I do understand how the Walmart card works. My problem is that I am 3 HOURS from the closest Walmart so the invoice option is a better choice for me. Either way, it's better than giving XM your credit info.

vhdoshi

Besides getting the $77 deal, has anyone been able to get XM Radio online for free or at a discount for threatening to cancel.

Normally XM radio online is an extra $2.99/month (or $35.88 for a year).

Was wondering if anyone has had any luck in trying to get this for free, so I can use their app for free on my smart phone. Thanks !

Mr Marco

Brilliant! Were you in the banking industry?

shilgy

Same subject? If not the mods can move...
Ii just purchased a preowned 09 TSX Tech and based on this thread called XM to get the free trial that is offered to new car owners. The CSR was glad to give me the 3 month free trial and thanks to this thread I had the XM radio code ready when she asked. She did ask if I wanted auto renew which I passed on, told her I would renew if I liked it when it expires.

Kingmeow

Really? A call to you CC company to dispute the charge can solve that. I've never had any merchant where once they charge you the wrong price on your CC, they refuse to credit you back.

If you can get them to change/commit to the $77/year price they won't adjust the initial CC charge??? Wow!

Kingmeow

That's what I thought. Thanks.

tlfreek

just got the deal. Thank you thank you

called up I deviated from the script and said everyone seems to getting deep discounts on XM radio but me. "like what sir" well there is a 77 promo going around which I would like to use here. She said that was no problem and hooked me up.

awesome.

Xpditor

You should read the instructions.

tlfreek

me? was there a better deal than 77 a year, (which is what I got)?

tlfreek

Ha they have no idea who I know that got a good deal -

BTW - type this into google and see what comes up: xm deals acura

tman

This is just for your info in the event you really want to cancel the service. WA state has complaints from consumers who had difficulty canceling their service. This is an article from local news and Attorney General is involved.

http://www.kirotv.com/money/25634897/detail.html

phineasboggs

The point is, this deal is not limited to you. The script is important to protect other people.

By saying too much, you could screw it up for the rest of us and ruin the deal altogether for everyone else.

SeeVuPlay

I called when the 3 month expired. Asked if there were any promotions....they said of course, as a valued customer they were willing to offer a one year subscription for $149. I said thats too much and they said kthanksbye.

A little over a month later, I get a promotion flyer by mail...$77/year....so I called and got it.

Had I not read this thread, I may have dove headfirst into the first offer.

Cap'n Preshoot

I'm about to call (again) for what will begin my 3rd year w/XM at the (basically 1/2 price) deal. Last year I was emphatic that the Royalty Fee was BS and would be a deal-breaker and finally got them to waive it. It then appeared on my CC and the Royalty had been tacked back on. I immediately called, once again threatening to cancel and got them to remove it. About a week later there was a credit posted to my CC, so obviously the royalty fee is indeed BS. I'll be calling later today and will post results.

tlfreek

you'd be surprised by this, but I got the point early early on. the answer is they dont know who of my friends got the deal. This is not confidential information and is common knowledge across the board.

my hunch is XM wants this out. I know that I never would of subscribed for the actual price and my hunch is many wouldn't either. XMs infrastructure is already in place it does not cost them anything to have me on their network, but it does cost when I, you, Franky and Sammy are not.

get it?

Xpditor

It is worth re-stating that this is not a "Promotion" per se. In fact, the regular customer service reps don't even know about it. It is a "Hail Mary", last ditch effort on their part to retain a bailing customer.... for the reasons you mentioned..... a half a loaf is better than none and it doesn't cost them any more to keep your radio code plugged in.

But, to get there, you have to say the magic words, touch the bases (as it were) in their automated computer dialog, get transferred to the cancellation/retention reps who are authorized to give better prices.

You are incorrect if you think they want people to know about this. How would you like to deal with the thousands of people who paid the full price if they hear of this..... all screaming for a rebate? Their whole marketing program would come unglued.

Just use some common sense and play it safe for the members who come after you. Play the game and let's milk it as long as we can.

08A-SPEC

iTrader: (3)

So how do I get this $77 deal if Im not renewing but a new subscription? Sorry if this was discussed, I didnt see it.

Raven34

The deal still works, but does not include nav & weather which is 84.00 a year alone. I got the nav & 77.00 with taxes was $88.78 ended giving me 3 months Nav Free and then 7.00 per month for the Nav & weather combined billed each quarter .

a35tl

Just renewed for $77/year. Wasn't hard but it did take almost 40 minutes on the phone with them.

tlfreek

OK ..... Mooo.

disco35

Hey people, any idea how much the lifetime deal costs nowadays? Also if they have a package that includes weather and traffic too?

2010 TL SH-AWD w/TECH
gone, but not forgotten
2006 RL
2006 TL

nfnsquared

In Jan 2010, it was $499 for lifetime (XM plus best of Sirius plus online, no traffic or weather).

smarty666

Hi everyone, I have been reading a lot of posts on here but have a couple questions so hope someone could give me a link to look this stuff up.

Suffice it to say my XM subscripts are ending next month and begin of January. The prices they quoted me on my renewal letter are outrageous to say the least.

On my one vehicle, I want to get the $77 a year XM everything deal (no traffic or weather) and the $20 some buck 5 month deal on my second vehicle (mainly b/c the lease is up and going back in 6 months).

How do I go about getting the 5 month deal and what and where is this script people talk about using for the $77 a year deal? Does that one have anything to do with that flyer I was reading about?

smarty666

Forgot to ask, for anyone who got the $23 deal (subscript plus fees) for 5 months, how did you go about doing it?

smarty666

Guys, you can disregard my previous posts! I called XM today and suffice it to say I didn't even have to use the script.

As others pointed out before, the 1st person you talk to is no help and I actually spoke with two separate CSR's one who gave me a cock n bull story about how you can't cancel your subscription till the day before automatic renewel and I was like that is BS. So, I called the number she gave me about canceling.

Once I spoke to the retention department everything went smoothly on the deal. I didn't have to use the script. All I kept telling them was how I got my renewal letter and I wanted to not renew each radio and cancel them on the renewal dates listed. She felt bad and right off the bat offered me the $88 bucks (subscript + fees) for 1 yr of service on my one car. I told her that would be good but my second one was on lease that is going back in 6 months and my friend in a similar situation got some sort of 5 month ($20 some dollar) deal for XM. She told me that she could give me that on my second vehicle.

So I got the deal's on both cars but I was not happy still with the Royalty Fee. I gave her the I don't believe in this fee and that XM is only paying a fraction of what they are charging their customers and I would like the fee wavied. She hestiated and told me that they could not waive the fee so I asked if it could be reduced and so she said that we could do that. She knocked the royalty fee off the 1yr subscription and I only paid it for the 5 month deal on my second car!

It pays to bitch to say the least!!

So I got the $77 a yr on my one car total and $23.05 for the 5 month subscription on my second car! Plus, I forgot to mention, I didn't even ask for this but she said b/c I complained about the price of the subscription and I had a second vehicle on the account, she gave me another $12 off for the second vehicle being on.

They started each subscription today (nov 19th) and credited my account for the time left on my previous two 1 yr subscriptions on each car so I'm going to pay out of pocket $57.78 for 1yr on my one car and 5 months on my other!

Just goes to show you how much of a mark up their is on satellite radio. Basically, I saved over $200 dollars b/c of this thread and others on other forums for satellite radio. Thank you all so much!!!

Happy Listening!

NSXTC

iTrader: (1)

Well the script worked yet again! This must be my 3rd or 4th time doing this, and again I got the deal for the 1yr subscription.

I was offered the $77/deal for one year plus the royalty fee making the price $88/year.

I simply asked if the royalty fee could be waived, and the rep said "No, we can't touch that fee." However, the rep then said "However, what I can do is take the royalty fee price off of the package price bringing it back down to $77 total for the year."

I took it, and renewed! All in all, was on the phone with the rep for 6 minutes!!

Eric Perry

I just got a full year, including best of Sirius for $111.87 total. That was the first price she gave me, and I thought it was fair, so I didn't even argue it.

smarty666

It might not be the lowest price but it is still pretty good considering that XM originally quoted me $120 for a yr of just XM everything so I think you made out pretty well.