eaglewatch

Just renewed for the third year at $124.88 including NavTraffic. I received a 'friendly reminder' mailing telling me that my service was about to expire, but that XM would automatically renew my radio for $38.85 per quarter. Called to discuss my options and all she would give me was the standard packages. So, I said I wanted to cancel and that I'd just listen to my iPod instead. Well, the cancellation department that I was transferred to was more than happy to keep me as a valued and satisfied customer at the reduced rate.

I wonder if I'll be able to transfer the XM service to my new V8 Hyundai Genesis since the fugly 09 RL is officially off my list of potential replacements?

briantan

I have had XM since the day they started. I let it lapse recently for about 2 weeks. Really missed it. I called they said it would be about 145.00 for a year. I said I wanted to pay $77.00. She said that was a welcome back offer only but I could have it since it had been two weeks.

Xpditor

Those of you having problems (and causing problems) are not listening/reading the instructions in this thread.

There is a set protocol and script that works painlessly.

I have said over and over again that this is NOT a standard or well known "promotion" per se. In fact, most customer service reps don't even know about it. They are told to transfer cancellation calls to the retention department.

Customer Retention reps know about it if they need to reach way down in their bag of tricks to get you back as a customer.... as a LAST RESORT.

Many of you are calling up and acting like they owe you this deal because you "heard about it from a friend." This threatens the golden goose as XM may decide that it has become too public. They could kill it at anytime.

You can cancel and wait for the flier to come (a matter of weeks), or you can follow the suggested script and act as if you already had the flier. XM doesn't know the difference.

If you have already had the $77 deal before (no matter how many times), you can call and cancel your renewal when you get the letter that says they are going to automatically renew at the higher rate. They will transfer you to the Retention Desk who will ask you why. You tell them it's too expensive. Say it's not worth it to you at that price.

They will offer you a 20% discount. You say, "That is still too expensive for me." Ultimately, they will offer you the $77 price.

WAR

I tried to renew for $77 not following the script with no luck, but tried again today using the script verbatim, and was successful.

I sort of felt that at some time they would discontinue sending out the zwinback cards, and when I asked, they would tell me "We haven't sent one of those out in 6 months!"

One downside was, I had the $77 offer last renewal, but then they automatically renewed me for one quarter at the $29 dollar rate. They waited 3 months to deactivate my service. They said I would have to pay that, and then I could receive the next 12 months for $77. I told them that would be fine, but next time do not automatically renew my service, turn the radio off at the expiration date.

I enjoy reading everyone's comments. Great forum!

RLer

Just renewed it today, the lady was kind enough to ask me if I received any offers before I even went through the drill.

However, I asked if I can renew it for multiple years to save me the trouble to call in, she said the offer is only good for one year and if I want to renew for multiple years it will be the regular rate after the first year.

pinkycat

I purchased a used 2006 RL in August of 2007. The XM radio worked until 2-29-08 and went to preview mode on 3-1-08. I called to inquire about renewal. The rep told me that the previous owner had prepaid for a one-year subscription on 3-1-07 at $142.95 and should have called when he traded his car for a prorated refund. She offered to renew the radio's subscription at the $142.95 rate. I told her that I read read on a web site for Acura owners that XM offers a promotional $77 one-year subscription. She immediately said that she would honor this for one year but that I wouldn't be offered it after expiration. (We'll see.) Naturally, I accepted. Apparently, after reading previous threads, some reps know about it and will honor it if asked.

Xpditor

Please, please, PLEASE folks! Read the thread before you jump into this.

I have asked you NOT to say you say you saw a "promotion" on the Internet or, especially, on Acurazine.

THIS IS NOT A PROMOTION available to the public. It is a last resort device to recapture previous owners who have canceled. Most of the CSRs you initially talk to don't even know about it.

If XM suspects that this is being spread all over the Internet, they are likely to close it down or institute new safeguards which would effectively shut it down for us.

Pinky: You got lucky. If you read the thread, you will find others who decided to do it their way and it got them nowhere.

Folks: please read the thread and follow the plan for two good reasons:

1.) It works.
2.) You won't be pulling the ladder up once you're on the roof. Others will be able to take advantage of this info.

Chas2

Yes, I was concerned about that last post ruining it for others. Xpditor, thanks for the guidance to all who read this.

parlownr

It looks like the $77. renewal is not exclusive to Acura owners. I was looking on the my350z.com forum (as I've been thinking of getting a Z for my second car) http://www.my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=339525 and see that the zwinback promo has been used (successfully) there too. I wonder if the $77 rate is becoming the "unspoken norm" for XM. If you just ask for it you get it. With subscription numbers dropping, XM probably realizes that they would rather make a little less money than no money. Or they may be trying to keep their subscription numbers up to inflate the value of their company prior to the expected merger with Sirius. I'll be curious to see if the $77 rate will continue after the merger. I know a lot of people won't pay more than $77. per year.

neuronbob

AUGGGGGGH!

DO NOT TELL PEOPLE YOU SAW THIS HERE! READ THE FIRST POST BEFORE YOU DO THIS!

Edit: Missed Dave's more eloquent post just above this one. But the point remains.

Xpditor

With more than 100,000 registered members on Acurazine, many belong to other car forums so, understandably, the word has spread.

They aren't happy at XM about having to settle for half a loaf. As I said, most CSR's don't even know about it. When you say you want to cancel, you are switched to a specialized unit: the Retention Team. If it were the norm, they would tell you about it when you renew or just charge you the lower rate. They don't.

You have to ask for it and act like you are one of the people they are trying to get back. Indeed, you are only pushing the timing as, once you cancel, they would someday get around to making you the offer.

But, if you didn't learn about this and ask for it properly, they would continue to take your $139 a year plus traffic all day long.

Now, put yourself in their shoes. Would you want this to become so well known that all the people that paid full price (90% of their customer base) would start screaming that they wanted a refund?

...
I don't think so.

Dave

lland

03/03/08 - Worked like a charm. My subscription expired yesterday. I called this morning (Spoke to Cindy) and got the promotion. $124.88 with traffic.

LL

JIJR

Followed the script and in less than five minutes I had the deal for the radio and traffic. Thanks.

Xpditor

johnnykuz

So I had a 2004TL with 2 years of XM previously. Sold the TL in 2006 and haven't had service with them since. I bought my 2005 RL used last October and have not activated the service until now.

I called the 800 number in the original post today, told them I was a previous subscriber, had just bought a used car with an XM Radio and just wanted to know what it would cost to re-activate the radio. She confirmed the information from my old account with my TL and also the radio information in my RL (previous owners account). She then rattled off the packages to me starting at $142 up to $479. I told her that was too expensive and I wasn't interested in paying that much. I then told her that I heard that there was a $77/ yr special. Without even hesitating, she said sure, we can give you that, $77 for 1 year with no activation fee. Took my CC number, gave me activation instructions and that was that.

5 mins on the phone.... it was a breeze.

d_rock69

I tried renewing my subscription for the second time using the promotion and was told that it is a one time offer. I had them transfer me to the Cancellation department. First they offered an additional month at $4.99. My response is that I will keep it until it expires and listen to my ipod. Then they extended it for 6 months for $38.85. I took the deal, but I will be calling back again in October.

lland

FYI, someone told me there's a $66/year offer out there. Could be they were thinking of the $77 but perhaps someone could try and see what happens.

LL

jftjr

Still works. Just renewed it again, same $77 plan plus $3.99 navtraffic.

Didn't even have to fight them, just said "Hey, I want the $77 offer" they said "fine."

Done.

SusieQs

I just called 800-682-4114. Mentioned that I wanted to renew but not at the price in the renewal letter. I said that I would renew for the same price as last year ($77). The woman said that was a one time offer. I told her I wanted to cancel my subscription. She transferred me to the cancellation department. I was on hold for a few minutes. When someone came on the line, I told them that I wanted to cancel, he asked me why and I told him that I wanted to renew for the same price as last year. He said that he would check with his supervisor. I was on hold again. When he came back he said that I could renew for a year for $77. He did ask if I was happy with the service. I said yes but I wasn't in the car that much.

I didn't use the winback code but I did get the winback price.

I think one of the keys is that you have to be willing to go through with cancelling the service.

Thanks for all the help.

GoHawks

I'll have to try that again closer to renewal. I was on the phone with them for something else and since my subscription is set to end in the next month, I'd look into renewing.

They quoted me close to $190! I told them forget it for now.

I'll wait right up until the end.

Ray C.

Renewal for XM and Traffic for 2006 RL was undertaken/accomplished today. Adhered to "script" and did not accept FIRST offer; (XM rate about $13/mo. Traffic about $48/yr).

Details: Telco was in Caribbean. Placed on "hold" for a couple of minutes when I declined first "offer". CSR returned with "continuing customer" offer - same as existing! Sounded good to me <smile>. Updated my info and look forward to another year of XM+Traffic!!

***

Karl_in_Chicago

I've had my '05 RL since Jan of '06. Renewed XM the first year using the then-current "ZWINBACK" program (though I hadn't received one), following the then-current script. No problem.

Last year I renewed again by following the script (always to the letter, not like some yahoo calling up saying "I heard about the $77 thing on the internet", sigh). No problem.

This year I followed the current script. Called the day before my sub was set to expire under the $77 terms and auto-renew/convert to double the rate (I'd received the postcard announcing this). Said "Cancel" to the VRU and was transferred to a human. Told him the new rate that was going to kick in was too much and I needed to cancel. He offered me the (small) discount and I said, no, still too much just can't afford that kind of money for a car radio. He then said that he could see I'd renewed in the past for $77/year but couldn't offer that any more but could instead offer me ~$38 for a half-year. Since I didn't really want to cancel (but also wasn't going to pay the list rate) I said fine, let's do that, figuring I'd deal with next steps when 6 months had passed.

We went through all the "these are your terms" "yes, I agree" stuff and I even confirmed my CC# to make sure it was the correct one. At the end we are all good and I say thanks and that's that. Right? Not exactly. The next day I just had to laugh when my radio went right to Preview mode. Checked online and saw no evidence of any charge being made or any activity on the account to reflect a renewal. Oh well, I figured, guess I'll drive without XM for the next month and wait for the "please come back" postcard.

That postcard arrived this Monday. I was encouraged to return to XM with no activation fee for an annual rate of . . . drumroll please . . . $77/year. LOL. So Tuesday I had a rare drive out to the suburbs (normally just an 8 mile drive downtown, hardly long enough for an XM renewal phone call) so I took the card with me and called to renew. Told the guy I had the card, wanted to elect the $77/yr option and that there was a 'personal customer code' which I read off when asked. Took my info and we were good to go, well, mostly - seems like lawyers have inserted themselves into the activation process script. Not only was I supposed to make sure my XM radio was on and tuned into the preview channel for the next 20 minutes but I was to make sure I WASN'T DRIVING! This is the equivalent of saying please go out to your car and turn it on and then sit it in and do nothing while listening to an endless stream of annoying ads. Yeah, sure, let me just pull my car over to the side of I-90 right now in Chicago rush-hour and wait 20 minutes. NOT. So, after about 5 minutes the Audio display on the Nav screen was re-populated with all of my previous XM presets so I knew it was active (it was) and after about another 5 minutes the NavTraffic data was displaying as well.

So, it all works now. The script worked but there was a breakdown in XM Operations in actually executing the renewal. As a side effect of that, though, further proof that if you are willing to actually allow it to expire and wait about a month XM will extend you the same offer. With XM base + NavTraffic it's about $10/month - that's within my acceptable range. The list rate they pitch is just too high and out of what I feel like I should be paying. I was, however, acutely reminded in the last month of just how commercial-riddled regular radio is and am glad to have my Deep Tracks channel back.

GoHawks

Good to know that it can still be had. To be honest I didn't push it.

I'll wait closer to the expiration.

Thanks everyone!

drolds72

My 3 month trial is about to end. Does anybody have any tips to get this deal right from the get go, as it should be obvious that I have never paid for the service before? Or should I just go through the script and see what happens?

Ray C.

April, 2008 begins THIRD year using XM+Traffic (first year from Acura) in 2006 RL.

Patience, confidence, persistence... all brought desired purchase (77+Traffic).
Note: be nice to CustSvc reps - they're "doin' their job".

christopher1

Xm radio+ traffic $77.00 since 2006... it is the right price!!

christopher1

to all 2005- rl or just 09??? anybody know.

GoHawks

Just called and told them I was going to let my subscription expire (5/15). Basically I told them that I couldn't justify paying close to $200 for radio and navtraffic. They transfered me to the cancellation department.

I was told, "we don't want to lose you", "you're a multi-year customer", blah, blah.

So.... they offered to renew me for what I paid for last year. $77 XM + $48 Navtraffic = $125. A little over $10/month.

Done deal. Like someone else said. You just have to be willing to go through the cancellation.

chuck abbott

When I traded my BMW X3 in 06 I was using an add on XM radio. My 05 RL came with the XM still active. When it came time to renew the RL, the BMW paid subscription was still active, and they gave me a renewal family plan price of $83.88, this was dated for renewal 2/20/08. Now that the BMW subscription has lapsed, I received a letter stating that they intend to change my RL contract from a "Family Plan" to a standard service affective June 3rd at $12.95 a month. Is this legal?
Any good advice would be appreciated as I intend to call them and cancel and ask for a rebate of the oustanding balance.
Thanks, Chuck

neuronbob

Yes, this is legal. In order to offer the Family price, you have to have more than one radio active on your subscription.

You can do one of two things:
Go back through the script with a different CS rep, or go through the cancellation process as GoHawks describes above.

chuck abbott

Thanks for your advice, Chuck

chuck abbott

Voila, just called XM on the 1-800-682-4114 number after trying to call on the 1-877-253-3919 number listed in their letter to me. (Their number was disconnected.) Told them I wanted to cancel and was transfered to the cancellation dept. Told the lady I could not afford the new rate and wanted to cancel. Without any further conversation she said that XM wanted to keep it's old customers and would give me the $77 rate and credit the difference from the $83.88 that I had already paid back to my account.
I had the distinct impression that this the rate that XM has decided is what the market will bare and that anyone will get the same deal if you challenge the billing. So thanks for the heads up, and good advice. Chuck

acurafox

Had the same situation-my RL subscription expired last year, and I had another radio on the account (for my HT receiver). I never used the HT XM radio (sound quality noticeably worse than even local FM, so I never played any XM stations at home), so I decided to cancel the entire account. Called to cancel, sent to cancellation dept., got the usual "valued customer" spiel, said I would be willing to renew my RL for the $77 deal I got on a card (I still had the old promo card), put on hold and disconnected. Called back, both radios were off the account, did not get any additional enticements, decided it was too much of a hassle to renew-I didn't really miss the radio stations that much, and I didn't get much use out of the navtraffic (max of 15 minutes on a freeway each way). We'll see if I hear from them in the future, but I'll enjoy my DVD-A and DTS disk library in the meantime (sound far superior to XM).

iceburg

Very politely tried the script a couple days ago and got shot down by a CSR. Called again tonight, got denied again and said I wanted to cancel. After I was transferred, I told rep #2 that I would continue service at the current rate ($77/yr audio + $3.99/mo traffic) but the full rate wasn't worth it to me. He gave me $4.99/mo audio and $3.99/mo traffic for 3 mos.

I was actually willing to cancel, so I don't feel too guilty about this. Guess I'll have another go at it in 90 days.

TXTENOR

Received my letter a couple of days ago indicating that I could renew at the retail rates. I called the 800 number and politely told the CSR that the retail rates were too expensive, and that my "buddy" had recently renewed for $77/year. The CSR didn't miss a beat, and said she could offer me the same deal, no problem. I gave her my billing info, and that was that.

I don't know if I got lucky or if they have decided that is an acceptable rate to offer the sevice for, but I had NO problems.

TXTENOR

jeremye

I got the $77 deal last year on my radio and called up using the given number tonight. The first CSR I got said "Sorry, you can only get the winback deal once, I can't give it to you consecutively one year after the other" which I knew to be a lie after reading posts on this forum. So I asked to be transferred to the cancellation department and she promptly hung up on me.

I called back and got a different CSR and he gave it to me no problem.

Rob144

Try #1 on renewal: $83.88 + $3.99 for XM Traffic. This is the so-called "second radio" offer, since I have a minivan with XM already.

The CSR was insistent that the $77 deal was a one-time offer, even though I've had it 3 times on the other car (and said as much).

At least I know if I try again I shouldn't do worse than the $83.88 renewal.

Rob144

Rob144

Try #2 -- Ding Ding Ding!

I called to renew to take advantage of the $77 dollar offer, and the CSR briefly went off-line and came back with the deal.

An invoice is to be mailed, and I'll pay by money order so there's no automatic rollover to the new rate, and automatic billing which happens when you give them your credit card or debit info.

Rob144

drolds72

Too easy! I got the promotional deal right after the 3 month free trial! All I did was mention the offer!

billmatt

Thank you Mr. Moderator for saving me big bucks. I've not been online at this next for the past 2 yrs. since I traden in my 2003 TLS for a new TL. After my XM subscription expired, I remembered your web re "Zwinback". I tried it and ,voila, it worked & I'm back on XM for mostly football games & talk shows. Many thanx to you & your staff.