goon54

Still available. i guess they dont keep track of the free 3 months you initally get.
started with 3 free, then sign up for the $77/yr, called to cancel and they offered another 3 free, and finally called to cancel again unless they have the $77 which they did.
They also had 5 months for $20 but if u dont cancel after that, it goes back to whatever regular price is. but this was a "temporary" sale so it may last for a while..

PittIsIt

wow - got my letter asking me to renew at $142 a year. So i called and asked about a postcard, didn't know any code or expiration date, played dumb - gave me $77 rate after telling her twice i threw away the card.
She even offered to start the rate today instead of when my subscription ends next month. I said no cause i felt weird.
She asked if i wanted the $3 online subscription (which you have to add if you're on the $77/yr plan) - fiance loves it and adding it adds the iphone listening too, so i said what the hey - so for $110, i'm getting what others have to pay $170 for.

Wow - no wonder the stock is in the toilet (and yes, i do own shares and this is silly for me to be sharing this with others)...

I love AZ - thanks for this thread!

tirebiter

I got a letter with the full retail price about a month ago, and my current subscription ends tomorrow. So I waited until yesterday to call them. I wasn't going to play games. I said I got the letter, it was too much, and I was canceling. She noticed I was on the $77 "special", and asked if I wanted it again. I said OK.

The only other thing was I complained that they started charging for the website. She offered it to me for $3/month. I said no. I said I might have used it a few times a week, or maybe not at all for months, but if I was paying for it, I wouldn't be getting my money's worth. She said she'd been hearing that a lot.

It doesn't matter, most of the music channels I listened to are broadcast over my DirecTV service.

Well, I'm set until next Sept-18th.

davidspalding

Having recently purchased a Samsung Blu-Ray Disc player that streams Pandora (and Pandora channels that I create beat the socks off the XM-Sirius equivalents), I decided to disable my auto-renewal and leave XM for a while.

Two other coworkers have called to cancel in the last month, and both reported being put on hold and getting arguments against cancelling ("Why?" "What channels do you usually listen to?" "Are you having reception problems where you live?" all of which had nothing to do with price). I was prepared and told the rep (the truth) that my phone was giving me a low battery warning and I could not stay on the phone too long.

First rep, Nicia, transferred me to "the department that handles that." She warned me that there may be a short wait. ... 3 minutes on hold, another rep picks up. . I explained my intentions to Nicky, who stated that she would have to transfer me "to the department that can cancel your renewal." She warns me there may be a short wait, and I may hear music. ... I spend 25 minutes on hold. You read that right. 25 minutes on hold. By this time I'm driving to work, have had free XM Jazz hold music. Mark picks up, and (naturally) has none of my account information, so I have to read him my account number. When I tell him my intentions, he starts the litany of "I have to transfer you to the account cancellation department --" I cut him off, and inform him that he's the third representative I've declared my intentions to, and if he doesn't effect the change to my account before my phone battery dies, "you will have willfully ignored my requests and will be providing me your service for free." He asks me to hold "to see if I can do it for you," and 1/2 a minute later he's back and tells me that he's set up my account to expire at the end of the paid subscription. How about that.

Now. Do YOU think that I was being transferred from one department to another, or simply placed on hold to see if I would run out of patience and hang up?

Moral of the story, if you call to negotiate, you will either be put on hold several times, or be disconnected as happened to me last year, or ... be bold, be assertive, be clear that you will not be liable for charges if they do not act on your stated request. Don't let them use the "hold hell" tactic to wear you down.

NO wonder their stock is tanking. The only way to keep people paying is by refusing to let them cancel. Think that'll last long?

DemonPoofball

Wait-- you can get Pandora in the car??? We were just talking about that the other day that if we could get Pandora, I wouldn't bother with XM at all. Hasn't been the same since they got rid of Fred, Ethel and Lucy... I'm up later this month, waiting to see if I get anything. If they'll give me the $77, I might renew as the only thing decent here is NPR, which is not so good part of the week... If they won't, guess I'll be making some CD's and making some iPod playlists!

(unless there actually is a way to get Pandora in the car-- w/out an iPhone of course...)

JWSingh

I just got my bill at full price. 144. not giving the deals an more.

nj2pa2nc

you have to call them to get the deal-my mom just received an offer of 5 months for $20.00-they turned her xm on until the end of the month.

timd38

I called 4 times and I think the deals are gone. I did the $77 deal twice, 3rd time was not a charm.

Jeepsquad

When I purchased my car in late-June, the previous owner transferred his account to me, which had service until late-November. Last week, I called XM to officially transfer over the account and try to renew at the discounted rate, but the lady told me that accounts cannot be transferred and therefore she terminated the previous account and setup a new one. I asked if there was any promotionals, she said she needed a code, and I told her that I'd call back.

I expected my XM service to be cut off, but everything was normal for a couple days. This past weekend while driving, I noticed all the sudden, I could not access any of my preset stations except 2 of them. When trying to access the other preset channels, the radio flashed "XM loading/updating". All other (non-preset) channels have normal function. Anyone have this happen to them? Should I call and try to use the "winback" code?

Ginaqueen1

You need to apply I have XM just go to XMRADIO.com - Since I did not get my '05 new I didn't get a break in price. However if it is new there should be a radio pin inside the Owners Manual with the number

davidspalding

Um ... no, i'm not that geeky. I was using XM on a Pioneer Inno portable in the home, at work, and in the car once in a while.

You're right, when they canned several of the very cool XM channels (those you mentioned, Hear Music Cafe, etc) in favor of limp and flavorless Sirius channels, I vowed I wouldn't even renew for $77....

You have to try. Read the first page of posts, and last 3 pages of updates.


Actually, they waited a whole two darn weeks after expiration to email me a "5 months for $20" or "1/2 off a full year." Unless they've upped their price, that would be $77/year they offered me.

Their stocks up, though, so they must be doing something right.

That's how it happens. When you tune your radio (e.g. click to next preset) it reloads, finds out it's been deactivated, and gives you IIRC 0, 1, and 247. Join the fun, call XM sales and tell them you want a year prepaid for $77. Mention "WINBACK" but you could get a rep (like I did last year) who claims the code is no good anymore. Keep repeating that until you get a rep who agrees. It could take half an hour, though.

Once in a while, by pure accident, I've determined that they've enabled a "trial" of a few channels (like around Christmas last year), but without any announcement to me ... what good would it do? Look back a few pages, I think I posted about the "Christmas demo." What would've been so funny if it wasn't so lame, they turned the demo off on Christmas Day, after 3 weeks of freebie Christmas channels. Like, "Okay, while driving to Grandma's, here's what life is like WITHOUT XM. Merry Christmas and #@&% you."

I'd do my INNO and my car as a second radio for $100 a year. But at the last rates I checked, they want $83/year for additional radios on your account. ... XM/Sirius just isn't that good for me.

nj2pa2nc

My husband has sirius in his car and truck. He recently received notice of the new rates: $142.45 ($21.79 Music Royalty fee) and additional radio $98.89 ($10.68 MRF) My xm is due for renewal in March. I like having it as I travel alot but if I can not get it for $77.00 I might change my mind.

sortudo7

I really don't care for XM much since i rarely travel and when I do I use my iSimple. I got the 5 months for $20 too and decided to give them a try again since I had them months and months ago. The first dude said he got it set up for me and was done. 1 wk later I had no XM so called today and after being on hold for 15mins I got someone (apparently high call volume) and I had her reset my stereo. Works now but as stated, the channels are still the same from what I had earlier in the year prior to canceling. This merging with Sirius just took most of the stations downhill which is a shame.

If you can't get a deal and if you don't use XM a lot I would just save the money. I didn't need a code or anything for the promo though, just called up and said I got it and they were like "OK, what's your radio ID" and just went from there. Not sure if my account showed it when they pulled it up or whatever but someone can just try that and see if they get it.

DemonPoofball

I went ahead an renewed... I had thought (correctly) that I was up last month, but the guy said I had like 2 free months added in somehow... He was wrong, which I found out by my invoice I got today...

Anyway, long story short, you've just got to be willing to play chicken, and mean it. Radio here is crap, and it's too cold in the winter to leave my iPod in there, so convenience was worth the cheap rate, but not the full rate. The guy in cancellations gave me the $77 again. But, of course, I was willing to drop it if not...

Jeepsquad

UPDATE: A couple weeks ago, my XM service was finally turned off. I've been thinking about calling to get service again, but yesterday, I received a call from XM. I'm not sure exactly why they called, but I explained that I cancelled because the full rate was way more than I'm willing to pay, and then I was offered both the 5-mo./$20 and 1-yr./$77 specials. XM must be really hurting in this economy, or perhaps the chick I spoke with had absolutely no clue what she was doing. Nonetheless, I got the rate that I wanted!!!

davidspalding

Why? Their stock has been rising for six months, but the last month or so is drifting back down, and they're barely broke even last quarter. They're still in danger of being de-listed and could still go bankrupt. Anything they can do to lock people in and build revenue will reflect well on their bottom line.

They're doing other things as well. Though they committed to "no rate hikes," they are gleefully raising prices on add-ons and additionals.

http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...s-lawsuit.aspx

Jeepsquad

Funny, because I was playing poker with some friends last night, and we were discussing the future of XM. A lot of people now are plugging in their iPhones and listening to their playlist or streaming songs from Pandora (instead of paying for satellite radio). Once web-enabled phones (and cars) become more mainstream, I believe XM is gonna have serious problems. Sorry for the off-topic post

Red@8

I just called XM to renew my subscription. The first guy told me they cant renew for $77 and I would have to now pay the ~$179 per year. I said I want to cancel in that case. I was transferred to the retention department. Told the guy why I wanted to cancel and no questions asked he renewed my account for $77 for another year. This will be my 3rd year for $77.

zendrive

I just renewed my fifth year of XM service for $77. I politely listened to the first promotions they had. This was their three, two and one year plans. I kindly told the rep that I was going to cancel if I didn't renew for $77 without royalty fees.

She told me that my radio may not be eligible because I had their promotional rate last year. I said that I would like to speak to a floor manager.

Really, that was it. It took 10 minutes.

cnj

They'll negotiate. We do it every year. Three radios @ 238/yr. Love XM!

frescagod

just renewed for 1 year @ $77, plus their "music royalty fee" of $11. $88 for a year, not bad.

Santa Rosa Steve

I just received a card today from XM with the $77 offer... says it's good until May 21...

Jeepsquad

My subscription just expired, so I called XM and asked if I can renew at $20 for 5 months. The lady said she'd check, put me on hold, and 2 minutes later it was done!

Santa Rosa Steve

I went with the 5 month deal as well since it does come out cheaper per month... see if I use it enough to justify the expense.

Santa Rosa Steve

Did they bill you for the full amount, or monthly over 12 months?

natedog321

4th year in a row. $88. I love this thread. Me: "I'd like to cancel my subscription" (3 days before auto-renewal date). Re: "What if I could offer you another year at the same price?" Me: "sold"

tsxfool

Same experience for me today - quick and easy.

SoCaliTrojan

I renewed my subscription a few months ago, and the XM operator gave me the $88 deal. She failed to charge my credit card though (she was having computer issues). When I gave them a call last week (they suspended my account), the representative gave me the $77 deal without me asking for it.

The interesting thing is that during the screw up, the system showed that XM owed me money. They credited me the negative balance so I was only charged $145 for 2 radios for a full year. I basically got a $30 discount at the $77/year rate (instead of the $88/year one).

Santa Rosa Steve

Their system is a mess... they overcharged me at first and then after repeated attempts to get a correction my account was credited with a greater amount than the error...

limeybstrd

I think you got transferred from one rep to another rep because none of them wanted to be the one who cancells your subsription.

I bought my tsx used, they gave me 3 three months of free XM which will be expiring on Jan 12th. Yesterday I received a letter stating that I could renew for $24.99 for 6 months. Now this sounds like a great deal, however giving my credit card details and the stories about cancelling scares the hell out of me. I may not bother, since I dont have the patience to try and cancell when I choose to do so.

DemonPoofball

Easiest renewal I've had thus far today. I was set to expire tomorrow, so called today as I couldn't recall if they had me on auto-renew. First gal answered promptly, and was quite nice. She asked me why I was calling (or something like that) and I said I was set to expire but could only renew if I could get a similar plan. She checked, said my plan is 1/2 off for the year, so I said I'd have to cancel, she transferred me to a Cancellation guy, who answered promptly, was quite nice, and when he asked my reason for canceling, I mentioned the whole "budget thing" (ie, no way I'm paying full price... it's worth the $77ish, but no way for $140 or whatever) so he checked, the $77 still exists, so he signed me up again (plus the $11 fee thingy). Of course, NOW I'm on auto-renew and will need to make sure I call again next year, though the card I gave them expires in Feb, so it wouldn't matter I guess

Just like my last couple times (this is my 3rd or 4th, can't recall), you've just got to be prepared to actually cancel your service. Only the cancellation people can offer it, but in the event you happen to get somebody having a really bad day, you've just got to be willing to drop them. Odds are, you'd get something sent to you before long anyway as I'm betting they'd rather have less money than no customers.

limeybstrd

So the only auto renew you if you sign up for a year? Does that mean if I take up their offer of 6 months for 24.95 then they wont auto renew me?

DemonPoofball

Auto-renewal is probably just up to their discretion, this is the first time they have said they *will* auto-renew me. They'll usually tell you though when you sign up, they're supposed to anyway... But it's best to mark the day you expire on your calendar so you remember to call just in case! (auto-renewals are generally done at full price)

07tsx

iTrader: (1)

I have my XM for $30 for 6 month + 1 month free. Can't be anymore better.

davidspalding

I seem to recall that some of the package discounts are only offered if you give them a credit card billing and agree to auto-renew on your account. Think about it, they're offering a promotional discount and enabling your account to try to protect continuing revenue.

Red@8

I just renewed for the 4th year at $77 for the year. I was required to give them a CC for billing and the auto-renew on my account just as you stated. This didn't bother me as I have been doing this for the past couple of years anyway.

Arcticcl9

I just renewed at $77 + $11.78 music royalty for one year. Just said I wanted to cancel and they go into retention mode and gave me the same offer as last year. I added XM traffic as well for 1 year. Very easy. Just call 1-800-XM-RADIO. I did not need a promotional code, even though they remind me I will need one next time.

Now I don't need to worry about it for a year.

nj2pa2nc

[QUOTE=DemonPoofball;12555263]Auto-renewal is probably just up to their discretion, this is the first time they have said they *will* auto-renew me. They'll usually tell you though when you sign up, they're supposed to anyway... But it's best to mark the day you expire on your calendar so you remember to call just in case! (auto-renewals are generally done at full price)[/QUOT


They will auto-renew you unless you call to cancel before it expires. If they do not have a active credit card they will start billing you. If you want the discount rate-call them when it is due again. I just did-got the Deal+music royalty fees ($88.00 total)

Santa Rosa Steve

They charged my card for auto-renewal even though it had expired... didn't think they could do that... that's why I gave them that card initially...

Anyway my subscription has now expired and they call constantly to get me back; current offer is $24.95 for 5 months, then auto renew.

Santa Rosa Steve

The ad I received yesterday offered me $4.99/mo. for 6 mos. or $6.48/mo. for 1 year.