XM/Sirius Renewal

[SaraJayne]

I renewed our XM last year for $77 after asking nicely for the offer and when it came time to renew again this year, I also politely asked for the $77 a year offer again.

The CS rep asked what I would do if it wasn't available and I told him I'd cancel. We love the XM, but can live without it, especially for $160 (plus taxes and fees) a year.

So he gave it to me for another year for half off (it comes to $88 with all taxes and fees).

I'm very happy with it and wanted to share all you have to do is ask!

 

[girli565]

I canceled my XM in March and got an offer in the mail last week to renew it for $24.99 for 6 months (no reconnection fee, just taxes and royalties), they sent me the offer in the mail and they called me a few days ago about it. I declined because I use Pandora Radio more than anything and can't justify the XM price anymore. I kept the receiver just in case I change my mind.

 

[SaraJayne]

I canceled my XM in March and got an offer in the mail last week to renew it for $24.99 for 6 months (no reconnection fee, just taxes and royalties), they sent me the offer in the mail and they called me a few days ago about it. I declined because I use Pandora Radio more than anything and can't justify the XM price anymore. I kept the receiver just in case I change my mind.

Our XM came with our new vehicle when we bought it three years ago, so it's built right into the radio. No receiver to worry about for us.

We only use XM in the car, not at home. We use iTunes or the good ol' fashioned radio at home.

 

[MrsDoubtfire]

I have XM/Sirius in my car as it came with it - 6 months free then I renewed for $77 for 1 year also. Last week I received an invoice for another renewal as my "$77 dollar year" was coming to an end. The bill was for $169 and change - this was for 1 year of service, plus taxes, and "royalty fees" (whatever those are - they seem excessive). After a good laugh ($170 to listen to music ??? - whatev!) - I called Sirius to inquire about better deals. The rep. first offered a "special deal" of half off, which still equated to almost $100. I balked with that price, and asked for better or I will have to cancel my service. Then she came back with $75 for 1 year, plus taxes and royalties (probably still came to around $100, so the rep. wasn't kidding me, haha).

I then told her - "How about this "deal" ...I will pay $50 for 1 year of service, and not a penny more". I explained that I can listen to Pandora through the Bluetooth audio on my phone into the car stereo for free or for $36 a year if I choose to pay for commercial-free music, so I felt $50 for their service was appropriate considering I only listen to less than 10 stations of Sirius anyhow." This rant was followed by silence on the reps part - then she asked if she could place me on hold for a moment. She came back seconds later with the "best deal she could give me" = $25 for 6 months, not automatically renewed, so if I wanted to add more months, I would have to call once the 6 months were ending. Well, that was more like it. I asked for a mailed invoice with this "new-improved price" as I was not going to provide a credit card to secure this price (and risk having them charge my card after the 6 months for an outrageous renewal amount).


My 13 y/o DD was sitting beside me when I was talking to the Sirius rep., and after tells me, "Mom, I can't believe you called the company to complain about the price and tell them what you would pay for their service." Ha! I explained to her that I was ready to cancel a service that I felt was priced too high if they were not able to meet my terms, and how there are plenty of people who would be to shy or apprehensive to ask for a better price and either pay the high price or just cancel. I also explained that my tactic doesn't work in EVERY situation. If that were the case, I would love to call Southwest and tell them that I would happily pay $200 pp for a round trip from Providence to Orlando in August, HA HA HA (I wish).

I actually got a call from an automated voice 4 days later to ask me if the invoice I requested arrived as they sent it by 1st class mail. I'm thinking they are hard-up for money or something. I sure hope they make use of my $25 wisely and stop trying to rip-off people with exorbitant prices.

 

[SaraJayne]

I have XM/Sirius in my car as it came with it - 6 months free then I renewed for $77 for 1 year also. Last week I received an invoice for another renewal as my "$77 dollar year" was coming to an end. The bill was for $169 and change - this was for 1 year of service, plus taxes, and "royalty fees" (whatever those are - they seem excessive). After a good laugh ($170 to listen to music ??? - whatev!) - I called Sirius to inquire about better deals. The rep. first offered a "special deal" of half off, which still equated to almost $100. I balked with that price, and asked for better or I will have to cancel my service. Then she came back with $75 for 1 year, plus taxes and royalties (probably still came to around $100, so the rep. wasn't kidding me, haha).

I then told her - "How about this "deal" ...I will pay $50 for 1 year of service, and not a penny more". I explained that I can listen to Pandora through the Bluetooth audio on my phone into the car stereo for free or for $36 a year if I choose to pay for commercial-free music, so I felt $50 for their service was appropriate considering I only listen to less than 10 stations of Sirius anyhow." This rant was followed by silence on the reps part - then she asked if she could place me on hold for a moment. She came back seconds later with the "best deal she could give me" = $25 for 6 months, not automatically renewed, so if I wanted to add more months, I would have to call once the 6 months were ending. Well, that was more like it. I asked for a mailed invoice with this "new-improved price" as I was not going to provide a credit card to secure this price (and risk having them charge my card after the 6 months for an outrageous renewal amount).


My 13 y/o DD was sitting beside me when I was talking to the Sirius rep., and after tells me, "Mom, I can't believe you called the company to complain about the price and tell them what you would pay for their service." Ha! I explained to her that I was ready to cancel a service that I felt was priced too high if they were not able to meet my terms, and how there are plenty of people who would be to shy or apprehensive to ask for a better price and either pay the high price or just cancel. I also explained that my tactic doesn't work in EVERY situation. If that were the case, I would love to call Southwest and tell them that I would happily pay $200 pp for a round trip from Providence to Orlando in August, HA HA HA (I wish).

I actually got a call from an automated voice 4 days later to ask me if the invoice I requested arrived as they sent it by 1st class mail. I'm thinking they are hard-up for money or something. I sure hope they make use of my $25 wisely and stop trying to rip-off people with exorbitant prices.

I paid by check this time, like I did last year, to avoid being automatically (over) charged at renewal time. If they don't have my credit card number, I'm the one with leverage for discounts.

 

[HM]

Thanks for this. I didn't know you could pay by check. I was getting ready to renew the XM on my kid's car at the $24.99 six month rate. I think I'll send them a check.

 

[doris1976]

Good advice all. The way the economy keeps dragging along, consumers have more power now. Of course, that will change, like always, was the economy gets moving again.

 

[HM]

So, I just called about sending a check for the $24.99 price. In order to do that, they invoice you and you pay an extra $2 each time they invoice. The actual cost with taxes and fees is $29.36 + that $2 charge. I told them to hold off sending me an invoice at this time. I may still pay by CC to keep from paying the invoice charge and make sure that I call and cancel at the end of 6 months. Gotta talk to DH and see what he says.

 

[SaraJayne]

So, I just called about sending a check for the $24.99 price. In order to do that, they invoice you and you pay an extra $2 each time they invoice. The actual cost with taxes and fees is $29.36 + that $2 charge. I told them to hold off sending me an invoice at this time. I may still pay by CC to keep from paying the invoice charge and make sure that I call and cancel at the end of 6 months. Gotta talk to DH and see what he says.

The CS rep took the invoice fee off for me.

 

[mamilovesdisney]

OP: I just went through this same situation with XM and you got a much better deal. I called to do the same thing and the best deal I got was $15 a month. He said that was their best offer even if I did opt to cancel Maybe I should try again.

 

[SaraJayne]

OP: I just went through this same situation with XM and you got a much better deal. I called to do the same thing and the best deal I got was $15 a month. He said that was their best offer even if I did opt to cancel Maybe I should try again.

Try again. That isn't a deal. That's regular price.

You'll probably have to go through a couple people before you're offered a better deal, though I got a great CS rep on my first try yesterday.

 

[mamilovesdisney]

Try again. That isn't a deal. That's regular price.

You'll probably have to go through a couple people before you're offered a better deal, though I got a great CS rep on my first try yesterday.

Holy Cow, I am paying "regular price"? Well I am definitely going to call them back! Thanks for the post!!!!

 

[SaraJayne]

Holy Cow, I am paying "regular price"? Well I am definitely going to call them back! Thanks for the post!!!!

You're welcome. Be polite but firm.

 

[ChiBub]

Thanks so much for posting on this - I check out the budget boards periodically just to find tidbits like this! I've been paying $15/month for XM for a year now - just called and got $25/6 months. That's over 70% less!! I had to get through the first CSR who told me I was already getting the best price, and tell her then I'd like to cancel. THEN she transferred me to someone who was able to give me the better price.

Initially he offered $25/5 months, so I said "can you do $25/6 months"? He told me that if a customer "knows of" a particular promotion going on and asks for it, their policy is to give it. I told him I'd read on an internet forum of others getting $25/6 months, so he put me on hold, came back a minute later, and gave me the 6 month deal.

Thanks again for the great info!

 

[SaraJayne]

Thanks so much for posting on this - I check out the budget boards periodically just to find tidbits like this! I've been paying $15/month for XM for a year now - just called and got $25/6 months. That's over 70% less!! I had to get through the first CSR who told me I was already getting the best price, and tell her then I'd like to cancel. THEN she transferred me to someone who was able to give me the better price.

Initially he offered $25/5 months, so I said "can you do $25/6 months"? He told me that if a customer "knows of" a particular promotion going on and asks for it, their policy is to give it. I told him I'd read on an internet forum of others getting $25/6 months, so he put me on hold, came back a minute later, and gave me the 6 month deal.

Thanks again for the great info!

Glad I could help.

 

[hsmamato2]

oooo 77 for the year...nice! I got hooked with my new car....love the xm radio! (amazing what I didn't 'need' till I knew about it)
I got a deal for 88 for the year..so not too bad,I'll keep in mind the 77 when I renew though,I did the 'send invoice' thing too,it's worth 2.00 to me not to have autorenew on a cc......just google for codes....no one should pay full price....

 

[Jules123]

You can also buy an XM gift card and use that instead of giving them your credit card. No extra invoice charge that way.

 

[dfchelbay]

So, I just called about sending a check for the $24.99 price. In order to do that, they invoice you and you pay an extra $2 each time they invoice. The actual cost with taxes and fees is $29.36 + that $2 charge. I told them to hold off sending me an invoice at this time. I may still pay by CC to keep from paying the invoice charge and make sure that I call and cancel at the end of 6 months. Gotta talk to DH and see what he says.

Use a card that expiy one of those Visa cards from the store. It's well worth the few dollars to activate it for Sirius/XM NOT to have your credit card number.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Thanks for posting, op! I got 6 months free with my new car and I told the kids not to get used to it because I would probably cancel after the 6 months were up, but if I can get the $77 for a year deal I will keep it.

 

[charper]

Not sure if anyone is interested, but about 3 years ago when we bought our car, the Sirius XM radio was preinstalled in my car. WHen our free trial was up, we paid for the lifetime membership, which was about $400 at the time, and we don't have to make monthly payments ever.

charper