Why is SiriusXM So Shady?

[HandyCruiser]

I just spend over an hour texting with SiriusXM. We've owned our new Ram for six months now, and the initial SiriusXM radio subscription expired. Since the Scat Pack we traded for it had a SiriusXM subscription on my personal SiriusXM account, the subscription on the new Ram got automatically put on my personal SiriusXM account which is tied to a credit card. So SiriusXM attempted to charge that credit card for around $250 to continue the subscription at full list price. Luckily, about three years ago, I created a fake credit card on Privacy.com for online stuff like this, and I set the spending limit to $0 after using it last year. That stopped SiriusXM from auto charging me at full price. But it also meant I had to call them and haggle for a decent price this year. And not just the new Ram. The subscriptions on two of my other vehicles end this month as well.

Last year, I got my wife's Scat Pack, my Daytona, and my daughter's Avalon all renewed SiriusXM subscriptions for about $65 each including taxes and fees. That was down from about $112 each in previous years. And this year, the price was back up to around $110 for the Daytona and Avalon and $118 for the new Ram. I tried everything to haggle down the price including telling them I was done and just to cancel the subscription. But it appears the "COVID discount" is gone. Total cost for all three vehicles combined was $338.59 for a whole year.

If SiriusXM would just offer a fair price, and quit trying to lure people in and then overcharge them, it would be a lot better.

PS: You can get what appears to be a better deal than I got if you let them charge your card monthly. But if you add it all up, it's just about the same price I paid. You get 6 months at $4.99 and then it jumps to $17.99 for the rest of the year. And those prices are both before taxes and fees. But by paying once a year like I did, it's much easier to keep them from overcharging you for the next year's subscription.

 

[Shaggy]

I just spend over an hour texting with SiriusXM. We've owned our new Ram for six months now, and the initial SiriusXM radio subscription expired. Since the Scat Pack we traded for it had a SiriusXM subscription on my personal SiriusXM account, the subscription on the new Ram got automatically put on my personal SiriusXM account which is tied to a credit card. So SiriusXM attempted to charge that credit card for around $250 to continue the subscription at full list price. Luckily, about three years ago, I created a fake credit card on Privacy.com for online stuff like this, and I set the spending limit to $0 after using it last year. That stopped SiriusXM from auto charging me at full price. But it also meant I had to call them and haggle for a decent price this year. And not just the new Ram. The subscriptions on two of my other vehicles end this month as well.

Last year, I got my wife's Scat Pack, my Daytona, and my daughter's Avalon all renewed SiriusXM subscriptions for about $65 each including taxes and fees. That was down from about $112 each in previous years. And this year, the price was back up to around $110 for the Daytona and Avalon and $118 for the new Ram. I tried everything to haggle down the price including telling them I was done and just to cancel the subscription. But it appears the "COVID discount" is gone. Total cost for all three vehicles combined was $338.59 for a whole year.

If SiriusXM would just offer a fair price, and quit trying to lure people in and then overcharge them, it would be a lot better.

PS: You can get what appears to be a better deal than I got if you let them charge your card monthly. But if you add it all up, it's just about the same price I paid. You get 6 months at $4.99 and then it jumps to $17.99 for the rest of the year. And those prices are both before taxes and fees. But by paying once a year like I did, it's much easier to keep them from overcharging you for the next year's subscription.

Are you saying you are being charged $65 for each vehicle to have SiriusXM on them? Really? I'm 9nly pay like $12 a month for one of my vehicles.

 

[tinman454]

now a days the bigger they are the more shady they get. In Canada the big phone companys control our government we actually pay some of the highest phone prices in the world.

 

[quietpeen]

when my 1 year subscription runs out I don't renew. Too many channels have commercials and censorship. Why pay for that b.s. when I can get it for free from good ole FM radio.

 

[HandyCruiser]

Are you saying you are being charged $65 for each vehicle to have SiriusXM on them? Really? I'm 9nly pay like $12 a month for one of my vehicles.

Yes. Last year (2021) it was under $200 for three cars. But this year the total for three vehicles was $338.59 for the year. That's more inline with what I paid in 2020 and before.

Divided equally, I am paying about $112.86 per vehicle this year. At $12 a month, you are paying $144 if that includes taxes and fees. If not, you are paying a lot more.

 

[Shaggy]

Yes. Last year (2021) it was under $200 for three cars. But this year the total for three vehicles was $338.59. That's more inline with what I paid in 2020 and before.

Divided equally, I am paying about $112.86 per vehicle this year. At $12 a month, you are paying $144 if that includes taxes and fees. If not, you are paying a lot more.

Oh you meant a year. I thought you were pay that a month. I was like wow!

 

[HandyCruiser]

Oh you meant a year. I thought you were pay that a month. I was like wow!

Yep. I pay annually and then set the charge limit on the fake credit card to $0. That way, they cannot charge me later at a higher rate.

SiriusXm is not the only company that uses this shady billing method. Norton antivirus does the same thing. They will give a great price for the first year if you let them keep a credit card on file. Then the price skyrockets for the second year, and they bill your card automatically. This is another case where the fake credit cards offered on Privacy.com come in handy. But if you let them bill you monthly, it's hard to stop them charging you at the jacked up price.

It's possible to set a "per charge" limit on the fake credit card, but they can just charge you again for the unpaid balance. It's better to pay once a year, then set the fake credit card to a $0 charge limit. The downside is that you have to renegotiate with SiriusXM for the lower price every year. For Norton, you can just create a new fake credit card and set up a new account each year at the introductory price. This sounds like a lot of work. But it saves me about $300 a year or more on SiriusXM and about $100 per year on Norton since I have three cars with SiriusXM subscriptions and five PCs that need protecting.

As a side note, my 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 has a lifetime SiriusXM receivers in it. This factory receiver was originally in a 2005 PT Cruiser GT. But I swapped it into the Ram before I sold the PT Cruiser.

 

[G-Ride990]

Does the Sxm sub you are talking about get your travel link to work in your truck? I had the free 5 years of travel link in my truck just expire and I want to renew just that part if I can.

 

[quietpeen]

Does the Sxm sub you are talking about get your travel link to work in your truck? I had the free 5 years of travel link in my truck just expire and I want to renew just that part if I can.

there is an easier way to get 5 years of travel link

 

[G-Ride990]

there is an easier way to get 5 years of travel link

LOL I wish!

 

[HandyCruiser]

Does the Sxm sub you are talking about get your travel link to work in your truck? I had the free 5 years of travel link in my truck just expire and I want to renew just that part if I can.

Travel link is a whole other subscription. I believe we have 5 years of that on our Laramie.

 

[G-Ride990]

Travel link is a whole other subscription. I believe we have 5 years of that on our Laramie.

I never looked it up until now. On their website they list travel link only for $1.99/mo so that is not bad. Probably jumps to $50/mo after the first year though haha

 

[grouch]

now a days the bigger they are the more shady they get. In Canada the big phone companys control our government we actually pay some of the highest phone prices in the world.

In the U.S. the phone company doesn't run the government but it does have a major conservative network. I initially thought One America Network was influenced by Chinese interests (Taiwan, not mainland) but it was set up by the CEO of AT&T. That explained some of the stories I saw there before I quit watching.

Several months ago, I got a free 6 month subscription for Sirius. I never could get it to work, so I just listen to the radio ir CD's and thumb drives.

 

[BlackGold6.4]

We can't stand SXM.. the service sucks and they bug the crap out of you with .. well we can do this or that. I have a better selection of music on my phone then those channels that repeat every couple days it seems... And @tinman454 .. don't get me started with the Canadian phone companies... I'm so pissed with that..

 

[HandyCruiser]

In the U.S. the phone company doesn't run the government but it does have a major conservative network. I initially thought One America Network was influenced by Chinese interests (Taiwan, not mainland) but it was set up by the CEO of AT&T. That explained some of the stories I saw there before I quit watching.

Several months ago, I got a free 6 month subscription for Sirius. I never could get it to work, so I just listen to the radio ir CD's and thumb drives.

One America News (OAN) is offered on Uverse and other AT&T streaming platforms. It's American owned and operated. When we had Uverse, I liked their daytime news and business content. It was similar to Bloomberg but more news and a less business. Their evening content was kind of a poor man's version of Fox. You got guys from talk radio and a bunch of young, fresh out of college (or still in college) commentators. My wife I used to joke about the young guys and girls on OAN calling their friends in their dorm rooms while on the air, so they would have someone to interview about the day's events. Their top evening new person, Liz Wheeler, looked to be about 20 years old and moved in such a stiff doll-like way that we called her "News Barbie". But she grew up and actually turned out to be pretty good. She has her own popular streaming show now on YouTube. When we got rid of Uverse and went to a streaming service, we didn't have OAN anymore. We can stream some of the content, but we mainly only watched it because it was somewhat fun to watch. Plus, US political news has become increasing disturbing, so we usually avoid it nowadays.

You were smart not to use the free 6-month subscription to SiriusXM. That's just a hook to get your credit card number. Once they have that, they will start you changing you at full price without warning, once the 6-months are over.

 

[RaptorTillNow]

I get XM for 60 bucks a year including all taxes and fees. And if they don't take it I cancel, and then they call you back in about a week or 2 and agree to the deal.

All you have to do is tell them that you stream all your music through spotify or other, which I do, so why would I need their crappy service in the 1st place? Then they give it to you for the price you dictate to them!!

After all it's just beaming down from the sky, and 60 bucks is better than no bucks... Hold fast and get what you want or cancel their crappy service!! Done!

 

[HandyCruiser]

I get XM for 60 bucks a year including all taxes and fees. And if they don't take it I cancel, and then they call you back in about a week or 2 and agree to the deal.

All you have to do is tell them that you stream all your music through spotify or other, which I do, so why would I need their crappy service in the 1st place? Then they give it to you for the price you dictate to them!!

After all it's just beaming down from the sky, and 60 bucks is better than no bucks... Hold fast and get what you want or cancel their crappy service!! Done!

Have renewed this year? Last year, I got my wife's Scat Pack, my Daytona, and my daughter's Avalon all renewed SiriusXM subscriptions for about $65 each including taxes and fees. That was down from about $112 each in previous years. And this year, the price was back up to around $110 for the Daytona and Avalon and $118 for the new Ram. I tried everything to haggle down the price including telling them I was done and just to cancel the subscription. But it appears the "COVID discount" is gone. Total cost for all three vehicles combined this year (Laramie, Daytona and Avalon) was $338.59 for a whole year.

 

[quietpeen]

I would think like the other poster said that any money is better than nothing…..I say cancel the subscription. There are plenty of services available, plus you can alway load a thumb drive with more music than you can listen too

 

[RaptorTillNow]

I would think like the other poster said that any money is better than nothing…..I say cancel the subscription. There are plenty of services available, plus you can alway load a thumb drive with more music than you can listen too

Yup, like everything else, you gotta be willing to walk if you don't like the deal! The other thing to do is never pay with your credit card, tell them to bill you, then write them a check. Then when it's expired again, they can't automatically charge your credit card... And the Haggling game restarts again...

you'd also be wise to set a reminder when it's about to expire about a week before so you can get your ducks ready... Of course just my humble opinion.... Whatever that is lol

 

[grouch]

Yup, like everything else, you gotta be willing to walk if you don't like the deal! The other thing to do is never pay with your credit card, tell them to bill you, then write them a check. Then when it's expired again, they can't automatically charge your credit card... And the Haggling game restarts again...

you'd also be wise to set a reminder when it's about to expire about a week before so you can get your ducks ready... Of course just my humble opinion.... Whatever that is lol

My CX-5 has a CD player and two thumb drive inserts. There are listings on the screen for Pandora and some other stuff, I think Sirius is on there, but I've never used them. I was given a complimentary subscription once but could never get it to work.