For about four years state attorneys general in Connecticut and other states have been investigating consumer complaints against Sirius satellite radio service.
There is no indication when the investigation will be completed.
But for Sirius customers like Sabrina Bright and Becky Melton it can’t be soon enough.
Jaclyn Falkowski, spokeswoman for Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, assured customers that the investigation is still “active and it is progressing.”
“But unfortunately we cannot comment further at this time,” she said recently, other than the fact that her office had received 40 complaints since the investigation was launched in 2009.
During that time CtWatchdog has received more complaints against Sirius than against any other national company.
There is a pattern to the complaints:
Unauthorized charges
Customer service representatives whose English is less than fluent
Promises of refunds that don’t materialize
Having to make repeated phone calls to get help with billing issues
Cancellations of service not honored
Having to spend hours talking to customer service representatives before issues are resolved, or partly resolved
Spokesmen for Sirius declined to comment on the investigation, the pattern of complaints, or on the individual complaints CtWatchdog sent the company.
For Becky Melton of Texarkana, Texas, the amount of money was not the main issue – $33. The issue was that she felt she was being jerked around.
Melton cancelled her service last year.
“I was told in May that a representative would call me when it was time to renew and that I wouldn’t be charged unless I wanted to renew,” she told CtWatchdog. “I asked the representative over and over if they were sure that I wouldn’t be charged and that they were going to call. I didn’t get a call and was told that I owe $33.”
“I know it’s only $33 but it’s the principle!”
Sirius cancelled the charge after I sent her complaint to the company. Sirius has historically made refunds or provided credits based on complaints I had sent to its public relations department.
For Sabrina Bright there was a lot more money involved.
Bright, of Michigan, said her husband discovered $588 worth of charges for a Sirius radio subscription in a car we haven’t owned in over 2 years.
“They refuse to refund the money even though he “transferred” the subscription to his new car. He keeps being bounced around and no one seems able to do anything,” she wrote CtWatchdog recently.
She said Sirius finally credited his account by $338, but the company is refusing to refund the balance.
Sirius has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau despite the fact that there have been 3,293 complaints about billing issues in the past three years. So much for the BBB’s rating system.
I read your article last Sunday ( February 23,2014) about the utility generation rate rip off – especially by North American Power. This made me take a closer look at my mother’s electric bill because she has North American Power and the bill for this month has an outrageous generation rate of 19.99 cents per kilowatt hour.
To compound this avaricious display by North American Power my mother is elderly with a serious health issue (COPD) and has an adult totally disabled daughter( who needs care 24/7) living in the house. Were it not for my brother living there as care taker of both my mother and sister they would not be able to live in the house. My mother is on a fixed income and whatever funds she has are designated to keeping my sister living in the house. It is a difficult process financially and emotionally to ensure that my sister stay in the house that she is comfortable with. We have worked out a plan with me , my mother , brother and my sister’s Connecticut social worker that would allow her to stay in the house as long as physically possible.
However, when “companies” like North American Power are allowed to charge more than double the competing generation rate of other companies it makes it difficult to financially manage the household. I have since signed her up for a fixed rate for 8.59 cents but I feel something should be about the activities of this “company”. If you can assist with this or advise as to what my next step can be it would be of great help.
SiriusXM refuses to allow people to opt-out of automatic renewals. Their “Terms of Use” say that you must notify them at least 3-days in advance to cancel or they will automatically bill for another same-sized term at current rates.
They didn’t honor it when I told them I do not agree to automatic renewals last time and billed me anyways (The card they had was expired but that apparently didn’t stop them!).
So this time I am trying another tact. I paid to renew for a year and sent them a postal letter telling them to cancel effective once that year is up. I specified that I am not cancelling currently paid for service. Let’s see how that goes since it complies with their terms of use. I suspect they will fail to honor it. But I am creating a paper-trail to show how they rip people off.
I would love some help! I am out $899.21 because Siruis continued to bill me for 32 months at $28.10 after I called and cancelled. They said they see where I did call, but I called to change the nickname on the account. I do not have a nickname, and I have no idea what they are talking about. I’ve wasted 5 days dealing with this issue.
All should keep a check on their accounts via the Sirius Xm website if you have that access to view it. They may even have a radio listed you have never used or known of. Also they may even send it to a collection agency which will have 2 addresses usually in Michigan for one. It’s a company that sends from one State with a main address in another. They usually request that over $500 amount. I had letters from that agency that stopped once I showed the bank draft showing my service is monthly paid with some language mentioning mail fraud and extortion. Definitely keep a paper trail, keep checking bank records and possibly notify the bank to see if they can block future attempts at charging you erroneously.
To all Sirius XM customers block all future payments from XM radio. through your bank. cover all your bases,
those guys have a hell of a racketeering going on.
I will never use their services again.
But in my case, they have turned my account over to a collection agency, even after explaining to them that I had not authorized Sirius to continue service past my contract deadline.
I am so tired I tried to keep my Sirius XM account because I don’t have a CD player in my car my truck but it’s hard to do and they keep charging me an overcharged you taking charges off my credit card and I don’t even know nothing about it well this situation has put me into a dilemma I recently lost my lights because the SiriusXM overcharged and then on the price in the process of losing my lights I I will now be evicted I need help it isn’t right I’ve told them time and time again to take my credit card off of my account that I will call in monthly but they keep on charging the same credit card number and it isn’t right I need help because I pay my other bills with the same card in on a fix income .It happen Friday I caught it Friday because I was trying to pay my light bill I stay in a Government apartment youlose your lights you lose your apartment it wasn’t right in my payment want even do not until the 25th.help help what can I do with someone please help me