A Sirius Secret

Want to know a little secret about how not to pay full price for Sirius Radio? It’s true. Never never never pay full price for Sirius Radio ~ at least, it’s worked for me each time.

Here’s the scoop …

When we purchased our 2012 Ford Escape, it came with 6 months of free Sirius Radio (radio channels that you normally wouldn’t get).

When we first received a renewal notice, it had a special rate on it and we renewed. No problem. But the next time we went to renew, the renewal amount was higher. The interesting thing about the renewal though is that it costs MORE to renew at the yearly rate than it does at the 5 month rate. Really. It’s true. I find this bizarre but, hey, it is what it is.

Each time I have called to renew, I speak with a Customer Service Representative who tells me that there are NO special rates available and that I will have to pay the current rate of $12.99 per month. The current 5 month rate is $24.99 which is only $4.99 per month.

When I tell the CSR that I would like to cancel they usually tell me to call back the day before my contract expires. I normally call 4-7 days prior to expiration. I tell the CSR, “No, I want you to cancel it on the last day of the contract. Why should I have to call back?”

They then tell me “I can’t do that but will transfer you to someone who can.” That person is called a Deactivation Specialist. They are in charge of “saving the sale.”

When I tell the Deactivation Specialist that I want to cancel effective the last day of the contract, I’m asked “Are you willing to keep the contract under your current rate?” When I say yes, they say “I can do that for you.”  Uh, what? It’s true!  It has happened every time for me.

So, the Deactivation Specialist quotes me the “new,” uh, same, rate, confirms I’m okay with it, gives me my new 5 month expiration date “at which time your contract will renew automatically at the higher rate unless you call” they explain.

Once confirmed, I say to the Deactivation Specialist, “can you tell me why the first representative couldn’t give me this rate?” The response? “They are only Customer Service Representatives and can’t offer you the special rate.”

What a horrible way to do business. Perhaps there are enough people who forget to note their calendar to call to cancel and “negotiate” their rate, but it’s really pathetic and, at least in my opinion, isn’t saving the company money if we have to call back every 5 months and talk to two representatives.

Are there really that many people out there who pay the higher rates for Sirius Radio?

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-0883826085904242