Brian said last year a Sirius XM representative assured him his subscription wouldn’t automatically renew, but he found out recently that his account did auto-renew and he owes for the past year. The company won’t refund him and simply points out that its terms and conditions revealed his account would auto-renew.

He writes:

I’m having a huge problem with Sirius XM. On January 1, 2010, I signed up for their 1 year of service for $77. I specifically told the agent on the phone that I did not want my service to renew automatically. He said no problem and that they would send an invoice. I specifically asked that if I didn’t want to renew, would I have to call in. He said no, all I’d have to is not send payment and they would automatically disconnect my service.

Fast forward to January 21, 2011. I get an email saying I have a past due balance of $156. Apparently the service renewed automatically after being told it wouldn’t. I called to cancel my service and told them I wasn’t going to pay the prorated $21 from January 1-21. They pointed me to their terms and conditions stating it would automatically renew. I explained that I was never shown this page since I ordered over the phone. She said I was in a contract with them…I asked her to supply my signature or phone conversation to the agreed upon terms…she couldn’t. They are still trying to get the $21 out of me. Buyer beware. Sirius XM will lie to you when signing up for service.

Dustin’s plight is a reminder that it pays to read the fine print, regardless of what customer service reps tell you to seal deals. It’s also a good idea to get extra promises in writing.

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