If you were signing up for a plan called the “Sirius Everything Plan,” don’t you think that it would include…well, everything? At least, all of the programming that new car owners get to sample with their trial subscription. When Chris renewed his SiriusXM subscription for his new car, nothing on the paperwork led him to believe that he wasn’t selecting a different subscription from what he already had. Yet he did. Because at Sirius, “everything” isn’t everything.

Chris wrote to us on Monday, complaining about the runaround he received after he dutifully answered the letter the SiriusXM sent to him.

…[T]he letter states multiple times that I currently receive both Satellite Radio and Traffic services. It also states that, to continue service, I need to return the reply card and sign up for $12.95, or less for the annual plan. I submitted the reply card with $157.80 (the annual plan knocks one month’s charge off, but there are fees and taxes).

Recently I discovered my Traffic subscription was NOT renewed. When I called I was repeatedly told that I had “selected” the “Sirius Select Plan” and that didn’t include traffic. I didn’t select anything! I just returned the card they gave me, with the amount they asked for! After a long runaround (and being hung up on twice), I finally submitted and agreed to pay the difference, which worked out to about $40 for the year. Then I was told that they “can’t do that,” but they can cancel my current subscription and start a new one. Of course, the free month will be applied to the one that went by during all this, and I’ll have to pay all the taxes and fees a second time, just 2 months after I paid these “annual” fees. The CSR thought she could get the fees erased, but her supervisor wouldn’t let her. Oh, and if I want to cancel, they’re going to charge me $75, which is in the terms of the letter, on the back (I didn’t include a copy of the back, but trust me, there’s NO mention of an additional charge for traffic service.)

I fired off an EECB, but I’m not holding my breath. Problem is, I LOVE the radio and the traffic services…I just hate the sneaky way these people do business!

A day later, Chris sent us an update. His executive e-mail carpet bomb was successful, and he received six free months of the service he thought he had already paid for.

The EECB worked,

I heard back from [an executive.] He reminded me that 2 months ago, the service I signed up for was “Sirius Everything”. Yes, it had “everything” in the name, and that did NOT include traffic! The only mention of the traffic service was this line:

“Renew The Best of XM or Sirius Traffic Services separately by calling 866 579 7234”

My reading comprehension skills are excellent. If one sentence tells me I can sign up for “Sirius Everything” using this form, or if I want Music or Traffic separately, to call this number, I think it is a reasonable interpretation to believe that I’m signing up for both services!

According to [the executive], they’ve reworded the offer. And, he did offer 6 months free on the traffic service. So, I guess I’ll give them another year.

Hurray? It sounds like Chris wasn’t the only one with this problem, so if they have changed the letter to reflect reality, that’s a consumer victory in the end.

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