I prepaid a 2year subscription to Sirius, with the term of service ending 1. I did not want to extend the service, so I attempted to cancel any further service. Sirius continued to try to bill me without success as the credit card on file had been cancelled by me to prevent their well known actions. Finally, I received (3/14) a notice from a bill collector (hired by Sirius) that I had a balance due to Sirius.
I called Sirius' Customer Service to no avail. Typical ploys such as continuous repeats of the same question - "what can i do for you?" without any action. Requests to speak to a manager were met with "sorry, my manager is in a long meeting and can't talk". This pattern of behavior is similar to many service companies who believe they can bully or scare most consumers into paying for something they don't want and did not authorize or request.
What can you do? File a report with the Federal trade Commission. The FTC won't take any direct action, but it helps to start building a record.
Second, contact your state Attorney General's office as they likely have had prior complaints. There are several states pursuing actiona against Sirius for deceptive billing practices, including the automatic renewal. Arizona, Connecticut, Tennessee, Vermont, Florida and the District of Columbia are pursuing action.
Third, contact a local TV station and see if they have a consumer protection reporter. A little publicity does wonders.
Lastly, contact your member of Congress and advocate for a change to federal law.
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