Sirius Satellite Radio

I have had a Sirius radio in my car for over two years and love it! It is awesome when I have to make a long road trip or am in the car for long periods of time. This is why, this year, I chose to just pay for the full year in advance instead of paying monthly as I had been doing.

On November 21, 2005 I called into Sirius and spoke with a representative who barely spoke english. I told him to bill my card on file for the full year of service. He took my information, changed my address and email address, etc. The call took almost 45 minutes but I was happy when it was done.

As customary for my wife and I, I checked my account 7 days later to verify all charges and deposits. We noticed that Sirius had indeed withdrawn the $148 for the full year subscription.

On December 21 while driving, my service cut off and the "CALL SIRIUS FOR SUBCRIPTION" message began to scroll on my radio. Confused, I called them. After waiting on hold for 15 minutes on my cell phone, a representative answered. She checked my account, said she saw the payment and turned my radio back on. I was happy.

On January 23, the radio went out again; same message. I called in from my office and the whole thing happened all over again.

In February, the same thing happened. Except this time, when I called in they told me that they didn't see my payment on my account. They told me to fax the statement into them showing that I had paid. I tried to explain to them that the November statement had been shredded three months ago and I would have to request a copy from the bank. They told me "okay, request the copy and fax it to us. We will turn your radio on in the mean time." As soon as the statement came in from my bank I sent it off to Sirius. No response.

March - Radio goes off. I call in. Get the run around. They tell me that they didn't get the fax, to resend the statement. I explained that I shredded the statement two days after the fax was verified received. They said they needed me to resend it to reactivate the radio. I asked for a supervisor who turned my radio back on but said they would need another fax. I went through the whole process again, this time sending the fax to the number twice to be sure.

April - Final straw. The radio goes out again. I call in, mad as hell. I skip the first person and ask to go straight to a supervisor. The supervisor spends almost an hour off and on with me on hold looking up my information. She comes back and says that she sees my payment made in November but I still owed $148. Here is how the conversation went.

Me: Oh, great, you see the payment then?

Sup: Yes. On November 21 you paid $148 for a year of service.

Me: Awesome. So is my radio going to be turned back on and stay on?

Sup: No...I'm sorry. It shows here that you owe $148

Me: You said that you see I paid $148 in November for a full year of service...how do I owe $148 now in April?

Sup: Hmm. I dunno. But we can't turn your radio on until we receive the $148. Is there a problem with your credit card?

Me: No, I've sent you the fax THREE TIMES!

Sup: Oh, we don't show a fax being sent from you.

Me: So how do I get my radio turned back on since both your credit card machine and your fax machine don't work anymore.

Sup: Just pay the $148 you owe and we'll turn your radio back on.

This conversation went on for 15 minutes after this with me trying to explain the situation and them (her and another supervisor) trying to explain to me how they see my full year's payment but could not credit me for the full year.

I am giving up. I'll just go back to regular commercial radio. More commercials, less frustration.

J