Sirius Customer Service

foschus

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
May 15, 2004
21
0
Eagan, MN
Can someone give me an email address to someone that can help me resolve a sirius customer service issue.

I apologize in advance for the long post, but I'm still steaming..

I've been a Sirius customer for 3+ years and I'm maxed out with 4 receivers on my account. 3 weeks ago my wife got a new car, so I bought her a new Starmate 4 from Crutchfield to replace the Sportster receiver she had in her old car. I installed the new radio and called Sirius to swap out the subscription from the old receiver to the new one....then later that day I was driving my truck and the sirius receiver connected through my Kenwood headunit stopped playing and kept scrolling a message to call Sirius to subscribe. I thought it was too much of a coincidence that my radio went out the same day I swapped out another receiver, so I called Sirius tech support. All they could do was resend the activation signal, which did nothing.

I suffered through the week listening to terrestrial radio and on Saturday I pulled apart my truck to trouble shoot the install and make sure everything was still connected properly. I even hooked up a different antenna and DIN cable, but it still didn't work. As a last resort, I called Sirius tech support, again, to have them double check that they didn't mess up the original receiver swap. They ensured me they didn't and tried resending the activation signal again. By the end of the call I was convinced either my receiver or my head unit had gone bad, both were almost 4 years old. The Sirius tech support guy came to the same conclusion and suggested I buy a new radio.

It took me awhile to decide whether or not to buy a replacement car only kenwood receiver or to buy a new plug and play. I liked controlling my radio through the head unit, but I wasn't sure which component was the problem, so I decided to buy a plug and play. I spent a couple weeks trying to find a good deal on Ebay and I finally got a brand new, still in the box, sportster 4 for $84 including shipping. My sportster 4 came yesterday and I called Sirius to swap out my broken Kenwood for the new one. Later that day my wife called and said her new Starmate 4 just went dead.

Too much of a coincidence, again, right? I called tech support immediately and explained everything to him. He agreed something seemed strange, so he proceeded to go through each of the 4 radios on my account and we were swapping back and forth and resending activation signals. He was finally able to determine that the wrong receivers had been switched out, not once, but twice. An error that was 100% their fault which caused me to go out and spend $84 on a new receiver because I thought my old one was broken. I told the tech support guy I wanted Sirius to give me a credit on my account. He said he could only give me a refund if I bought the radio through them and it was under warranty. He then asked if I could take the radio back and I explained that I bought it on Ebay and this wasn't possible. I asked to speak to a supervisor because I understood that this CSR didn't have the authority to give me a credit. I thought I had a pretty rock solid case, but the CSR floor supervisor was extremely rude and unprofessional from the first point. I wasn't screaming or acting unreasonable, I was just trying to explain my case. He said that I didn't buy it from them so all he could give me was $25.90 (2 months service credit) and if I had bought it from a legitimate source I could return it directly to them. Last time I checked Ebay processed billions of dollars in sales, which I think anyone would consider a legitimate source. I asked to speak to someone higher than him, but he said he was the most senior person at that site, so I asked to be transferred to a more senior person at another site. He said he couldn't do that, but suggested I hang up and try calling again and maybe I'd get connected to one of the other sites...Unacceptable I told him.

He said the radio wasn't under warranty so there was nothing he could do. I argued it wasn't a warranty situation, but a customer service situation. He explained they had procedures and this wasn't in their procedure, so he couldn't do it. I told him he could do anything he just wouldn't do it and that I'm sure it's also not in their procedures to disconnect the wrong receiver twice and fail to solve the problem on two separate calls.

He wasn't budging and I was burning cell phone minutes, so I hung up. I apologize again for the long post, but I'm still steaming. I've brought a lot of business to Sirius over the years through word of mouth and actually buying radios for family members and if I wasn't so addicted, I'd cancel my service right now.

Any suggestions?
 
Take the credit they offered. If the situation comes up again, stay on the line with them untill all is right. If it takes them too long, they get questioned by thier bosses as to why it took so long. They can't deny a screw up on thier part because the calls are recorded. It sucks that your out the money, but I don't think you'll get it all back. I had a simular situation when I had to replace a defective reciever. They shut off my wifes instead of my old one. It took a whlie to make it right. I bitched a complained, and got the same as they have offered you.
 
Well good luck. I wish you the best. My situation didn't cost me any more money like yours did, so I understand your drive. Let us know how it turns out.
 
I would try what MikeW says above, but did you know that dogstar had that radio for $89.95 before you bought off of ebay? I always say try not to buy anything off of a non-authorized reseller or separate end user (ebay is both) unless you absolutely MUST or don't mind a bit of risk; which is exactly where you are now. I too would take the credits they have offered or at least call back and try to get it to maybe $50 worth of credit. Anything else IMHO is pushing it.
 
I had Sirius.......but dumped them over a overcharge issue they wouldn't fix.

That surprises me. I had an overcharge issue last year (charged me the full $12.95 for my second radio instead of just $6.99) and they not only corrected it promptly, but they gave me an additional one month additional credit for my first radio for my inconvenience. I guess it depends on what agent you get when you call.
 
Shocking indeed. People take so over dramatic and drastic measures for such simple, easy to correct issues. I guess everyone is perfect?
 
The old pen and paper may be the way to go. Snail mail has worked for me and a few friends on issues that could not be resolved on the phone or through email. Pay the $1 for a return registered reciept from the post office so you know they received your letter. Also check out clarkhoward.com (I think that is the adress), they have voluteers that try to help people out with these things. Its a valuable site, again let us know how it pans out.
 

Cbs

Need Help PLS Sirius Audio in Car

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