What's On Your Mind? Sirius XM, Cut-Rite Landscaping, Pinnacle Security

If you subscribe to Sirius or XM satellite radio, you'd better like it because it is apparently very hard to get rid of.

“I am unable to cancel service,” Steve, of Missoula, Mont., told ConsumerAffairs.com. “I have been a customer of SirusXM for several years, and had more than one radio. However, all but one of my radios broke, and even though the term of my contract had been met, and even though I have repeatably called and and canceled my subscription, my credit card continues to be charged.”

Steve says there is no way to cancel online, and when he calls, he's put on hold for long periods of time.

“I finally get to talk to a person who says they will cancel my subscription, but then I get put on hold again when they have to 'confirm' with a supervisor,” Steve said. “This second hold period goes forever and they never come back. I have been on hold for more than an hour and then the phone gets disconnected.”

We've gotten similar complaints about SiriusXM, as well as some other subscription services that appear to do everything in their power to prevent customers from canceling their service. In fairness, however, one of our associates recently called SiriusXM to cancel service in a car he had unloaded and did so with no difficulty.   

Still waiting

Many consumers find themselves out several thousand dollars with no work done when they hastily hire a contractor. John, of Holbrook, N.Y., said he paid Joe, of Cut-Rite Landscaping a $2,000 deposit, fully expecting work to begin immediately.

“It has been three months and still no work has been completed,” John said. “I have been trying to reason with him and on several occasions asked him point blank if I can have my money back to hire someone else to do the work. He first says no problem and then says he will be here on this date and then it all starts all over again. He never shows.”

Unfortunately, this happens more than it should in the home improvement industry. Consumers should check references and insist on a written contract that specifies when the work will be started and completed. Up-front payments are to be avoided if possible, since it's very hard to get the money back if the deal goes sour.

Don't be stampeded

It was Saturday afternoon and there was a knock at the door of Bobbie, of Great Bend, Kan. It was a salesman for Pinnacle Security.

“He used high pressure sales tactics to pressure me into a four year contract,” Bobbie told ConsumerAffairs.com. “He had me sign a contract, which he pointed out that if I decided not to keep the system, I could cancel within three days for a refund. I was not given any time to review the contract, but he did point that part out.”

Needless to say, after Bobbie and her husband had time to think it over, they called to cancel within the alloted time frame. By then a $100 activation fee and $50 fee for the first month had been withdrawn from her account.

“Two weeks later, I received the $50 refund, but not the $100,” Bobbie said. “I called to inquire about it and they explained to me that the activation fee was non-refundable and that there was nothing they could do for me because it was listed in the contract. I explained to them that was not how I was told and that I couldn't have had time to read the contract until it was already installed, but they still refused.”

The lesson here, of course, is to never sign a contract without reading it first. An expensive lesson, as it turns out.