What's On Your Mind? SiriusXM, Ford, Winners International Sweepstakes

There seems to be some confusion about Sirius XM's “lifetime” subscription. It's not your lifetime that they're talking about.

“I have a lifetime subscription and was told I can transfer my service to a new radio when needed for no charge,” Mitch of North Richland Hills, Tex., said.

That was when Mitch signed up for the service. When it was time to switch to a new radio, he was told it would cost $75.

“After complaining and threatening legal action they made the change for no charge, but that aggravation should never have been necessary,” Mitch said.

Just to clarify, when Sirius XM says “lifetime,” they are referring to the lifetime of the receiver you are using.

No spitting, please

There are still Ford trucks out there that are blowing spark plugs. For those who aren't familiar, a few years ago certain Ford engines had a nasty habit of occasionally shooting a spark plug out of the engine. JR, from Malabar, Fla.,says it just happened to him.

“I blew the cylinder seven spark plug and come to find out Ford Motor Co. knows there is a problem and chooses not to issue a recall and repair the problem,” JR told ConsumerAffairs.com.

It would have been helpful if JR had mentioned the year his truck was made. The problem appears to have been fixed in newer models so we are seeing fewer and fewer complaints. If you drive an older model Ford truck, you might want to read our 2006 report on this issue.

Not falling for it

Suzanne of Chittenago, N.Y., wasn't fooled when she received a call from a man identifying himself as “Mr. Dan” asking if she had received a packet from Publishers Clearing House.

“So, he told me he would email my winnings of $1.5 million and a new Mercedes and I had to confirm it,” Suzanne said. “My computer flashed a notification that required a confirmation but I deleted it, never happened before, I thought it was creepy and knew it was a scam. So, Mr. Dan called back to see if I received an email and I told him I wasn't interested, and he was quite persistent. Prior to hanging up on him, I told him I knew this was a scam, he beat me to it and hung up on me! I googled his company, Winners International Sweepstakes, and found ConsumerAffairs.com, and wanted to share my experience. Desperate times call for desperate measures."Winners" beware, this is a losing proposition.”

It's interesting that Suzanne said the scammer referred to Publishers Clearing House in an obvious bid to establish credibility. Publishers Clearing House has nothing to do with these kinds of schemes. An official of the company has told us consumers should understand they have not won anything from Publishers Clearing House unless the prize van shows up at their door.