Monday, May 18, 2009

XM Radio - STOP CALLING ME!

Seriously are you freaking kidding me? stop calling me XM Radio!!!!! If I want your service I will subscribe, if I don't - I won't. Calling me every day for weeks and weeks on end will not make me subscribe. In fact, by calling me this frequently you are actually making me HATE you and not want your service! I feel harassed!

I am on the do not call registry and don't expect telemarketer calls to begin with. But here's the dilemma: I bought a car 3 months ago and with it came a free trial of XM Radio. I didn't technically 'subscribe', or give them any information, or "opt-in" to getting calls from them. Perhaps my dealer supplied them with my phone number and home address (they are also sending me stuff in the mail) which I'm guessing they needed to turn the service on, but I did not provide that directly to them.

Now my trial is about to expire and they have been calling me 1-3 times a day at all hours of the day and night for about 7 weeks (maybe longer). Enough already! I want to file a complaint with the Do Not Call Registry, but apparently they need to violate the following things to have a valid complaint:


The telemarketer calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM; OR

The telemarketer leaves a message, but fails to leave a phone number that you can call to sign up for their company specific do-not-call list; OR

You receive a telemarketing call from a company that you have previously requested not call you; OR

The telemarketing firm fails to identify itself; OR

You receive a pre-recorded commercial message from someone with whom you do not have an established business relationship and to whom you have not given permission to call you.


Conveniently they call exactly within the "legal" hours. But seriously 8PM is still pretty late to be calling my house unless I know you!

They never leave a message, and according to their website I'm not ALLOWED to opt-out of phone calls. WTF??!!!! Technically I NEVER subscribed - it was a free trial that came with the car. It's not like I can shut that off.

XM's phone policy:

Specifically, by registering on the Site, or by subscribing to the SIRIUS XM Service and providing your telephone number, you agree that this action constitutes a purchase, inquiry and/or application for purposes of telemarketing laws. Regardless of the fact that your telephone and/or cell number may be listed with the Federal Do-Not-Call Registry, or your local State Do-Not-Call list, you expressly consent to receive future information about products and services from us, and in, that regard, you hereby consent to our contacting you pursuant to the business relationship established using the information you provided to us. This means we may contact you, in person or by recorded message, by e-mail, phone and/or cell number (including use of automated dialing equipment), text (SMS) message, or any other means of communication that your wireless or other telecommunications device may be capable of receiving (e.g. video etc.), except as may be prohibited by law. (Please note that as of September 1, 2009, we will not contact you by the use of a prerecorded telephone message unless we have your prior express consent of a higher quality standard, as required by Federal law.)


I have yet to answer the phone because according to posts I've read online they are extremely aggressive with trying to get people to sign up, won't let you opt-out etc. I have enough stress, arguments, and irritation in my life - I'm not picking up the phone to argue with them too.

Here's a quick log of phone calls from my iphone history for the last WEEK (my phone only stores 1 week of call history):

Tuesday, May 12th: 9:22 am
Tuesday, May 12th: 2:29 pm
Tuesday, May 12th: 8:02 pm

Wednesday, May 13th: 1:51 pm
Wednesday, May 13th: 8:38 pm

Thursday, May 14th: 1:27 pm
Thursday, May 14th: 7:08 pm

Friday, May 15th: 1:10 pm

Saturday, May 16th: 11:32 am

Sunday, May 17th 3:25 pm

Monday, May 18th: 1:40 pm
Monday, May 18th: 6:49pm

Tuesday, May 19th: 6:43pm

Wednesday, May 20th: 2:53pm
Wednesday, May 20th: 8:38pm



Are you kidding me? How is this not harassment? Who the f**k opts-into this? Where are my rights? I mean it's one thing to call a person that uses your service, it's quite another to call them over and over and over for weeks.

And while I am bitching about telemarketing calls, I should also mention I used Stanley Steemer once in my life a year ago to clean a rug when I moved out of my apartment.

I was unhappy with the service because:

A: they under-quoted me by $175 - for a 1 BR apt (2 rooms), but when they got to the apt they "claimed" each section was a "room" so I got charged for a 4 room apt. Trust me this place was about 600 sq ft it was NOT 4 rooms! The previous tenant had used a different cleaner (and provided me their receipt when I moved in - in case I wanted to use them when I moved out), but I went with Stanley because they quoted me $50 less than the other cleaners had charged the previous tenant. What a waste - instead of saving $50, I ended up spending $125 more! ARGH

B: I scheduled them for 9am and they showed up at 3:30 pm. That would be 6.5 hours late while and I was left sitting there waiting in an empty apartment!!!

C: When I called several times trying to find out where they were/when they were coming and to complain about my 6.5 hour wait they acted like it was not a problem why was I annoyed, they were "busy" that day, and assured me they were "on the way". They were "on the way" at 10:30 am when I called the first time. Where were they driving from, Maryland?

D: Had that not been the last day I had my apt & was required to clean the rugs I would have refused them entry and called another service.


Now they also call me almost daily probably trying to get me to use their service again. I didn't think using their service once to clean a rug now allowed them to call me weekly for months? Secondly, I have all hardwood floors in my house. I don't have any rugs for them to freaking clean. And thirdly, I will never, ever, ever use their "service" again.

I should also mention that neither company has actually left a voice mail - I found out who was behind the numbers by researching online and found hundreds of complaints from other people about these exact phone numbers. A quick google search brought up 111 results for XM, and 241 for Stanley - clearly people are NOT happy and are being harassed by these companies for their business. 800Notes turns out to be a pretty helpful site.

XM Radio: 877 224-8720
Stanely Steemer: 888 283-9087

My next step will be to see if I can get AT&T to block those numbers for me because I am sick of getting these calls every day several times a day.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh. My. God.

My Mother is dealing with this exact thing with XM. She bought a new car a few months ago and the "free trial" ran out. Someone has been calling her several times a day ever since.

Like with your experience, they do not leave a message. They simply say, "May I speak with ___?" two or three times then hang up. I had to Google for her to find out who it was.

She got a call tonight that apparently used some kind of call-masking to make it look like a local call. She answered (thinking it may be a neighbor or something) - it was a recording from XM.

For Pete's Sake! If she had been happy with the service, she would have renewed when the trial expired!!

What is wrong with these people??

Unknown said...

I am dealing with the same exact f*cking thing with Sirius right now, at LEAST 2 to 3 calls per day despite me insisting that I do NOT want to sign up with them and asking them to stop calling me!!! This is borderline harassment, but at least they call from the same number so I'm able to ignore the calls!

New Mark Communications said...

This is my experience exactly! We bought a Toyota in October, and it came with a trial subscription to XM. When we didn't renew these endless phone calls began It is miserable. I wrote a blog post about it too at momtestedandapproved.com. There are so many complaints about this on the internet, and XM doesn't seem to care at all. I've just emailed Toyota to make them aware that XM is ABUSING their access to Toyota's customers. If XM won't listen to us, their victims, perhaps we can get the car dealers to stop offering the free subscriptions. Or we can organize a "swamp XM Radio with calls and emails" day. Somehow they have got to get the message.

Unknown said...

Yep, same story, different day. I am now taking a new tact (after my 3rd call of the day...it's 9:10am), I am calling the dealership first, hourly if need be until THEY get XM to stop. No idea if it'll work, but I'll feel better. I will call Honda too. XM said I'm just a number on their auto-dialer, which I think are illegal in CA...maybe not, I'd like to know.

DJDiva said...

they really are brutal! they just keep calling and calling. The other people that are the worst is Stanley Steemer. I used them once 3 years ago. I was unhappy with my service & told them so (the went over their quote by 3x). They call me at least monthly for the last 3 years and counting to see if I want my carpets cleaned.

CALROB Realty Co. said...

Not yet dealing with either one of these particular companies, but thank you for the warning! What I started doing with these types of calls (e.g. onlinebusinesslisting.com that continues to call me everyday to "update" my information) is I tell them to hold on (or "hold on, I'll transfer you to her"), and then put the phone down and continue to do whatever it was I was doing and if they're still there after a few minutes, I hang up the phone. If they call on my cell, I put them on hold and in a minute hit the "end call" button on my display. With the case of XM and Sirius, my legal mind would say to write them a clear and consise letter that I have told them several times over several calls that I am not interested in their service, that they are harassing me, and if after their receipt of this letter (which I'd send certified mail to the President of the company at the corporate headquarters and copy their general counsel - these names are probably public somewhere - address to Legal Department) they continue to call me, I will file a complaint with my local courts, state court, state's attorney general, and the FCC. Trust me, I work for a fortune 100 company in the executive offices and no huge company wants to have to send a $300/hour attorney to small town PA to defend a local law suit to keep from having a judgment against them. Other tactic I've learned is the whistle in the ear! And then hang up! LOL!

Dood said...

Count me as another harassed and pissed-off customer! I just got a new car and swapped service from the old one to the new one. The very next day, I got FOUR calls from XM, and I have been getting at least one call every day since. Does anyone know how to stop this insanity?

Unknown said...

Just like the rest of you i HATE XM Radio!!! For the last 2 and a half yrs i have worked for a call center in Iowa where these calls come from.(currently unemplyed as the result of "violating company policies" ha what a joke) I was probably the jerk-off that called most of you. The worst part of this company is thier incredibly shoddy buisness practices. The center i worked at punished us if we did not badger you and rebuttal you untill you hang up, The highlight of my day is some moron actually buying the crap i sell and the worst part is, i know exactly how they will be screwed when thier 3 month promo runs out. Here is the best part, they believe that people who can buy new cars have money so of course they can afford the service, so its my job to make you buy it. Now why would you want to work at a place like this?? Its pretty simple there are no jobs at all in this area just like most others and they will hire anybody plus if you are there 12 hours a day you can make enough money to pay your bills, put food in my 2 yr olds stomach, keep my crappy apartment and maybe, maybe i can buy a pack of cigarettes cause thats all i got left..now i understand your point of view as like i said earlier i hate xm radio please have a heart for the broke ass economy beaten small town iowans that are just tryin to hold a job.

Jeff Cutler said...

OUTstanding. Love the XM persistence. You should go into the future and meet up with folks over lunch in Boston and tell your story.

Oh, and get the crab sandwich!

Unknown said...

I am an employ of said satellite radio company, and make outgoing sales calls on their behalf. Not answering is the worst thing you can do to stop the calls. Every time you do not answer you get fed right back into the auto-dialer to be called. And as for the legality of the dialers, they're not located in CA. Now for anybody out there in the same situation as this blogger, if you want the calls to stop just pick up the phone and ask to be put on the do not call list (answering machine messages DO NOT work for this). Now after saying "Add me to your do not call list" your first instinct may be to hang up the phone. Do not do this. Give the agent time to explain to you that it may take 7-10 days for that to get fully processed. If you follow your initial instinct and hang up, then you will not be added. Also if you are civil to the agent then they are more likely to put you on said do not call list, than if you are rude the entire time. They may be supposed to add you when you ask, but a lot of agents will not if you're rude about it, regardless of what they're supposed to do (I still add them though, just so i don't have to talk to them again). If after 10 days you are still being called, politely ask to speak to a supervisor and he/she will add you to the list, guaranteed. You must also realize, it is our job to sale you service (A good service I might add). Being rude to the agent accomplishes nothing in your favor.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Oh and by the way, laying the phone down accomplishes nothing either as we just sit there doing whatever WE were doing before we called you. Which is much better than calling someone else. We can also turn the volume down on the headset, so playing anything over the phone is useless as well. Oh and devilboy, you're center PUNISHES agents for not rebuttaling enough, yet still consistently makes half of the sales as mine?

Tara said...

Exactly what I experienced with XM but I can do you one better. I refused to subscribe and asked them to put me on a do not call list, they continues to call. I had their number blocked through my phone company so that I wouldn't have to deal with them again. So what did they do? They started soliciting me at work. I don't know who I am more angry with, the company I bought my car from because they obviously had to be the ones to put my work number out there or XM for actually calling me at my place of employment to try and sell me a service which I have already refused.

DJDiva said...

That is insane! I can't believe they thought it was ok to call you at work after you asked to be removed from their calling list!

Unknown said...

I cannot believe they are getting away with this. I am being harassed by phone calls everyday too. I did answer once and told them my number was on the do not call list. It has made no difference. How do you stop them? Are they complete idiots to think this kind of PR is going to work for them?!!

Pinky said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.