HawthorneVillager.com

SiriusXm has recently started charging $4.00 a month for online (Internet) listening as of Feb. 1, 2013. This was always a free service with your subscription. Considering the fact that there are plenty of free online listening alternatives, I decided to give them a call. My account expires in December. Here is how the call went;

18668757474 SiriusXm Canada

Me. Hi...could you put me through to your cancellation department
Siri. Could I get some info from you first (where do you live - can I send you another radio), How can I help you?
Me. I'd like to cancel my subscription
Siri. May I ask why?
Me. Because you are charging me another 4 bucks a month x 12. Don't I pay you enough already?
Siri. We will give you free online until Dec.
Me. Ok..thanks

That easy...hope this helps for people who have it. (I will not renew if they charge me in Dec.) I love the service but wouldn't renew with that added expense. Let me know if you try this...I hope (I'm sure it will work for you).

_________________
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.

How long were you on hold for? I'm currently at 106 minutes.

I call these guys annually -- I've had a US account since 2006 (Howard Stern fan since '94)

I actually have both of my cars (US-base VW on Sirius, Canadian-based Toyota on XM) because I think XM Canada still doesn't have Stern. I usually can get 100-150$/yr off by nicely asking. The guy was so funny when i called this time 'so you mean to say sir, if I don't give you a discount, you will quit the service --- yes -- ok, please hold'

Lol.. $125 bucks off. Last year it was free listening accounts and some discounts off the annual, this year its pay for the online, but get a bigger discount on the radios. Whatever, its less.

Is it just me? Or are all the reps Filipino??

Worked for me too... heres how mine went:

18668757474 SiriusXm Canada

Me. Hi. I want to cancel my sirius XM subscription
Siri. Could I get some info from you first (where do you live - can I send you another radio), How can I help you?
Me. I'd like to cancel my subscription
Siri. May I ask why?
Me. It's kind of a lot of money to pay for boring radio... and now I can't even listen to it without sitting in the car.
Siri. Oh you listen to the online streaming?
Me. Yes, this was our primary method of listening really...
Siri. Do you listen to a variety of stations?
Me. Well, I did.
Siri. The reason I ask is that we can offer you a discounted rate if you continue the service. $75 for the year, but we can also include the online streaming. It will be $96.83 including taxes.
Me. Uhm.. I dunno, it's still sounding like a r... well, ok lets do it.
Siri. You will get a renewal notice showing the full rate in a year, and the online service will be on there for $4/month as well.. but you can call back at that time to see if we can offer you another promotion.
Me. Sweet.
Siri. Ok, let me just confirm your billing information...

Also as an FYI never pay asking price
Even when they tell u they cant price match they always do

Sirius and XM radio is going to get murdered when internet data fees on cell phones come down. Internet radio has infinitely more variety. What are they thinking raising fees?

Right now it cost me @128kbps = 60MB per hour * $0.02 per MB = $1.20 per hour

10 hours $12

Ok, not so cheep but in 2 to 3 years it will be a quarter of that.

_________________
Jezu Ufam Tobie

Crux sacra sit mihi lux! Non draco sit mihi dux!

Streaming internet radio in your cell is a nice solution but not going to be practical for a long while.

I'd recommend you get a 7" touchscreen HDMI screen and a Raspberry Pi. Pull out your old stereo and stuff the screen in the empty spot.

Set up the RPi with XBMC. The RPi has an SD card, so you can be imaginative with your solutions here. But I would recommend on car start, the RPi's startup scripts sync something from your home computer (if at home) to get the latest podcasts/music/movies that you want in your car.

The big expense is the touchscreen and it's not really necessary. You'll also need a USB DAC or some sort of converter for the car's speakers, but that's pretty straight forward stuff.

You're better off buying a cheap tablet (http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_ ... _id=056315).

Plug it into your AUX...What you suggested is complicated and overkill for the average person.

I thought I was getting a deal, but obviously I have a lot to learn from reading these comments...

I tried the same line with Cogeco because of over usage Internet charges...they asked me, "Would you like to cancel it right now?"

Just called Standard Broadband an hour ago. Waiting for them to hook up Internet & phone too!

....

_________________
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.