The latest in slimy saleshole tactics. Have you encountered any new sales trickery?

[control-z]

@Raza

Starting back around post 17 people complained about Sirius XM. I had bought from a dealer a used Corvette, and got the usual 3 month trial, and signed up for a year at a good price ($60/year, I think). At renewal time, I called to cancel, and the US-based salesman refused to cancel it! He insisted on “suspending” it for a few months, at which time it would automatically restart. I then politely but firmly demanded to talk to his supervisor, and he again refused! I had never experienced such insolence from any non-criminal enterprise in my life.

That’s pretty ballsy. What was the outcome?

[kayaker]

@Raza

Starting back around post 17 people complained about Sirius XM. I had bought from a dealer a used Corvette, and got the usual 3 month trial, and signed up for a year at a good price ($60/year, I think). At renewal time, I called to cancel, and the US-based salesman refused to cancel it! He insisted on “suspending” it for a few months, at which time it would automatically restart. I then politely but firmly demanded to talk to his supervisor, and he again refused! I had never experienced such insolence from any non-criminal enterprise in my life.

If you do a search for “Sirius XM Lawsuit” you’ll see that they’ve been sued many times over bait&switch, robocalls, and other consumer complaints. I entered into one of the class action suits and eventually received a check in the mail.

Definitely slimy saleshole tactics.

[Raza]

With no alternatives offered, I hung up; steamed for a day, reading lots of reports of other users who got the 30-minute run-around (though none who got the treatment I did). I called the next day, still got a run-around, but got it cancelled.

And I get lots of “we want you back” stuff in the mail, but…never again.

[Sicks_Ate]

No truckers on the board, I see.

(Some) trucking consultants are the absolute worst about this. If you apply for a DOT#, that information is public, including your business address and phone number. So as soon as the number is granted, a new trucking company starts getting absolutely flooded with unsolicited mail and phone calls. Some are ok and legit enough, but many of the companies have names that have things like “DOT” in them that make them sounds official if you don’t know what you’re looking at. And the letters/phone calls have scary wording like “You need to let us update your X, enroll you in X, give you forms for X, or you face a $97,000 fine and could lose your operating authority!!”

So lots of folks are pulled in by that and pay a company lots of money to do things they could do themselves for free, or sign up for services like drug testing that they aren’t required to have.

Another version of the tactic is the consultant will just send a letter out of the blue to a company that looks exactly like a bill. There’s minor differences to indicate it’s for future service, but some people go “Oh shit I better pay this!”

[Ann_Hedonia]

@kayaker

If you do a search for “Sirius XM Lawsuit” you’ll see that they’ve been sued many times over bait&switch, robocalls, and other consumer complaints. I entered into one of the class action suits and eventually received a check in the mail.

Definitely slimy saleshole tactics.

I don’t even TRY to be honest when cancelling an ongoing service ( provided I’m not under an ongoing contract, because that actually might not be legal ). My tactic has always worked.

Basically, I call and tell them that I need to cancel my service because I’m moving to Australia! I’m pretty excited about it and I’m really psyched and ready to tell the retention expert all about my new home in Australia …Kalgoorlie, Australia! What a cool name for a town, I can’t wait to live in Australia and be a Kalgoorliean or Kalgoorlieite , what do YOU think it is, Mr. Retention Expert?

Although it hasn’t happened yet, someday I may try to cancel a service that is actually available in Kalgoorlie, Australia. And I’m ready for that. Because I’m moving to Australia to live with my parents. And my parents are actual honest-to-God Luddites. For real, Ms Retention expert. Did you know that England exiled my ancestors to Australia because they were Luddites? I want to tell you all about the generational history that forbids from buying whatever you are selling!! I’m really impressed by your account retention skills and if I wasn’t moving to Australia to live with my Luddite family I’d buy three more subscriptions! It’s important to me that you know that! What, you don’t want to talk to me anymore.

Trust me, These guys aren’t going to try to keep me on the phone for 30 minutes.