State Lawsuit Against Sirius-XM Radio Settled — Misleading Practices Alleged

Washington is one of 44 states that joined in the class-action suit against the satellite radio provider.

WA AG Bob Ferguson's office said Friday the company will pay over $3.8 million dollars to customers,  stemming from charges they engaged in misleading billing and advertising practices.  According to the AG suit,  the issues included, but were not limited to:

• difficulty canceling contracts;
• cancellation requests that were not honored;
• misrepresentations that the consumer’s Sirius XM service would be canceled and not renewed;
• contracts that were automatically renewed without consumers’ notice or consent;
• unauthorized fees;
• higher, unanticipated rates after a low introductory rate

Consumers who can show they had a complaint with the service between July 28th of this year through December 4th can apply for restitution, according to the Attorney General's Office:

" Consumers have until May 3, 2015 to file a complaint to be considered for restitution.

To file a complaint, consumers should contact the Attorney General’s Office by visiting www.atg.wa.gov and clicking on the “Consumer Complaint” tab, or by calling 1-800-551-4636 to request a complaint form."

  Oregon, Idaho, and Montana were among the 44 states included, besides Washington.  The suite came about after numerous complaints from consumers over Sirius-XM business practices.