SiriusXM’s Interrogation Style ‘Cancel Process’ Declared Illegal by New York Justice Department...

“Cancel? It’d be alot cooler if you didn’t…” - SiriusXM

Canceling SiriusXM is about as fun as getting stuck in rush-hour traffic while listening to ads on a “commercial-free” radio station. But thanks to a New York judge, the satellite radio giant’s days of making subscribers jump through hoops to cancel are officially numbered.

(Source: Giphy) 

Last Thursday, Justice Lyle Frank of the New York Supreme Court ruled that SiriusXM’s “long and burdensome” cancellation process violates federal law. Specifically, it breaks the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA)—a law that requires companies to make canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up. Translation: Sirius XM’s playbook of forcing customers to play verbal ping-pong with retention agents while dodging five desperate sales pitches doesn’t qualify.

(Source: The Verge) 

The ruling follows a lawsuit filed nearly a year ago by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused SiriusXM of deliberately wasting customers’ time. According to her investigation, subscribers trying to cancel by phone had to endure an average of 11.5 long and dreadful minutes of live-agent “pitching” (read: hostage negotiations). Canceling online? Even worse—30 minutes of clicking through a labyrinth of options.

The lawsuit argued that while SiriusXM could let customers cancel with the same ease as signing up (think: a single button click), they instead chose to make the process tedious and frustrating. Why? To squeeze every last penny out of people too annoyed to deal with it LOL.

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Judge Frank agreed. In his ruling, he called out SiriusXM for making cancellation “clearly not as easy” as signing up. He cited the “inevitable wait times” and the exhausting barrage of retention offers, which, let’s be honest, sound about as appealing as a timeshare pitch on a Monday morning.

Naturally, SiriusXM wasn’t thrilled about the ruling. In a statement, spokesperson Maggie Mitchell downplayed the decision, claiming the court had dismissed most of the charges. “The Court found some technical violations of a federal statute,” she said, adding that SiriusXM’s policies were “neither misleading nor deceptive.” Translation: Sure, we wasted your time, but at least we didn’t lie about it.

(Source: PYMTS) 

So naturally, as we can all agree, not only is this ruling a major win for New Yorkers—it’s a a massive win and preview of what’s to come nationwide. Starting January 14, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission’s new “click-to-cancel” rule will go into effect. The rule will force subscription services to give customers an easy, one-click way to cancel, no excuses. That means fewer phone calls, less haggling, and no more “let me transfer you to my manager” nonsense. Now sure, SiriusXM says it will comply with the FTC’s rule when the time comes, but let’s just say their track record isn’t exactly worth its weight in gold. 

(Source: Giphy) 

But still, if you’ve ever tried to cancel a service only to feel like you were being interrogated by the FBI, this ruling is a big deal. It sends a message to companies: stop wasting people’s time and respect their right to say no, thanks. In fact, as AG Letitia James put it, this decision “reaffirms the right of consumers to fair and transparent business practices.” And while SiriusXM may still appeal, the writing is on the wall. The days of “canceling by frustration” are numbered, and honestly? It’s about damn time.

Now if we could just get this kind of ruling for gym memberships, streaming services, and, oh, I don’t know, literally everything else that makes you call a human to cancel, that’d be greeaaat. In the meantime, keep an eye on SiriusXM’s stock as share’s might get a taste of their own medicine throughout the week. As always, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time…

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Stocks.News holds positions in SiriusXM holdings as mentioned in the article.