Sirius XM Radio is in trouble over alleged ‘bait-and-switch’ rates that don’t actually exist.
A state court complaint filed by Jeffrey Parrella claims that Sirius XM offered three years of service for $99. The mailing may have been too good to be true. A customer service representative who took Parella’s call said she could only provide one year for $60.
That was the wrong answer: the freshly-filed lawsuit says Sirius XM violated state laws against consumer fraud.
In the complaint, Parrella alleges he made multiple unsuccessful attempts to redeem the offer received in the mail. He couldn’t sign up on Sirius XM’s website at the advertised rate, nor could he seal the deal on the phone.
Parrella received the offer in the mail in December of 2017 after deactivating his account. The proposal included a letter signed by Sirius CEO James E. Meyer. The ad in question touted Sirius’ “biggest, best offer EVER†with the three year, $99 bargain. The wording on the Sirius ad described the offer as 82% off the standard rate of $15.99/month.
Parrella is seeking to represent a class of New Jersey consumers who may have been offered a similar package. The offer was sent to at least 169,000 people according to Sirius VP of Marketing Operations James Dunn.
Parrella says the customer service representative he contacted told him the system would not allow the offer. The only offer available to him was the one-year, $60 deal. Parrella told the customer service rep he would only accept the offer of the advertised terms. However, Sirius XM charged his credit card for the one-year offer he was quoted.
Representatives for both parties have been contacted, but neither has returned a request for comment. Parrella is represented by Bharati O. Sharma of the Wolf Law Firm. Michael James Gesualdo of Robinson Miller represents Sirius XM.
Source: Digital Music News
