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A satellite radio subscriber has filed a putative class action lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio, claiming the company fails to honor “lifetime subscription” offers.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Sept. 12, plaintiff Paul Wright alleges Sirius XM led consumers to believe that its lifetime subscriptions were for the lifetime of the consumer and not the life of the receiver or automobile.
But when subscribers try to transfer the subscription from one receiver to another or from one car to another, the company said “lifetime” referred not to the lifetime of the purchasing consumer, but to the lifetime of the receiver or automobile, the lawsuit reads.
The complaint argues that when XM Satellite Radio Holding and Sirius Satellite Radio merged in July 2008, the combined entity “assumed and acquired all duties, obligations and liabilities of its predecessors.”
Wright says he bought a lifetime subscription from Sirius in Dec. 2006 for $400. No service agreement or other written agreement was provided at the time, he claims.
More importantly, he bought the subscription over the phone, and says that the salesperson didn’t qualify it in any way, leading him to assume that the subscription was for his lifetime.
“At the time of purchase of his lifetime subscription, no verbal or written notice was provided to Plaintiff that the lifetime subscription was subject to or conditioned upon a service agreement, other written agreement, or other terms to be presented at a later date,” the 17-page complaint notes.
Specifically, Wright took “lifetime” to mean his lifetime and says at the time of purchase he received no notice that meant anything other than that or that the subscription was limited to the original device or subject to a limited number of device transfers.
Come Jan. 2016, Wright says he tried to transfer his lifetime subscription to a new Stiletto portable receiver after his old Stiletto quit working but Sirius XM failed to honor the transfer, prompting him to file the proposed class action lawsuit.
“Defendant systematically advertised and sold its lifetime subscriptions to consumers by leading consumers to believe that such lifetime subscriptions were for the lifetime of the consumer. However, when consumers have tried to transfer their lifetime subscriptions from one receiver to another or from one automobile to another, defendant has taken the position that the ‘lifetime’ referred to is not the lifetime of the purchasing consumer, but the lifetime of the receiver or automobile,” Wright told a federal court earlier this week.
The complaint accuses Sirius XM of breach of express contract, breach of implied contract, fraudulent misrepresentation and violations of California laws governing unfair competition and consumer protections.
This is not the first time Sirius XM has faced a class action lawsuit over their lifetime subscription plans.
In 2012, a California couple sued the satellite radio provider claiming the company breached it contract for its “XM Everything-Lifetime NavTraffic” and “Lifetime XM Radio Service” subscription offers by failing to provide services.
That case was dismissed in April 2013 with prejudice as to the named plaintiffs but without prejudice as to any and all Class Members of the putative Class within the complaint.
Wright is seeking certification for a Class of customers, potentially tens of thousands, who purchased a lifetime subscription venturing on the continued existence of the satellite provider.
“Purchasers of the lifetime subscriptions took a chance and paid large upfront lifetime subscription fees to Defendant with no guarantee that Defendant would survive as an ongoing business,” the complaint explains. “But in the hope that if Defendant did survive, their lifetime subscription purchase would pay off over time.”
Wright is represented by Tina Wolfson of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC and Cornelius P. Dukelow of Abington Cole + Ellery.
The Sirius XM Lifetime Subscription Class Action Lawsuit is Paul Wright v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., Case No. 8:16-cv-1688 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division.
UPDATE: On June 1, 2017, the Sirius XM Lifetime Subscription class action lawsuit was dismissed. Top Class Actions will let our viewers know if any similar lawsuits are filed!
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93 thoughts onSirius XM Class Action Says Lifetime Subscriptions Not Honored
How can I join this lawsuit. I bought a new car last week and was informed that my lifetime plan would not be transferred. This is absolutely deceptive. I contacted the corporate office and received the same information. How can lifetime not mean my lifetime, especially when they failed to disclosure this incredibly important line of non-transferable.
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
You can also contact class counsel with any questions about the case. Current counsel is listed at the bottom of the article, and can be Googled for contact information.
I like others that have posted here, purchased lifetime warranty over the phone in 2009. I specifically ask the sales person what lifetime meant, and I was told that I could transfer it to other devices. I have since found out that is not true. I also knew of Sirius/XM possible bankruptcy, but decided to take the risk. Please, include me on any future actions.
I brought a Lifetime subscription in nov . 2008 for my car i traded the car oct. 2016 and was told that the service could only be transfer if the car was stolen or it the radio was damage
As with everyone else here I too have gone through the lifetime membership argument. So much hassle trying to explain that it was understood my life time whatever it be, 5-10-85 years from when I purchased my subscription. I got a “courtesy” transfer with a fee…lol…when I got a new car and switched service to that car. I still have my original radio that sits and collects dust. I just bought a new car this past January and was told that I have to pay monthly service because lifetime was of the original equipment and not my lifetime. I was also told that my “new” memebrship would be exacrly what I had…it is not. I pay a premium fee every month for service that is not the same and does not work all that great. Experience everything that everyone else has.
I wish someone will sue the Satellite radio companies for the auto renewal BS. The only way to have service is agree to auto-renew at the current price unless you call and threaten to cancel. If you don’t want the service and your card on file is not good they still won’t cancel service, they continue service and you owe it at the current high price until you call and beg.
where do I sig up at?
The same happened to me, we brought a lifetime subscription to XM/Sirius radio in July 2006 over the phone with my CC and no paperwork. I traded in the car on a new car, called and tried to transfer my lifetime service and was told it was on the lifetime of the car. After 3 hours on the phone with out of the country poor speaking customer service reps( multiple) they finally agreed to transfer for a fee of 70.00. Yesterday I traded in my car to upgrade and have to call them to transfer “lifetime” service again. Will see how it goes.
Same experience here. I sold a car and called to get the subscription transferred to the new car and was met with all kinds of excuses as to why I couldn’t transfer. When I asked to see the transfer policy in writing dating back to the day I purchased the subscription, they finally relented….but not without charging the $70 transfer fee.
same happened to me and then made me pay $70 to transfer to new car.
We have lifetime subscriptions on three vehicles. We were told “lifetime” nothing about vehicles or receivers. Our “lifetime”!!!