New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against SiriusXM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI), alleging the satellite radio company was “trapping consumers” in subscriptions while making it difficult to cancel their subscriptions.
James’ office claimed that SiriusXM requires subscribers to call or chat online with an agent when seeking a subscription cancellation, then slows down the process to prevent the consumer from being able to end their subscription. James’ office said the New York City-based company trains its agents to not take “no” for an answer when customers try to cancel.
The lawsuit charges that SiriusXM with violating state and federal laws concerning subscriptions that renew automatically by failing to provide subscribers with a cancellation mechanism that is simple, timely, and easy to use. The company is also accused of engaging in fraud and deception by misleading subscribers seeking to cancel. With her lawsuit, James is seeking restitution, penalties, and disgorgement from SiriusXM for violating New York’s business laws.
“Having to endure a lengthy and frustrating process to cancel a subscription is a stressful burden no one looks forward to, and when companies make it hard to cancel subscriptions, it’s illegal,” said James. “Consumers should be able to cancel a subscription they no longer use or need without any issues, and companies have a legal duty to make their cancellation process easy. New Yorkers can trust that when companies like SiriusXM try to take advantage of them and violate the law, my office will step in to stop them.”
SiriusXM responded to the lawsuit with a statement that insisted James’ complaint “grossly mischaracterizes” its operations.
“It’s telling that the New York Attorney General issued a press release before providing SiriusXM with a copy of the complaint,” the company said in its statement. “Like a number of consumer businesses, we offer a variety of options for customers to sign up for or cancel their SiriusXM subscription and, upon receiving and reviewing the complaint, we intend to vigorously defend against these baseless allegations.”
