[jaero]

I own a 2012 Volt. Got 3-years of OnStar with the purchase. I found it next to useless. The remote link app rarely worked when I needed it since, while parked in my garage, the system can't communicate with the car. I called into OnStar customer service a week or so before the 3-year plan was to end to verify that the plan would not renew. Was told it would just expire. However, a couple weeks later while checking my CC account online(which they had from the one time I purchased phone minutes), I saw a charge for the monthly OnStar subscription. I immediately called in and cancelled the plan but only received a refund for the unused days - they nicked me for a couple bucks. I just let it go thinking it was an honest mistake. That was in March 2015.

Around mid-June of this year I got a promotional card in the mail offering 3 months of free OnStar service. I called in, discussed that I did not want a subscription but was accepting the 3-month deal. I did not give a credit card number over the phone. That 3-month period would have ended in mid-September. 2 days ago, again while checking my CC account online, I found that OnStar had billed me for a month of service in September and another month in October! I don't understand how it happened! My credit card has expired and was replaced since I last gave them the number; how were that able to charge the account without the new expiration date?

I called in and talked to 2 different reps, had to decline the service three or four different times, and was finally told that a reimbursement was processed for the 2-months of unwanted service charges. I'm still waiting to see the refund.

So, is this the experience that everyone is having? Is OnStar just playing their own Wells Fargo game by creating subscription accounts without customers' consent?

Maybe I'm too thin skinned, but this is the second time OnStar fraudulently tried to take money from my pocket and I'm pretty irritated. I love my Volt but I hate the treatment I've received from OnStar. That may be enough to keep me from ever buying another GM product!

 

[MnVikes]

I had my three free years which expired in June.
I just got an email today for three free years of Basic onstar which I've activated.

Have never used it for emergency or directions so basic is all I need.

 

[SteveC5088]

this is the second time OnStar fraudulently tried to take money from my pocket and I'm pretty irritated.

I found out the hard way: When your Credit Card rolls forward to a new card with a new number, companies that have an automatic billing arrangement on your card are automatically given the ability to keep billing your new card. Apparently with OnStar and lots of other companies, even when you discontinue service, they can renew it when you ok their 3-months free offers.

I think I found that out when I called my bank and complained about the process. The bank didn't have anything to offer to stop charges like that. You have to go to the company taking your money.

Edit: I had similar trouble with SiriusXM charges. Check this link: SiriusXM and Bank Credit Card charges
I just got a 5-months free deal from On-Star, and I set up a reminder to myself to call and cancel in March. You can be sure I'll be checking my CC.

 

[BAZINGA]

Like Sirius/XM never give them a CC number. Pay by check. This has been known for over 10 years. And if you chose to sign up for some service make sure you understand the termination rules. I always suspense this at least 30 days before the service is due to re-new (most of these services don't just end you most likely are enrolled in something called AUTO RENEWAL) call them cancel the service and get a confirmation # and the name of the individual you speak with.

Many of us have learned the hard way about AUTO RENEWAL.

 

[ClarksonCote]

Just curious, why did you want a 3 month trial again in the first place if you found it "next to useless"

As an aside, you should be able to get the 5 year "Basic" plan for free after that 3 month trial. I did that after my 3 years expired, and I can do all the FOB controls from my phone, like remote start. It's really the only thing I want out of the app (and OnStar) anyway.

By the way, I've found this functionality works much better the last year or so than it used to previously. Not sure if it's OnStar server upgrades, a higher polling rate in the car's cellphone, or both, but it is much faster than it used to be.

 

[Barry]

I understand your frustration. Just remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch. You got a so-called "free" trial. That does not exist. OnStar is a profit center and does not exist to give services away for free. Like many kinds of services in our economy, "free" is just a way of saying that you are paying for it in a different way. In this case, you paid by signing up and accidentally agreeing to an auto renewal arrangement. Maybe you were not even aware of the fine print. Difficulty cancelling these kinds of arrangements also should not be a surprise. That is a normal, although shady, practice. Next time, just say no to "free."

I personally got a free trial with my Volt purchase. I never gave a credit card number. I was subsequently offered a free basic for several years. I still never had to give a credit card number, so hopefully this won't happen to me.

By the way, good job catching the charges. Many people never notice them and pay dearly for it. Remember that once you cancel, and have documentation of it, you can dispute the charges with your credit card company, which might be less exasperating.

 

[Steverino]

Since I never gave OnStar my CC, there was no way for human error or otherwise to robo-enroll me in some plan I did not want. Simple as that.

But it seems like you are over-reacting a bit. You'll let an OnStar screwup drive you away from the Volt? Focus. Let OnStar's screwup drive you away from OnStar.

 

[Dark_Stang]

OnStar and Sirius/XM are both on my "never doing business with" list. Even if they're giving me something for free. I suggest having a list like this and sticking to it. I will never give them a credit card number (or any form of payment) because I know it will get abused.

 

[Qinsp]

Personally, we love OnStar. We started using it in 2004. With today's Onstar, I know where my kids are, and what the status is of their cars. I know if they need help, it's one button away.
If anyone is involved in a serious accident, we know help is on the way even if we are unconscious.

I don't have to know the address of a place to get directions to them, or call them, nor play with a cellphone to do it, that is if I have phone with me. Nor will the cellphone tell me why my CEL is on. But I kind of liked the Corvette since it would tell me what the codes were without telemetry. It was built into the DIC.

Yes, OnStar is not free. Neither are my cellphones or auto insurance. I do not have the cheapest cellphone or the cheapest insurance. I pay extra for a better cellphone plan and hardware, and extra for $500k of insurance.

XM? I don't listen to music enough to bother with it.

 

[hellsop]

(And as for the "how do they do that", SteveC alluded to it. Part of the card transaction specifies whether it's a one time or recurring service, and that affects what happens with the confirmation code: if it's a subscription, then that confirmation code can be used to rebill the same transaction again, and that'll persist for life of the ACCOUNT. It'll move across expiration dates, card number changes, name changes; you pretty much have to change card issuers to be have a subscription charge not be able to follow you. And while that seems like a big security gap, it's smaller than the alternative. Since the service can bill through that confirmation token, they don't need to keep your card information around at all, and in fact are prohibited from doing so beyond just enough information to allow you as the card owner to identify which card was used in the transaction. That "VISA ending in 0205" and the confirmation token is literally all the information that the merchant can keep on file about the old transaction. Which means nobody can root through the merchant's files and do anything to benefit themselves with that information. They could kick off a new charge, but only for the same amount and to the same merchant account. That is, OnStar gets the money, not them.)

 

[Barry]

^ Interesting information. I wish more merchants would use that method. I have numerous bills set to auto pay and they all seem to break every time I get a new expiration date.

 

[jaero]

Just curious, why did you want a 3 month trial again in the first place if you found it "next to useless"

I was curious to see if performance had improved since canceling back in 2015. I tried 3 or 4 times to get updates from the car while parked in my garage, but no dice. The system, for me at least, is useless while the car is garaged. I park the car outside while at work, but cell phones are not permitted in the building, so I can't communicate with the car there either. What made it "next to useless" was the ability to track the performance of the car on Volt Stats. I liked having that data available and was sad to see it end. Not worth paying for OnStar though.

 

[jaero]

But it seems like you are over-reacting a bit. You'll let an OnStar screwup drive you away from the Volt? Focus. Let OnStar's screwup drive you away from OnStar.

Good point! As I said, I tend to be thin skinned about things like this. However, while OnStar is not GM, the two are linked. If more people shun GM because of problems with OnStar, then maybe they would fix the OnStar system, or at least change the business practices that are the annoyance.

 

[john 44545]

I understand your frustration. Just remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch. You got a so-called "free" trial. That does not exist. OnStar is a profit center and does not exist to give services away for free. Like many kinds of services in our economy, "free" is just a way of saying that you are paying for it in a different way. In this case, you paid by signing up and accidentally agreeing to an auto renewal arrangement. Maybe you were not even aware of the fine print. Difficulty cancelling these kinds of arrangements also should not be a surprise. That is a normal, although shady, practice. Next time, just say no to "free."

I personally got a free trial with my Volt purchase. I never gave a credit card number. I was subsequently offered a free basic for several years. I still never had to give a credit card number, so hopefully this won't happen to me.

By the way, good job catching the charges. Many people never notice them and pay dearly for it. Remember that once you cancel, and have documentation of it, you can dispute the charges with your credit card company, which might be less exasperating.

Good point! As I said, I tend to be thin skinned about things like this. However, while OnStar is not GM, the two are linked. If more people shun GM because of problems with OnStar, then maybe they would fix the OnStar system, or at least change the business practices that are the annoyance.

On star is a scam ! doesn't even work . cant connect to car

 

[hellsop]

I don't think they're gonna hear you. You're replying to posts almost five years old.