WARNING: Tele-Aid Business Practices!

THE STORY: Bought a 2007 Mercedes equipped with Tele-Aid.

Called Tele-Aid (which is Connected Vehicle Services) and spoke to a representative and purchased a two year contract at a discount ($392). So far so good. But the system would not activate so I was instructed to go to a M-B dealer to have the system flashed. Dealer is an hour's drive away, and I was told that there was an hour's labor charge to flash the system (turns out they would do it for free).

As a result I decided to cancel the NOT ACTIVATED subscription (and to think about mbrace as an option). Called Connected Vehicle Services -- they would cancel the service but NOT REFUND my charges, even though I had not used the service. Moreover, at the time of the sale I was not informed that the purchase would be non-refundable (unless you sell the car or it is totaled). Nor does it say this on the website. Nor do you get any paperwork and a notice of non-refundability.

Forewarned is forearmed -- compare Tele-Aid to mbrace. When you make your decision know that Tele-Aid will not let you cancel and get a refund, regardless of whether or not your system is activated.