OnStar Customer Service

I have a car that is equipped with OnStar, but the service is not currently active. I bought it pre-certified, and the previous owner must have deactivated the service. The dealer couldn't tell me much about it other than that it wasn't active at the moment. The car is for my teenager, so I like the idea of having OnStar activated again. For this reason, I called their service number to figure out the process to make this happen. 

Given that OnStar is designed for emergencies and roadside assistance, they probably get a fair amount of phone calls daily when you think about how many drivers there are nationwide. One thing I noticed while waiting on the hold line is that they do have options to skip the automated system in the case of an emergency or if you need roadside assistance, so that is comforting. 

However, getting to the customer line to discuss a basic service need is not easy. There is no direct way to talk to someone about service plans, and they refer you online quite frequently. Clearly, I don't want to use the online service or I wouldn't be using the phone line and I find that a bit aggravating. Not to mention that since I don't have an active account, that wouldn't even be an option for me. 

When I first called, an automated voice said, "Thank you for calling OnStar. This call may be recorded for quality purposes." It then gave me a list of options: "For life-threatening emergencies, press the star button now. For emergencies, door unlocks, missing persons, roadside assistance or stolen vehicles press 1. For service plan maintenance, including purchase data plan, or to renew your service plan, billing and cancellation inquiries, press 2. For technical support, press 3. If you are calling about OnStar insurance insurances, or about your insurance policy, please call 888-495-4674."

None of these options fit what I needed, but the service plan maintenance seemed to be the best bet, so I opted for that, which gave me another set of options that didn't fit my needs either. This set of options was: "To purchase data plans, or to renew your service plan, please visit online or press 1. If you sold, traded, or no longer possess the vehicle, press 2. For billing inquiries, press 3. To cancel your service plan, press 4. To update your information, please visit the owner’s center online or press 5."

Once again, I took a guess and went with one hoping I would get to someone. It told me to please wait while I was transferred to an advisor, but then talking to someone was a weird process. I kept listening to small messages from the automated assistant with random ringing in between, and then for about 30 seconds there was dead silence. Finally, at the four-minute mark, someone named Andy answered. She was helpful and answered my question, but I have to say, I didn't know if I was in the right place for most of that phone call leading up to it.