Cancelling AOL - Huge fight with AOL Customer Service

[palmtreegirl]

We had the same problem. First I called and tried to cancel, they transferred me to someone else wwho then proceeded to try and talk me into 2 months free, I kept saying no. Then she said well OK you'll have the next two months free, blah, blah...andn then hung up on me!

DH called back and cancelled and then low and behold we were charged for an additional 2 months. AOL is evil.

 

[ptcruisermom]

right now I am using AOL jsut because it is free and I don't know swhat I want to do. We had internet thru our cable com. the bill was in my name in feb my dh and I had a huge fight we threatened to cancel cable and internet- i called the company and told them under no circumstances was the internnnnnet to be cancelled or any changes made. Well he never tried anything, so fast forward to may another huge auguement-but this time he went to calbe co and said since he paid the bill he wnated the interrrrenet out of the house and cancelled the movie chanel( i could care less about these he was the one that watched the smut) I called the cable compnay and they said he could do that as he had a copy of the bill, told them it was in my name and wanted it back, they said it was between him and I and wouldn't give me the router back, haven't trrrrrried lately might haveto and put that bill in my name only. Well what to do about internet, so I had a disc laying around so signed up for 2 months called to cancel last week ( was going to have to find something else) but gave it to me for another month free. So if any one had a good deal with internet provider that they are happy with let me know. Thanks. DH( not rreally the D) is still in a snit, been to see an attorrney, who knows where this is going. At least he is a trucker and gone all week-the week he has been gone the week-end, although he was home all day ontuesday( and I took a vacation day that day)

 

[goofygirl]

AOL salespeople are really pushy. Be prepared for them to call you at home to beg you to come back, and don't be surprised if you see those AOL CDs in your mail with offers for you to come back too.

 

[phillybeth]

I found the best way to cancel an AOL account- stop paying! We had automatic payments on a credit card that was stolen. We cancelled the card and got a new number but I forgot to tell AOL. SIX MONTHS later, we got a letter saying our account had been terminated for non-payment! I called to explain the situation and tried to pay the 6 months' worth (we weren't trying to cheat), but they had no record of an outstanding balance for our account! Nothing on our credit report either.

 

[CarolA]

I finally learned how to do it. I tell them that I read the parts of the magazine that I want on the Web site, and then I don't have to worry about recycling the actual magazine. They really don't have an answer for that one!

'

The magazines have wise up! Have you noticed how many require a code to access thier web site? To get the code you have to (A) subscribe, (B) by the latest issue or (C) in lots of cases have AOL! LOL!

 

[katerkat]

Originally posted by Randi
I don't think it is just AOL, any time you want to cancel some service or product the company tries to persuade you to stay. I have had terrible times cancelling magazine subscriptions. I begin by not returning any of the numerous renewal offers mailed to me.

Wow, I had the opposite result! We just let our subscriptions to Reader's Digest and Newsweek and Time run out, and had no problems with them trying to call us.

AOL, though - ugh! I had the free trial so I could get online to pick an Internet service - big mistake! Boy, did they not want me to leave after that! I spent hours on the phone with them and my credit card, trying to get them to stop charging me. I ended up with MSN for a while and had no problem canceling them when we moved to cable internet. (BTW, once you go cable, you'll never go back to dial-up!)

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by Hillbeans
OMG......I just cancelled my AOL account. What a nightmare that was. They don't take no for an answer. I am a very mild mannered personality, and after saying to cancel it around 10 times I started screaming at this person. What is with them?? How many times should you have to ask politely to cancel service before you get this awful treatment on the phone??

Has this happened to anyone else? I got Cable Modem, and after the terrible treatment on the phone by these AOL people, i'd never ever get AOL again.

They do this because people like my mom (God bless her) will allow themselves to be talked back into service by offering them the sun and moon to stay..My apologies for my mother's actions.

 

[piratesmate]

Originally posted by Mad4Mickey
I was on AOL for 8 years We tried to cancel for about 3 months. It took that long because they kept charging us So I was paying for my DSL and the AOL.

We called the Credit Card company 2 months in a row and they kept saying they would do something about it . Nothing changed so what we did was we changed the CC to our Disney Visa and then waited about 3 days and called them to cancel again . They said they would take care of it , of course they didnt and they charged us again .
We then called Disney Visa and told them what had happen and they took it off sent them a letter and they have never been heard from again

This sounds a lot like what happened to us a number of years ago. We tried writing to them, but they said they never got it. I finally sent a certified letter, so I could prove they'd gotten it...but in the mean time, DH got the idea to simply cancel the credit card. When they tried to bill it & it was denied. I was never sure if they finally canceled it because of non-payment or because of the letter.

 

[CarolA]

When I had my AOL problem AMEX was worse then useless.

I had closed the Amex account, but they kept right on allowing AOL to charge and sending me bills. It was a NIGHTMARE! Amex kept saying "you authorized it" and refused to do ONE thing to resolve the problem!

If either Amex or AOL had a real location where I could have stood in the lobby and SCREAMED I would have been there in a heartbeat! (But I was not willing to buy a plane ticket just to chew people out in person!)

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

We cancelled AOL because of the constant pop ups trying to sell us something. We also figured AOL sold our home phone number to companies because we were getting a lot of solicitations. We are now on the DNC registry.

Sorry to say, it's not over. After we cancelled AOL tried everything to get us back as a customer. Very annoying.

Lori

 

[Minniespal]

Yikes ~ What a nightmare for you. I cancelled AOL a few months ago with no problems.

 

[KathyTX]

I can't tell you how I really feel about AOL, because the word filter won't allow it!

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Ohio Sues AOL


October 28, 2003
Ohio has joined the list of states suing America Online, alleging AOL failed to honor customers' requests to cancel their subscriptions.

Ohio Attorney General James Petro said Virginia-based AOL and its CompuServe unit have violated Ohio consumer law and have failed to honor previous agreements with the state.

The lawsuit seeks $25,000 in civil penalties for each violation by AOL, as well as an injunction aimed at preventing similar actions in the future.

Ohio said its consumer protection service has received complaints that subscribers' credit cards continued to be billed as much as $23.90 per month despite their request to drop the service. It also asserts that AOL has failed to live up to the terms of several earlier multi-state agreements reached in response to consumer complaints in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

"Consumers should be able to cancel an agreement with a business within contractual terms and have the comfort of knowing the business will honor that cancellation," said Petro.

AOL recently reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, in which it acknowledged no wrongdoing and promised to do a better job of honoring and tracking requests to discontinue service.

America Online issued a statement challenging the notion that customers have had problems discontinuing the service.

"We strongly disagree with the complaint filed by Attorney General Petro," AOL said. "We look forward to the opportunity to meet with the Attorney General's office to share information about the many ways members are able to cancel their service, the clear disclosures we provide in both online and offline materials, and the proactive steps the company takes."

AOL has been losing customers at a rapid clip, with more than two million leaving over the past year

 

[BarryHom]

I cancelled my Mindspring account a while ago because it became a Spam box. I was on hold for 20 minutes, but the process was painless.

Now Prodigy is a different story...they cancelled my account uncermoniously one day and never gave me a reason. I couldn't get anything straightened out with e-mails or phone calls. I contacted the credit card company to do a chargeback and they did so, but Prodigy kept on sending me bills for the chargebacks! I finally had to threaten to sue them if they kept on sending me invoices before they would stop. They were trying to collect $80, but I would have drag them through the muck and create a PR nightmare that will cost them more than $80.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Two of my friends canceled AOL. When I forwarded the e-mail I got from the first friend about his experience to my other friend, she said it was the same story with her. They wouldn't take no for an answer. First friend said stick to your guns, no matter what they offer, you have to say NO!!! Don't take the free months or anything else. I dread the day I make my call!

 

[Hillbeans]

Originally posted by auntpolly
This is exactly what happened to me -- it must be their MO. The guy even kept putting me on hold for long periods of time!

I ended up saying, "Look, I am <i>begging</i> you to stop this and just cancel my account! And finally, he did!

Can you believe that a company like AOL uses these tactics to demoralize their employees and their loyal customers who stayed with them for years?? .

 

[jrydberg]

When a friend of mine wanted to cancel AOL but had heard of these problems, I suggested she immediately ask for a supervisor and then explain to the supervisor that several friends have had difficulty in cancelling their account. No, you don't want any special offers, no you don't want to reconsider, just cancel it with no hassles. Seemed to work fairly well. Worth trying anyway.

 

[nuke]

I found the best way was to talk in a monotone voice and say "No, I want to cancel" "No, I want to cancel" after about 8 times the guy got the hint and closed the account. AOL is the big brother of the internet.

 

[Planogirl]

I had problems cancelling AOL too. DH had originally signed up and the AOL rep kept asking me questions that I didn't know the answers to. The rep said that he had to know these things to verify that I was who I said I was. I got the info and called again and another question that I couldn't answer materialized.

Finally, DH called them and managed to get them to cancel the account. I would NEVER sign up with AOL again even if they were the last ISP on earth!

 

[TIGGER'SFRIEND]

It is true AOL is so difficult to cancel. My dad passed away and I called to cancel his account and they persisted relentlessly, I just cut them off while they did their pitch and asked for the confirmation # . Just keep saying no and you can eventually get it cancelled. It just isn't right. I would never go back to AOL.