Slimy AOL Bastids
I recently made the mistake of subscribing to AOL. There was a good reason for it. Honest! I needed free dial-up service for a couple of weeks while on vacation in New York and my cable-based home ISP (Comcast) does not provide a dial-up option.
'Course, I knew that I was risking having AOL insert software so deeply into my system that I'd never get it out, but it was that or go without Internet service for a week. (Unthinkable!) And, yes, AOL did bulk up my system with tons of its crappy software, but later I was able to crowbar most of it out. What I did not expect is that they would pull some very sneaky shit when I canceled the service.
Short version: I called to cancel. The operator said she would and then she continued my subscription. I sent them a sharply worded letter of complaint, which I append below.
So, I was particularly interested when, today, an article appeared in Slashdot titled, "AOL Fined for Making it Hard to Cancel Service." It refers to ZDnet coverage of a recent court decision: "AOL agrees to customer service reform." Indeed! Well, about time, I say.
I noted, in particular, this part of the article:
In addition to paying New York state $1.25 million in penalties and costs, AOL will also reimburse eligible New York consumers with a cash refund worth up to four months of service. Those consumers will have 120 days from Wednesday to fill out and submit a claim form necessary to collect their reimbursement.
Hey! I used AOL while in NY! Maybe I qualify! I think I'll file the form for a refund. Even if I don't get it, it'll still make AOL go through some extra paperwork.
The slimy bastids.
---- my letter to AOL ----
I am very angry with how you have handled the cancellation of my AOL subscription.
I phoned on 16 July with the sole intent of canceling my subscription. I was annoyed to start with that I had to go through your phone system in order to cancel instead of simply filling in a form online. Then I was further annoyed by the AOL operator badgering me with sales pitches trying to convince me to stay with AOL.
I was fed up with your crummy service and just wanted to cancel. Finally, after spending 10 or 15 minutes on something that should have taken 2, the operator accepted my cancellation.
Then, today, I was astonished to receive mail from you that told me I had not canceled my account, that instead this note confirmed my continued service. And, it told me, if I wanted to cancel my account I'd have to take the trouble to fill out a form and mail or fax it to you! So now the onus is on me to take action to escape being billed for the substandard service that I already canceled.
Since I was so explicit with the AOL operator in my wishes to cancel, I can't help but think that this letter is a deceptive ploy you use. I would not be surprised if everyone calling to cancel was sent a letter denying their cancellation. How many people would read the confirmation note carefully enough to see that it confirmed the opposite of what they wished to do? And what if they don't return the Cancel Request Form quickly enough to avoid being billed for AOL service they thought they had canceled? It's outrageous.
Once I figure out which Better Business Bureau oversees where AOL is based, I will be filing a complaint about your deceptive practices. And I will be advising my family and friends, and anyone else I know who suffers from using your service, to cancel their AOL accounts as soon as possible.
23 June 2006 Update:
AOL is still slime. And they were recently caught on tape sliming a customer who wanted to cancel his account. CNBC did a story on it and included video of the phone call.
Oh, and AOL informed me recently that I did not qualify for their settlement.
---- http://www.nbc10.com/news/9406462/detail.html ----
"On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL"
POSTED: 4:11 pm EDT June 21, 2006
UPDATED: 11:29 am EDT June 22, 2006
An incredible video from CNBC shows an AOL customer trying to cancel his account, but a phone rep won't let him do it. What customer Vincent Ferrari got when he tried to cancel his account was a lot of frustration.
It took him 15 minutes waiting on the phone just to reach a real, live person.
And, what happened next was recorded by Ferrari on audio and lasted about four minutes:
CLOCK READOUT - 00:00
AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL... how may I help you today?
VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.
AOL: : Sorry to hear that. Let's pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?
VINCENT: Vincent Ferrari.
CLOCK READOUT - 00:30
AOL: : You've had this account for a long time.
VINCENT: Yup.
AOL: : Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?
VINCENT: I just don't use it anymore.
AOL: : Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?
VINCENT: Yup.
AOL: : How long have you had that...
VINCENT: Years...
AOL: : ...the high speed?
VINCENT: ...years.
AOL: : Well, actually I'm showing a lot of usage on this account.
VINCENT: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently...
CLOCK READOUT - 01:47
AOL: : Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?
VINCENT: No. I just don't use it, I don't need it, I don't want it. I just don't need it anymore.
AOL: : Okay. So when you use this... I mean, use the computer, I'm saying, is that for business or for... for school?
VINCENT: Dude, what difference does it make. I don't want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?
CLOCK READOUT - 02:21
AOL: : Last year was 545, last month was 545 hours of usage...
VINCENT: I don't know how to make this any clearer, so I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.
AOL: : Well explain to me what's, why...
VINCENT: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.
AOL: Well, what's the matter man? We're just, I'm just trying to help here.
VINCENT: You're not helping me. You're helping me...
AOL: I am trying to help.
VINCENT: Helping... listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.
AOL: No, it wouldn't actually...
VINCENT: Cancel my account...
AOL: : Turning off your account...
VINCENT: ...cancel the account...
AOL: : ...would be the worst thing that...
VINCENT: ...cancel the account.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:02
AOL: Okay, cause I'm just trying to figure out...
VINCENT: Cancel the account. I don't know how to make this any clearer for you. Cancel the account. When I say cancel the account, I don't mean help me figure out how to keep it, I mean cancel the account.
AOL: : Well, I'm sorry, I don't know what anybody's done to you Vincent because all I'm...
VINCENT: Will you please cancel the account.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:32
AOL: : Alright, some day when you calmed down you're gonna realize that all I was trying to do was help you... and it was actually in your best interest to listen to me.
VINCENT: Wonderful, Okay.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:39
"I've never ever experienced anything like that," Ferrari told CNBC.
He recounts how the AOL representative - as a last resort even asked if his dad was home.
"I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point," said the 30-year-old Ferrari.
Ferrari then posted the call online, and the response was tremendous.
AOL sent him an apology and said the customer service rep was no longer with the company.
'Course, I knew that I was risking having AOL insert software so deeply into my system that I'd never get it out, but it was that or go without Internet service for a week. (Unthinkable!) And, yes, AOL did bulk up my system with tons of its crappy software, but later I was able to crowbar most of it out. What I did not expect is that they would pull some very sneaky shit when I canceled the service.
Short version: I called to cancel. The operator said she would and then she continued my subscription. I sent them a sharply worded letter of complaint, which I append below.
So, I was particularly interested when, today, an article appeared in Slashdot titled, "AOL Fined for Making it Hard to Cancel Service." It refers to ZDnet coverage of a recent court decision: "AOL agrees to customer service reform." Indeed! Well, about time, I say.
I noted, in particular, this part of the article:
In addition to paying New York state $1.25 million in penalties and costs, AOL will also reimburse eligible New York consumers with a cash refund worth up to four months of service. Those consumers will have 120 days from Wednesday to fill out and submit a claim form necessary to collect their reimbursement.
Hey! I used AOL while in NY! Maybe I qualify! I think I'll file the form for a refund. Even if I don't get it, it'll still make AOL go through some extra paperwork.
The slimy bastids.
---- my letter to AOL ----
I am very angry with how you have handled the cancellation of my AOL subscription.
I phoned on 16 July with the sole intent of canceling my subscription. I was annoyed to start with that I had to go through your phone system in order to cancel instead of simply filling in a form online. Then I was further annoyed by the AOL operator badgering me with sales pitches trying to convince me to stay with AOL.
I was fed up with your crummy service and just wanted to cancel. Finally, after spending 10 or 15 minutes on something that should have taken 2, the operator accepted my cancellation.
Then, today, I was astonished to receive mail from you that told me I had not canceled my account, that instead this note confirmed my continued service. And, it told me, if I wanted to cancel my account I'd have to take the trouble to fill out a form and mail or fax it to you! So now the onus is on me to take action to escape being billed for the substandard service that I already canceled.
Since I was so explicit with the AOL operator in my wishes to cancel, I can't help but think that this letter is a deceptive ploy you use. I would not be surprised if everyone calling to cancel was sent a letter denying their cancellation. How many people would read the confirmation note carefully enough to see that it confirmed the opposite of what they wished to do? And what if they don't return the Cancel Request Form quickly enough to avoid being billed for AOL service they thought they had canceled? It's outrageous.
Once I figure out which Better Business Bureau oversees where AOL is based, I will be filing a complaint about your deceptive practices. And I will be advising my family and friends, and anyone else I know who suffers from using your service, to cancel their AOL accounts as soon as possible.
23 June 2006 Update:
AOL is still slime. And they were recently caught on tape sliming a customer who wanted to cancel his account. CNBC did a story on it and included video of the phone call.
Oh, and AOL informed me recently that I did not qualify for their settlement.
---- http://www.nbc10.com/news/9406462/detail.html ----
"On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL"
POSTED: 4:11 pm EDT June 21, 2006
UPDATED: 11:29 am EDT June 22, 2006
An incredible video from CNBC shows an AOL customer trying to cancel his account, but a phone rep won't let him do it. What customer Vincent Ferrari got when he tried to cancel his account was a lot of frustration.
It took him 15 minutes waiting on the phone just to reach a real, live person.
And, what happened next was recorded by Ferrari on audio and lasted about four minutes:
CLOCK READOUT - 00:00
AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL... how may I help you today?
VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.
AOL: : Sorry to hear that. Let's pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?
VINCENT: Vincent Ferrari.
CLOCK READOUT - 00:30
AOL: : You've had this account for a long time.
VINCENT: Yup.
AOL: : Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?
VINCENT: I just don't use it anymore.
AOL: : Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?
VINCENT: Yup.
AOL: : How long have you had that...
VINCENT: Years...
AOL: : ...the high speed?
VINCENT: ...years.
AOL: : Well, actually I'm showing a lot of usage on this account.
VINCENT: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently...
CLOCK READOUT - 01:47
AOL: : Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?
VINCENT: No. I just don't use it, I don't need it, I don't want it. I just don't need it anymore.
AOL: : Okay. So when you use this... I mean, use the computer, I'm saying, is that for business or for... for school?
VINCENT: Dude, what difference does it make. I don't want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?
CLOCK READOUT - 02:21
AOL: : Last year was 545, last month was 545 hours of usage...
VINCENT: I don't know how to make this any clearer, so I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.
AOL: : Well explain to me what's, why...
VINCENT: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.
AOL: Well, what's the matter man? We're just, I'm just trying to help here.
VINCENT: You're not helping me. You're helping me...
AOL: I am trying to help.
VINCENT: Helping... listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.
AOL: No, it wouldn't actually...
VINCENT: Cancel my account...
AOL: : Turning off your account...
VINCENT: ...cancel the account...
AOL: : ...would be the worst thing that...
VINCENT: ...cancel the account.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:02
AOL: Okay, cause I'm just trying to figure out...
VINCENT: Cancel the account. I don't know how to make this any clearer for you. Cancel the account. When I say cancel the account, I don't mean help me figure out how to keep it, I mean cancel the account.
AOL: : Well, I'm sorry, I don't know what anybody's done to you Vincent because all I'm...
VINCENT: Will you please cancel the account.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:32
AOL: : Alright, some day when you calmed down you're gonna realize that all I was trying to do was help you... and it was actually in your best interest to listen to me.
VINCENT: Wonderful, Okay.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:39
"I've never ever experienced anything like that," Ferrari told CNBC.
He recounts how the AOL representative - as a last resort even asked if his dad was home.
"I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point," said the 30-year-old Ferrari.
Ferrari then posted the call online, and the response was tremendous.
AOL sent him an apology and said the customer service rep was no longer with the company.
posted by Jeremy Butler at 5:25 AM
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