The nightmare of cancelling AOL

[Antmeister]

Check out this nightmare of cancelling an AOL account by listening to this crap below.

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[Antmeister]

Dola...

And here is the interview of the guy who wanted to cancel:
http://www.beta.netscape.com/story/2006/06/15/mp3-recording-trying-to-cancel-aol/#comments

[sabotai]

That's some really funny stuff (although not entirely sure if it's real)

EDIT: Reading the follow up interview makes it sound pretty legit.

[Antmeister]

That's some really funny stuff (although not entirely sure if it's real)

I didn't think so at first, but it was on the front page of Netscape and the guy was supposedly fired followed by a statement from AOL.

[Lorena]

OMG, listening to this really pissed me off... what a piece of shit that CSR was. Ugh :mad:

[rexallllsc]

I definitely believe it was real. I went through the same thing.

Then, two months later I check my CC bill and it was still on there. I call back, and they say they have NO RECORD of my cancellation.

wow.

[stevew]

Yeah, AOL was a bitch to cancel. Reminds me of some Dilbert "Gotta plan a commando raid on my ISP to cancel" comic strip.

[st.cronin]

To succesfully cancel an AOL membership, you have to change your name and leave the country. AOL is a virus.

[Marc Vaughan]

I'm still an AOL user, however if I cancelled my account I'd just do so - if they took money subsequent to that I'd inform my credit card company that a company had been fraudulently taking money from the card and ask them to put a stop on them doing so .... seems a relatively simple approach but imho should be effective with a minimum of hassle.

[Barkeep49]

I'm still an AOL user, however if I cancelled my account I'd just do so - if they took money subsequent to that I'd inform my credit card company that a company had been fraudulently taking money from the card and ask them to put a stop on them doing so .... seems a relatively simple approach but imho should be effective with a minimum of hassle.
Ahh yes Europe, where the consumer retains some power.

[st.cronin]

I'm still an AOL user, however if I cancelled my account I'd just do so - if they took money subsequent to that I'd inform my credit card company that a company had been fraudulently taking money from the card and ask them to put a stop on them doing so .... seems a relatively simple approach but imho should be effective with a minimum of hassle.

hahahahahahahahahaha

[rkmsuf]

who tapes themselves cancelling AOL?

[Deattribution]

who tapes themselves cancelling AOL?


According to the interview the guy heard alot of nightmare stories about canceling AOL and thought it would make an interesting bit for his site.

[wade moore]

who tapes themselves cancelling AOL?

I wish I had the patience to set it up so I could record all of my customer service calls... I would really love to be able to fling some of this stuff at supervisors, etc.

[cartman]

To succesfully cancel an AOL membership, you have to change your name and leave the country. AOL is a virus.

I pretty much had to do this to get my ISP accounts in Italy and the UK cancelled. I had called them both to cancel (Italy-FastWeb, UK-Virgin Mobile) around the same time, since I was leaving London to head back to the US, and my co-worker that took over my apartment in Milan was being moved to Paris. For the next six months, I was still getting charged by both companies. Each time I saw the charge, I would call my credit card company and get it reversed. Finally, on one of my trips back to Europe at the end of that year, I made note of the last place I used the credit card that was continually being charged. When I got back to the US, I called up and told them I lost my credit card, and the last place I remembered using it. The cancelled the old account, issued me a new card with a new number, and since then, no problems.

[cartman]

I'm still an AOL user, however if I cancelled my account I'd just do so - if they took money subsequent to that I'd inform my credit card company that a company had been fraudulently taking money from the card and ask them to put a stop on them doing so .... seems a relatively simple approach but imho should be effective with a minimum of hassle.

Dola,
I tried that approach in my case, but the credit card company said they couldn't put blocks on charges from companies. I thought that was a bit strange.

[rkmsuf]

Dola,
I tried that approach in my case, but the credit card company said they couldn't put blocks on charges from companies. I thought that was a bit strange.

What exactly would qualify as a charge NOT from a company?

[st.cronin]

who tapes themselves cancelling AOL?

I did.

[rkmsuf]

I did.

nerd

[cartman]

What exactly would qualify as a charge NOT from a company?

They told me they couldn't block, for example, FastWeb from charging my credit card. I would have to wait each time for the charge to appear before asking that it be removed.

[st.cronin]

nerd

I'm rubber and you're glue.

[rkmsuf]

They told me they couldn't block, for example, FastWeb from charging my credit card. I would have to wait each time for the charge to appear before asking that it be removed.

Right but how is that different than say a charge a Mobil every friday?

[rkmsuf]

I'm rubber and you're glue.

your tee-heeing as you tape your call bounces off me and sticks to you



you probably are a post reporter too


tom brady is good though.

[cartman]

Right but how is that different than say a charge a Mobil every friday?

Every retailer has an ID that identifies the terminal used to make the charge. I wasn't able to buy something at one store in Italy because the credit card company flagged that retailer as a fraud problem. So if I provided proof to my credit card company that I indeed had cancelled service with the ISP, they should be able to have the ability to reject attempted charges from the terminal IDs assigned to that ISP.

[st.cronin]

your tee-heeing as you tape your call bounces off me and sticks to you



you probably are a post reporter too


tom brady is good though.

I would report this post but something is on the fritz

ha I fritzed a thread

[rkmsuf]

I would report this post but something is on the fritz

ha I fritzed a thread

A Fritz search turned up 22 threads in the last 2 days. Fritz is getting upset.

[sachmo71]

I remember quitting AOL, and it was pretty much the same thing. I just wasn't as much of a tool.

[Antmeister]

A Fritz search turned up 22 threads in the last 2 days. Fritz is getting upset.

Exactly, by mentioning Fritz again and again makes Fritz mad and I agree with the comment that something was on the Fritz that caused this former AOL representative to act the way he did.

I will just assume that his name was Fritz and he was was probably frustrated with the number of Fritz references he saw and took out his frustration with the customer. Poor Fritz... :D

[DaddyTorgo]

this thread reminds me that i need to call AOL and cancel. UGH. i keep putting it off. might make a fun activity for tomorrow afternoon after the US gets pounded by Italy though

[SirFozzie]

From BoingBoing

After reading my posts about people who have had to beg to be disconnected from AOL, J2, and Sky TV, Vodka offers the following advice:

I've worked for a telecommunications company that I would prefer to go unnamed, and I'd like to offer some tips to anyone trying to disconnect a service they no longer want. The biggest tip is to call well outside of normal business hours -- in my company, customer service was open 24/7, but the retention department closed in the evening. If you call, say, before bed, or during the middle of the night, you'll just be talking to a regular CS rep who has no incentive whatsoever to keep you as a customer. It can turn a twenty minute phone call into a two minute phone call.

Second, if you get a rude rep, hang up and call right back. Some reps, especially in commission driven departments like sales and retention, are especially pushy, where as if you call back you might get someone who is right at the end of his shift and just wants to get you off of his phone.

Third, there is one reason for disconnection that will work for almost every service--moving. Tell them you're moving out of the service area, or moving in with someone who already has the same service, and they should be required to cancel everything for you.

Also, it would be helpful to remember that the representatives in retention are paid to retain you as customers--threatening to record the call, asking for their name or ID, or asking for a supervisor will not do anything. All calls are recorded and the representatives have responses they are required to give for every customer question or complaint. The rep who actually gets in trouble will be the one who disconnects you immediately without trying to retain you, not the one who spends twenty minutes using every tactic in the book the company wrote for him.

[Desnudo]

Interesting as I'm currently working to design and roll-out customer support subscriptions for a company. We've had some talks around refund/retention, but it's primarily been around leaving the customer with a positive impression of the company, rather than keeping the revenue at any cost.

I guess the difference might be that this company has a huge product line, so there's a benefit to leaving the customer with a positive brand image while AOL only really does one thing, so they don't have that incentive.

[Grammaticus]

Dola,
I tried that approach in my case, but the credit card company said they couldn't put blocks on charges from companies. I thought that was a bit strange.
Your Visa or MasterCard bankcard issuer cannot put a block on a specific merchant. Although they can assist you in charging back every charge and file a complaint with the association (Visa or MasterCard). The association will require the Acquirer (member bank that sets up the merchant) to stop the merchant from continually charging you.

The association has the ability to assess a fine to the acquirer who will pass this on to the merchant. If the merchant continues to charge you, the fine will go up and any acquirer will ultimately close the merchants account and place them on the MATCH file (negative file alerting other potential acquirers of a problem) if they keep doing it.

[Greyroofoo]

I went through the exact same thing when cancelling after my AOL account after the 2 free months. Except I had some Indian woman I didn't understand.

[Tigercat]

I went through the same thing with an Indian guy. I had been an AOL user since the early 90s, and he REALLY wanted me to stay on. First he offered me a pricing plan through broadband of 9.99. Then he said 4.99. Then he offered me 2.99. Then 2.99 with a free year. I kept saying "no, I would like to cancel" I felt like I was in Calcutta haggling over a kabob. The guy wasnt obnoxious enough to tell me that not canceling was in my best interest though. Thats pretty f'ed up.

[MrBug708]

2.99 a month plus a free year? Damn...