To AOL: "No means no"

A man tries to cancel his AOL account but the rep won't let him

Found this through Snopes.com and it doesn't surprise me in the least... I dealt with similar "please don't leave us" when I canceled my cable/internet with Comcast.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I remember we had AOL way back. My father kept the account because he had no idea there was such a thing as AIM.

None of us used the goddamned thing.

He called to cancel once....twice....three times that I witnessed. Eventually, he didn't want to deal with it anymore so he handed the phone over to me.

I pretty much had to go through the SAME SHIT this Ferrari guy had to go through. I got confrontational, bitter, and generally pissed off. They kept asking questions like "WHY DO YOU WANT TO CANCEL?"
"DOES IT FUCKING MATTER. CANCEL THE ACCOUNT."

Someone needs to DO something about this bullshit.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Wow, That rep is in Idiot. This is Why I don't like to dabble with big computer companies like Dell, AOL, HP, and Microsoft. They want to just fuck with you. In Fact I recently did some work that involved both the computers in my house, however, that work couldn't succeed due to the fact that the other computer was a Dell and It wouldn't let me network the computers together!

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Hah, AOL apologized to him? I think they should go around and apologize to more people. Because AOL pulled the same thing with me, my father, and his sister. When we called to cancel AOL was very hesitant to do it. They ended up trying to offer a few months of free service or upgrades. Anything to keep us from canceling.

They actually didn't end up turning the account off untill much later. When they finally said they would turn it off they actually left it on for another month or two. Then billed us for the service before shutting it off. >.>

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Dekoa

In Fact I recently did some work that involved both the computers in my house, however, that work couldn't succeed due to the fact that the other computer was a Dell and It wouldn't let me network the computers together!

Are you sure it was because the computer was a Dell, or was it perhaps because you did not configure it properly. The only hardware reason that a computer would be unable to be networked is if it lacked a NIC. You're going to have to explain this one to me.

Also AOL has the mark of the beast, will bring about the apocalypse, all that jazz.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Oh dear! It sounds like these reps are trained to push you to keep the account. AOL sounds terrible with all these accounts people are bringing up of cancellation problems. Maybe they're not allowed to tell you that it's part of thr job to gather the "reason" why the customer wants to cancel the account, since they'd get in trouble. However, I think that kind of situation was rather excessive.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by russ

Also AOL has the mark of the beast, will bring about the apocalypse, all that jazz.

Well, not AOL per se. Though I did build my giant orbital sun-powered death ray out of discarded AOL CDs, so I guess they're partly to blame for bringing about the apocalypse.

Aside from that, AOL is shit, and anyone not entirely computer illiterate knows it. At this point I don't think they'll ever be able to get rid of that negative image they've built for themselves over the years, no matter how much they spend on flashy commercials.

FELIPE NO

That's what happened to me when I cancelled my cell phone service. The lady basically tried to sell me 10 other plans. "Well it looks like, based on your usage, you really want -this- plan." So annoying.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I heard an MP3 of this over at Something Awful weeks ago, funny stuff. AOL is truly gay.

Also, in case you guys don't know, you can fax them a cancellation form or something, and not have to go through the hassle.

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Originally Posted by Dekoa

Wow, That rep is in Idiot. This is Why I don't like to dabble with big computer companies like Dell, AOL, HP, and Microsoft. They want to just fuck with you. In Fact I recently did some work that involved both the computers in my house, however, that work couldn't succeed due to the fact that the other computer was a Dell and It wouldn't let me network the computers together!

Uh, what? This sounds like something my mom might say.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well, has anyone heard about the woman who tried to cancel her dead mother's AOL account? The rep she spoke to actually told her that her mother would have to cancel it herself.

http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/...ead-182185.php

This is just sad.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Haha, bunch of dicks, trying to make you stay with them even if you don't use their services anymore. I've heard lots of shit about AOL but this is probably the worst.

I've never used their services for anything and I never will. Go Shaw Canada!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

And the most offensive thing, even more so than the "easy cancellation" process, is the fact that they still charge the account, even when being on the "free trial." Gotta love that aspect too.

I was speaking idiomatically.

What's even worse than this is what AOL recently did to my girlfriend.

She had AOL when she lived in a college dorm. Each month, she had her AOL fees automatically deducted from her checking account. Upon each billing statement, there would be a notation that $XX.xx was taken out in AOL's name and everything was hunky dory. She would cross-check the billing statement AOL sent to her place to make sure everything was on the level. She never encountered a problem.

When she graduated and left the apartment, she cancelled the account. It took a little pressure but AOL relented. The monthly deductions no longer appeared on her bank statements, indicating that the agreement had indeed ended.

Last month, she received a bill from AOL, in the amount of over $550. AOL claims that she had neglected to pay her basic fees for three years and that they would submit her cumulative debts to a collection agency if she didn't pay up.

Now, in all the time between the day she terminated the account and now, my girlfriend never received a single bill from AOL. The account was in her name and she had left proper address forwards with the federal post office. Other mail that had been sent to her dorm managed to arrive at her place back home. But nothing from AOL. Nor were there any AOL-related sections on her bank statements for the past three years.

This issue remains unresolved, although she refuses to pay, and I don't blame her. Neither of us can think of a legitimate scenario that would explain this bill. It honestly appears as though AOL is trying to scrape extra money from current and former customers in the hopes that they're all too timid to fight back.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

What's even worse than this is what AOL recently did to my girlfriend.

She had AOL when she lived in a college dorm. Each month, she had her AOL fees automatically deducted from her checking account. Upon each billing statement, there would be a notation that $XX.xx was taken out in AOL's name and everything was hunky dory. She would cross-check the billing statement AOL sent to her place to make sure everything was on the level. She never encountered a problem.

When she graduated and left the apartment, she cancelled the account. It took a little pressure but AOL relented. The monthly deductions no longer appeared on her bank statements, indicating that the agreement had indeed ended.

Last month, she received a bill from AOL, in the amount of over $550. AOL claims that she had neglected to pay her basic fees for three years and that they would submit her cumulative debts to a collection agency if she didn't pay up.

Now, in all the time between the day she terminated the account and now, my girlfriend never received a single bill from AOL. The account was in her name and she had left proper address forwards with the federal post office. Other mail that had been sent to her dorm managed to arrive at her place back home. But nothing from AOL. Nor were there any AOL-related sections on her bank statements for the past three years.

This issue remains unresolved, although she refuses to pay, and I don't blame her. Neither of us can think of a legitimate scenario that would explain this bill. It honestly appears as though AOL is trying to scrape extra money from current and former customers in the hopes that they're all too timid to fight back.

You know, does she have the date or anything that she called to request the cancellation? Because thats absolute bullshit. I would be RAGING on their asses, call them up, REMIND them of their recent media coverage, and threaten legal action.

Thats a bunch of SHIT and her credit is being fucking RUINED because AOL are a bunch of twat-raping motherfucks.

FELIPE NO

What I also find funny, is the 2nd time I called in and cancelled, they said they had no record of me cancelling my account in the first place, even though I gave them a "referrence" number they gave me. Way to followup your records, AOL.

www.aohell.com

Funny note about that site, all current AOL users are being completely denied access to that domain. Who'da thought?

How ya doing, buddy?

All she has is bank records showing the last date upon which money was deducted from her account for AOL. That and the post office records documenting that she left a proper forwarding address.

She's already had a nice chat with a lawyer. I'm not really worried. Based upon the Vincent Ferrari story, AOL's getting a lot of bad exposure.

Incidentally, is anyone else bothered by that guy's name: "Vince Ferrari"?

"Vic Ferrari" was an alias of "Latka Gravas" on television's Taxi. Andy Kaufman, who played both, was notorious for pulling high profile hoaxes. This seems like a weird coincidence and I wonder if it's a very subtle clue that this whole thing is a prank against AOL.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Though it would be a coincidence, it's far too common to be seen only as a prank as everyone in here would attest to that.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

America Online. I laugh.

When we purchased our very first computer, we signed up for the AOL Dial-Up service. The service was great (we didn't know any better at the time). Then we purchased another computer and discovered Broadband and DSL.

So we called America Online to cancel their service. We were put on hold twice and they never got back to us. The third time we called, we were pretty pissed. We eventually cancelled our account but just to be sure, told our bank to deny any attempted withdrawls to that company. Good times.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Someone want to file a class-action lawsuit against AOL or what. This is some devious shit AOL is pulling.

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Originally Posted by russ

Are you sure it was because the computer was a Dell, or was it perhaps because you did not configure it properly. The only hardware reason that a computer would be unable to be networked is if it lacked a NIC. You're going to have to explain this one to me.

Also AOL has the mark of the beast, will bring about the apocalypse, all that jazz.

The System is a prebuilt Dell with a Network card Integrated into the Motherboard.

The Fact that it wouldn't even Try to pull up the "Create a Home or Office network" Wizard Left me a little dumbfounded. I then Tried to look at the workgroups that it belongs to but it said that the Account I was on "The only account that is used on that computer with full administrative rights" didn't have the Administrative rights to view them. SO I backdoored the system and went straight to the Admin account and the same thing Happened. So I have drawn two conclusions from this little Fiasco.

1. Either Time Warner is jerking us around because we get our Internet from them
2. or Dell is jerking us around!

I was speaking idiomatically.

Man, I remember when I used to have AOL while I was in the Army. It was the only service available where I was (cause the Army likes to build bases in remote areas, and broadband wasn't available in the area I was at), and I hated it because I often got booted off regularly, up to 5 times a night during "peak" periods (God I wanted to slap my comp everytime I heard "Goodbye!", esp. if for some reason it was said 2x in a row).

Needless to say, when I got out of the army and came back home, my brother hooked the house up with DSL (which had its own problems, but at least it was more reliable). I called AOL and told them to cancel my account, since I wouldn't need it anymore, but the lady I was talking to kept trying to essentially guilt me into staying with them (similiar to what others have said here), but I was insistent on cancelling, because I didn't want to pay for it anymore.

Instead of cancelling, what this lady said was basically I'd have AOL for another 2 months for free, and then after that "grace" period, if I truly wanted to cancel, I should give them another call and confirm it (and yes, AOL would've charged me if I didn't call to cancel. I think what they were doing was giving me 2 months free in an attempt to get me to stay on). Since I'd been on the phone with them for about 20 minutes already (well 5, I spent 15 minutes on hold, and no matter what I said, the lady simply would not cancel my account), I just said "fine".

Come the end of the 2 months, I call again and tell them to cancel my account, and luckily the guy I spoke to didn't give me any hard time, and simply cancelled it.

I think that AOL customer service reps must get training where when someone calls to cancel, they're told to do anything and everything possible to get people to reconsider, but as you can see, it doesn't work well, particularly with peeps who know a thing or two about the internet.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Now that everyone is going to high speed, AOL is clinging on like a bad girlfriend who won't take no for an answer.

PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME.

I just pretend I'm moving.

FELIPE NO

AOL tried everything to keep you in. I cancelled my account before the 30 days and they tried to keep me by giving me another extended trial and then I tried the whole "My computer is broke O_O" thing but they counter attacked by trying to sell me a 300 dollar computer. One thing led to another and I finally won by just saying "I'd rather just cancel my account" over and over again.
I think the best way to actually cancel it is by telling the truth. Your service sucks and I'm with a better provider, i want to cancel and I don't care what you say to me so don't waste my time.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'm all for bringing down AOL. I was bothered by their ads and shitty service for years. Crash, hope things go well with the anti-AOL stuff.

Jam it back in, in the dark.