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Old 07-18-2008, 02:20 PM   #1
sickbadthing
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Disgusting!
Report Commentby Victor J. @ 10:23pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
if that was me,I would have closed the bank account,Aol keeps scimming this lady's account.
shame on AOL!Sick people,sick company.
ditto :***4
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buyer beware
Report Commentby Lowell F. @ 10:31pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
isn't that the same ole story? Vonage phone service does the same thing. Sign up... they start billing... then you have to make sure your internet high speed provider is compatable to Vonage. If it isn't you play he!! getting a refund. You're on the phone with them for 2 hours to get disconnected. And the people you talk to are like Pakistani and you can't understand them. Let's export some more American jobs overseas shall we? AOL service is the same way except it's in India.
ditto :+21
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Yeah, but
Report Commentby Mr_neo @ 12:30am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I feel for the lady, but come on... you go 10 years not knowing what you're paying money for? That seems to indicate that maybe the lady didn't have a clue what she was doing or what she was talking about. Companies need to have great customer service, but at the same time, consumers need to be intelligent enough to know what they're doing too. Glad she got something back at least. I think she should put her daughter on the hook here for part of it, since the daughter supposedly set it up with her bank account, and never took care of it. There's plenty of blame to go around to everybody involved in this.
insightful :***1
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In my younger years...
Report Commentby Vinney @ 8:07am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I worked call centers for 2 different credit card companies. One issued both Visa and Mastercards, and the other was Discover Card. I can't tell you how often this was a problem with AOL. People would have their card numbers changed (similar to if you lost your card or had it stolen) over AOL not cancelling their account after multiple request. Sometimes AOL would still find a way to push through charges on their close card number. It was ridiculous.
ditto :+8
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it is incredible
Report Commentby Realitycheckplease @ 8:44am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
that anyone would want AOL in the first place, after all the complaints. Do you want to know what is worse. Try to get rid of the AOL software from your computer, AOL is like a virus. I have tried to help friends get rid of it and it has trojan like capibilities, it is awful.
disagree :-6
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Charges on a closed account?
Report Commentby Shaun @ 9:28am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Wouldn't allowing charges through on a closed card be the fault of the charge card company? It seems pretty simple that if the account is closed, there would be no way "pushing their way through". Either the transaction center did their job or didn't. If they allowed a charge on an otherwise closed account, the fault would seem to lie with the charge card company.
ditto :***
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fault of the charge card company?
Report Commentby Vinney @ 9:52am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
are you kidding? surely it wasn't AOL's fault for exploiting a backdoor process that is there for other reasons...

gimme a break.
disagree :-3
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Just a thought.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 9:23am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
If I understand you comment correctly, you infer that you've had the same problem with not just one, but two different companies.

Surely by the time you had the problems with issues with the first company, you would have been more protective with the second. Without knowing the specifics in either case, having such ongoing problems, one may conclude the issue is not with the company but with the user or consumer.
split vote :0
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Vonage? Try ACN!!
Report Commentby DAbel @ 10:20am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You think thats bad try ACN! They tout the same 24.95 or whatever cost and there big thing is "It's free to try"! What they fail to tell you is that there is still local fees and taxes which is one of the reasons your regular phone bill is higher also added to their final cost.

My Brother tried them out and found his bill to be HIGHER than it was before. Now the clincher, Yes, it is FREE to try, but what they don't tell you is it cost over a hundred dollars to quit and go back to your old carrier!

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
ditto :+2
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$100 to quit?
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 10:53am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
No, just sign up for somebody new. Doesn't cost to quit.
disagree :-17
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Closing the account?
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:33pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
I'm not sure closing the account would do a great deal. That is, the big argument here is all the charges she has had debited for, not just one but, two accounts over several years.

Siding with the consumer for the sake of being a consumer is a dangerous route. As a consumer, people need to understand and control their finances better. Not that the story is not unfortunate, but AOL is hardly to blame.
ditto :+6
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Shaun
Report Commentby SupperDave @ 7:20am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You've obviously never tried to cancel an AOL account. All new computers using a windows operating system come with free trial period internet subscriptions. I signed up for the AOL trial. Didn't like it and therefore didn't want it after the trial period. To cancel, one is on the phone for hours with an unreasonably agressive customer retention group. Unreasonable isn't even the word. Impossible fits better. Trust me, even though it's a pain, closing your bank account and opening a new one is easier.

FYI... freecreditreport.com is the same way. They are very sly in the setup process. If you read every little word, (you know the stuff in size 2 font that goes on for umpteen pages) you will find out that you are signing up for a monthly service. The fact that the first report is the only free report is actually very clear. When I was billed for ongoing service and called up to find out why, I learned that the subscriber by default is singed up for continued service. It wasn't something I actually selected myself by clicking a box. Somewhere in all that fine print was a little box that I could have checked to not receive continued service. It's a joke. The choice to continue or decline future service should be conspicuously placed with the default being that there is no continued service unless I click the box. Not the opposite. I refuse to give my business to companies that employ such tactics. I finally cancelled the card it was being billed to as cancelling through customer service was a pain.
funny :***5
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Give AOL some credit...
Report Commentby xophrame @ 7:43am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
All those CD's they sent out were the best free targets that we used at the outdoor range. It also made the ground out there all pretty and shiny. I also think those things could also magically reproduce if you left two of them in close proximity to each other. Thanks AOL, the targets were fun.

Love,
Never been on AOL, NEVER will.
ditto :***2
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BS!
Report Commentby Legal Eagle @ 8:13am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
First, as to AOL, there is no need to stay on the line and play their game. No means no. You say you want to cancel. If they don't comply you tell them you want to cancel, and that as of that day you will instruct the bank to stop processing the debits and that you are now hanging up. If another payment is processed, you call the FTC. This woman has no one to blame but herself. She let her daughter use her bank account, strike one. She didn't pay attention to her account statements, strike two. She allowed this to go on for 10 years, strike three.

As for your story with freecreditreport.com, same story. It is quite clear in everything I've seen from them that getting the free credit report requires subscription to their service. No question about it. The fact that you missed it indicates you need to pay closer attention as well. The onus is on you.
ditto :+3
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Legal Eagle
Report Commentby SupperDave @ 9:46am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Your comment is written as though it is contrary to my opinion. Everything you disagree with, I readily admitted. Read again... I readily admitted that they made it clear the continued monthly service was not free. You say that the free credit report requires a subscription. Maybe that's what you are seeing now. When I ordered my free credit report in fall '06 (and immediately tried to cancel once I saw the first charge)that was not the case. It was a choice that they made for the consumer. The consumer had to find the buried and hidden box and unselect the subscription

You're right on another point. I didn't read all that fine print to find where I was supposed to decline the monthly service. I admitted that also. (It's called selective neglect. We're talking about a $10 per month subscription, not a home purchase.) But that only further serves to prove my point. One should NOT have to read the fine print to NOT buy something. It's also a matter of ethics and customer friendly business practices. This practice may be legal (you'd know for sure), but it certainly isn't ethical or customer friendly.

Your an attorney I presume based on your name. I'm not an attorney, but I know about the reasonable man concept. Much of the law is based on what is reasonable. Reading fine print to find where I decline a $10 service is not reasonable.
split vote :0
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Good points!
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:00am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I had a problem with a recurring product like this once. It was from one of those infomercials, which I should NEVER have called on.

I gave 'em my initial money, then decided their claims were exagerated, and decided not to do anything with it. Then I started getting billed on my credit card, which I never believe I had authorized. I called them and they said that since I wasn't using their program to make me (and them) money, that my account required a montly maintenance fee. What the heck?

I told them to take the charge off and they kept trying to get me to continue. I finally told them that I had NOT authorized the credit card charge and if they did not take it off, I would contest the charge with my credit card issuer and file a complaint of fraud against them.

They immediately stopped their sales pitch and agreed. The charge was removed and did not occur again.
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Wow!
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:46am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Cool, Shaun trolled me!
insightful :+2
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alternative to freecreditreport.com
Report Commentby S.L.C. Ut @ 8:38am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
A couple of years ago, some law was passed requiring all three agencies to provide consumers with one free credit report a year. The site that was setup to do this is annualcreditreport.com. I've used it, and yes they try to upsell you, but no subscription is necessary. They aren't allowed to on your free annual report.
insightful :***
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I had the same thing happen....
Report Commentby Harley Maiden @ 9:33am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Both AOL and Free credit report. AOL charged me twice a month before I caught it, and I never even received my free credit report, but was billed for it for 6 months after. It was extremely difficult to get any money back or cancel.....
disagree :-7
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More than one company?
Report Commentby Shaun @ 9:44am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I'm surprised to anyone who claims to have had problems with MORE than one company.

It sure would imply that the fault lies with the consumer and not the service provider.
ditto :+4
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You obviously didn't do your homework SupperDave
Report Commentby JH @ 9:34am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
freecreditreport.com is the wrong site to go to. You should of gone to annualcreditreport.com. They give you your annual report for free and no automatic sign ups.

This brings up a good point. Doesn't anybody ever do their homework anymore. I'm not blaming this poor lady because she doesn't use the internet but ANYBODY with the internet should know not to install AOL software. Just google AOL complaints and see what pops up. Before I purchase anything, or sign up with any company, I see what others say about their service. It's just common sense nowadays.
disagree :-4
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Consider...
Report Commentby Shaun @ 9:47am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You have to consider, JH, that there are also thousands of people who use AOL that enjoy their service.
ditto :+6
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Obviously
Report Commentby Tarken @ 10:09am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Shawn has bought extensive stock in AOL. Why else whould you defend the devil?
troll :-4
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In this particular case,
Report Commentby Shaun @ 9:39am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
If I understand you comment correctly, you infer that you've had the same problem with not just one, but two different companies.

Surely by the time you had the problems with issues with the first company, you would have been more protective with the second. Without knowing the specifics in either case, having such ongoing problems, one may conclude the issue is not with the company but with the user or consumer.

Look, the simple truth is that, sure they don't want to loose your account and cancellation of the account should be simple. Having a box checked or not checked as a default is not as problematic to the consumer if the take the time to read what they are agreeing to. Cancellation of an account can be just as simple as long as the consumer makes sure to keep accurate records and wisely puts such notification in writing.

In this particular case, however, the customer subscribed to two accounts and allowed the deductions to occur for the better part of a decade. This alone infers acceptance to the terms of the agreement.
ditto :+5
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True
Report Commentby Jeff H. @ 8:29am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
#1 She should have have her daughter who opened 2 accounts with AOL helping her.
#2 She should have someone looking over her bills, and statements each month. It is clear she does not and has not the abilitys to do this.
#3 I cancelled my AOL account without ANY problems simply on the web.

People get themselves into these problems and then feel like a victum. She clearly is and this was started by allowing her daughter access to her back info, and then not having the skills to clean it up.
ditto :***
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A-O-He!!
Report Commentby Dilbo @ 11:31pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
There's a reason it's pronounced as above!
If you want Internet service, get a "REAL" ISP, not this make believe carrier.
disagree :-6
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"Real ISP"
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:53pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
I would like to know what you consider a real ISP.

If you don't like them or their service for one reason or another, that may be one thing. In this case, they are an ISP as they do provide internet service.
ditto :+5
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AOL
Report Commentby Wil H. @ 6:47am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
AOL is for those who want the ease of having an ISP without having to learn a few skills. AOL makes it easy to search on the web. However, AOL does scam you for the extra things they put on their site. I have found it a lot easier to be with a local company that gives me access to the web without having to navigate their website. Besides I now am able to recieve my mail without AOL deciding who can or can't send me mail. I get to make that choice and it is very refreshing. I also pay less than to these companies than I ever did to AOL. AOL is nothing more than a bunch of crooks who steal money from you and then offer you a few months back. People should find a reliable server onstead of the scammers AOL.
ditto :+6
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who is really responsible?
Report Commentby Cindy B. @ 4:55am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I do feel for this lady. She probably had no real knowledge of the charges to her account. However, at the time her daughter signed on to AOL, you had to provide a bank account or credit card, even for a free trial. Why did her daughter use her mother's account information? And, if her daughter had her permission, why didn't her daughter follow up to make sure the account was actually cancelled? The daughter bears responsibility here. I've been on AOL for the majority of the last 10 years and I've never had a problem with them, even when I've called them to cancel my accounts.
troll :-11
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby paulsaul20 @ 5:21am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
the one responsible is high gas prices. and how do you let charges like that go on for so long... i think she owes the public for being so dumb and making us read this as top of the news.
ditto :+4
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We need much better customer service action in what we say, and in our actions!
Report Commentby B Happy 4 Ever @ 5:39am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
The lady needs to get with the other consumers that feel ripped off (and that shouldn’t be too hard to do), and get them to pay the full amount they owe. They need to pay her.

Many big companies think they can get away with this crap and they forget that the customer is the one paying their bills!
split vote :0
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Legal Eagle @ 8:18am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Why do they need to pay her? Where is the liability for her own lack of responsibility?
ditto :***
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I agree
Report Commentby AJigga from Myspace @ 9:09am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
She should have closed her account years ago.. and letting it go that long and just assuming they were bank fees.. come on. She's lucky she got $500 out of it.
split vote :0
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Think about it, tho
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:06am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I believe you are right, it was her responsibility as a consumer to know what she was paying for. But why did AOL offer $500? They didn't have any liability, but it shows us something, I think.

AOL KNOWS about this problem and they want news coverage of it to GO AWAY. They probably collect thousands of times more than $500 per month just on dormant accounts. They can test for dormant accounts. I mean, really, if somebody doesn't log in for ten years? Yeah, they know.

Still, it's the consumer's responsibility, but AOL knows about the problem and they like it.
ditto :+2
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paulsaul20
Report Commentby *LJ* @ 10:13am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
nobody is MAKING you read this article...or are they??
ditto :***2
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AOL
Report Commentby Wil H. @ 6:26am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I had AOL at one time and getting them to cancel an account is almost impossible. I cancelled my account 3 times and they NEVER had a record of my account being canceled. I had to cancel my credit card to get them to stop and even then they sent my account to collections. AOL does not like to have people leave them and they will do anything to keep you. Once a member, always a member. I am sure that this ladies daughter cancelled the account, AOL just refused to document it as if they have no record, then you never cancelled it. They keep very poor records to prove that you never contacted them. I would not Believe AOL on anything they say about this account.
funny :+2
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AOL execs should DIAF
Report Commentby markharr @ 8:59am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
When this company inevitably fails they should make it a national holiday.
offtopic :-2
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So this is news?
Report Commentby Frank C. @ 9:12am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
So this is news and when Comcast terminates Internet accounts of Salt Lake Valley residents it's not?

KSL has a really screwy sense of what's news. But that's ok. They were scooped by Fox 13 AND Gephart along with Washington Post, Boston Globe and the New York Times.

www.comcastissue.blogspot.com

Oh and it looks like we're getting Fiber to the Node (not the home) through Qwest. But of course I'm still rooting for Utopia fiber to the home.

Now if only West Jordan would finally join as a NON Pledging member. At least that would get the ball rolling.

Regards
ditto :***3
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I would have sued them for the full $6,037 plus punitive damages
Report Commentby SamBecks C. @ 10:24pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
AOL needs to be punished.
disagree :-3
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Curiously
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:29pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Curiously, on what grounds? Permission was given years ago for the account to be debited. Charging the account went on for years. How would going to court solve anything other than you saying "I'm suing t****.

Intelligently, the only thing you would have been out is the court costs and serving fees. And if you intend on suing for the full amount, you won't be doing so in a small claims court. You better be prepared to pay for legal council.
ditto :***0
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I doubt it
Report Commentby JustThinkingOutLoud @ 11:33pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Why would this woman, or her daughter, or whoever it was, open TWO accounts when this older lady doesn't even own a computer? I think something's fishy with AOL, and it's called "taking advantage of one because of their weakness." I'm sure this isn't the first time she tried to stop the billing. I've worked at a bank and know first-hand how difficult it can be to stop automatic payments, so I side with this woman. AOL knows exactly what they're doing, and they'll keep it up as long as people don't stand up and make more noise!
ditto :+5
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You have a great point
Report Commentby FeS2 @ 6:14am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I think Utah has a "Preying on the elderly" law. It should be invoked.
ditto :+3
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Utah...
Report Commentby Wil H. @ 6:58am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
has very few laws to protect consumers. Utah passes very few laws that will really protect you from companies as they feel they should not hamper a business to provide you with their service. No matter how shoddy they may be. Businesses have more rights than you as the consumer. Utah protects the scammers and the crooks who prey upon you the consumer. Utah rarely goes to bat for the consumer. Many states protect their people from businesses that provide shoddy services, used car sales men that sell you a lemon, credit card companies that charge you high intrest, and the high intrest from the quick cash loan sharks. Utah allows businesses to scam you without any repercussions what so ever. It is you the consumer who is responsable to make sure that you are not scammed from any business. Basically Utah allows you to be scammed, robbed and taken advantage of by businesses. You have no protection and no right to be protected by unscrupulous businesses.
ditto :+5
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Why?
Report Commentby Scybo @ 10:31pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
She could try to sue but she wouldn't win because she didn't read the fine print when she opened the accounts. Always read the fine print (and never open an AOL account). The fine print clearly states that after the free trial period they would automatically start billing her. Why do you think they require a credit card to open a trial account?

I don't blame her for being upset though. I would be pretty upset too. She should be grateful she got $500 back from them. Usually the most they will ever refund is $90.

AOL does need to make it easier to cancel accounts. That is for sure.
ditto :+5
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2 accounts...
Report Commentby Wil H. @ 6:38am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I doubt this lady opened 2 accounts and I know AOL ripped her off. If you investigate this fully you will see thousands of people complaining of the same thing. This is not an isolated instance of one person being ripped off. AOL counts on you not checking your bank account or credit card account for anyone who could be ripping you off. AOL is a thief and they need to be punished for being a thief!! Anyone who thinks this is a problem of she didn't read the fine print, she didn't try to cancel the account or that she deserves this cause she is stupid needs to re-examine their evidence of this. AOL is still up to their old tricks. After all it is easier to beg for forgiveness after they have your money in their bank account. Companies like this need to held accountable for their practices.
troll :-4
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Sue for what?
Report Commentby Vick T. @ 6:03am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Why sue AOL, they did nothing wrong. The daughter set up 2 accts, agreed to terms of service and entered a bank card TWICE! If they dont read what they are setting up and dont cancel the accts, then too bad so sad in my opinion. Here's an idea......keep better track of your bank account!
ditto :+6
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I see ...
Report Commentby Wil H. @ 7:17am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You have never dealt with AOL. I doubt the daughter set up 2 accounts. I don't doubt that AOL set up 2 accounts to get double the money. I have dealt with AOL and I have caught them with their lies. I have had my money stolen from me. I had to cancel my Credit Card to stop them from taking my money and then they tried to collect from me through a collection company. I cancelled my account 3 times in 3 days and it was never cancelled. They would disconnect me, but an hour later I was reconnected. Once you are connected with AOL you are connected to them for life. They will not let you cancel their service. For anyone to say that this old lady is responsable is unfair to this lady. AOL is to blame with shoddy records and refusing to disconnect someone from their network. AOL should be ashamed of theirself for stealing this ladies money. If you have never tried to cancel an account with AOL, then you have no idea what you are talking about and should stay quiet.

On a personal note to Vick T...I trolled you as you have no clue as to what you are talking about when it comes to AOL...You can keep track of your account and AOL will still steal from you. You can call them daily and they will not cancel your account. AOl has thousands of this kind of complaint accross the country. You can find people who set upo one accoung and ended up with 2 accounts, who can not cancel their account, who are being billed after they cancel their account and you will find AOL has stolen from all of these people. So quit being an ostrich and get your head above the ground...
split vote :0
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Legal Eagle @ 8:28am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on your own experience, though it differs greatly from my own. However, at what point is personal responsibility relevant? As bad as you say AOL is, there is absolutely no reason that this should have even happened, much less gone on more that 6 months. First, this started when the lady was 64, but was done by her daughter. Assuming this lady gave birth to this daughter at 40, that would make the daughter 24, at which point she should have been able to pay for AOL without mom's bank account. However, overlooking that fact, after trying to cancel and not having luck after two months, I'm calling the BBB, the state and the FTC, were someone will get the charges to stop. There is absolutely no reason for this to have dragged on for 10 years. Her own fault.
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I’m siding with AOL on this one.
Report Commentby John smallberries @ 11:34am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
This lady allowed unknown charges to go on month after month for 10 years? This lady deserves to have her $6000 taken from her. AOL simply thought she had two accounts opened and were doing their corporate duty of providing her Internet service. True she says she tried to cancel the service 10 years ago. If that was the case, she should have taken corrective action 9 years and 11 months ago. Sorry lady, you get what you deserve.

John Smallberries.
disagree :-8
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Consider...
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:26pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
As much as many people may want to side with the consumer in this instance, being consumers ourselves, I would have to find for AOL in this case.

In order to use AOL's 30 day offer, you needed to give a bank account or charge account number. There really was no disguising the fact that if you didn't cancel the membership after a period of time, your account would be charged.

Now I agree that a lot of people complain that they find it difficult to cancel an AOL account. I can't say I disagree with them. However, all one needs to do in order to cancel their account is PUT IT IN WRITING AND SHOW PROOF THAT THE CANCELLATION HAS BEEN SENT TO AOL. If one thinks that may be too difficult, one should also not sign up for the account to begin with.

In addition to this, how many years has the customer gone having her account debited? At some point, one must take responsibility for their own finances.

It is sad that this customer is out the $6000 plus dollars, as it sounds like she could really use it, but KUDOS to AOL for offering her a partial refund. That kind of company is one we can all support!
ditto :+4
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Beatus @ 10:30pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
You're kidding, right? I have to believe the internet providers have some idea of how much their service is being used by consumers. This lady didn't even have a computer. Their offer was a joke, not something to be lauded. Moreover, their offer was made after the media got involved. There's nothing there to be proud of.

AOL is a real piece of work, but I also have to wonder about the daughter. I think she owes her mother some money.
disagree :-6
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Agreement.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:40pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
I don't know of anywhere within AOL's agreement that if the accounts go unused, the subscriber is entitled to some sort of refund.

And yes, they offered a greater refund after the media got involved, but clearly did not even have to do that. They were not giving a complete refund, so the reason for offering the amount back was not to get on the good graces of KSL. Considering this customer had subscribed to the accounts for years, they could have easily said they would not refund anything. I think it was truly great of them to offer a kind hand in offering any form of refund.

Not that I would agree with big business in just any case, but not doing so in this case is nothing more than trying to back a consumer for the only purpose of backing the consumer. That is, well we'd all like the little guy (or gal) to win, but in this case, the consumer was clearly in the wrong.
ditto :+5
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Seriously...
Report Commentby Roenick @ 10:46pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
"KUDOS to AOL for offering her a partial refund. That kind of company is one we can all support!"

Dude, lemme guess..... You work for AOL, right?

Shut it, please!
disagree :-15
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AOL
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:48pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Why would you think I work for AOL?

Just because I recognize a company doing the right thing.
ditto :***0
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Well...
Report Commentby Roenick @ 10:52pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Well, maybe it's that you seem to know an awful lot about the companies policies or perhaps it's your undying support and love for them.

I agree that this woman was foolish in not checking her account more closely but if a company has already been in trouble for these kinds of practices in multiple areas around the country, I'm not sure that i would be giving "KUDOS to AOL"

Do you really think that they have been doing the right thing?

Come on, man.
disagree :-9
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Absolutely
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:07pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Absolutely. They were great in refunding part of the charges taken. You can't possibly believe they should have refunded years and years of charges.

And telling another user of the site to "Shut it" an absolutely terrible attitude and quite telling of your level of maturity. Not agreeing with a particular perspective is absolutely fine, but using any form of derogatory statement, such as this, is unbecoming.
ditto :+5
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Fair enough..
Report Commentby Roenick @ 9:00am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Fair enough about the "Shut It" comment. Please accept my apologies.

As to the other statement, no, I don't believe that they should have to refund the entire amount. They were obviosly within their legal right to do so.

That being said, AOL has alway had predatory practices when it comes to handling their memberships. They have NOT been doing the right thing and have been punished repeatedly in courts of law around the country.

Like I said before, I don't think that this woman was entitled to a refund, but I have a hard time seeing how AOL is a great company, deserve KUDOS, or should be supported by anyone at all.

Frankly, I'd like to see all of these kinds of companies go out of business.
disagree :-5
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How would AOL know she doesn't have a computer?
Report Commentby Emophiliac @ 7:15am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
All AOL knows is that someone set up an account using her bank information. That's all it needs to know.

The issue of 2 accounts, though, does stand in the ladie's favor, if the 2 accounts are virtually identical. If they are under different names, though, such as the lady and her daughter, then again I'd say she is out of luck. I could imagine that as being something a reasonable person might do. Heck, maybe the daughter screwed things up and reentered the information.

And, waiting 10 years?
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby John smallberries @ 11:40am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
If I buy a new car and never drive it, should the dealership be responsible to ensure I am utilizing my new purchase? No. Then why should AOL be any different? Take responsibility for your own actions.
If I was this lady, I’d take my AOL 30 day trial disk and put it on e-bay for $6000 stating it is “vintage, like new” and “used only once”. What she has is a valuable collectors item.

John Smallberries
ditto :***
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I agree with you!
Report Commentby Greg G. @ 10:49pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
This lady has to take some responsibility. She said she thought the charges were bank fees?? It said AOL Service right on the bill. Debbie Dujanovic kept saying how hard it is to cancel AOL...THIS LADY NEVER CALLED TO CANCEL UNTIL 10 YEARS LATER!!! Not AOL's fault. She let her daughter use her checking account to set this up so she had to know it was going to charge her. If she didn't know her daughter used her checking account make her pay her back because she had no control of her daughter. It's not hard to set up two accounts, her daughter was obviously computer illiterate, again, not AOL's fault.

Maybe it is hard to cancel AOL but in this case that had nothing to do with it. This was a wasted "investigation".
ditto :+4
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daughters don't always"ask" to use their parents accounts or credit cards....
Report Commentby Cathy C. @ 11:42pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
And this woman did not sign up for any service. Fraud somewhere here, and AOL knows that not everyone reads every charge on every piece of paper. She wasn't billed, it was taken electronically from her account, and soon as she disputed it it should have stopped and filed as fraud.

I mean, come on. What if this was your mom?


I work in customer service and this would be and is utterly unacceptable for AOL to cheat her and steal from her this kind of money.
disagree :-5
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With all respect,
Report Commentby Shaun @ 12:40am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
With all respect, if the daughter used an account that was not her's, nor did she have permission to use the account, the fraud would be on the part of the daughter and yes, I believe she could have charges brought against her for doing so. But, again, the story does not go into that part of the transaction.

Sympathy would dictate that any child may like to see their parent get back a refund from years of charges, but this doesn't mean it should happen or even that the debtor did anything wrong. I think it was wonderful that they were willing to refund anything, as they had no real reason to do so. If I were the daughter, I might suggest watching over my mom's account, making sure this didn't happen again.

And so, as you might be able to infer, I do take exception to claiming her mom was cheated out of any kind of money.
disagree :-1
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Legal Eagle @ 8:38am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
This woman didn't sign up, but her account was used to sign up. It is her burden to prove that it was unauthorized. It is her obligation to review her financial information and ensure all is in order. If there is fraud, that could have been dealt with, but the time is likely long since past.

If this was my mom, I'd try and get what I could back, just as she has done, and then ask why she gave my sister the bank info, or at least why she waited 10 years to say anything.

I'd be careful using words like cheat and steal knowing only this woman's version of the story.
ditto :+4
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Remind Me To Never Do Business With Shaun!
Report Commentby David C. @ 11:03pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
You sound like just as big a crook as AOL. Stealing is wrong no matter how you rationalize it. AOL can surely see if someone has never used the service for such a long period. Believe me they know what they are doing and they know they are getting paid and giving nothing in return. Remind me never to do business with you Shaun.
troll :-4
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Already covered.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:27pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
I think this was already covered in a previous post, but maybe you have some insight that I am not aware of. Do you know if there is some area of the AOL agreement that states if an AOL account is not used, a portion of the charges may be refunded?

I am truly not one who believes in telling people, just because I may not agree with their position on a particular subject, that I feel they are dishonest. Nor would I ever tell you such a thing.

I do believe that this customer has a responsibility to oversee her own account and the charges that take place with it. To have allowed it to continue for so long infers a certain amount of acceptance and responsibility.

I to feel sorry for her if she did not intend to have the account, but that does not alleviate her own responsibility. I do believe AOL was exceptional in refunding as much as they did. They were clearly trying to make sure she was not being taken advantage of and was trying to be very fair to her.
split vote :0
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As long as you're editing others' posts . . .
Report Commentby JustThinkingOutLoud @ 12:12am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You may want to notice that the word "to" really should be "too" in the last paragraph there. Just a little something to think about. There's actually a great word for that very thing: correcting the errors of others while making an error yourself. I just wish I could remember what it is!
ditto :***
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Before trolling that comment . . .
Report Commentby JustThinkingOutLoud @ 9:13am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Find the posts titled "Cathy, Cathy, Cathy," and "This Post" further down the board, and you'll know why I said what I did. Shaun is correcting grammar and typos along with not admitting he/she works for AOL!
insightful :+6
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the other side
Report Commentby Jani S. @ 11:19pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
as a business owner who does online transactions, I know for a fact that the burden of proof with any internet transaction lies with the company, not the consumer. I have had customers purchase my internet service product (which clearly states the terms of service and cancelation policy on the buy page) use it for months (I can track usage) then go to their financial institution and claim I am charging them for a service they don't use, and the financial institution will charge back my account without any further proof - and I can dispute the chargeback but if I don't have a signed receipt, which there isn't because it is an internet transaction, then the chargeback is almost never reversed - so basically, those customers bilked me out of months of service and I can't prove any differently, even if I provide the usage charts.

However, if a customer can prove that they accidently set up two accounts on the same day (which can happen if they click the buy button twice before the page refreshed) I always refund the second charge - that is just good customer service.

With this situation, I feel bad for the old woman - obviously she is not computer/internet savvy at all, and her daughter took advantage of her access to mom's account. This lady is 74 years old - how old is her daughter? I think the daughter should pay her mom back some, but I do think AOL should have refunded the cost of the second account - that was obviously an error.

If this is a problem in a lot of states though, like the article states, AOL better do some serious customer service overhaul or they are going to be paying out a lot more in litgation than $500 to an old woman.
ditto :+4
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the other side part deux
Report Commentby crosstalk @ 12:21am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Actually this happened with me with AOL years ago. I was one of those who apparantly got "slammed" i.e. signed up without my permission by some overzealous employee/telemarketer who called me on the phone (and I already had internet service with someone else).

It's one thing where it happens with one or two people. But hundreds? I say burn AOL at the stake. They should know waay better by now. Make them return *all* of the money. Esp. over the fact that she was billed for *two* accounts.
disagree :-2
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Slammed?
Report Commentby Vick T. @ 6:31am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
If someone called you (which they dont) and set up an account without your knowledge then that means you must have given them your credit/debit card without your knowledge too. You CANT set up an account without entering a payment method so it is kind of hard for a telemarketer to guess what your card number is and set up an acct.....take some responsibility for your finances!
ditto :+3
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Lets see...
Report Commentby Wil H. @ 7:34am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I have had AOL and it is hard to set up 2 accounts at once. I have to go through the same procedure to set up the second account as I did the first account. This is not the first time AOL has been accused of setting up duplicate accounts on someone. AOL is famous for stealling money from their subscribers. I should not need to point out that AOL ALREADY has your account numbers as you just electronicly gave them to AOL. It is not hard for them to set you up a second account. They can even do it by having the computer set it up for you. I can see you are an AOL die hard. Maybe it is time to leave AOL for a real ISP that is honest and fair. Besides you don't need software with many of the other ISP's that are around and I get better service than AOL is even capabile of. The best move I ever made was to get away from ISP's like AOL.
ditto :+7
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Oh my gosher
Report Commentby Cathy C. @ 11:37pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Shaun shaun shaun.....she did not open the account. And curiously aol said 2 opened on the same day, I know that is one of their ways of stealing from the customer. Her daugther did it, and granted there should have been more communication, but obviously AOL took advantage of the situation.

Wait till your old and living on $900.00 a month and having $60.00 taken away for something that you probably don't even know what it is. She never even owned a computer.

Kudos? She never had the service at her home. Duh....
troll :-7
(show comment)
Cathy, Cathy, Cathy...
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:51pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Cathy, Cathy, Cathy... (notice each of the words should be capitalized and a comma following each ;-) She may or may not have opened the account. The story never covers the information on how her daughter may have got her account information. I'm not sure anyone could remember if it had been a decade ago.

Remember, AOL is not some small mom and pop store down the street. They are a larger service provider and, I'm sure, had not one individual hired to just take care of this particular situation. There is nothing against signing up for two accounts. Many families have more than just one internet account.

Next, I'm not aware of anywhere in the story it spoke of how much income this lady had coming in or even how much a month she was being debited for each account.

I am also not aware of anywhere in any agreement that requires one much own a computer in order to subscribe to an account. It is possible to use the account on other systems or have it (or them) for a variety of other reasons.

So as others have also stated, the company had absolutely no reason to refund any portion of the charges, let alone $500. So, yes, KUDOS to them. They refunded a pretty large sum of money when they could have refused to do nothing.
split vote :0
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Just FYI
Report Commentby wilco64256 @ 8:52am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
It should read, "refused to do anything." And I don't buy the line that a 64-year-old woman would be paying for two dial-up internet connections in her home at the same time. I don't even known anybody that pays for two separate internet accounts in the same home, it's far cheaper to just set up a small network in your home.

The reason she got $500 refunded? The news got her higher up the corporate complaint chain. The higher you get, the more money that person is authorized to refund. And AOL has a track record here, they've been in serious trouble in the past regarding their cancellation policies (or lack thereof) and setting up duplicate accounts. Sure, she should have kept track of her bank account better, but that doesn't make what AOL did acceptable. At the VERY least she should be refunded half of the total charges for the second bogus account that was setup.

And yes, AOL is able to track usage so it'd be very simple for them to look and see that she doesn't even use the service.
troll :-1
(show comment)
Arbitrarily...
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:03am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
So you've arbitrarily come up with the refund one half the amount.

Look, this customer signed up for two accounts approximately ten years ago. It is not up to anyone but herself to know why she signed up for two separate accounts. And, frankly, if her daughter had been the one signing up, I'd be surprised if she would remember the exact details of the transaction so long ago.

She had two accounts and allowed the charges to continue through the last decade. This absolutely infers an acceptance to the terms of the contract. And, as stated before, I am not aware that if a consumer does not use or actively use their account(s) they are entitled to any form of refund. In this case, AOL went way beyond what was required by issuing such a large refund.
troll :-1
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That wasn't the only error
Report Commentby JustThinkingOutLoud @ 10:17am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
There's also, "requires one much own a computer . . . ." What does that mean, Shaun? Funny how quickly you're pointing out the errors in others' posts, but are making them in your own. Karma, my dear.
troll :-1
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Shaun
Report Commentby gemstone @ 11:15am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
If a person doesn't own a computer, why would they want an internet service? Why do you keep defending a company that is known for scamming people?
disagree :-2
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Vick T. @ 6:35am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You "know" that this is one of their ways of stealing money?? You are kidding right? How would you know this, did you work for them and do this? To set ANY AOL account you have to agree to the terms of service and enter your payment method, so anyone with 2 accts did this twice. I dont see how AOL has anything to do with that.
ditto :+3
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Draconis @ 6:15am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
My wife at one point had an AOL account she called not once but 3 times to have them cancel the account. Each time they promised that they would do so. After the 3rd call AOL continued to bill her account for 6 months and everytime time they charged her she'd call them again and explain her account was canceled. The agent on the phone would note that the account had been setup for termination and she was promised a refund however it never happened and she would be billed again. Finally it took a phone call from me yelling at the agent and threatening a lawsuit to get this to stop.... And you feel we can support such a company? Give me a break
ditto :+2
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Draconis.......
Report Commentby Flossee @ 8:01am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
.....we experienced EXACTLY the same thing as you. We would call every single month and (after being on hold for up to 2 hours)would be told they would cancel it, only to be charged the next month. It took about 6 months and threats of legal action before our account was cancelled. Of course we got no refund because "they had no record of us calling t****

AOL is nothing but a rip-off. Just check the online boards. The numbers speak for themselves. HUNDREDS of angry people all experiencing the same rotten treatment.
troll :-1
(show comment)
Flagging your account.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:06am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
What happened when you contacted your financial institution? They could have placed a flag on your account and not supported any further charges by the party in question.
ditto :***
(show comment)
Bank told me...
Report Commentby Flossee @ 11:24am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
...they could not stop online debits.

I could contest them, but not stop them.

But as each month some sickly sweet AOL rep PROMISED us the account was cancelled, we didn't contest it. I guess I wrongly assumed that AOL were an honest company.
ditto :***
(show comment)
(No Subject)
Report Commentby Draconis @ 11:28am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
This is what her bank told her as well....
ditto :+6
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Do Not Use AOL!!!
Report Commentby CLazalde @ 10:34pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
The same thing happened to me, even after I canceled the AOL Free trial acount. My husband and I have called them many times, and they even gave us confirmation numbers Many times. We still lost almost five hundred dollars. They wouldn't give us money back. We weren't happy about it, but at least they stop charging us.
troll :-1
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Financial Institution.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:46pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
What happened when you contacted your financial institution? They could have placed a flag on your account and not supported any further charges by the party in question.
ditto :***
(show comment)
Banks...
Report Commentby Wil H. @ 7:46am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Banks will not do anything to stop an electronic transfer. It has to come from the person you are making the transfer to. If they do not cancel the service then the bank refuses to cancel it. The bank sides with the business. appearently you don't understand that this is not an isolated instance. Also you are either an AOL die-hard, work for AOL or you have never tried to cancel an AOL account. They give you confirmation numbers, but the number rarely gets into your file. The number is just to make you feel warm and fuzzy. They keep taking money out of your bank account or Credit card account. To point out oine other thing, UTAH does not have any kind of protection against companies like AOL. They can steal you blind and you have no real recourses. UTAH will not do anything to protect consummers from anyone that can take your money and seel you something shoddy, or refuse to cancel.
troll :-2
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"Banks will not do anything"?
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:13am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
"Banks will not do anything"? It's all about good record keeping. Asking your financial institution to flag such transaction is not a difficult proposition. If your financial company wouldn't do so, as you imply, I would suggest finding a different bank.

It is in the financial institution's best interest to help you as their client. To begin with, it keeps you as a customer. Secondly, it protects them. All it takes is good record keeping. As someone stated above, all they did was cancel online and their were no problems at all. Keep a record of the transaction and give those same records to your financial institution. Along with the information, supply your credit union or bank with official notification of disputing any further transactions from the company in question. With documented records, the financial institution is just as much responsible for any transactions. Do you really think they wouldn't want to flag such debits?
ditto :***
(show comment)
....in other words...do not hold AOL responsible?...
Report Commentby Flossee @ 11:28am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
....why should the consumer have to jump through mega hoops instead of the company be honest?
ditto :***
(show comment)
Use a credit card!!!
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:19am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Don't EVER give companies like this ANY information about your checking account. Always use a credit card NOT tied directly to your bank account. It's much easier to report fraud charges for credit cards.
ditto :***
(show comment)
Oh, and also...
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:21am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Credit cards expire. This couldn't have happened for 10 years if a card had been used and it expired. AOL or anybody else can't continue to charge a card once it's expired.
disagree :-1
(show comment)
Stopping the charges
Report Commentby godefroi @ 10:58pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Don't call AOL, call the bank! AOL has no reason to hurry up and cancel your account. If you call the bank and tell them someone is debiting your account without your permission, believe me, they'll fix that, and fast.
funny :+2
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Besides...
Report Commentby godefroi @ 11:06pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
What's the worst that could happen? AOL cancels your account on you because they can't successfully charge you for it? Bummer.
troll :-1
(show comment)
We have recently had troubles
Report Commentby Warren T. @ 8:40am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
In canceling the monitoring service for our security alarm on our home, after being in a 3 year contract they are giving us the run around in canceling. Since I could not get anywhere with anybody on cancelation on my account, I put a stop payment on the electronic debit of that company and the amount. Then in the mail I received a letter saying they were raising their rates, so I called the bank again and put in a stop payment for the new amount. The bank told me if the company draws from the account using a different name or changes the amount they are drawing even by a penny it will still go through. It did not go through last week; so far so good, but hopefully they don't try to get their money by changing the amount, I am sure companies like this know all of the tricks. It is too bad companies treat their customers like AOL does and companies like I am dealing with right now, how do they expect people to refer them, when they leave all of their customers upset. That is not the way to make and keep customers.
(show comment)
Why did Warren get trolled?
Report Commentby Flossee @ 11:30am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
He was simply expressing his opinion and letting us know his experience.......oh, wait a minute.....

....is that you Shaun! AOL's number one man!
ditto :+5
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Charlotte @ 10:35pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Do not side with AOL.

This happened with me too several years ago. I cancelled. They kept billing me through my credit card. Everytime I called to cancel AGAIN, I either could not get through or I kept being badgered by the operator to accept his offer of more 'free' stuff. I had to yell at him to stop and listen to me that I was cancelling my account for the umpteenth time and I would get my lawyer involved if charges were not stopped. Finally they stopped.

I was so angry because it is their job to keep you as a customer and when you say no, they keep trying to keep you by giving you offers. Took me 5 times of cancelling to finally get rid of them. They kept saying I never called to cancel and I, of course, had no proof. Being an 800 number you cannot prove you called it or why you called.

Stay clear of AOL. Or at the very least never try to cancel because chances are you cannot do it in one try.
disagree :-3
(show comment)
Simple
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:45pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
It is a simple matter of keeping proof of cancellation. I'm sure you could cancel in writing and keep proof of mailing.

Notifying your bank of the cancellation, they can flag any charges that are debited to the account from the party in question. They can also be notified by your bank that further charges by their company will not be permitted on the account and the subscription should be considered canceled.
ditto :***
(show comment)
Exactly
Report Commentby godefroi @ 10:52pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Keep proof of cancellation, and start disputing the charges on your credit card. The bank will require you to prove, in writing, that you canceled the account (which you can do easily, because you kept the proof of cancellation, right?). You'd be surprised how fast the account will be closed once the charges start being reversed.

Why should I feel sorry for this lady that let some random company debit money out of her account for YEARS without bothering to check what it was? If she's not competent enough to handle a bank account, but opens one anyway (and then gives out the info to her offspring to hand over to third parties!!), she deserves what she gets...
ditto :+2
(show comment)
Ack Pft to AOL
Report Commentby Lisa N. @ 11:09pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
As a person who just recently spent over 8 hours (not in one sitting) and three months arguing with AOL and trying to cancel my account.. I empathize greatly with this woman. I think the person who should have been held somewhat accountable (if anyone but AOL) would be the daughter for setting up an account in her mother's name (who doesn't have a computer... ) and giving up her mother's banking info.

I am hoping my situation is resolved.. but we will see next month.

As for the bank, that was the way I finally got the payments to stop coming out... but it didn't get the three months back that I spent working on getting the blasted account cancelled.

Shaun... I think you're just an instigator and just trying to strum up a little conflict.
troll :-4
(show comment)
Not at all Lisa.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:17pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Not at all Lisa.

I hope your problem is solved to. But as I've stated in other posts, why wouldn't you give notice of cancellation in writing and provide such information to the bank immediately. The bank could easily flag such deductions and deny such transactions. In addition, with proof of cancellation, there would be no legal way of keeping any amount transacted.

In the case of the daughter, we cannot be sure as to what agreement or transactions occurred between her and her mother. What we do know is that the mother let the transactions continue for several years. How is this the fault of anyone other than the person controlling the account?

The people who have accounts need to take responsibility for their own actions. This is one such case and yours may be another.

Again, I hope the best for you and that your problem has been resolved.
ditto :+2
(show comment)
Cancel in writing
Report Commentby Scybo @ 11:32pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
I agree with most of your posts. People need to take responsibility for their own finances. This lady took 10 years to figure out what 2 $26.95 a month charges were. You would think she would have figured it out a little sooner if she actually was paying any kind of attention to her finances.

The one thing you say in all your posts is to cancel in writing. This is the one way that AOL makes it extremely difficult to do. They hide the address to send cancellations to. You basically have to call them to get it. They make it difficult to cancel your account all together. That is what they need to change.

If you call and cancel and the charges continue then go to your bank and dispute the charges and tell them not to let any more charges from AOL go through because they are not authorized. This is what I had to do. But I didn't wait 10 years to do it. The longer you wait the harder it is to get your money back.

Although AOL has deceiving practices they did not have to give a $500 refund. They didn't have to give any refund at all. Regardless of usage. When the account was set up an agreement was made. AOL provided a service (it doesn't matter if it was used or not as long as it was provided like agreed upon) and in return they charged for that service they provided. That is what was agreed upon. No where in the agreement did it say that the money would be refunded if the service was not used. So they didn't have to refund this lady any money at all.
funny :***
(show comment)
$40+ in fees?
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:28am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
The news report said that she thought the charges were bank fees. Geesh, if my bank was charging me more than $40 per month in fees, I'd get a new bank. I mean, come on!!!!
(show comment)
(No Subject)
Report Commentby Charlotte @ 11:34am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
No Shaun, it said on the 'contract' that you had to call them in person to cancel. When this happened to me there was no online canceling or written cancellation. It was to be a phone call. Even when I told them I had several cancellation numbers, they told me they had no record of my calls or those numbers.

You speak of whch you do not know.... You apparently have never tried to cancel with AOL.

BTW if you dispute charges in that manner with your bank, they freeze your entire cc. They do not want to take the time to sort through disagreements, so they freeze the whole thing.
ditto :***
(show comment)
Record the call!
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:24am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You hear those messages that calls are being recorded for quality assurance, right? Tell them that the call is being recorded up front and then use that evidence. I think you can record calls in just about any state, as long as they other party knows (some states you can record with the knowledge of the the other party, some you can't).
ditto :+2
(show comment)
AOL
Report Commentby 4Waller @ 10:55pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
is from Satan.
troll :-7
(show comment)
This post...
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:11pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
This post does not show the slightest bit of intelligence. It would have been nice for a post to at least ******* a complete sentence.
funny :+4
(show comment)
it takes on to know one....
Report Commentby Cathy C. @ 11:52pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
I wonder what you are like in real conversation. Do you criticize others speech patterns? Do you say "oh, you must be dumb because you used fragments?". Writing and making comments have nothing to do with intelligence, obviously.

Oh yeah, did I spell something wrong?

AOL took advantage of a situation, and should have done something sooner. The second account was wrong, outright. People are stubborn, and yes, sometimes they need help, but won't take it.

I have a very sick brother who has almost lost his rights to take care of himself and his finances. He fights it till he won't be able to fight anymore. Perfect target if you ask me. Some companies are purely in it for the money and not the service.

Gosh dang it all to heck, i anin't knowed what else ta say to make ya all git it.
troll :-3
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Shaun @ 12:15am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
My empathy for you and your brother. I truly hope the best for him.

And yes, unless a company is non-profit, they are in it for the money.

And yes, I do stand by the statement about some ridiculous one-line statement as the one above.

Again, I really do hope the best for your brother.
funny :+2
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OK here's a complete sentence:
Report Commentby 4Waller @ 8:22am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Bite me.
split vote :0
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Shaun
Report Commentby JustThinkingOutLoud @ 9:15am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
If you look at the subject line along with the partial sentence, it IS a complete sentence. Hello!
split vote :0
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Aloha75 @ 11:00pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
She should have looked at her bank statements closer and what about her daughter? Isn't she to blame also? She is the one who opened the account and let it go. The daughter should pay back the mother.
troll :-4
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Daughter.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:32pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
She should have absolutely watch over her statements more carefully. The statements clearly state the party which deducts the amount.

I would respectfully disagree that this is in any way the daughter's responsibility or fault. Even if it was her daughter that originally created the account(s), it was most definitely the owner of the account which should have watched over such transactions.
ditto :+2
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Sad.
Report Commentby WyldTaurus @ 11:28pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
This, and a THOUSAND other reasons, is why I have such a great disdain for A**holes On Line.

We, also, bought a new computer some years ago with the AOL free trial already loaded on it, but after THREE SOLID WEEKS of calling the idiots at the AOL customer center and explaining that no matter what they told us to do, NOTHING was connecting us to AOL, I was becoming homicidal, so was my wife.
We BOTH had to tell them NUMEROUS times to drop us from EVERYTHING that had ANYTHING to do with AOL.

I'm glad they didn't charge us for anything, even tho' that seem to be their business creedo.
Was I happy they left Utah? I felt bad for all the folks that were out of a job back then, but I'm glad they're GONE.

Never, never, NEVER deal with AOL.
troll :-7
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With all due respect,
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:38pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
With all due respect, don't you think such remarks may hold a little more credence without the vulgarity?

In this case, there could be many reasons as to not being able to connect. It can be the result of the lines, server, third-party software or simple user error. Although many people prefer to point the finger at the easiest target.

In this particular case, though, it doesn't sound like you were ever charged so I'm not sure why your disdain.
ditto :+3
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Respect?
Report Commentby Cathy C. @ 12:10am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
He said "credence" and "vulgarity". The guy had to deal with AOL when he should not have been. Time is money to alot of us, our time is precious and we should not have to use it on the phone with a service making sure they don't charge us for something we never asked for in the first place.

What does credence mean anyway?
troll :-4
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Cathy,
Report Commentby Shaun @ 12:22am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
It sounds, Cathy, the poster of this comment was on the phone for three weeks trying to get a computer to connect to AOL, not trying to cancel an account. As stated before, there are many reasons for having technical problems, many of which are not on the server's side. As the poster stated, he was never charged for the service.

Credence the mental attitude that something is believable and should be accepted as true; "he gave credence to the gossip" Using vulgarities within a post is reflective of a personality that may not give a great deal of credence to a complaint.
ditto :***
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With all due respect...
Report Commentby WyldTaurus @ 12:32am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I think that generalization of AOL was being rather forgiving.

Three SOLID weeks and AOL was the worst help in getting connected, EVER.

I've had NO problems with ANY of the other ISP's we ended up having to use. Started the software, BOOM! Online, no prob's.

My disdain? I thought I made that VERY clear. But for you, I'll wait at the next light for you to catch up, so no worries.
Customer service-sucks.
Billing practices-criminal.
Hassle-incredible.
Software- more bugs than an ant-hill.
Technical support-nonexistant.
Frustration-incomparable.

AOL could stand for many more "colorful" expressions than the one I put forth, but the censor God is in full swing right now, otherwise, I'd lay them down.
As for "credence" all you have to do is actually read how many posts in this forum are praising AOL for an accurate assessment of "credence".

I like your style, good try tho'.
troll :-4
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Interesting perspective, however...
Report Commentby Shaun @ 12:54am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I respect the fact that you seemed to have some difficulty in using their software. Although this is getting off the topic of the story, some people, I'm sure, do run into software problems. And it doesn't end with just AOL software. It can be any number of software applications.

Consider many people do use and enjoy AOL very much. So to say because you happened to have had a poor experience, does not mean that their software or servers are to blame.
ditto :+2
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AOL rep?
Report Commentby WyldTaurus @ 2:09am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You really do work for AOL don't you? What, PR department? You're earning your paycheck tonight, that's for sure.

Apparently I'M NOT the only one whose had a bad experience w/ these guys. So, in saying that, maybe I'M not the one to blame here, either.

True, there could have been different reasons why I couldn't connect. Also true, I spent THREE WEEKS with AOL reps to HELP me get connected, and after going all the way around the block and back again, I was tired and angry beyond comprehension, well, yours anyway.
Also VERY true, No problems with ANYONE else's software, internet, customer service, technical support, etc.
It wasn't just the software, it was the WHOLE experience that I had issues with. And to sit there on the phone and listen to "gee, that should've worked" in twelve different (and very condescending) accents, for three weeks straight really wears on the nerves.

Stop with the condescending remarks about how maybe it was my problem, you're really sounding like you really do work for AOL.
If that is indeed that case, we're DONE here.
troll :-1
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With all respect,
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:26am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
With all respect, that is exactly what I'm referring to. One may have a problem not at all related to the party or technical support they are contacting. Because of a lack of willingness to accept the responsibility of the difficulty or understand that the problem could be with any number of other areas, they "fly off the handle", so to speak, and point the finger at the easiest target. All of which is based upon assumptions.

Have other people run into problems with AOL's software? Very likely. They are one of the world's largest internet providers, so doing so would be expected. But consider for every person who has had a difficult time with the service, there are hundreds that have not. An interesting observation to say the least.
ditto :***
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Daughter needs to pony up!
Report Commentby Bunkster @ 11:42pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
Her daughter needs to step up and help her fight AOL. After all, she was the one that caused all this mess.

These services that do the "free" trials need to make them "free"... i.e. not require a credit card for trying their service. If you like it and want to continue, you should then be prompted to make payment, otherwise your e-mail, screen name, etc goes bye-bye, never to be heard from again. I would think that IP logging would at least partially take care of those who would abuse the free trials, but I can't be sure.

She is elderly and there are many elderly folks out there that cannot really take good care of their finances and such. AOL needs to do the right thing and show the public that it is a respectable company, worthy of spending money on its services. Otherwise, they are no better than the guy who keeps e-mailing me, trying to get help getting his fortune out of Nigeria, if only he had my account number to deposit it in...
troll :-5
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Pony up?
Report Commentby Shaun @ 12:01am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Which I agree that they did. That is "pony up" as you state.

Remember, this lady allowed the charges to continue for several years. This alone implies some form of acceptance.

And as stated before, I'm not sure it had anything to do with her daughter. Ten years is a long time. It would be like asking any service provider to refund a decade of charges just because I wasn't aware I had to pay for them or found I did not need to use them. The insurance companies would love to take that concept on.

Look, if this lady, elderly or not, allowed the charges to continue for so many years, the debtor was not the one to blame, in any way.

They do deserve a pat on the back as they at least made a good faith effort to refund a portion of the charges, whereas they did not have to refund any.
ditto :***
(show comment)
I'm wondering . . .
Report Commentby JustThinkingOutLoud @ 11:42pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
. . . why Shaun has such an interest here to respond to almost every post. Seems a little fishy to me. What, Shaun, do you have to gain or defend, other than working for AOL, likely in the PR department?

There's fault on both sides here. The difference is, though, that AOL knows exactly what they're doing and this older lady doesn't. I'm sure she's learned now, but really, why would she have TWO accounts when she doesn't own a computer? Did her daughter need TWO accounts from AOL? Something's not right. And it's obvious that she isn't the first one in this predicament.

Shame on AOL for these types of business practices.

Shaun, don't bother to respond. It's obvious where you stand.
ditto :***
(show comment)
And . . .
Report Commentby JustThinkingOutLoud @ 12:01am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
As of this time (midnight), there are 42 posts, and 15 of them are from Shaun. I'm on these boards plenty, and this is not the name of someone who makes frequent posts. Your slip is showing.
troll :-4
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Interesting...
Report Commentby Shaun @ 12:10am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I am on the boards plenty as well. I just happen to see a great deal of fallacy in logic that some people use to condemn a business because of nothing more than being pro-consumer.

This may have happened precisely as this elderly lady said it did, but even in such a case, AOL has still done nothing wrong. It was her or her daughter which subscribed to two account and it was her that allowed such deductions to continue throughout, I believe, the last decade.

AOL went to the extent of partially refunding a large amount, whereas they did not have to refund any.

To agree on anything other than that is, again, siding with a consumer for nothing more than being pro-consumer. As much as it may be terrible for an elderly lady to be out several years of charges, she is the one solely responsible for overseeing her own bank account. If she was unable to, it would have been nice if another family member would have aided her in doing so, but this, again, shows absolutely no wrong-doing on the side of the debtor.
ditto :+3
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AOL does rip people off!
Report Commentby Becky H. @ 7:13am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
My son worked for them and they do these things people have accused them of. They are taught to not disclose certain things to people such as the fact that they may be paying on more than one account or that some people are paying 26.99 for their service and some are at just 9.99 for the same service. He did not want to work there anymore for the guilt he had for lying to people and left! AOL makes a fortune by ripping people off!
troll :-1
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Possible...
Report Commentby Shaun @ 10:32am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Is it at all possible that your son left on negative terms with this company? Many individuals bad-mouth companies which they are forced out of or terminated from.

I'm sure that AOL offers different rates for different situations. I'd be surprised if they didn't. Just because you purchase an item on sale this week and your good friend pays full price for it next week does not make the policy unethical. Claiming it does is all more reason to believe your son MAY have left on other than good terms.
funny :***
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Wow...
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:34am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Wow, you DO work for AOL. Interesting.
insightful :+2
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Record the calls
Report Commentby Michelle_R. @ 11:47pm - Thu Jul 17th, 2008
I agree with Shaun that this woman shares the responsibility, as does the daughter, and so does AOL. That aside though, this is the very reason I use Skype to call businesses and I record the phone conversations. If an insurance company ever tries to deny they said they'd cover something, or if a service provider ever says I never cancelled, etc. I have every call recorded and it shows the date and time and will play the whole conversation to prove what was said.
troll :-4
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Good point Michelle.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 12:24am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Good point Michelle.
funny :***
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby WyldTaurus @ 12:36am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You didn't have to repeat it.
funny :+2
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Shaun...
Report Commentby WyldTaurus @ 2:23am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Troll me all you want, but since you seem to be the self-declared language and grammar police on this little board, you need to be able to take it yourself there, sparky.
ditto :+2
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You should have called . . .
Report Commentby Bugler324 @ 12:06am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
You should have called "Get Gephart". Probably still can. He has much more success dealing with these types of companies.
split vote :0
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One of the best things I've learned from him
Report Commentby FeS2 @ 6:17am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Use the state division of consumer protection. Francine Gianni's team is Excellent. They have helped me on 2 occasions on much smaller matters.
disagree :-3
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby moe joe @ 12:39am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
she should have gone to the bank and put a stop to it. u can call them to stop the temp membership. file a report to the b.b.b. and attorney generals office.
troll :-5
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Siding with the consumer.
Report Commentby Shaun @ 1:00am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I appreciated reading your post, but I would again comment on this post being based around siding with the consumer just to side with the consumer.

To report it to any state agency or B.B.B. would seem rather ludicrous at this point. That's not to say that, as I've already pointed out, I may feel for her. But she accepted the charges for several years -- as much as a decade if I understand correctly. Further, she has already settled with them for the partial refund she has accepted.
ditto :***
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AOL has always been this way
Report Commentby Cache Kid @ 12:48am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Starting with their buggy, bloated infected software to their hopelessly impersonal and scripted customer 'service', I can think of nothing nice to say about AOL.

My brother was hooked for years, until the rest of the family finally staged an intervention and got him the help he needed.

AOL makes Microsoft seem like a great corporate citizen.

As for defending their practices, Shaun, there is what a company has a right to do, and then there is the right thing to do.

AOL consistently chooses the former over the latter.

This company is a dinosaur. Let's kill it, bury it, and then drill for oil.
ditto :***
(show comment)
CK
Report Commentby WyldTaurus @ 2:17am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Hear, Hear!!
troll :-7
(show comment)
As for finding more oil, I'm all for it ;-)
Report Commentby Shaun @ 1:06am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
As you have pointed out, there are a lot of people that enjoy using AOL. They don't seem to have problems with any so-called bugs.

Consider our society if any one of us could choose to "kill" any company we didn't like. The concept is considered a free economy.

I would also consider revising your statement comparing that of a real addict. Being addicted to anything and needing intervention is nothing to use lightly. It is serious and shows a considerable lack of appreciation for those who have to endure this process.

As for finding more oil, I'm all for it ;-)
ditto :***
(show comment)
Corrections for Shaun
Report Commentby Cache Kid @ 9:44am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I never pointed out that a lot of people enjoy using AOL.

It's true, once upon a time, before people were computer literate and internet savvy, they had a lot of subscribers. But now that most people know what they are doing online, AOL is dying.

We are 'killing' the dinosaur AOL by not supporting it. That's how the free market works, Shaun. Didn't you listen in high school business class?

As for the addiction, what do you call it when someone keeps staying with the same rotten service and terrible software because they don't know any better?

You're right, perhaps 'brainwashed' or 'fooled' would have been more appropriate.
split vote :0
(show comment)
monthly charges
Report Commentby Margarita S. @ 1:24am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I use to work in Ogden for a certain internet company (**L)for over 2 years and I have to say I have seen alot of this.

Over ten years ago they would have charged her $25.90 a month for each account .They do have smaller fees but you have to call to request them . I have seen this situation over 100 times and its sad when you can only offer 2-3 months back unless they want to stay with them (lol). they do cheat people and they know it .

One thing I hated was they would offer Free internet to use on top of thier high speed from another company so they still clicked thier AOL icon like before but the connection was so bad they would get kicked off of course these older people needed tech help and would have to go to a payed plan with them cause thats the only way they knew to use the internet.

ANOTHER ONE IS THE RISK FREE OFFER WHERE THEY SAY GET 3 MONTHS RISK FREE ...what they meant is we are still gonna charge you 25.90 but if you happen to catch the charges and call if you are within the 90 days we can offer you your money back see risk free get it ? yeah not so much .

Everything is real tight lipped you go by scripts which must be read verbatim one slip or missed word you may be fired on the spot for a keep it real violation all calls are listened to and recorded I'M sure this is so they are not liable for any of this faulty stuff they do .
split vote :0
(show comment)
closed accounts
Report Commentby Margarita S. @ 1:30am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
In my work with a certain internet company I have also seen where someone closed an account but reopened at the same bank . The bank will give AOL the new bank account number and they bill through the new one but it takes a while so they will get a charge for 2-3 months at one time BUT THEY DIDNT CALL TO CANCEL so no refund can be given because of that . Or somthing called the visa updater lets AOL know thier new card number then they call to ask why they are billing on a card they never gave them.
troll :-3
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seriously
Report Commentby paulsaul20 @ 5:20am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
i blame it all on high gas prices...
ditto :***
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The daughter
Report Commentby MightyMike @ 5:22am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
"Hale certainly didn't need an online account. The 74-year-old says she's never even owned a computer."

It mentions earlier that the daughter set up the acct by responding to a 30-day offer...so at that time the daughter enters an acct number which happens to be this lady's bank acct...and she never owned a computer...hmmmm?

Bank charges??? Banks are notorious for charging stupid and ridiculous fees....so at some point YEARS ago I would have been asking [no swearing please]???

Get Gephardt...
troll :-1
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AOL ?
Report Commentby Butter1 @ 6:03am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Anyone stupid enough to still be using AOL deserves it. The only way to sucessfully cancel is to report your card stolen. That is quick and easy!!
ditto :+2
(show comment)
hello...?
Report Commentby Your M. @ 6:05am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
one year? maybe... but 10 years? hale needs to find someone to manage her books... if its really gone on this long, she has nobody to blame but herself at this point.
ditto :***
(show comment)
responsibility
Report Commentby Cinephile @ 6:08am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
lies on both sides - who doesn't check their bank account for that long, and when they do, 'assumes'(we all know what that means)that they are just bank charges? To let that sort of deduction go on for longer than several months is understandable and realistic...but several years??? Then there's the issue that SHE wasn't even the one who signed up for it -
Now, if no one PHYSICALLY signed up for the service, (not once, but twice), then I 'd say there is cause for someone throwing a fit, but that isn't the case...someone has to go online and PHYSICALLY ENTER THE INFORMATION.

That said, AOL should, as a measure of good faith understand there are cases like this where people don't read/understand, really, the internet or the fine print, and upon viewing the usage (lack of), issue back at least 7 years worth. But as everyone knows, internet companies aren't known for their fine customer service, which is probably why the business is in the abysmal shape it's in currently.

Same thing with the phone company - internet companies will randomly place charges for services on people's phone bills. We had this happen and when we called about it to have the charges removed, the customer service woman said, most people just pay the charges no questions asked - there are a LOT of folks out there who don't check their bills for accuracy.
ditto :+2
(show comment)
Happened to me
Report Commentby Karebear2007 @ 6:13am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I can feel this lady's pain. It has happened to me and my mother. We refuse to get AOL. We treid their 30-day "free"trial, and canceled on day 28. They double charged us the next month, so my mother called them and told them we canceled the account. They said they would make a note, and refund the money. The next month they double charged us again, so I called told them I was calling an attorney after I talked with them if they did not refund the money by the end of business that day. Much to our amazement, they refunded all the money they took. I guess it was easier to refund 4 payments rather than a million dollar law suit.
split vote :0
(show comment)
(No Subject)
Report Commentby Magdelene @ 7:02am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Well, this I know. I am cancelling my AOL account today!!!! And I think I'll be a little harsh the first time because if they continue to charge me, I'll be really cranky. I actually opened my AOL account back when most people had dial-up only and just kept it when I got DSL with another provider. My e-mail account was being used in my business and it was just easier to keep it. They charge me the minimum and I do watch my account and know they only charge once per month but this story has convinced me I need to cancel once for all. Not sure I want to continue to give my money to a company with less than honorable practices.

I do not look forward to my call today to someone in India who will not understand most of what I say!
ditto :+2
(show comment)
Judging from the multiple...
Report Commentby xophrame @ 8:59am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
posts on NOT being able to free yourself from AOL - Good Luck. It sounds like you're in for a headache for a few months or years.
(show comment)
Shaun will break his heart when he hears you are cancelling......
Report Commentby Flossee @ 11:56am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
....no, never mind. He works for AOL and knows that cancelling is not an option.
split vote :0
(show comment)
The problem in this situation is....
Report Commentby Dennis J. @ 7:05am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
not that the lady left the accounts open for 10 years. The problem is that AOL makes it so hard for a consumer to opt out of the service. According to the terms of service, AOL should stop charging your account AS SOON AS they are notified that you want to cancel. Fact is in many situations they don't. I wonder if the phone agent is penalized for a cancellation since they try so hard to talk you out of it and sometimes just plain old don't process the cancellation.
I've been in similar situations where you use the "convenient" cancellation over the phone. But they don't process it. You of course would not know it didn't get processed until the next month when the charge hits your card. Then they say "I don't know what happened--I assure you your account is set to be cancelled". But then again the next month you get charged. Now you are mad and escalate beyond the phone agent. They now challenge you to prove with date, time, and agent you spoke with originally to cancel the account so they can review their phone records. Even if you can provide those details from 2-3 months ago, they come back after another week or two and say they could not find any record of this happening.
Best course of action? NEVER do the free trial. For anything. If you do cancel over the phone, MAKE SURE you get the date, time, and agent name. Further, ask the agent to send you written confirmation (email or something) of the cancellation.
ditto :+2
(show comment)
Good for you!
Report Commentby JustThinkingOutLoud @ 7:17am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Maybe you ought to take an earlier poster's advice and record the call. Then they cannot deny that you called to cancel. Just a thought.

Smart move and GOOD LUCK!
funny :+2
(show comment)
Sorry, this was in response to Magdelene above
Report Commentby LifeIsGood @ 7:36am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Sometimes when you click "reply", your response gets posted as something totally separate. I'm thinking of getting Gephardt to help me deal with KSL on this! :-)
ditto :***
(show comment)
To all of you liberals who are posting. . .
Report Commentby Tbone75 @ 7:18am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
How can this be? It's your little darling Time Warner Inc. (liberal hotbed) who is always declaring they are "taking care of the poor, the elderly, and the underprivileged"? Yes, they own AOL. The previous poster who said that anyone dumb enough to still be using AOL deserves bad karma, is right. But the real problem here is that an older woman here was bailing out her brat daughter's bad decisions (the daughter is obviously and older adult), and as usual, is paying the greater price. It's amazing how many people in this state are continually bailing out their older kids.
(show comment)
Hahahah!
Report Commentby Roenick @ 9:12am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
It took longer than I thought but someone (Tbone75) finally managed to bring politics into this thread.

What took you so long, Tbone? O'Reilly go late this morning?
(show comment)
I never watch O'Reilly
Report Commentby Tbone75 @ 9:28am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Believe it or not, I find him a bit wound too tight. I just simply can't stand T Warner and the residue of Ted Turner and Jane Fonda (even though they've been out for a while). My main point was that her daughter got bailed out on the deal. She's the one who should be paying.
split vote :0
(show comment)
AOL
Report Commentby Rem @ 7:29am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
1. Close the account and open a new one.
2. AOL needs the cash flow since they're on their way out of business for having such crappy service and crappy features.
3. Once they got bought out, it all went to pot.

Problem is, if you simply close your account and don't pay, sometimes, creditors can report you to the credit bureaus and ruin your credit scores. But they can only do this if you provided a SSN when you opened an account with them.

On a different note,

Countrywide's server would/does often crash right when people need to make their payments so that a $5 late fee is assessed so $5 x millions of online payments = cashflow...

This bad economy will force some crappy companies to start ripping off people if they can get away with it.
funny :***
(show comment)
Name change
Report Commentby Rem @ 7:31am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
AOL will soon be known as: S.O.L.
ditto :***
(show comment)
something similar happened to me.
Report Commentby Mrtoes @ 7:55am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I had AOL for several years....probably close to 10 years. When the time came for me to cancel my account, they kept billing me. So, I closed my bank account. AOL started calling me. They were relentless. I asked them to quit calling me. I told them I was not going to pay them. EVER. They kept on calling. So I changed my phone number.
I had to change two important things to get them off my back. I'm sure if they had my new number, they would still be calling me, three years later.
Don't sign up for AOL folks....this lady's story and my own experience should be evidence enough that this company is not interested in the customer.
split vote :0
(show comment)
Mrtoes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Same experience with me.........
Report Commentby trytorelax @ 11:11am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
After I "supposedly" closed my account, AOL waited 2 months before they started drafting all over again. When I finally contacted them AGAIN (I was in Iraq and I had to wait until I came back to the states), they told me, "Gee we gave you a FREE month". What a response. They NEVER gave an apology and I just WROTE the 4 months of fees off. They are TERRIBLE.
ditto :***
(show comment)
AOL has started to charge me again too
Report Commentby Mark M. @ 8:13am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
We cancelled AOL over a year ago and they started to charge our credit card again for service. We never activated it nor do they have any information on just who did. They wouldn't refund the money so we called the charge card company and they reversed the payment but as far as I know AOL will still keep charging the account even though we told them to stop. I'm really at a loss here, we may have to check into a class action law suit to stop them, they're relentless!
split vote :0
(show comment)
(No Subject)
Report Commentby Rem @ 8:31am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Ask your credit card company to issue you a new card, with a new number. However, when AOL bills, they can send you to collections/ruin your credit. For every bill that they send you, invoice them for it by the same amount. When you go to court, you can tell them that the invoice is a service charge for processing incorrect billing.
split vote :0
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This is the womans fault...
Report Commentby Jason C. @ 8:30am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Not AOL. They opened the account with AOL and agreed to have the money taken out of her account. This is a lesson to people to know what is coming out of their account and what it is for. She says it was her daughter that opened the account. I say its the moms account and she is the overall responsible one for knowing where her money is going. This woman should only get back money from the first call she made trying to cancel the account. The first ten years she should have to pay.
ditto :+2
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LOL
Report Commentby Justin H. @ 8:49am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
How is this a top news story? People need to start paying attention to their finances. End of story.
split vote :0
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WOW
Report Commentby SolarMan @ 9:14am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I worked for AOL for 5 years and I was in the SAVES dept.The job was to keep people from canceling their service. It was a job that paid well. If you were not honest in your dealings you got fired.

No one forced this lady to put the disk in her Computer her daughter did that for her. Why did she never check her bill? That is her fault and her fault alone. AOL HAD millions of customers before broadband. Sorry that they didn't call everyone of them and ask "do you still want your AOL account".

Its too bad this went on for so long but come on check your bill lady. Right now they are giving AOL away for free with any broadband connection. I still use it everyday. Yes I know how to use google, but I still find AOL news and features to be cleaner then other sites out there.

AOL put a lot of people to work when they were here in Utah and they suffered after merging with Time Warner. Its too bad that Steve Case wanted to make movies rather then keep his company alive,
insightful :***
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Would not play the game
Report Commentby i8uricecream @ 9:16am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I was fired form AOL for not doing this. But I also feel the their costomers have a responsablity too. Here is how to cancel your account and keep it cancled.

1. do not take any free offers! This will be offered as a way to help you move to your new service although this is a nice thing to do. You will need to call back to cancel. They are only offering free time and not canceling your account.

2 Always get a confermation number. This is really your account number. If you have this even if you did not cancel you can say you did. The reason for this is that they will never give the account number unless you are cancled.

So Basicly your account number is your golden ticket.

IF you follow this then you have terminated your account if not it is your own falt.

This info is about 8 years old but it should still work.
ditto :***
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby Jeff @ 9:52am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I hate to side with AOl but when exactly did this lady decide she didn't want there service? It isn't AOL's responsibility to read her mind and figure out she wanted to cancel.

Now if she had tried to cancel and they didn't comply that is totally different and she would deserve every penny back.
split vote :0
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The Greatest Generation??
Report Commentby singlewchildren @ 9:54am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
This cracks me up.. LOL!

Ten years, and she is still fighting against it. How stupid can some people be. The article makes it sound like its impossible to cope with AOL and monthly billing. I guess few people really know how to handle their accounts and their money.

Sorry. No sympathy from here. If this is a member of the "Greatest Generation" well, that about says it all.

Remember, she was only 64 when her daughter set her up to get screwed, so its not like she was some frail, 74 year old who got bilked......

Caveat Emptor
insightful :***
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I worked for AOL...
Report Commentby Jim E. @ 10:20am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
When they transferred me to Retentions I quit soon after because of their policies. They will do anything to keep the money coming in. They truly are relentless. The reps are paid bonuses for keeping accounts active, avoiding cancellations, giving back money. Share the wealth?
funny :***
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Well, no wonder they don't cancel!
Report Commentby Darvell H. @ 11:44am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
So, what, if you are an AOL employee and you agree to cancel the service for a customer, and you don't, then you get a kickback of what they collect from that customer?

Wow, sweet deal.
troll :-1
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Remember
Report Commentby HardworkinTechie @ 10:30am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Getting AOL makes you SOL.
ditto :***
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AOL LIED and STOLD money from my account too........
Report Commentby trytorelax @ 10:49am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Before I tried to cancel my service, I had heard all of the horror stories. I figured, I would follow the rules and cancel. I was going to Iraq. I sold my house, my computer and I had no phone line. I called AOL and they told me,,"No problem, we will stop the service and you owe nothing". I asked them again, "Are you SURE you will close my account and QUIT drafting the bank account"? They said, "no, problem". I went to Iraq. Knowing how AOL LIES to their cunstomers, I continued to monitor my bank. They DIDN'T draft the next month, BUT, they thought they were smart and they starting drafting again TWO months later. I could do NOTHING until I returned to the states 4 months later. After several more calls, I NEVER received an APOLOGY. I never received a REFUND. They make me sick and they LIED and LIED to me. While in Iraq, I had more to worry about than AOL STEALING from my bank account every month. I can't stand AOL.....They make me want to throw up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!............
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Do you STILL think AOL........
Report Commentby Flossee @ 12:14pm - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
....is such a great company, Shaun?

The people who comment on this board are a TIny portion of all the people who havebeen ripped off by AOL.
troll :-2
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In this particular case,
Report Commentby Shaun @ 11:12am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
With all due respect to all the previous posts, it would appear this topic is getting a little off track.

In this case, a very nice lady and/or her daughter signed up for two separate AOL accounts. Remember that she has allowed the charges, which I think has been estimated to the tune of $60/month, to continue for the better part of ten years. This absolutely shows an acceptance on the part of the customer. You don't arbitrarily have any large deductions occur month after month without accounting for them, and the transactions on any banking account form should be at least somewhat detailed. Not knowing why the debit was occurring, wouldn't anyone contact their financial institution when the first started seeing such transactions take place? When it come right down to it, a service provider has no obligation either legally or ethically to contact a consumer and "double-check" their decisions. Just because she had two accounts or the accounts were not being used were not the responsibility of the service provider. That was all the responsibility to the consumer.

As for the individuals who claim they have had a difficult time canceling their AOL accounts, or worse yet, those that have had problems canceling service from multiple companies, you should all be a little more accurate in your record keeping. If you cancel a service, do so in writing. Keep copies and the request and proof of contact. If need be, contact your financial institution with the supporting documentation. It really isn't that difficult, but it does require effort and understanding on the part of the consumer.

I wouldn't at all disagree that it would be nice if any such company made it easier to cancel, but as long as they do not, there are other ways much better at cancellation of a service and they are always documented.

There are also those who have had a difficult time using the service. This is way off the topic of the story, but realize that, say, for every brand of computer there are people who "swear by" as well as "swear at" the brand. The same thing can apply to large ISPs and other technical programing. No one should disagree that there are many factors which allow a program to run properly, only a few of which is the program's coding.

Then there are those who have worked for a company which, after being separated from the employer, likes to infer the employer was doing something wrong or unethical. This issue is almost self-explanatory, but please understand that the fact you are separated from a previous employer is absolute cause for claiming such behavior. My understanding, as someone has already stated above, that retaining people unethically is absolutely against the company's policy and can result in termination. In any case, good record keeping should remove any such concerns.

In this particular case, the customer signed up for two accounts and maintained them for approximately ten years. The service provider actually went way overboard with giving the customer several months of refunds. This should absolutely be commendable and shows a great deal of good customer service.
persuasive :***
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It's a shame that a customer needs to close their account, change their phone number, and move out of the country, just...
Report Commentby trytorelax @ 11:49am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Even after AOL assured me that they would END the account and STOP the drafting, I continued to monitor them. They skipped one month, and then they started the drafting again. At that time I was in Iraq. I could not contact them again until I was back in the states. When I returned to the states and contacted them they said,,,"Yeah I see where you cancelled 4 months ago,,,Gee, we gave you a free month". I wish you could have listened to my conversation with them the day I cancelled. I was very, very, clear, I was cancelling and going to Iraq, PERIOD. The sweet little girl on the other end of the line kept assurring me,,"No problem", We will cancel and end the drafting". I kept making it very, very clear. PLEASE END THE ACCOUNT AND STOP THE DRAFTING.
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Opting out...
Report Commentby Landmine0 @ 11:16am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Well, Orrin loves this "good for business" kind of consumer abuse.
Maybe when the Dem's get a majority it will change.
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(No Subject)
Report Commentby thenook @ 11:21am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Dont give permission for people to use your checking account online! make that daughter start paying you back for using your money
ditto :***
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Utah needs a Praying on the Elderly law !
Report Commentby abrakadabra @ 11:24am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
When my mother was very ill and out of her mind, she left all she owned to the Mormon church. When we tried to stop her decision, they brought big gun lawyers to FORCE HER TO GIVE UNTIL IT HURT. THEY WON. WE ARE STILL APPEALING. UTAH DEFINATELY NEEDS A PRAYING ON THE ELDERLY LAW..AND SOON.
ditto :***
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AOL crooks
Report Commentby TeleMark @ 11:29am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I had a similar issue my daughter signed up for the 30day trial and the fun began, so I closed my account, then the harassment started they sent delinquent notices threatening to ruin my credit it went to collection agencies was horrible took some time to get them off my back, and cost a few hundred dollars also. these guy's are a bunch of crooks .. stay away from AOL at all costs.
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TELEMARK....................Dito, Dito, Dito
Report Commentby trytorelax @ 11:55am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
I still remember the words AOL used,,,"Yes, Sir we are cancelling your account and you owe NOTHING. We will NOT be drafting your account anymore." I didn't even believe them then....They didn't draft the next month, however, as soon as they thought I had forgot about them, they started drafting AGAIN. I had told them I was going to Iraq and I had no computer and no phone line.........What a bunch of crooks!!!!!!!!!
ditto :***
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This is News? and Pres. Bush's Impeachment Hearings Ignored?
Report Commentby MaryA @ 11:52am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
Why has KSL not reported that yesterdy (June 17) the House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. announced that, on July 25, the House Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the Imperial Presidency of George W. Bush and possible legal responses.

According to the Congressional Quaterly's CQToday. The Congress voted to hold these hearings. The final vote was: Yea 238 - Nay 180.

The Committee is expected to examine a range of legal and legislative responses to allegations of administration misconduct and their expansion of executive branch power.

To watch a video about this, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz1xFCST_tg

THIS is NEWS everyone! And it isn't being reported
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AOL, Of Course
Report Commentby Michael S. @ 11:52am - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
This is why, 8 years ago, I went with SBC, now AT&T. I had to spend 30 minutes just waiting to get my account cancelled through them. That was after having to stop payments that were being taken out twice in a month. The 30 day free marketing ploy, is to get you to use a credit card in the first place. They are worse than MCI as far as customer service, and that is not saying much, since MCI has gone bankrupt.
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In over 30 years of doing business with "reputable" companies, I have NEVER
Report Commentby trytorelax @ 12:08pm - Fri Jul 18th, 2008
experienced the "lies" and "deceit" that AOL exhibited to me. They actually committed theft towards me. I do many transactions with companies through bank drafts. I have NEVER had the difficulty that AOL created. I do not want to associate with ANYONE connected with AOL. Please keep these people away from me.....I refuse to associate with those types of people.
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