Questions about AOL

okay I do not know wher ethis is supposed to go
so here it is.

AOL is easy to sign up for. Their free CD is everywhere.
I am looking through the Aol program... I do not see anything where we can contact anyone and cancel service.

they say to cancel service we have to talk to the billing department. But the billing department puts you on hold for 40 minutes to an hour.

Anyone know who we can write to.
Anyone know any AOL admin's e-mail?

Also for complaints about AOL itself.
there is no complaint button.
anyone know where they go?

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/internet/aol.htm

If you are paying via a credit card, just deduct the amount from your payment and send a letter saying you are disputing the charge to your credit card account. Also state that you wish to have any further charges from AOL refused and blocked from your account. Someone will contact you from AOL pretty shortly.

SWEET.
let me go ahead and change it to my visa

You can also call up the main customer service number listed in the help file that comes with the program, wind your way through eighteen options and pushing buttons and listen to ads for AOL's premium services that aren't functional until you get a human being on the line...

Then just tell them you want the account killed.

They'll offer you a free month.

Tell them you want the account killed.

They'll offer you three free months.

Tell them you want the account killed.

They'll tell you about their new, special offers.

Tell them you want the account killed.

They'll offer you one free month again.

Tell them you want the account killed.

They'll ask you to hold while they get the computer information for the account loaded.

The hold message will try to get you to buy AOL for DSL.

Swear at the hold message until the person comes back.

They will offer you three free months.

Tell them you want the account killed.

They will explain that they need to talk to their supervisor.

They will put you on hold, where you can hear a message about how Radio for AOL has some singer you have never heard of being featured this month and how you need AOL Broadband to hear it.

Swear at the away message some more, fondle a large knife, chainsaw or firearm to help you remain calm.

The customer service person will come back and say that their superviser has given them permission to offer you a free month of service.

Tell them you want the account killed.

They will explain that they have been authorized to offer you three free months of service.

Tell them you want the account killed.

They will start typing... or possibly just making clicking noises with their tongue, then tell you they need to do something on the computer and put you on hold.

The hold message will tell you how AOL for DSL is Lightning Fast and how you can get the equipment for free just by signing a contract that legally obligates you to stay on the phone and talk to someone about AOL's special offers with web retailers and three free months of service for infecting friends and relatives with this plague.

The service representative will come back and tell you that you can have three free months of service if you keep the account active.

Tell them you want them killed, then mention that you have a hostage.

They will tell you that by signing up your hostage, you can get twenty dollars in online money and a month of free service.

Smash your phone.

Contact your credit card company and tell them you're disputing the charge and any future charages from AOL

Someone from AOL will contact you pretty shortly.

LOL! Sounds like you've been there a few times, or at least recently!!

Just for note, to bypass all of the annoying menus, at most numbers you call anyway, and get straight to a customer serivce person, don't hit any of the buttons. The menu will repeat once or twice and then default to an acutal person. :-)

Sounds like you've been there a few times, or at least recently

I've had AOL off and on for a few years now, constantly getting sick of the fool thing and canceling my account, usually when they do some software overhaul that I dislike... AOL keeps getting softer, with rounded edges and no bright colors and bigger windows... 8.0 looks like a toddler's playset, like they don't trust their customers not to put something in their mouth and choke.

The most reccent bout was when I came into a DSL Modem and Ethernet card, so I figured I may as well get some high speed access through someone, they were offering some free time as a trial period and I didn't have to worry about sending equipment back and forth.

So I had DSL for about ten days, then it farts out on me. The modem was functional, the drivers were installed, the program was operational. I called tech support (Biggest mistake I have ever made). I ended up deleting the saved artwork, uninstalling and reinstalling the AOL program, the drivers, the connection locations, running their "AutoFix" that screwed up my modem drivers (Easily fixed, but inconvenient) and finally being told to Call back in three days if it didn't correct itself, given a trouble ticket number and case number.

I call back in three days and am told that due to snow, much of Colorado is without DSL service... I had phone service, but somehow the DSL was out and should be up in three days... this call was on a friday, I asked if it was business days or just consecutive days and was told it would be fixed by monday.

Monday comes... DSL doesn't function. I wait until Tuesday, giving them all of Monday to correct the problem, figuring it'll sort itself out quickly and being a pretty patient person about some things.

Tuesday, DSL doesn't function, call tech support. I'm told that it's three business days and that it should be fixed by Thursday.

Thursday comes, non functional... call tech support. Repeat the exact same nonsensical garbage that didn't fix it to begin with, still not fixed, I'm told to wait.

I called back every two or three days, getting different answers and reasons and the runaround from these bozos, being told it was tagged as a priority, that it was being investigated, that it was being corrected as we spoke, that it had been stuck in the wrong file and would be corrected within three days...

Eventually after demanding to speak to a supervisor, I get the information that the local DSL is contracted out to Qwest and that AOL only has the ability to send them messages about problems. My contractual agreement for service is not with Qwest, it is with AOL. I reject the advise that I call Qwest and try and explain the situation, as it is AOL's responsibility to me as their customer... I am told that when I signed up, I agreed to waive any legal rights I had pertaining to service interruptions... At that point it had been sixteen days since I had been able to use the DSL service... an interruption of service is occasionally being booted offline, or being forced to read a book for a few hours while they update the lines or somesuch... Sixteen days crosses "Service Interruption" into "Ha ha, dumb bastard thought he would be online."

All told, it took twenty eight days for them to get the service back up and for me to use the DSL I had been attempting to obtain... Thirty if I'm allowed to count the half day on either end where it wasn't functional for the majority of the time.

Then two weeks later, I get a charge for the DSL service to the tune of around $100 for the two months I had supposedly been using their DSL service.

AOL is somehow connected to whatever physical incarnation of evil anyone happens to believe in... Heck, it's connected to all of them in every incarnation, in every form... it's pure unadultered concentrated tripple distilled opposite of good.

Seamus,

Your posts here in this thread gave me a great smile. Thanks. And by the way, yes, AOL is the incarnation of every known evil diety and a few unknown ones!

FWIW, several of my friends have had AOL and hated them, their service and every employee they had the misfortune to get on the phone with. My business uses Erols. I've never had a problem with them in the 4+ years we've been using their service. I've also heard good things about MSN (who is offering a month or two of free service for new accounts right now, I believe). From what I have personally seen of AOL, they couldn't pay me to use their service for free. Whenever I get around to buying a home pc, I'll be using Erols or MSN.

Dianne

Wow, I have AOL - no big problems. Sure there have been some small glitches but nothjing to really scream about as I remember right now.

I usually get quick customer service for technical issues with live online help, or through emails.

I imagine that getting rid of AOL may be as someone said a pain in the butt when you call to cancel, but I had MSN and AT&T before and quitting both of them was exactly the same. I was on the phone with MSN for about 20 minutes when I finally told the customer service rep that I was contacting my credit card company to contest any charges. As for AT&T - I had to tell the woamn to to just listen to me - CANCEL - and if not I'll sue. They gave all the same offers, had all the same please stay with us lines and all that poop.

AOL can sometimes be a pain, but has been ok so far in most respects.

the only thing i know about aol is this :
my daughter tried one of those aol free 75 hr disk with out telling me about it.i get my phone bill and i have aol when i already have a server. so i ask did anyone use a aol disk in my computer. i already new it was there. anyways to make a long story short she used it i cancelled it but had to pay for the FREE 75 hrs and i was billed for the next 7 months on my phone bill.
of course i contacted aol and they said we are not billing me, it must be your phone carrier and vice versa. finnaly i just palin and simply told my carrier that i was no longer paying for this aol and did not wish it as a internet provider finnaly i got rid of them but it did take 7 months of aol bills that i did not pay through dispute claims of my phone service
ric morales

MSN is equally bad.

Except they let me cancel, "credited me for a previous month," and then continued to charge me for the next 8 months (and I disputed it with my credit card company after 3.. they found a way to keep posting charges regardless)