[hermes]

Doesn't overwrite old versions, nor give instructions for removing.
Doesn't genuinely support home networking.
Offers a trial that never connects then surprises you with a bill three months later
Employ idiot call centre staff with absolutely no wish to help
Interferes with other browsers

[lotech]

Yes, Aca they admitted that he had never used the service. They just would not refund the money. This was discovered in August of 2003 and after trying to recover it for more than six months, they then claimed they couldn't go back that far. The gentleman that I spoke to told me that the previous promises of a refund were not company policy, that they didn't give refunds more than 3 months for any reason. even to people who were wrongly charged.

[Deathblow]

That sounds like law suit talk to me. There's gotta be a class action out there you can jump on.

The most surprising part of all this is, none of this is surprising. This is the same type of stunt they pulled on me over a decade ago. I tried their free trial. I canceled it in plenty of time, then found out a few months later they had been charging the persons checking account I had used to sign up for several months there after. This in turn caused a few bounced checks since this person was not expecting these charges. Not only did they refuse to refund all the fraudulent charges, they also would do nothing for the fees they had caused. I will never recommend AOL to anyone.

[AcaCandy]

Originally Posted by lotech

Yes, Aca they admitted that he had never used the service. They just would not refund the money. This was discovered in August of 2003 and after trying to recover it for more than six months, they then claimed they couldn't go back that far. The gentleman that I spoke to told me that the previous promises of a refund were not company policy, that they didn't give refunds more than 3 months for any reason. even to people who were wrongly charged.

Too bad he didn't use a credit card. I know from experience, that users can charge back up to a year.

[lotech]

I even wrote my congressman a letter, who referred my complaint to a vice president of external affairs at aol . They then wanted my fathers screen name and how he originally signed up. Duh!! He didn't have a screen name and the "free trial disk " he tried to use, they told him wouldn't work on his computer. Amazingly, the deductions from his checking/ debit card worked immediately. I not only do not reccomend AOL, but try to warn as many who use it that they are in danger of being ripped off. As for litigation, unfortunately it is a relatively small amount of money that if recovered would be eaten up by the attorneys. I hope I can do more damage to their revenue stream by sharing his experience with the thousands of people I come in contact each month in the course of my job. Perhaps we have saved someone new to this forum from falling into the same trap.

[lotech]

Aca, you are correct! There is a different set of laws governing FAKE Visa ( debit cards) and a real Visa charge card. At my urging he did also get 2 months credited by his bank. The maximum allowable by law. I was amazed at the number of complaints that exist at the consumer fraud and rip-off sites from people who had used and then tried to cancel within the allotted time frame who also had money taken from their bank accounts. So A warning to all, Do Not give your bank acct and routing number to someone like AOL and always use a real credit card to pay for these types of purchases. Whenever you can, use anyone but AOL for your internet needs. John

[Big-K]

Fake visa? Debit cards can be useful ya know.

I recently found out that my uncle, aunt, and cousins are getting rid of AOL, finally.

[lotech]

Yes they can be useful. They just do not afford the consumer the same protection under the law. In fact, I use mine regularly. However, I never give the number to anyone over the phone and always use my Visa or mastercard credit card when buying online. John

[ianscotm]

My dad had aol dial up, he just upgraded to broadband, i strongly advised him to not use aol again, but he did. He clearly listens to me. He's not had any problems as such, i was just sick of that 'welcome to aol'. And who designed that mish mash of a browser they have, i only last week worked out how to log in without having to have there 'browser' running in the background and taking up space on the taskbar, clearly not as major as the problems above, but i still don't like them, maybe they have a better service in the UK, i'm sure i find out when my old man cancels his subscrition or has any problems
ian

[Big-K]

Yeah I hate it when someone installs a mandatory browser with anything. Let me use my own choice dammit

[Skivvywaver]

I just love their new commercial. You have a broadband connection?? Why not screw it up with AOL for broadband? AOL just stinks period.

[M_Eccentric]

I got a new Dell and used the free 6 month service that
was included in the package. One day was all I could take,
their setup is really lousy and whats with all that stuff going
on in the browser. I cancelled immediately and dumped the
card that I set up the account with cause I heard there
were so many problems with AOL charging fees even after
ending the account. I made sure that I kept a copy of the
fax I sent them and their reply back to me that we had
reached an agreeable end of service. When I set up
someones new computer and they really want to try the
free AOL I try to talk them out of it, but most people
salivate over anything free for 6 months. Everyone I
have set up has dumped AOL before the free trial was
up. I actually use Compuserve which is a sister of AOL
and have had no problems except for when I opened my
new gmail accounts. I am moving links so I can get
broadband.

[nobles]

lol you should try AOL dial up for really poor service....only takes on average 10 attempts to login to the server...then you get kicked off after like 2 minutes man....Think I might start my own ISP using some sticky back plastic an old tin can and some string....EVEN then I could still offer better connectivity.

[RAMAddict]

haha this thread still going, thats great

[craigk777]

I really like their idea of broadband. sign up with a provider for like 29.99 and up, and then aol will only charge you a dollar more for aol with broadband on top of their standard rate. so basically you are paying for broadband twice. the sad part is that there are people paying it.