Quite. “Joe” has to badger people into keeping their subscriptions, or he loses his job.
I finally convinced my father to cancel his AOL account while I was there for Christmas. I warned him repeatedly of the dangers inherent in canceling. He was going to call the Sunday I left but I haven’t heard how it went.
Best way I found to get my account canceled was to have a mid-level exec fake a mailbomb from my account to Steve Case.
I didn’t have a problem either. When I called, and they said, “May we ask why you don’t want to enjoy our service for another—” I interrupted and said, “Activating your software fucked up my peripherals. I just spent several hours restoring functionality and disabling your services. I also want instructions on completely uninstalling this piece of shit,” they didn’t argue.
Ah yes, canceling AOL. 2+ hours of my life gone, gone, gone.
To start with I call them up and go through their voice response system only to be told that they had a higher than normal call volume and the call may be answered in 5 minutes. I wait a few minutes, and decide to call the next day. Same “higher than normal message.” Lather, rinse, and repeat for 4 days total (I remember it was Monday through Thursday) till I decide the hell with it. I’m just hanging on the line till they pick up.
I wait, I wait, and I wait while on hold. I know that people often think they’re on hold for hours when it’s more like 5 minutes, so I watched the clock (plus I wanted to see if that 5 minute estimate was correct). I was on hold for 16 minutes. It doesn’t look like a lot, written out there, but it’s a hell of a long time to hold a phone to your ear listening to AOL pre-recorded marketing pitches.
I finally get an overly cheerful, bubbly customer service associate who wants to know how AOL can make me happy today. I was surprised since I had already told the VRU that I wanted to cancel, but whatever. I told her I wanted to cancel AOL, and she asked for a slew of information that I had already told the VRU (my account name, etc.) Then she informs me that I haven’t used the service in 3 months (duh–that’s why I’m canceling) and wants to know why not. I told her it was just a backup that was there in case my high speed went down, but I was tired of paying for it.
Buzz! Wrong answer! That only led to a series of sales pitches for AOL high speed, AOL broadband, AOL dial up discount, AOL whatever, all at various pricing plans. I told her repeatedly I wanted none of their offerings, only to be told “well, how about THIS one.” Finally, she runs out of options. You would think cancelation would come next.
Not so! Instead I get a series of questions to verify I am who I say I am. Some of the questions had already been asked and answered. What’s worse is that they’d already told me all about my usage before this verification. If they were really worried that I was an imposter, should they have given out that info? So I prove I am, in fact, who I say I am. Is cancelation next? Nooooo…
Instead I get marketing research questions about how I found AOL (duh, you could see earlier I didn’t use it) and why I was leaving (uh, maybe not using it), why I didn’t want their other plans (because right then I was getting so aggravated I’d have serious doubts about taking free money from AOL).
Finally, FINALLY, the customer service rep tells me she’ll put through my cancelation request. I wait, I wait, and then I wait some more. I realize I haven’t heard any sounds coming from my phone. Has the woman suddenly gone mute from overmarketing? No such luck. I had been disconnected.
So I call again to make sure my cancelation request had gone through. I wait the obligatory eternity or so and get to answer all the same questions for the next cheerful service rep who gets my call. I was trying to be polite, I really was. But did I need to hear about all those alternative plans when I’d already tried to cancel and just been disconnected? Apparently so.
At long last, I get to the end of my journey (I thought). I hear the blessed words, “I’ll have your confirmation number in a few minutes” aaaaaaaaaaand… disconnected AGAIN!
Now, I understand call center heavy volume and all. I know sometimes systems aren’t working well. I really do. But I was beginning to think they were doing this to me on purpose. I mean, why not say the system is having trouble? Why have 4 days of “higher than normal volume”? Why no explanation up front that they had issues? I swallow my rage and call a third time. I think the hold wait was shorter that last time. I don’t know. Adrenaline had me at that point. But I bit back my anger and tried to be polite.
I get happy service rep number 3. I start answering his questions before they were asked (I was an old pro at this now). I tell him about all their plans before they’re offered to me and explain I don’t want them. I only want my confirmation number. Could I have that please? I get it! Joy abounds! Angels weep! All is well! I get disconnected yet again–but I had the confirmation number so who cared? Not me! I was finally finished with AOL!
Until 3 weeks later when an AOL charge is debited from my bank account. This does not make me happy. Armed with my cancellation confirmation number, I call again. Hold time is about half as long as before (still pretty long), but right is on my side. I will prevail.
Again, I was let down. Apparently I didn’t cancel with appropriate 30 day notice. The fact that I missed 30 days by a total of one week and for the first 3 days I was told they had higher than normal volume and should call at a different time didn’t matter. It wasn’t a large amount, so I would have just let it go except when Mr. Happy Rep tells me "this was all explained to you in a pre recording that was played for you which you verbally agreed to.
At this point, politeness left the building. How could I hear a pre recorded message when I was disconnected during the process three times? How could they get my “verbal acceptance” (as they said they did) when I was disconnected and never gave it? Did they realize that not only do I not want AOL services now, I hate them to the point I will never, ever want their service even if they are the last internet provider on the planet. I’ll go luddite I will! Their answer “we see you were disconnected, but you should have called back to make sure you understood the process.” Called back a fourth time? Wait on hold forever yet again? When I had a confirmation number? The hell?
No, I never did get my money back. They apparently thought my measley montly payment was worth making me that angry. I did call my bank and stop any future debits from AOL. I’m not sure if that was what kept me from future charges or if my service had, in fact, been cancelled.
They are bastards those AOL demons are. Bastards!
Sad but true.
It was easier for me to change my credit card number (so they couldn’t keep charging me) than it was for me to cancel my damn service.
Oh also forgot to add.
I explained to my bank the reason why I wanted to change my CC number; They were so sympathetic that they didn’t even charge me to do so. They even credited me for the past two months I was trying to cancel with them!!
How these fuckers stay in business is beyond me.
This thread brings back my AOHell cancel memories.
And they keep sending those damn discs!
AARRGGGHHHHHHH!!!1111!ONE!!
The discs make decent coasters.
Have you considered making an AOL disc mobile? I did. Hung 'em on fishing line and put them in a tree. Ooh, shiny!
Smash up the discs and they make neat-o mirror mosaic pieces for your next art project.
Now if only I could find a use for those great tins they send them in. They look so bloody useful, but I haven’t figured out for what.
Cover 'em with pretty wallpaper and use them to store home-burned CDs. Or send them to me - I cover them with polymer clay and use them to store some of my tinier tools and crafty doo-dads.
Ooh! I bet they’d be good for eyelets and grommets, too! Maybe I should sort my buttons by color and use several for storing them, instead of all in one bin. I did find one use for them - I glue gunned slices of cork to one side and use them as trivets. But really, how many trivets does one gal need? 
They stay in business because it’s so hard to get rid of them, that many people probably give up in disgust.
Heh, you’re like me. Physically incapable of throwing out anything that might be, maybe, eventually, with a little thought and a lot of creativity, useful. And I love storage thingies so much that I may actually have more storage thingies than thingies to put IN them.
And yes, the disc tins are pretty cool for eyelets. And line one with felt, dampen the felt with alcohol, and use it to clean your rubber stamps.
You are the owner of your bank account/credit card. Call them and tell them to no longer accept charges from AOL. Done.
Haj
Or you could send them off to these folks. They’re aiming to collect 1,000,000 AOL CDs, and then take them all back to the company.
That was our experience with them too. It took several months to get everything straightened out. I will never ever deal with them again, and strongly recommend to anyone I know with their service, to drop them immediately.
I’ve had an AOL account for 9+ years, changed it back and forth from ‘full’ to ‘bring your own’ several times, opened several others and canceled them, changed them, set them up for others and helped them close them when they wanted to. Used AOHell with dial-up and DSL systems, use it when traveling with our laptop etc.
I read what people say they say to the reps and I wonder because I have never had a problem. Maybe my idea of polite and my tone of voice and what not are different, I don’t know, but I am just amazed at all the trouble folks seem to have with AOHell.
*:: Amy one who is on a direct pay or auto credit card for anything and they cancel that service, bill, what ever and do not also immediately inform the CC company / bank, deserve what they get. That is just common sense. :: sheesh ::: *
IMO, AOHell email is the fastest per to per email system, the safest, the easiest for non-computer folks to use… etc.
I understand also that all the AOHell haters will not ever use AIM, nor will they even communicate with someone who has an AOHell address or uses AIM. I mean, theses AOHell haters have principles that back up their rants… I just know they do… * snerk *
HAHA you stupid AOHeller 
It really is overpriced and stinky internet though.
Oh, the joys of AOL.
AOL is nothing…just try canceling MSN
I had a similar discussion with one of their reps. It took both the information that their software had messed up my computer and the fact that I had already signed up with a cable ISP to stop her yammering. No problems after that except for the occasional “we want you back!” disk.