AOL Complaint

AOL - Continuation of Billing After Service Cancelled

I signed up for a one month free trial of AOL service. Less than a week later, I found another service that was less expensive and had more access numbers. I called AOL and asked to cancel my service. The person that I talked to offered to extend the free trial for three months, and I told him that I had already signed up with another service, and did not want to extend the free trial. He asked what the other service was, and told me that AOL owned the other company that I had chosen, and told me to have a nice day. I assumed that the service was cancelled and went on with life. Four months later, AOL drafted money from my bank account. I called their customer service number and asked what the charge was for, and they told me that it was for continuation of service. I told them that I had cancelled it four months before. The representative appologized for any inconvenience, gave me a confirmation code, and told me that I would receive a refund check in four to six weeks. The next month, AOL drafted money from my bank again. I called again, and was told that the last time I had called, I had asked to have my service continued. I told them that I had not, and repeated my last conversation with a customer service representative, and gave them the confirmation code. I was transferred to a supervisor, who told me that their records did not show any contact since my first call to cancel service, that the company policy did not allow sending refund checks, and that their records showed that I had asked to continue service. I told him that their records were wrong. He appologized for any inconvenience, and told me that I would not be billed for service again. I changed banks two weeks later, and left enough in my old account to cover checks that were out. Three weeks after that, I received an overdraft notice from my old bank. I checked the account, and AOL had billed the account for service again. I called customer service again, asked to speak to a supervisor, and asked why I was still being billed for service. She told me that I was still a member of AOL, and that I was paying a membership fee. I told her that I had not used any AOL service since the first time I called and cancelled service, and that I had called and been assured that my service was cancelled twice since then. She told me that it did not matter whether or not I had cancelled the service or used the service, because the internet service was a free benefit of AOL membership. I asked about reimbursement for what they had drafted and the overdraft fees, and was told that I would not be reimbursed for anything because I had never cancelled my membership. I asked her to immediately cancel my membership, and she told me that I could not cancel it over the phone and had to send a letter to cancel it, and hung the phone up. I sent a letter asking to have my membership cancelled, and received a phone call a week later asking if I would re-consider if they gave me three free months of membership. My brother-in-law and a few friends have had similar experiences.

Responses to AOL Complaint

Aol

I agree with the previous statement made I was an AOL trial member and then continued the service at the rate of 24 dollars a month ... then i found another service provider and called AOL and had my membership canceled well they did not cancell my membership as i asked I was billed for another 3 months I continued to call and find out why well now after almost 6 months they finally cancelled it .now with a bill for something i didnt use i refuse to pay for something I didnt use dawn mccullough

If you're also a victim of this company, then submit your own AOL complaint letter