AOL Gets IN Trouble For Recurring Methods and Unfair Charges
 

http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/3081581

'According to a proposed consent decree released Tuesday, AOL will settle the four-year-old charges that they continued to bill subscribers even after they asked to cancel their subscriptions.'

it took 4 years but looks like they will finally pay.

i had to call my bank and block aol. they wouldnt stop charging me. asswipes

It always amazes me when people start bitching about the porn industry as it currently is as 'screwing the surfer'. For quite a few years now porn has been MUCH cleaner in that respect than most other subscriber based businesses especially ISPs.

Same here. And everytime I called them about it I had to go thru the 30 minute "stay with us" bullshit.

They did the same thing to my moms and pops for 11 fucking months they charged their CCard.. Fucking bastards..

There is not 1 single relative that I have that hasnt fallen victim to AOL's re-occuring billing after they canceled. On average it took about 2 months after canceling before they stopped charging.


I would love to see what AOL's CB ratio is.

I had to cancel a credit card because they kept charging it, then about 6 months later I get a bill from a collection agency telling me I owed AOL for 4 months of service! Unfucking believable.

I doubt its flashed in your face every minute you are connected on a non local # but its certainly made clear before you connect. I have had an active AOL account since the early 90s and never really had a problem withh non local numbers but I know its possible to get fucked the way you described above.

Do you happen to know (or anyone) if AOL makes it abundantly clear that if you do not have a local AOL access number that every time you go on line you are being charged a long distannt call by your phone company.

The reason I ask is because a person that I know subcribed to AOL not knowing that AOL does not have a local access number in this area and it cost her...her phone...when she could not pay the long distant charges from being online...I believe more than $700.00.

why do my posts keep showing up above yours theking?

I think thats more than once today I have quoted and replied to you and it showed up above your post!

:helpme

Yup! They have some pretty shady billing practices! I had to call one million times to cancel and freak the fuck out on them, but they finally stopped. And what's even more comical, I never even used the service!

Then your friend is a nimwit.

When you first install AOL you dial into a 800 number and enter your area code. It then presents you with a list of all dial-in numbers from your area, as well as other near by areas. You then select which number you want to dial into. If you select a long distance number, of course you're going to be charged long distance.

Whats going on with the board?

Too many people from AOL?

And I thought I made it clear that if you select a long distance number, of course you'll be charged for long distance fees.

I thought that I made it clear that there is not a local AOL number in this area...all users of AOL would be long distant numbers.

It has been happening every since they fucked with the board for the contest. It was suggested that I clear my cookie...which I did...but it did not help.

Shit, I used to work for AOL. Only reason I use em' now is for email shit.

Fucking company turned into a scummy criminal empire and if you look at the board of directors it reads like a 'Bush Cabinet' shadow government.

AOL is a typical case of a good thing ripped off by some psychotic Chrisitan fundamentalist, right wing, sexually repressed throwbacks who break the law because " It's what God wants us to do."

If I had my druthers I would NEVER open an AOL account. If you can't trust their billing practices as outlined by the above story, how can you trust your personal information???

Add to that they've outsourced their tech support to countries that have the worst record for crime prevention and human rights.

Yeah, like I want my personal emails and shit in the hands of people who hide Bin Laden.

This question has not been answered...does anyone have an answer?

I already answered you.

AOL got busted big time for that shit years ago.

Nowadays they don't BLAZE it across the screen but there is a 'note' during installation.

You'ld think with all the shit they went through with all the lawsuits that they woulda taken care of it to the point there's no confusion but then again this is the web and it's abundant with bullshit billing practices, dialers, redirects, CJs etc.

How was your response to the question I posed an answer. AOL does not have a local access number for this area. I will ask you the question again...if AOL does not have a local access number is it made ABUNDENTLY clear that everytime you go on line there will be a long distant fee to pay.

No it doesn't tell you EVERYTIME you log-in that you're dialing long distance. However, when you dial-in you can see the number dialed on your screen quite clearly. It's right in the center. "Now dialing... ***-****."

Your friend actively selected a long distance number when she setup the program. Whether her locale has an active AOL number really doesn't matter. The fact remains that SHE selected a long distance number to dial into.

This isn't rocket science. She obviously wasn't paying attention. Dialing long distance is not hidden at all, it's right there in front of her eyes.

No, not ABUNDENTLY clear. I believe it's in some fine print somewhere.

I cancelled an AOL account about 2 years ago and they had this thing where they said they'd give us a month for free and to keep using it for the month in case we change our mind(this was over the phone and that was all that they told us). I kept using it every once in a while for the month. After it "expired" I decided to see if I could still sign on. I could and I thought they were just taking too long to cut it off. The next credit card bill showed that I got charged a month's fee for signing on that one time. Apparently it was my fault because OBVIOUSLY attempting to sign on meant I wanted to renew my subscription. At least I got the call center rep to admit that he'd been trained to screw people out of their money.

Never pay for AOL, it's too easy to get for free :321GFY

I dunno about you, but where I live not all numbers in the same area code are considered local. In fact there were AOL numbers in my area code that weren't local and some in another area code that were. I guess it could be hard to tell depending on your situation.

Hmm... I never thought of that, never knew that was a possible situation. In that case, it could happen I guess, who knows.

She assumed that her AOL monthly charge was all she would have to pay...she did not know...or at least she did not understand that she would be...in addition...charged for long distant calls. She was aware that the number was not a local number but was not aware that the access number provided to her by AOL would be charged to her phone bill. She is a clerk...that is also attending college and bought a used computer to help with her school studies and was devastated when she lost her phone. With her income it will take a very long time for her to pay the bill and get her phone back.