Anti-AOL

So far readers have thanked me for helping them get back over $1,200 from AOL. This is not chump change.

Reading my blog helped Sarah discover that even though AOL was still charging her every month for an account she canceled almost a year and a half ago, there was still hope she could get back the $400 AOL had taken from her bank account without her permission by the time she wrote to me. In Sarah's own words:

I bought a computer in February 2008. The computer came with a free trial offer to AOL. I signed up for the offer on a Friday. I decided to choose a different internet provider and canceled my account the same weekend. I never received a letter, email, or phone call from AOL until June of 2009, when my card expired and AOL could not process my payment. I had no idea they were even charging my account until I received the letter. I tried calling and after about 15 minutes of prompts finally got someone who's English was obviously his second language.

When I tried explaining my situation it was like he wasn't even listening to me and was continually trying to sign me up for more services. He got me so upset I ended up hanging up on him. My husband called back demanding to speak with a manager. We ended up speaking with a another non-English speaking person who informed me that I could write a letter explaining what I wanted them to do along with copies of my bank statement showing what I had been charged. I did this, sent the letter, and never heard anything back.

In July I got a bill from AOL saying that I owed $51.80. I sent another letter explaining the situation again, and both letters have included my work and cell numbers where I can be reached. I have yet to hear from them. Now today I received another letter saying that it is now going to collections. AOL owes me between $300-400 dollars. I have accepted the fact that I will probably never see a cent of this money, however now I have something that I don't even owe going on my credit report. What advice can you give me?

I explained to Sarah that she should file a complaint against AOL with the BBB and told her how doing so helped another reader get back over $800 from AOL. I also suggested she file complaints with the FL Attorney General (she lives in Florida and has given me permission to use her name) and with the FTC. I also suggested she file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Bureau. When AOL deducts money from your debit, credit card, or bank account without your permission, that's online fraud - and that's a crime in all 50 states.

That was in mid-September. She wrote me again a few days ago with the good news:

Thank you so much for your help with this matter. I wanted to let you know that AOL paid me back the $414.40 they owed me. I was really set to the idea of never seeing the money again. I was very surprised but when I filed a report with the BBB, within a month the money was back in my account. Thank you.

I want to keep publishing these emails to show my readers that if AOL won't let you cancel, or if they won't let you cancel without slapping you with erroneous, outrageous fees, or if they simply won't stop billing you once your AOL account is canceled, the BBB is on your side.

It seems like once you contact the BBB, AOL will almost instantly bend over backwards to resolve your issue (you can scroll down this page on the BBB to see just how many cases AOL has either resolved or "tried to resolve" - that's all of them).

The BBB even "tried to resolve" my issue with AOL years ago, which did not stop me from starting this blog.

It's not the fastest or easiest way to get your money back - but it works. I encourage you, if you're getting taken advantage of by AOL, to file an online complaint with the BBB.

Here's a comment left by a visitor on my AOL Customer Service Phone Numbers and Contact Info page, who writes that by calling 703-265-1000 and leaving a voice mail message, he or she was "miraculously" able to cancel AOL:

After reading this web site I was finally able to cancel AOL and get them to cancel the continued billing for AOL. I'd had AOL for years but when my bank account was compromised and I got a new Visa number I was unwilling to give the number to a person in Romania who barely spoke English.

When I offered to give the number to someone in the US they refused. At that time I tried to cancel AOL. I was being billed monthly service fees but blocked from using AOL. As the monthly charges continued to increase the "total due", I was unable to cancel and convince them I had not been using AOL since they had blocked my usage.

Finally thru this site I called ....703-265-1000 and left a message on a voice mail. Miraculously I received a letter canceling all charges and finally terminating AOL.

Never give your full credit or debit card number to an AOL call rep.

You can change the way you pay for your AOL account online; visit this page for instructions. It's better to keep your credit or debit card number to yourself, especially if you don't feel "safe" passing it along to a rep in the first place.

All the same, the US rep should have at least asked for the last four digits on the customer's debit card to confirm the billing method for the account, and from there should have canceled the account when asked to.

This customer was also blocked from using AOL. My take on it is the last call rep knew that the billing was in question and decided the account may have been compromised, too, so the customer got TOSed simply to protect the account.

Since the customer was still being billed monthly for a locked-down, unusable account, there was no choice except to contact someone higher-up at AOL; in this case, that meant calling AOL Corporate (the Corporate headquarters have moved from Virginia to New York in the last year; I assume calls are being re-routed to the new Corporate office).

I'm glad this story had a happy ending - but if you're having your own problems canceling AOL, please let me know.

Republished on 12-17-07 because I want this fresh on people's minds again.

Also see How to File a Complaint Against AOL.

Billy wrote me a month ago that he canceled his free trial of AOL back in 2003, but they kept billing him every month for the next 3 years. In fact, when he wrote me, they were still billing him. AOL's taken nearly $1000 $900* from him since he canceled his free trial, but he didn't know it until recently.

When I wrote him back I gave him a bit of a scouring for not checking his credit card statement for 3 years but I also told him to call AOL (rather than write to them, as he'd done previously without success). I told him to make them look up his usage to prove he canceled 3 years ago, gave him a link to a site that explains how to dispute credit card charges, and I gave him links to every attorney general's office in the nation and links to the BBB and FTC, explained what they do, and told him "good luck" - because I doubted after 3 years that anyone could do much.

I didn't hear from him again so I wasn't sure if he was unhappy with my advice. After a few weeks I lost his email like I lose almost everyone else's but I figured it wasn't going to go well for him, anyway. Then out of nowhere Billy wrote me again that he got over $800 back from AOL:

After filing a complaint [with the] BBB, FTC, [and the] Texas Attorney General, I received refund[s for] $51.80 and $25.90 and $742.50, for a total of $820.20. I had to haggle to receive the $742.50, but in the end, I did get the credit back (through the BBB). Thank you.

Thank YOU, Billy, for making my day.

*"Billy" told me the amount of money AOL took from him was in the $850-900 range after I published his story.

Also see How to Cancel AOL.

Updated 1-06-2006; edited 5-20-2007.

AOL members are diverse in terms of how long they've had the service, how they signed up for it, and how much they pay to use it. Things are about to become more confusing with AOL's latest innovation: giving the entire service away for free to everyone except those who want dial-up or broadband.

Caveat emptor: most ISPs offer access numbers clear across the nation so there's no need to take AOL up on a $9.95 dial-up offer just because you're traveling, moving or whatever. I'd advise you don't: the software gunks up and slows down all but powerful computers, and is slower and more confusing than what traditional ISPs offer.

For Members Who Signed Up Between 2006-2007

If you signed up for AOL after July, 2006 chances are you're using their no-risk trial. It's not a free trial by any means: you pay for the first 3 months of usage the same day you sign up. If you want to cancel before then, YOU MUST ASK AOL FOR A REFUND OR YOU WILL NOT GET IT. If you cancel after the 3 month no-risk term, you must pay what you owe them through the last billing date.

For Members Who Signed Up Between 1992 and December, 2005

If you've used AOL from 9 months to 14 years, you came to the service from a free-trial on AOL.com or by using an AOL free trial CD. I'm an Alumni of this generation, an embarrassment I'll never live down.

If your free trial ends before you cancel you must pay what you owe them up to the last billing date on your account, and additional charges for contracts you signed in order to use AOL for a certain amout of time may apply. Beyond that, you don't owe AOL a penny, and you can dispute it if they continue charging you for service once you've canceled.

For Current Members

AOL bills you through the last billing date once you've canceled. To know the last billing date, before you cancel visit Help at AOL.com and click the "Understanding AOL Billing" option, or call AOL and let them look up your billing cycle for you. That way, you'll know exactly what you owe.

If your cycle begins on, say, the 18th of each month, you must cancel before the 18th of the next month to not get billed again. Mark the date you'll cancel on your calendar along with one of AOL's 1-800 #'s, and don't forget to call them before that day.

Further Reading: See my How-to Section for more ways to get AOL out of your life.

Updated 6-30-08.

Almost any complaint against AOL can be resolved if you keep good records and stay on top of it. Important: Keep a paper trail with notes about what was said during phone calls, hang onto cancellation confirmation letters and/or bills received after you cancel and tape calls to AOL. Your best bet is to then file a complaint with the BBB and with the FTC.

Your paper trail should include:

• Time and date of your call.
• Master Account screen names you're canceling.
• Names, email addresses, clock numbers and/or shift numbers of reps and supervisors you spoke to and brief notes about what was said.
• Your cancellation confirmation number. If you don't have one but you did try to cancel you can still file a complaint.
• Any reason reps and/or supervisors gave you for refusing to cancel your account.

You should also have on hand:

• Copies of letters asking them to cancel your account.
• Copies of any audiotapes of your calls to them.
• Your cancellation confirmation letter. Expect one within 2-10 days of your phone call or letter; if it doesn't show up you can still file a complaint.

The BBB resolves most complaints they get about AOL (see this BBB Reliability Report for stats) but won't enforce law or impose fines or sanctions, so don't contact the BBB hoping they'll file a lawsuit.

You'll see their complaint form asks, "What steps would you like the company to take to resolve this situation?" Tell them you don't want AOL to resolve it with free service, reduced rates, or anything else. State you simply want your account canceled, then list any refund AOL owes you for any sort of over-billing.

The FTC is also good to complain to, but make sure you complain to the BBB first because the FTC won't step in on a case-by-case basis. If the FTC gets enough complaints about AOL, they are likely to file suit on everyone's behalf, as they've done before.

You can (and you really should) also file a complaint with your state attorney general's office. They can get your account canceled and get your money back for you, too. This page gives you addresses for attorney generals in all 50 states. It's come to my attention that any state that gets "enough" complaints about AOL may take action (that is, they may file a lawsuit) in the future.

You can also use this contact info to file a complaint against AOL:

AOL LLC
Attn: Heidi Jongquist, Program Director
Regulatory Order Compliance
PO Box 65571
Sterling, VA 20165-8806

Further Reading: See my How-to Section for more ways to get AOL out of your life.