*Warning* about cancelling AOL Broadband!

suburbanwifey

:mad:

I cancelled my AOL account on the 11th September 2009. Over 3 months ago! AOL gave me a Mac code which I gave to O2 Broadband. The switch happened on the 17th September.

I receive a letter today 10th December (!!!) with a bill for over £55 for unpaid internet service from AOL :mad: and if not paid in 10 days, my account will be passed to a debt collection agency! :mad:

I am streaming by this stage! :eek:

I then phone AOL on a premium rate number, no other way to talk to them and they argue with me and state my account was not closed!

Cutting a long story short here....

I phone O2 who CONFIRM they took over the line on 17th September. They tell me, there can ONLY be ONE tag on a line and it is theirs. NO AOL. They say they will help me all they can (O2 broadband are fabulous with customer service by the way, been with them 3 months, wish I'd changed away from AOL years ago) They give me Offcom's number.

I phone Offcom - they are horrified and tell me IF A MAC CODE HAS BEEN USED, then as far as they are concerned and LEGALLY my account is CLOSED.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

They give me a case reference number and tell me that although they cannot deal with individual cases, they have registered the complain against AOL and advise me to call AOL back (on a premium rate number AGAIN) and tell them as far as Offcom are concerned, my account with AOL is closed and if they would like to send me a 'deadlock' letter, my case will be dealt with by the Ombudsman.

I phone AOL back and tell them what Offcom has said. They suddenly decide a MISTAKE has happened and all monies they said were owed (over £55) is now cancelled and they apologise.

:mad: :mad:

Two hours of my time (I may bill them yet) and Two hours of stress.

Offcom do not deal with individual cases but a case reference number seems to work a treat on ISP's who are trying to illegally steal from innocent people.

Be very careful if you need to cancel AOL! They lie and deny you have closed your account, even when the line has been taken over by someone else and you are paying someone else.

This happened to anyone else?

I'm still trying to calm down!

Electron_2

Ohhhh, I can feel your pain. :wall:

Yes, this happens a lot with AOL (see thread below, one of many!!!)

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1900435


I think it's a case of very sloppy admin with AOL's many departments.

But good for you not to be rolled over by their "we'll set the debt collectors on you" / bully tactics. :T

macman

Bear in mind that asking for a MAC is not asking for your account to be closed, it is simply an option to quit, which expires in a month if not used. For this reason it is best to reconfrm the account closure direct with your old ISP after the migration has taken place.

suburbanwifey

macman wrote: »

Bear in mind that asking for a MAC is not asking for your account to be closed, it is simply an option to quit, which expires in a month if not used. For this reason it is best to reconfrm the account closure direct with your old ISP after the migration has taken place.

Yeah, I did that but regardless of their own terms and conditions, Offcom told me that once a mac code has been used, the old account is closed, but I did ask them to close the account. But thanks for your point, that may help someone else who maybe thinks they don't need to also request account closure.

del1001

AOL are certainly one of the worst ISP's I've ever come across when it involves administration, even their own help pages are confusing.

However, when you cancel they should give you a four figure cancelation code, as long as you've got this you're safe.

From AOL help pages -
When you contact Member Services to ask for your subscription to be cancelled or for a MAC code to be issued, we will need to verify your identity. For this reason, please have the payment information you provided when you registered with us (eg credit card or bank account number) close at hand. Please note, when your account is cancelled, you will receive a four-digit confirmation number, which you should keep for future reference.

suburbanwifey

Electron wrote: »

Ohhhh, I can feel your pain. :wall:

Yes, this happens a lot with AOL (see thread below, one of many!!!)

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1900435


I think it's a case of very sloppy admin with AOL's many departments.

But good for you not to be rolled over by their "we'll set the debt collectors on you" / bully tactics. :T

Thank You! I certainly wasn't going to pay for a service that I had cancelled. Funny thing was I had been with them 12 years! so sad that I am now so glad to see the back of them. O2 have been brilliant so far, can't do enough to help and can call them free from my Blackberry - they even got my Playstation set up on wireless for me (no easy task, I was pulling hair out before I called them and said *help* lol)

Off to read the thread you linked to, I could do with a nice horror story before sleep :A

webwahm

Interesting info, as I've just had a heated discussion with AOL (who have been billing me for 4 months as well) who told me cancelling the Broadband line and cancelling one's AOL account are 2 different things.

I got my MAC code to switch to BT, nobody told me I had to ring back and make sure I cancelled. It doesn't make sense - if you cancel your AOL Broadband line, why would you want to keep your AOL Broadband subscription.

Is it really so difficult for one department to talk to the other? Shouldn't it be automatic? They get the 'e.co ref' from the Engineers that all is switched over, and that should be that.

They said, that just giving a MAC code to a customer means nothing. They do it all the time and people don't use them.

They said they understood my point but "that's just how the system works". I said it seems like a way for them to make money. They were adamant they would not refund me because it was my own fault for not ringing back when I thought everything was taken care of.

However, soon as I said nobody told me I had to ring back and as far as I was concerned it was all to be taken care of, they said they'd agree a full refund. ??

So, if you are switching from AOL you MUST ring them to cancel.

grrrr

macman

A MAC is an 'option to cancel' that expires after 30 days. It is not a notice of cancellation by itself, but most reasonable ISP's accept that as notice of cancellation if/when the new provider uses the MAC to migrate you over.
However AOL, being part of CPW, does not fall into the 'reasonable' category.