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AOL Users Will Need to Pay $2 a Month For Phone Support

Posted by timothy on from the dear-mom-and-pop-send-money dept.

destinyland writes "8.7 million AOL subscribers face a new 20% fee increase next month — unless they agree to never call AOL's technical support lines. They'll have to use AOL chat for support or the online help "portal" unless their issue is a failed connection — and they're being enrolled in the program by default unless they opt out. Ominously, AOL used the exact same wording as when they quietly changed their terms of service to allow them to sell subscribers' home phone numbers to telemarketers. 'Your continued subscription to the AOL service constitutes your acceptance of this change.'"

14 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. Keep getting billed by Bomarc · · Score: 5, Informative

    My grandmother decided to leave AOL. AOL however, would not leave her. She kept getting billed, and could not disconnect for MONTHS after the fact. I never did find out what the end result was, but (in the past) it was normal for AOL to 'not' disconnect your service when you asked them to...

    1. Re:Keep getting billed by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Informative

      The best thing to do is to call your credit card company and inform them that AOL is still continuing to bill you after you've already quit their service, and that you want to block any further attempts by AOL to bill your credit card. Unfortunately, for the money you've already paid, you're probably going to have to see a lawyer, and it just isn't worth it, despite the fact that fraudulent billing is actually a pretty serious offense.

      --
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    2. Re:Keep getting billed by Fweeky · · Score: 2, Informative

      Unfortunately, for the money you've already paid, you're probably going to have to see a lawyer

      Nope; dispute the charges, the card company will issue chargebacks unless they can give proof of delivery. Good luck doing that with a service.

      Of course you shouldn't do this unless you've exhausted other channels, but it's exactly the right thing to do if you keep getting billed and customer services won't help.

    3. Re:Keep getting billed by bcrowell · · Score: 2, Informative

      The best thing to do is to call your credit card company and inform them that AOL is still continuing to bill you after you've already quit their service, and that you want to block any further attempts by AOL to bill your credit card.

      This doesn't actually work, in my experience. They can't permanently block a recurring charge like this. What actually does work is if you tell the credit card company that AOL is being unresonsive, and therefore you want to change your credit card number. This sounds like a big deal, but actually it isn't. They send you a new card within a week. You have to contact any other companies that have recurring charges on that card, and give them the new number (or switch them to a different card, if waiting a week will take too long).

      Unfortunately, for the money you've already paid, you're probably going to have to see a lawyer, and it just isn't worth it, despite the fact that fraudulent billing is actually a pretty serious offense.

      No, you just have to do a chargeback. You call the credit card company and tell them you want to do a chargeback. They send you some paperwork, you respond with information on what happened. You may or may not succeed. It may depend on the quality of the documentation you have.

      --
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    4. Re:Keep getting billed by Obfuscant · · Score: 3, Informative
      just VISA, who gave me my money back ...

      This is the big difference between using a credit card and a debit card.

      With a credit card, VISA isn't giving you your money back. By LAW, you don't have to pay a disputed charge. You don't give them the money in the first place so they can't "give it back".

      With a debit card you are unprotected. Your money is gone. IF the bank wants to give it back to you, they can. If they want to run you through the wringer and make you jump hoops, they can. And then they can say you must have authorized the charge for it to happen, and sorry, your account is now overdrawn.

      Not enough people realize this difference. A local university is trying to push a combined debit card/id card onto the students and they are telling the students that their debit card will be protected just like a credit card. They're being told that it won't matter if they HAVE to carry the card every day to use Uni resources and happen to lose it, their bank accounts will be safe. Yes, you can safely hand the dweeb behind the library checkout desk your id/debit card to get that reserved item. You can safely hand the work-study student at the gym your debit card/id to check out a basketball.

      All those who want the "convenience" of one card for everything will soon learn the inconvenience of dealing with a debit card fraudulent charge. Maybe it's just a way that the uni is teaching; teaching people to mistrust all government.

    5. Re:Keep getting billed by djtack · · Score: 2, Informative

      All those who want the "convenience" of one card for everything will soon learn the inconvenience of dealing with a debit card fraudulent charge

      This just isn't true. My debit card was stolen once, and one quick phone call reversed the fraudulent charges.

      Before you think that I just got luck with a friendly bank, realize that the Fair Credit Billing Act requires banks to refund disputed charges, even on debit cards. The bank then has 90 days to investigate.

      This is essentially the same rules as a credit card. While it is true that you always have the back-up option of not paying your credit card bill, in reality the CC company has the power to wreck your credit report, preventing you from owning a home or even getting a job.

  2. Wonder how they're able to violate the law by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    I bet a savvy lawyer could have a field day with AOL's blatant violations of 47 CFR 68.1002 et al, i.e., the Telecommunications Privacy Act, by selling subscriber's phone numbers to unrelated third parties. I'm sure the FCC, FTC, DOJ, and various state agencies will consider this "policy" to be a blatant disregard for the various Do-Not-Call lists.

    Maybe we should all call AOL's 800 numbers to ask them if that's their intent or not, and what their lawyers think.

  3. Re:8.7 million? by paulius_g · · Score: 1, Informative

    AOL actually has some benefits.

    For one, it gives you free and unlimited dialup Internet access in the world. Many places have wifi in this day and age, but the places where my family travels to most do not.

    The family members using AOL have the broadband service at home, and then they use the 56K at their cottage. Without this, they would normally be required to buy two Internet packages.

    Obviously, AOL's software is terrible and causes tons of issues whenever I need to fix their computer. Fortunately, the Mac version is better and doesn't take over the system as much as the Windows version does.

    --
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  4. Re:8.7 million? by clampolo · · Score: 4, Informative

    How many slashdotters here are using aol? i challenge you to reveal yourselves.

    While I use DSL at home, I pay for AOL service for my mom and dad. They are old and find AOL to be the simplest thing for them to use, and they never do anything that would require them to use anything faster.

  5. Re:8.7 million? by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 4, Informative

    ATT DSL comes with free unlimited dialup. And you can get it for $10/mo.

    --
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  6. Re:8.7 million? by vga_init · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Obviously, AOL's software is terrible and causes tons of issues whenever I need to fix their computer. Fortunately, the Mac version is better and doesn't take over the system as much as the Windows version does."

    You know, there once was a time when I had no choice but to use AOL because my dad was too stubborn/backwards to change anything. One of the things I hated the most was the client.

    Interestingly enough, a few months prior to leaving AOL, I got the chance to use an alternative client they had called "aol dialer" or something like that. It was a minimal client; it connected you and then sat in the tray (that's about all it did). I was super happy with this change, and I think that if your family finds it useful to have AOL service, aoldial is worth a look. All of their content seems to have been moved onto their web portal anyway, and considering that you can check your mail account with IMAP, there appears to be no reason to use their software anymore.

  7. Re:8.7 million? by nickj6282 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Last time I had Time Warner/Roadrunner broadband, they had free dialup as well. It was a lifesaver when I was in PA once with my laptop and the hotel I was staying at had their wifi go down.

  8. Re:Holy Maligned Priorities Batman! by Curtman · · Score: 2, Informative

    You'll have to pardon me because I don't know anyone who has a "summer home" or what have you.

    I guess it's a cultural thing then, because most everyone I know has a cottage somewhere in the family. It's a necessary ritual to "go to the lake" here.

  9. Re:$2 Increase is *ONLY* for Dial-up Customers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    For what it's worth, the owners of CNET have an interest in the status of Time Warner's stock. CNET is owned by the CBS Corporation, which has a joint venture with Time Warner in the CW. It's not a direct link, but it implies a cozy enough relationship...