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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.'"

3 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. The death spiral by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    as they descend in AOHell; desperate grabs at revenue are being made. It was tough to cancel before; no you can't do it on weekends or holidays.

    After creating eternal September they are sliding to obscurity.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  2. Holy Maligned Priorities Batman! by plasmacutter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

    they can afford a vacation home, but can't afford internet for it?

    Additionally, if it's in another country, and that country is in western europe or the pacific rim, they could probably get broadband there for half the current price of AOL.

    Either way, they're paying a "tax" for that level of stupidity.

    --
    VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
  3. AOL "scam" e-mails by Phairdon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You aren't kidding about grandmas.

    In addition, it seems to me that AOL is tricking people into accepting this $2 increase. Let me explain:

    My wife's grandma uses AOL and she told me that she got an e-mail that said that her bill will go up by $2 every month unless you click this link and answer some account security questions. I immediately thought this was a fake e-mail to get grandmas account information. I looked at the e-mail and it looks just like the false bank emails that I receive all the time. However, I called AOL and it ended being a true e-mail.

    We have been trained to ignore e-mails with wording like this, how many old people do you think will just delete this e-mail and end up getting charged an extra $2?