Joyce Lee on fri 12 jun 98
I am so angry with AOL I could spit! Has anyone else had this problem?
We have an account with AOL which we used almost exclusively for
Clayart and clay-related activities, one which for a variety of reasons
only costs $9.95 monthly. This charge is placed on our charge card. No
problem for two years. Suddenly two months ago there was an extra
$30.00 charge for this same service. Being an idiot and assuming that
my #1 Support Person had incurred extra charges on his computer for some
reason, I just paid it. The next month there was a $60.00 extra charge.
Finally, the lightbulb brightens and I ask SP what gives. No extra
charges from him. I e-mailed AOL and after much haggling received a
phone call with a live person on the other end. This representative
agreed that AOL had made a mistake, that it wouldn't happen again and
that they would give us next month's service without charge. Feeling he
hadn't understood, I pointed out that $9.95 in repayment of a $90
overcharge, or at least the $30 I had already paid, just wouldn't call
in the dog. He AGREED, but said that AOL policy prevented them from
extending more than the extra month free and that they NEVER refunded
monies. WHAT????? Further e-mails netted nothing so, big deal, I
wimped out and canceled. Any ideas about what else I could have done?
Any similar experiences?
Joyce
In the Mojave going out to throw bad bowls to exorcise her anger.
Olivia T Cavy on sun 14 jun 98
Joyce,
That's one of the beauties of paying by credit card. You have recourse
from the credit card company against unauthorized charges or failure to
deliver merchandise. You can protect this right by first phoning the
credit card company/issuer and explaining the situation and why you
believe you were overcharged, and then you will probably need to repeat
all the information in a letter. Most credit cards have toll free phone
numbers on the card that can be used for this purpose. Your description
of the situation sounds to me like you've been cheated by AOL.
Perhaps this is a good time to open an account with another email
provider. OR to use email software that gives you mailboxes, so all of
your Clayart mail goes into one box, and all of your mail from each of
your other Listservs go into its own mailbox. We use a Macintosh at home
and use the Claris email program that does this, but I understand that
it's not unique. The internet is highly competitive these days, unlike
the days when AOL was first established. No reason to put up with
unauthorized charges and/or poor service.
Bonnie
Bonnie D. Hellman
Pittsburgh, PA
work email: oliviatcavy@juno.com
home email: mou10man@sgi.net
On Fri, 12 Jun 1998 09:30:45 EDT Joyce Lee
writes:
>----------------------------Original
>message----------------------------
>I am so angry with AOL I could spit! Has anyone else had this problem?
>We have an account with AOL which we used almost exclusively for
>Clayart and clay-related activities, one which for a variety of
>reasons
>only costs $9.95 monthly. This charge is placed on our charge card.
>No
>problem for two years. Suddenly two months ago there was an extra
>$30.00 charge for this same service. Being an idiot and assuming that
>my #1 Support Person had incurred extra charges on his computer for
>some
>reason, I just paid it. The next month there was a $60.00 extra
>charge.
>Finally, the lightbulb brightens and I ask SP what gives. No extra
>charges from him. I e-mailed AOL and after much haggling received a
>phone call with a live person on the other end. This representative
>agreed that AOL had made a mistake, that it wouldn't happen again and
>that they would give us next month's service without charge. Feeling
>he
>hadn't understood, I pointed out that $9.95 in repayment of a $90
>overcharge, or at least the $30 I had already paid, just wouldn't
>call
>in the dog. He AGREED, but said that AOL policy prevented them from
>extending more than the extra month free and that they NEVER refunded
>monies. WHAT????? Further e-mails netted nothing so, big deal, I
>wimped out and canceled. Any ideas about what else I could have done?
>Any similar experiences?
>
>Joyce
>In the Mojave going out to throw bad bowls to exorcise her anger.
>
_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Karen Gringhuis on sun 14 jun 98
Joyce - bet the bowls were better than you expected. you could
have writen chapter & verse ( you still could) to your state
office of consumer fraud, etc - under the atty. general's office?
It would add to the complaint folder I bet they already have
on AOL but probably not much more. Actually you probably
did the smart thing. Often, it's just not worth grinding your
guts or wasting precious time w/ a policy a f'ing stupid as
that one. Hang in there. Karen G.
| |
|
