Thread: I feel robbed by AOL

I sent the letter below to AOL ( bereavement Dept ) They are refusing to reimburse for the months of non use. Am I within my rights to insist upon reimbursement ? I feel so robbed.... They even tried to bill me extra for lapsed payment after my Step-father's card went out of use due to his death. Any advice would be greatly appreceiated.

Dear Sir / madam,
Although we were originally with AOL ( dial -up ) The connection was very slow and unreliable so we decided to upgrade to Broadband with another provider.

We connected with the new provider on 24th Nov 2008. However, we left the AOL connected in the hopes of being able to retrieve our * favourites * list at a later date. However, this never materialised as access was impossible to achieve.

So the AOL service has not been used since the 24th Nov 2008. even though you billed my step-father for it.

During the entire period my Step -father, ( the account holder with A.O.L ) was very seriously ill. Due to this and various other stressful circumstances. The A.O.L connection simply got forgotton about and remained dormant. In the background. It was not used.

My Step - Father, has since died - ( 2 months ago ) I would like please, to cancel my Step-father's account with you and be reimbursed for the billing period where there was no activity via AOL.

You can contact me at the above address to acknowledge cancellation of my Step - fathers account, as well as reimbursement for the months of non-use.

Thank you,

You might be able to complain to Ofcom instead as they deal with internet services...

How to complain | Ofcom

(They monitor complaints but don't think they investigate so probably won't help getting the money back)

Thank you so much, WelshMam, for your kind and detailed reply. Yes, as you point out -

" the connection was consciously left subscribed in order to access the favourites list. "

......but the connection would not function !

Surely, AOL cannot make a case for keeping hold of our ill gotten payment when no service was possible ?

The whole point is that their * service * did not serve ! Which is precisely *why we employed another company to provide Broadband.. We had completly lost faith in AOL ....

So what, exactly is the payment they are refusing to give back, for then ? What did we gain from it ?

I was wondering if maybe BT might be able to help. As we had AOL through dial-up, maybe they have a record of dial-up ??

I am not too good in approaching all these bigwig companies, but, at the same time, I am aware of how extremely corrupt and greedy these powerful, faceless organisations can be and I *do not * want to let them get away with taking this much needed money away from me.

They are profitting from my Step-father's illness and subsequent death and they profit also from my grief , despair and isolation after his loss.

I feel that I have to stand up to these people and not allow them to tread all over me with their officialdom.

I will most certainly do as you say, and write to Ofcam. I will also exhaust all of AOL's complaints procedure departments. ( once I can locate them ! ) I will keep you updated on my progress ........

Thank you, WelshMam, I feel renewed in spirit and ready to ride forth into battle !

I think then Greenbear should be stating in no uncertain terms that you were, for whatever reason, denied access to the service.

Certainly when I had dial up the calls were listed although I later included this as part of my free calls and hence, only the number of calls was recorded on my bill. Am sure BT would have detailed records though.

Once more, best of luck with this!!

My internet connection was lost for several days. So I have only just found out from an email about the direct debit. I place on these boards a letter ( written this evening ) which I am about to send to AOL Data Protection 1 Portal way. I now regard AOL as absolute crooks ! I would much appreciate any comments.


25 May 2009

Dear Sir / Madam,
I have been given your address by an AOL representative. I need to discuss an issue with AOL Customer services who state that as I am not the account holder I need to write to you first.

The account holder was my Step -father , XXXXX who died two months ago. I wrote to an AOL address in Ireland about this ( please find copy of the letter enclosed ) and have received a reply from them acknowledging cancellation. However, I am still owed £59. 00 from your company as your service has not been used for months.

I spoke to a lady ( AOL ) representative who asked for my Visa card details so that she could reimburse me the money. However, several days later I find that a direct debit has been set up with my card details.


( WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE - AND WITHOUT MY CONSENT ! )

It is criminal activity to obtain my card details under the false pretence of re-funding me what is owed only to use my card details to extract even further unwarranted cash from me.

If this highly shady business is not sorted soon to my satisfaction I will report your company to the appropriate authorities for your disgusting tactics.

To take advantage of someone who has just lost their very closest friend and Step-father in the way that your company has done is not only unethical but also is one of the lowest dispicable forms of business practice. I am sure many would agree. .

Be assured I will not let this matter rest until I get the re-fund as well as the compensation to which I am now entitled.

I most emphatically expect to be compensated in addition to the straight forward re-fund from you for the months that your service was not in use On top of this you now owe me for all the hassle and worry that you have caused me during an extremely painful and stressful time in my life, as well as for all the work, time, expense and aggravation you have caused me,

My name is XXXXX I need to speak with AOL representatives ( Customer Services ) on behalf of my Step-father who was the account holder. Would you place this info into your system ASAP so that I can speak with the relevent parties concerned.

XXXXX

Under the direct debit rules you can get the payment reversed. Talk to your bank.

Andy, I would have thought that BT or whoever is your phoneline provider, would have a record of how much time was used up on Dial-up.

I am far from an expert in these matters, but this would be my assumption. So why not contact your phoneline company and see what they have to say.

Also, I would advise, if you have not already done so, to transfer to another internet provider , AOL are proving to be real devils to have dealings with.

I wonder just how many others have been conned by this particular provider ?

When I phoned my bank about my problems with AOL, a bank representative told me that it is not unusual for people to have problems with this company.

So it is quite patently obvious that AOL have a habit of using unscrupulous business practice .

Is there a way, I wonder, that all of us who have been conned in any way via AOL can unite against this computor giant, and bring him down to size ! Fight fire, with fire eh !

This, I feel is the strongest chance we have of being treated fairly by these crooks.......