Trouble with AOL - Help!

As you know, my mother passed away last month. She had AOL. My sister has been trying to get AOL to cancel her account for nearly a month. They keep telling her that only the person who signed up for the account can cancel it. She explains that our mother died and even offers to send a copy of the death certificate as proof. The phone representatives are being very difficult and uncooperative. The billing is on an account that we have left open (and my sister is a signor) to handle expenses related to the sale of her Cape Coral condo. In her last phone call with AOL, she mentioned that if they did not cancel the account, she would close the account they use for billing. They said they would find some other way to bill her - can you believe that?!?

Do any of you know someone higher up the food chain at AOL that my sister can talk to? This is really ridiculous. AOL is being a major pain in the rear at a time when we seek help and compassion. Why would they be such jerks? My mother is gone. The phone line she used to dial into AOL is disconnected. The computer she used is gone.

By acting this way, they may get one or two more months of payment but they lose future customers.

Comments

[Gonçalo Moura]

It's incredible how businesses keep at it with this kind of behavior. Well, in this case, they don't know that they were dealing with a well known-blogger, but one has to face every possibility when dealing with the customer. How many people have you influenced with this post? Even if it's just some really bad phone rep training, there has to be someone up the ladder to handle this kind of situation...

Good luck!

[Lora Adrianse]

Lisa...

Is there a chance you can find her username and password somewhere? If you can, find someone with an aol account (or let me know) and have them sign in as her and cancel.

Option 2
Can you guess her sign in name? If so, call aol as if you were her and tell them you forgot the password. They'll ask you the answer to the "secret question"...chances are you can guess the answer.

I did option 2 for my mom for another isp provider after the hurricane. I even guessed the answer wrong (for the secret question). Fortunately I got someone in India who took pity on me.

It's worth a shot.

Lora

[Lisa Haneberg]

Well, I am not sure how much this post will really impact AOL, but you never know. I'd love it if someone at the company saw the post and offered to resolve the problem.

Lora: Thanks for the ideas, I will pass along to my sister.

[Bert]

This is just another reason I avoid AOL. It is always very difficult to extricate oneself from their clutches. I had to argue for close to 30 minutes before they finally relented.

[Rob Millard]

I had a similar problem with AOL. They make it INCREDIBLY difficult to cancel one's account even when one is the primary accoun t holder. I eventually managed, after paying them for a good six months for a service that I wasn't using any longer, to get my bank to refuse the credit card payment. (I provided them with copies of the emails and faxes that I had sent AOL and to which there had been no response - my bank told me this constituted fraud on their part.) After about three months of returned payments they eventually got the message and closed the account.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Bert and Rob - Wow, I see we are not the only one! I hope it does not take 6 months - my poor sister is at her wit's end already. She is trying to do the right thing in settling up my mother's accounts.

[Pat]

Lisa,

Who is the executor? If you can get a mailing address, the executor should write a certified letter to AOL cancelling the account. Make it effective the date of your first phone call.

Can you put a block on the account that AOL draws its funds from? If not, close the account and open another account in the name of the estate. That way the executor has total control of the money going out. With the mailed cancellation, AOL has no basis for collecting any more money.

Report AOL to the State's Attorney General. Perhaps they can get them to stop.

Another thing to try after doing the above would be a consumer help service through your local TV station. As a well know blogger, you might even get some air time.

I also found the following through Google. http://www.easycall.net/cancel-aol.shtml. It gives you the contact information. Not sure if it would work but take a look.

This is an awful lot of effort but perhaps your experience can help someone else. Best of luck.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Thanks, Pat. My sister is the executor and she is doing the letter route and considering closing the account, although that's not our first choice as other regular payments, like her condo fee, come out of that and would need to be rerouted.

It is a shame that WE have to do all the work to create an outcome that will take AOL all of 10 seconds.

We will give it a bit more time before going the publicity route. Thanks for the link too, I have passed it along in case she did not have that info.

[Eric]

Customer service gets more abysmal every year. I typically go into stealth mode in these situations. My goal is to keep calling until I get the outcome that I desire and it usually works.

I would keep calling back trying to get the situation resolved by someone competent. If you see a pattern of incompetence with many of the reps (sounds like the case here) then I would ask the rep if the conversation is being recorded. They usually are - not for quality purposes, but legal purposes. If they say yes, I would tell the rep that I acknowledge that this call is being recorded and that I am considering the account closed since I have done everything possible to cancel the account with AOL. I would also say that I consider the response (use their name if you remember it) to be unprofessional and disappointing. I would expect a company like AOL to treat customers with respect.

I would then tell them I do not expect to receive another bill. Remind the rep that you are making this statement so that it is being recorded. :) Ask them to acknowledge that they understand that this is your request.

The deal is that reps will usually kick into action if they think the recorded calls will be used against them. If you make the rep (usually stupid) nervous enough they start to freak.

I did this with Chase Manhattan. A rep completely lied to me on a service call. When I found out weeks later that he did not correct my situation, I asked if the call was recorded. They said yes. I asked how I could get it pulled and reviewed and told Chase that they had a represaentative that lied and misrepresented his intent.I had to submit a formal request, but four weeks later, the call was reviewed and my problem fixed. I also received a letter apologizing for the trouble.

I am sorry that you have to go through this with the loss of your mother only a month ago. How insensitive can companies be?

You know from your management experience that sometimes you have to bulldog the issue and apply the pressure. I never accept no for an answer when I am right.

Good luck!

[Lisa Haneberg]

Eric - Thanks. The phone taping question is a great idea. I never thought of that!

[Bert]

If the card is charged again, you should consider a chargeback.

[Monica]

Lisa: Lots of good ideas. Thanks. I'll put a few to work. It is a shame that it takes so little time to sign up but some much time and frustration to cancel. I do have Mom's sign on and secret question. The last thing I did was copy the death certificate to her and her husband since his name was still on the account as well and sent that along with a letter. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. One of them has got to work. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Lisa's Sister

[david Hennessy]

Hi

Is this issue resolved yet, is your account in the UK or America?

regards

Dave

[Lisa Haneberg]

David:

My sister has mailed copies of the death certificates but she has not heard back from AOL yet, so, no, it is not yet resolved. We are in the US.

[David]

I dont have huge contacts outside AOL Europe, if you would like to email me the master screenname I will see what I can do. No promises. I was googling stylewriter when I came across your post!

Regards

Dave

[tom wean]

I appreciated the suggestion to keep calling aol until they got tired of your calls.I have been trying to get "live help",and also phoned for technical support. although I have occasionally talked to someone none have corrected my problem.. I can read email ,forward email.But,I cannot originate email or pick up hyperlinks. fortunatly I have DSL and with some difficulty send my emails to my aol address and then forward them under my aol address.