AMERICAN ONLINE. CHECKING ACCOUNT OVERDRAWN DUE TO AOL'S INCOMPETENCE.

Hello,

Sorry to hear the trouble you went through.

I was billed 3 months on a debit card, last year, for an online service that I was unable to install, and of which I thought it had never been in use.

SBC Direct/Yahoo deposited the 3 months worth of fees in my bank account, and my bank, Bank One, was willing to reverse my NSF charges, after my deposits came through.

You might want to ask your bank to reverse, since the withdrawals were taken off without your authorization.

I would not count on the online service to pay you back for NSF charges.
Try it and let me know...

Good luck!

In 1998 I was given a free disk. I already had internet service but I thought I would give AOL a try to see if I could get a better connection. The darn thing would not work on my junky old computer at all, and I was told I would have to download other software to actually surf the internet instead of just accessing AO Hells cheesy services. I promptly called and cancelled my account.

Here is the kicker. I always keep ample money in my checking account because I traveled a lot at the time and often I only could balance my checking account 1 or 2 times a year. I get out to Ohio and was in the process of renting a room for the night when I was told my check card had insufficient funds. I called and checked. Oh yeah. I was out of money all right. AOL had been taking $272.50 a month for the last 6 months. Needless to say I was not very happy at the pin heads at AO hell, but figured one call would straighten it out. Man, was I wrong.

I called at least 20 times before anyone would answer the friggin phone. Julie, the 3rd year rocket scientist, was no help. She hung up on me when I asked for a supervisor. This went on for 3 days. Finally some idiot customer no service dweeb screwed up and cave me Steve Case's phone number at his corporate office. I spoke with some office scumbag name James. He agreed to refund 3 months, no more of my money. After I called him a thief, and demanded to speak with his boss, he called me a few explatives, then an SOB and hung up on me.

Shortly afterword they billed me again. I was smart enough to put a hold on the account prior to that. Then they started sending me collection letters stating they were going to shred my credit. They owed me $1904.00 at this time. I sent hate letters to everyone I could find at AO Hell only to be responded with my auto generated "We are sorry for you problems".

Here is where the fun started. They started calling my home to collect the $272 theat they say I owed them. I kept asking them what I owed them the money for. Their answer? Monthly intenet service for the month of April. I asked them if they thought I was insane. Then I asked them what they paid a month for their internet service. Their answer? The computer tells them that I owe them the money.

What happened? I got 3 months back from them. My loss? $816. I hired some scumbag lower then a pregnant rattlesnake lawyer and he somehow got the negative information off my credit report. And me? I started spreading the word an to this day have beem personally responsible for 11 people dropping AO Hell for a real service. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them!!! I will never use AO Hell. I will never buy another issue of Time magazine and I tossed out my copies of Time Life books Mysteries of the Rain Forrest books.

Did I say I HATE AO-HELL?

In 1998 I was given a free disk. I already had internet service but I thought I would give AOL a try to see if I could get a better connection. The darn thing would not work on my junky old computer at all, and I was told I would have to download other software to actually surf the internet instead of just accessing AO Hells cheesy services. I promptly called and cancelled my account.

Here is the kicker. I always keep ample money in my checking account because I traveled a lot at the time and often I only could balance my checking account 1 or 2 times a year. I get out to Ohio and was in the process of renting a room for the night when I was told my check card had insufficient funds. I called and checked. Oh yeah. I was out of money all right. AOL had been taking $272.50 a month for the last 6 months. Needless to say I was not very happy at the pin heads at AO hell, but figured one call would straighten it out. Man, was I wrong.

I called at least 20 times before anyone would answer the friggin phone. Julie, the 3rd year rocket scientist, was no help. She hung up on me when I asked for a supervisor. This went on for 3 days. Finally some idiot customer no service dweeb screwed up and cave me Steve Case's phone number at his corporate office. I spoke with some office scumbag name James. He agreed to refund 3 months, no more of my money. After I called him a thief, and demanded to speak with his boss, he called me a few explatives, then an SOB and hung up on me.

Shortly afterword they billed me again. I was smart enough to put a hold on the account prior to that. Then they started sending me collection letters stating they were going to shred my credit. They owed me $1904.00 at this time. I sent hate letters to everyone I could find at AO Hell only to be responded with my auto generated "We are sorry for you problems".

Here is where the fun started. They started calling my home to collect the $272 theat they say I owed them. I kept asking them what I owed them the money for. Their answer? Monthly intenet service for the month of April. I asked them if they thought I was insane. Then I asked them what they paid a month for their internet service. Their answer? The computer tells them that I owe them the money.

What happened? I got 3 months back from them. My loss? $816. I hired some scumbag lower then a pregnant rattlesnake lawyer and he somehow got the negative information off my credit report. And me? I started spreading the word an to this day have beem personally responsible for 11 people dropping AO Hell for a real service. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them!!! I will never use AO Hell. I will never buy another issue of Time magazine and I tossed out my copies of Time Life books Mysteries of the Rain Forrest books.

Did I say I HATE AO-HELL?

In 1998 I was given a free disk. I already had internet service but I thought I would give AOL a try to see if I could get a better connection. The darn thing would not work on my junky old computer at all, and I was told I would have to download other software to actually surf the internet instead of just accessing AO Hells cheesy services. I promptly called and cancelled my account.

Here is the kicker. I always keep ample money in my checking account because I traveled a lot at the time and often I only could balance my checking account 1 or 2 times a year. I get out to Ohio and was in the process of renting a room for the night when I was told my check card had insufficient funds. I called and checked. Oh yeah. I was out of money all right. AOL had been taking $272.50 a month for the last 6 months. Needless to say I was not very happy at the pin heads at AO hell, but figured one call would straighten it out. Man, was I wrong.

I called at least 20 times before anyone would answer the friggin phone. Julie, the 3rd year rocket scientist, was no help. She hung up on me when I asked for a supervisor. This went on for 3 days. Finally some idiot customer no service dweeb screwed up and cave me Steve Case's phone number at his corporate office. I spoke with some office scumbag name James. He agreed to refund 3 months, no more of my money. After I called him a thief, and demanded to speak with his boss, he called me a few explatives, then an SOB and hung up on me.

Shortly afterword they billed me again. I was smart enough to put a hold on the account prior to that. Then they started sending me collection letters stating they were going to shred my credit. They owed me $1904.00 at this time. I sent hate letters to everyone I could find at AO Hell only to be responded with my auto generated "We are sorry for you problems".

Here is where the fun started. They started calling my home to collect the $272 theat they say I owed them. I kept asking them what I owed them the money for. Their answer? Monthly intenet service for the month of April. I asked them if they thought I was insane. Then I asked them what they paid a month for their internet service. Their answer? The computer tells them that I owe them the money.

What happened? I got 3 months back from them. My loss? $816. I hired some scumbag lower then a pregnant rattlesnake lawyer and he somehow got the negative information off my credit report. And me? I started spreading the word an to this day have beem personally responsible for 11 people dropping AO Hell for a real service. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them!!! I will never use AO Hell. I will never buy another issue of Time magazine and I tossed out my copies of Time Life books Mysteries of the Rain Forrest books.

Did I say I HATE AO-HELL?

In 1998 I was given a free disk. I already had internet service but I thought I would give AOL a try to see if I could get a better connection. The darn thing would not work on my junky old computer at all, and I was told I would have to download other software to actually surf the internet instead of just accessing AO Hells cheesy services. I promptly called and cancelled my account.

Here is the kicker. I always keep ample money in my checking account because I traveled a lot at the time and often I only could balance my checking account 1 or 2 times a year. I get out to Ohio and was in the process of renting a room for the night when I was told my check card had insufficient funds. I called and checked. Oh yeah. I was out of money all right. AOL had been taking $272.50 a month for the last 6 months. Needless to say I was not very happy at the pin heads at AO hell, but figured one call would straighten it out. Man, was I wrong.

I called at least 20 times before anyone would answer the friggin phone. Julie, the 3rd year rocket scientist, was no help. She hung up on me when I asked for a supervisor. This went on for 3 days. Finally some idiot customer no service dweeb screwed up and cave me Steve Case's phone number at his corporate office. I spoke with some office scumbag name James. He agreed to refund 3 months, no more of my money. After I called him a thief, and demanded to speak with his boss, he called me a few explatives, then an SOB and hung up on me.

Shortly afterword they billed me again. I was smart enough to put a hold on the account prior to that. Then they started sending me collection letters stating they were going to shred my credit. They owed me $1904.00 at this time. I sent hate letters to everyone I could find at AO Hell only to be responded with my auto generated "We are sorry for you problems".

Here is where the fun started. They started calling my home to collect the $272 theat they say I owed them. I kept asking them what I owed them the money for. Their answer? Monthly intenet service for the month of April. I asked them if they thought I was insane. Then I asked them what they paid a month for their internet service. Their answer? The computer tells them that I owe them the money.

What happened? I got 3 months back from them. My loss? $816. I hired some scumbag lower then a pregnant rattlesnake lawyer and he somehow got the negative information off my credit report. And me? I started spreading the word an to this day have beem personally responsible for 11 people dropping AO Hell for a real service. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them!!! I will never use AO Hell. I will never buy another issue of Time magazine and I tossed out my copies of Time Life books Mysteries of the Rain Forrest books.

Did I say I HATE AO-HELL?

When you call that wonderful 1888 number and you get that persone on the phone that is TECH service they can not HELP you with money problems. They can only HELP you with TECH problems. They transfer you to BILLING because that what the BILLING dept. is for. (I worked for aol TECH dept.) They dont know what goes on at the BILLING dept. And also they can never help they will contiune transfering you to BILLING!!!

In November of 2000, my husband and I ordered an "Elmo" game for our daughters from AOL store. After 7 weeks of waiting, we received "Wheel of Fortune." We sent the "Wheel of Fortune" back and told them that we did NOT want the "Elmo" game. We paid for the postage to return "Wheel of Fortune" (a game we never even suggested that we wanted) and then the next day we received "Elmo." So, I called them again to let them know that I finally received "Elmo" and was sending it back. Once again they informed me that I would be refunded for all of my expenses.



Well, the fact is that they never refunded me a dime and a few weeks after I sent "Elmo" back to them, they sent me a second "Elmo." By this time their incompetance was killing me. I called them back again, and they kept telling me that they had credited my checking account. My bank said they hadn't.



This went on for approximately 8 months. We documented everything and even recorded a few of the telephone conversations. We had AOL call directly to our bank directly (in an entirely different city located 180 miles from here). After talking with my bank, the rep from my bank called me at home and said that was the most rudest, sarcastic, and ignorant person she had ever talked to. the AOL rep had actually told my bank that they thought my bank was working with me in order to "rip off AOL." Of course the bank rep was shocked and I then found myself appologizing to her for the was the AOL rep treated her on my byhalf. The whole situation just got worst from there.



After spending hours at my bank talking to the bank president, and having her fax copies of my past 7 months bank statements (which I had to pay $2.00 per page for), and many, many hours on the phone with AOL, my husband and I gave up.



By the time we said never mind to it all... AOL owed us $208.42. AOL raped me and my family over and over again and then accused us of lying about it.



As you can see I can't really suggest any way to help you as you have at least received SOME money back. I never did. I do wish you the best of luck. Someone needs to be able to stop this and protect the consumer from companies like AOL.



Good luck,

Michelle

It first started when I was billed three times in one month ($23.50) for my AOL account. I called

the company about it and the guy promised to give me the next two months for free and to still clear the two extra charges off of my account records. He offered a free trial for some shopping services through AOL for about 30 days or so. It was up to me to cancel and if I failed to do so, I would automatically be billed monthly of about $30 bucks.



I was supposed to recieve a packet in the mail two weeks ago about the whole program but have not heard a word from them. I have been calling AOL trying to cancel the shopping service but no one seems to know anything about my account and AOL claims that they do not have any record of me

signing up for the service. I was transferred to four different numbers and still have no answers.

Therefore, there will be a charge billed on my credit card and I will have to go through the

process of having it removed and getting refunded.



Does anyone have any suggestions of what I should do? Please post it below so everyone will know.

This type of thing happens all the time, and you can usually get all of your money refunded although it may take quite a bit of effort on your part. Persistant calls and/or letters with substantial supporting information has always worked for me. Sometimes it is just a matter of happening to speak with the right person on the right day. In your specific case, since AOL has already taken responsiblity for the incorrect original charge of $23.90, you should be able to easily argue that the resulting penalties are their responsiblity too.



We recently encountered a similar situation with another web hosting company, and we learned the following in regards to making account agreements:



1. Whenever you talk to a representative on the phone, especially on something like cancelling your account which would free you from further payment obligations, always ask for the rep's first and last name, and an extension or employee number. At a large company like AOL, a first name would not be enough information to locate the person. Also, note the date of your discussion.



2. Whenever possible, get confirmation in writing and keep a printed copy until your issue has been settled (in this case, until you see that you are no longer being charged). Most web-related companies email you a confirmation. Financial companies such as credit cards and banks will mail you a copy. If not, ask for one.



3. If you don't believe you will get anything in writing from the company, or if they state that it is not their policy to do so but assure you verbally that what you have discussed will happen, write an email or letter of your own. Include the date, person's name who you spoke with, and the content of the discussion. For example, "Dear John Doe, Thank you for your assistance on the phone closing my account today. I understand that I will no longer be charged for acount # 1234567." And then mail it. Of course, keep a copy too.



4. Banks will put a stop on automated withdrawals like these if you request it. It is similar to stop payment on a check you have written. If the company you are dealing with refuses to acknolwedge your cancellation, when they are no longer able to charge your bank account anymore they will probably close your account for non-payment. Thus ends the ordeal. Some banks may charge you a small fee for this, like $5 or $10, but that is certainly better than $60.



5. In the future, use a credit card for these types of transactions instead of a checking/debit card. This is especially true if you only have less than $23.90 in your checking account to begin with. Credit card companies generally provide much better consumer protection with less hassle. For example, some even offer a refund guarantee simply for unhappiness with the product or service purchased. In that case, you wouldn't even have had to prove that AOL neglected to close your account on time, etc.



Good luck!

i just wanted to know why you aol worker are charging me twice $47.90 on my visa card? when its suppose to be $23.90. I want to know why you over chargered me. This is not only the first time its the second time.



Thank you,

Hilda Villarreal

If you need to email me, my address is kyaba27@hotmail.com.