Disconnecting 799
At the moment, Earthlink is running scads of TV ads showing the hapless nerd beseiged by guys in business suits who pull the plug on his computer, shower him with junk mail and peper him with tennis balls. At Earthlink, the ad says, they don't tolerate any of those service interruptions or spamming or pop-ups. So I thought it would be easy to cancel its service, which I actually acquired back when my account said Mindspring. But Earthlink's ferocious defense apparently only applies to paying customers, not to departing ones. Most ISPs, unlike more regulated phone companies, don't send monthly bills; they simply bill membership to a credit card. Thus, it's not simple even to find a phone number to call when you want out, and you sure won't find any little cancellation box on the home page.
When I got through at 8:50 a.m., I heard the usual chirpy recorded message urging me onto the site's website, where, the voice assured me, all my questions could be answered. There was, however, no prompt or icon or command on the customer service or tech support page for cancelling membership.
Back to the phones. I got to the menu, which didn't give an option for cancellation, but did give one for sales and service. That had to be the one, right? Wrong. After waiting on hold for 20 minutes, Diane told me there was a special customer service department for cancellations. She switched me to it. Fifteen minutes of bad music. I had that familiar, sinking feeling one gets upon entering the land of customer support, tech style. You can get in anytime, but you can't always get out.
Then a tech support rep came on. Can't imagine why you were switched to this department, he said. But I've been on the phone for half an hour, I said, taking the slightly more pleading voice one uses in the second stage of Phone Menu Hell -- the point before you really lose it, while you still hope some decent soul will ignore company policy and treat you right.
"Tell you what," said Steve the tech, his voice getting a tad chillier. "Why don't I stay on with you while we switch you over?" Great, I said. He vanished and wasn't heard from again. In the world of customer service, lies are the currency, and broken hearts abound.
Twenty-five more minutes, and a customer service rep from the first department popped on. A veteran of too many of these conversations to recount, I asked to speak to a supervisor immediately. One (allegedly) came on. Oh, he said, I was in the wrong department. So I did that thing where you recount your sorry travails in Tech Support Hell while they sometimes pretend to care.
"I've been on the phone for an hour," I said, the fuse having been lit. "It only took me five minutes to sign up. Why not make it possible to cancel electronically?"
Can't do that, he said, for security reasons. We have to verify your identify.
"But you let people sign up online, verifying or not verifying?"
"That's different," he said. It sure is. Cash flows in rather than out. After a few minutes (maybe three) on hold, I was told I needed a special devision of sales that cancelled subscribers. The supervisor switched me over. I expected to end up back in regular customer service, but didn't.
At 10:04 a.m., Cindy came on to ask for my name and PW. I didn't have the latter, as I hadn't used the service for a long time, and the PW had vanished into Password Hell, the bottom of a desk drawer stuffed with the detritus of old accounts, ID codes and issue and support reference numbers from countless tech issues and tech support pleas and brawls.
Cindy said Earthlink had no record of my ever having been a customer -- no name, address or credit card on file. I relayed to Cindy how impressed I was that they hadn't skipped a single month of billing me for the service, even though they didn't seem to know I existed. Yet I did have my credit card bill and assured her I was looking at a monthly charge of $9.95. Eventually it occurred to me that the account might be in my wife's name along with mine. The computer seemed willing to compromise on this point. Cindy said my service would be terminated. Was there anything else she could help me with?
Throughout this ridiculous waste of time, a voice kept popping up saying all calls might be monitored to ensure good service. I hope so. I also hope the people monitoring it have a lot of time and stored memory and a high tolerance for generic pop. I wonder if these people ever think about the irony: they spend all this money claiming to want to make life easier for people, yet they make what should be the simplest things nearly impossible.
The AOL call, initiated at 10:25 a.m. was shorter but weirder. This behemoth spends even more money touting how easy and customer-friendly the service is. That is, after all, the ads say, why they're Number One. But there's no keyword on AOL -- which has a keyword for everything -- for cancelling membership. If you root around in customer support for a while and keep typing in "cancel service" at every prompt -- I'm talking two or three browser moves and about five minutes, just enough to discourage the rushed, confused or distractable -- you eventually reach a page that offers an 888 number for cancellation of membership.
Getting the number of course, doesn't mean getting a human to answer the phone, which required another 20 or more minutes. The world's easiest-to-use and most wholesome online service doesn't fuss much about departing customers, either. At this point, I seriously considered saving the cancellation of AOL for another day. Maybe cancelling two ISPs is just too cumbersome for one workday. But then, there was Hemos and the invoices.
A gruff Brian answered the phone. "Can I help you?" he said, sounding as though his feelings were already hurt and he was spoiling for a fight. I assumed I had to be misreading his tone. I said I wanted to cancel.
"Why?" he asked. "We need to list a reason." Wondering why that was any of his business and eager to finally get off the phone, I mumbled something about having switched to cable. "You can piggyback AOL on cable," Brian interrupted. "That's not really a good reason."
Did I need a really good reason, I wondered? Had I missed something in the fine print when I signed up? What if something personal had happened, like a broken-off love affair? Or maybe I was broke, or been driven mad by pop-up ads and spam?
"Is there any complaint about the service?," he asked abruptly. I hadn't heard this brusque tone from customer service people, usually trained to hold onto a syrupy, we-are-here-to-please-you voice that probably causes them (and you) to later go home and torture their pets.
No, I said, I was happy with the service. I had finally switched to cable and wanted to cancel, that's all. What was the point of dumping on AOL, which I hadn't even been on for months? That would just generate a sugary phone call in a couple of days, pleading for re-consideration.
"You're sending out mixed signals here," Brian insisted, none too warmly. "This isn't really a good reason for cancelling. We can talk about adjusting the pricing, because there are different plans, if that's a problem, and since we can piggyback on cable and you have no complaints, I'm afraid I just don't understand. What am I supposed to write down on the form? You're not making any sense."
Contrary to the atmosphere on Slashdot, I don't particularly enjoy arguing, but Brian flipped my trigger. What would a 70-year-old user say under those circumstances, or a kid, or somebody who didn't speak English very well? Or somebody who just didn't want Brian jeering at him in a voice that vacillated between rude and intimidating?
It was outrageous and I finally lost it. "Look, Brian, I don't have to give you an unmixed signal, a good reason or any reason. I want you to cancel the service right now. Got it?"
"Your service is terminated," he said sharply at 10:50 a.m. AOL hung up on me! Things can't be all that rosy at the world's largest communications company. Brian was feeling -- therefore transmitting -- too much heat. But I was finally disconnected.
The morning did bring sharply into focus that this disconnection business is a horror, along with the way tech businesses often treat their customers, even as they spend fortunes taking out expensive ads claiming otherwise. Nobody should have to spend that much time cancelling two ISP's. It's so discouraging and so unpleasant that hundreds of thousands of people undoubtedly find it easier to pay relatively small monthly fees to avoid it. Which is almost certainly the idea.
So at the least I propose that ISPs be required to send monthly bills, listing numbers to call or websites to visit so that users can cancel on the phone or online. that means, of course, that ISP sites must offer electronic cancellation (if you can get on with a PW and ID, why can't you get off with them?) -- a button to push to cancel membership. It obviously ought to be as easy to cancel as to subscribe. Finally, AOL, of all places, and other sites should not dare be insulting, intimidating or browbeating to customers who want or need to disconnect. (Something Earthlink didn't try, I should point out -- though it took an outrageously long time there and the site didn't make the process simple in any way.)
In a world where it ought to be a universal right to get connected instantly, you ought to be able to get disconnected without calling a lawyer, a hit man or the FTC.
What I did/do (Score:5, Informative)
Re:What I did/do (Score:5, Funny)
And how many sent e-mails per day to verified addresses do you guarantee?
Bork!
Re:What I did/do (Score:3, Insightful)
Because GOOD ISPs frequently get bought out by BAD ones.
Re:My good ISPs were all bought by bad ones (Score:3, Interesting)
Each time it seems that either customer service or the quality of service takes a hit. I remember having a cheap MediaOne pen that they had sent to me. If someone wanted to borrow a pen that is the one I would lend them with the caution that it doesn't always work. They would always retort "Yeah, just like the service".
I tried calling AOL about a free trial after reading Jon Katz' story at 800-509-7538. In talking to them I asked where would I call if I wanted to cancel. The offer said I could cancel durring the free period and not be charged at all. The woman gave me a number that I should call, 888-265-8008. The person at that number said I needed to call another number, 888-346-3704, which turned out to be Tech Support. Tech support said I had to talk to the Billing Dept at 888-265-8003. The Billing Dept in turn said I needed to call 888-265-8008. I told the Billing Dept that I had already been given that number to call and that I wouldn't be signing up for AOL. So my little test did indeed corroborate Jon's experience.
BTW - AOL does not support Linux, I specifically asked them. So if anyone wants to cancel and gets asked why, just tell them that you have moved to a Linux OS.
Re:What I did/do (Score:5, Funny)
*cough*spammer!*cough*
Re:What I did/do (Score:2, Funny)
Spamford? Is that YOU???
:) Sorry, had to be said.
Re:What I did/do (Score:5, Informative)
Re:What I did/do (Score:4, Funny)
But even as efficient as that cancellation was, it was still unpleasant.
the beauty of credit cards (Score:5, Insightful)
You complained about having them on auto-bill, but that actually makes it easier to protect yourself.
Re:the beauty of credit cards--worked for me, too (Score:5, Interesting)
Once you contact the credit card company and tell them the charge is unauthorized, the monkey is on the VENDOR's back.
My experience with Verio (Score:2)
Then you file criminal complaints (Score:3, Informative)
The first letter to your CC is a dispute saying that the account has been cancelled. The second, when they rebill you, is a criminal complaint of fradulent activity. This gives the bank a lot more authority to stop the charges.
I got it cancelled this time! (Score:3, Interesting)
moving off Earthlink (Score:2)
katz on AOL? (Score:5, Funny)
Just Refuse (Score:2)
this is the reason (Score:5, Interesting)
It might be convinient, but I rather write the check every month than to deal with these kind of BS that might follow.
horror shows (Score:2)
I mean, what does it take to get the attention of some folks?
Re:horror shows (Score:2, Funny)
*Oooooohhh shiny!*
How to Cancel (Score:5, Informative)
Interestingly, Earthlink also has the phone numbers to cancel just about any popular Internet service (except for themselves of course) here [earthlink.net].
Re:How to Cancel (Score:5, Funny)
Brian interrupted. "That's not really a good reason."
Customer: "Look, I just think that we should be able to see other people."
Brian: "See other people? What's wrong with me?"
Customer: "Look, things aren't working out. It's not a problem with you. It's me."
Brian: "Don't give me that. There's somebody else isn't there?"
Customer: "Look I don't want to make a scene. It's just that I found another ISP."
Brian: "Oh God. I knew it, you loose..."
And then things get ugly.
Here, let me help (Score:3, Informative)
Interesting... (Score:3, Interesting)
Tech customer service (Score:4, Informative)
1) New technologies (i.e. DSL for the RBOCs, cable internet for CATV carriers) have hastily cobbled together support structures that do a poor job of responding to customer needs. Education of the support techs seems to be as poor as education of the customers, leaving a huge gap in the working knowledge required to troubleshoot and rectify problems.
2) Corporate cost cutting. When Ameritech outsourced their IP support to Convergys (a spin-off of CBIS) a couple of years ago, the marked rise in on-hold times along with the decline in quality of the staff (working knowledge of telephony infrastructure) caused our corporation to switch to another IP provide.
3) Scripting. Support staff railroad you into a narrow set of options and if your particular problem doesn't fit into the right slot, you are relegated to a black hole of call-backs by higher level of support that adds days if not weeks to the resolution of your problem.
These issues have gotten so bad in the past couple of years that it is amazing that we have high-speed IP access at the consumer level at all in the U.S.
Just send a ton of Spam mails and host a pr0n site (Score:2, Funny)
Or, you could just call your credit card company and say you will refuse to pay any future bills from those companies.
Re:Just send a ton of Spam mails.... maybe not. (Score:2, Interesting)
They *might* turn around and bill you a few bucks per spam (which could add up rather quickly) and STILL not "cancel" your account, but simply suspend your ability to log in during their "investigation."
Re:You know, I laughed at first... (Score:5, Interesting)
I used to work for EarthLink, so I can attest to the number of very frustrated customers who could never talk to the magical cancellation man...
They learned their methods ... (Score:2)
They made me feel like I'd be deported to some backwaters of Zaire if I even dared to survive in the concrete jungle with only one credit card. Fucking jerks, I shouldn't have to work my ass off and argue my ass off to manage my business relationships.
Re:They learned their methods ... (Score:2, Informative)
Usually I just tell them I'm reducing my credit exposure, and belive it or not, most CSR's fully understand, since they know most credit card companies give you more credit than you can afford.
I've cut my load down to five cards, and I'm looking to cut further.
There might be an easier way (Score:2)
"I want to cancel my service. You made it hell for me to try to cancel, so I'm making it hell for you to try to get your money. Don't bill me again.
Wait, could you hold for just a sec?."
At this point either put your phone on hold and leave it like that for a few hours, or set it next to the radio, tuned to your local obnoxious contry station. Or just hang up without telling them. I should note that I haven't tried this, but I'd love a chance ;).
my sixty year old mother (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe it was tough to find something 'important' to talk about this week. Should anybody really be surprised that a company that is in the business of making money isn't nice to people that no longer wants to give them money? Hell, why not give an american a chance at apathy, they'll probably take it!
Re:my sixty year old mother (Score:2)
Yes, because presumably these companies understand that negative customer service experiences are recounted countless numbers of times, with the net result being their reputation taking a hit. If, however, they made the process easy for customers, maybe they wouldn't be on the front page of
Granted, a lot of ISPs don't seem to grasp this concept, but there are other companies out there that do. (Nordstrom's no-hassle return policy comes to mind)
So, yes, we should be surprised -- shocked, even, that Fortune 500 companies could be so short-sighted and stupid when it comes to customer relations.
Disconnection is EASY for me. (Score:4, Funny)
Of course, you gave them your credit card number, which makes billing easy for you (and for them) but that puts all the effort on you to get it disconnected. If you pay cash or check, and you simply stop making payments, you'll be disconnected faster with no intervention on your part at all.
-Restil
If I were a CS rep (Score:5, Funny)
*click*
Bwahahahahaha!
Free AOL (Score:4, Funny)
the power of cancellation (Score:5, Insightful)
I use AT&T for my cable and internet service. I stopped watching TV as much recently, so I wanted to downgrade my cable service from Extended Basic to Standard Basic. I called the ever helpful (sarcasm) tech support, and the woman told me that they would have to charge a $15 "service fee" to downgrade the service as I requested. She explained that they had to send a technician out to turn off part of my service, and that I had to pay for that. Obviously, this sounded ridiculous, so I asked "If I just cancelled the service entirely, would there still be a fee?"
The next words out of her mouth were "Let me just waive that service fee for you..."
:)
Getting cancelled from AOL (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Getting cancelled from AOL (Score:2)
A week or so later, I discovered PrimeNet (the ISP, not the distributed computing project), and was introduced to the REAL internet. Lucky me, PrimeNet billed me for one month of service, then promptly forgot I existed, so I had a free year of Internet. Woo!
Huh ? (Score:4, Informative)
The easiest thing in the world is just to send them your cancellation in registered mail so you can prove that they received it.
Then contact your bank to stop payments to whatever entity is siphoning from your account.
End of problem, if they don't comply they are on the wrong end of the criminal law.
AOL cancel operators (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:AOL cancel operators (Score:3, Informative)
This is actually quite useful. I've had free AOL for the last two years or so. Each time I call to cancel, they give me another free month or two.
"Would you stay with AOL if we gave you a month free?"
"Well
"No problem."
Believe it or not, that actually happened
Perfect (Score:4, Interesting)
That is an analogy for the ages. I dread any and all calls to ANY customer "service" department. I would guess the machine-systems in place save the businesses money, but good grief they suck. The first thing I ever do on a "service" call is to press any button to talk to a person. Even if my intent is entirely the opposite of what the machine says the person is there for.
------------------rhad
disconnecting from Delphi and Compuserve (Score:4, Interesting)
Then I sent a notarized and dated letter to each, telling them I had no further need of their services and that I would tender no further payment after the current month. I enclosed a check for the current month's service.
Then I called my bank and told them to refuse all requests for payment from both services.
Unsuprisingly, *both* services tried to bill me again (Compuserve several times). But, since they'd both cashed my checks, they couldn't say they hadn't received my letters.
Worked like a charm, and all told I spent less than two hours on the deal. Of course, both services let me sign up in less than ten minutes, but that's the reality of Corporate Amerika these days.
My friend Red says the secret to happiness is lowered expectations. In this case he's probably right. At least it doesn't matter if I'm "white" or not, they screw everybody equally!
Re:disconnecting from Delphi and Compuserve (Score:2)
Still, it shows standards have gone downhill since AOL bought them....
A word of warning (Score:2, Informative)
Keep a close eye on your next two bank statements. Make sure they actually stopped taking money beofre you believe youeself safe.
I had a similar Earthlink experience (Score:2, Interesting)
After finally getting my account cancelled, my debit card was mysteriously charged ~$150. Their explanation was that it was an early cancelation penalty due to my one year contract. I asked how long ago I signed-up and they replied 20 months! It took another 3 weeks to get my money refunded.
My advice is to escalate the call immediately at the first sign of any resistance, and to record the dates, times, and names from every conversation you have.
This is truly the worst customer service experience I have ever had.
cancel the CC charge... (Score:2)
Disconnect Hell (Score:2)
The thing about these services is that they piss off one person at a time. It's like committing suicide slowly. I know of at least three different people who will never use these services because they were screwed over by them. Those three tell a couple of hundred each, and those couple of hundred also tell a bunch of people.
At first this kind of publicity doesn't hurt you but as the number of pissed off ex-customers grow it can have a real affect on the bottom line. Hence AOL probably doesn't get a lot of repeat customers.
Re:Disconnect Hell (Score:2)
- At first this kind of publicity doesn't hurt you but as the number of pissed off ex-customers grow it can have a real affect on the bottom line. Hence AOL probably doesn't get a lot of repeat customers.
I don't know about that. Everytime I move, I sign up for a free month of AOL while I wait for the DSL to be installed. Once it's in, I call AOL and cancel. So, I'm a repeat customer.And for those interested, my "excuse" for cancelling the service is that there's nothing on AOL that I use, so why pay for it.
HAHAHA (Score:3, Funny)
Headline suggestion: Horrible Customer Service Call Centers Complete World Takeover and Finally Invade Computer Industry
WTF?
How is this different from any other large bureaucratic corporation's customer service and why do we care about this personalized story that only has to do with Katz? (This is only relevant to ME if a large percentage of people have that problem and Katz... you didn't provide proof of that.)
That said, my story beats his anyway!
**So begins the real reason for this post. To bitch about my own experiences!**
My favorite is when Verizon Avenue (a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon that does DSL for Apt. buildings) broke my phone line.
Ver Ave: "We don't fix phone line. Call Verizon"
Me: But you BROKE IT and you ARE Verizon. You call.
VA: Call Verizon
Verizon: "We fix phones, but if we didn't break it, you pay."
Me: "Sounds fine, since you broke it"
Verizon: "Oh no, we weren't there we couldn't break it"
Me: "Well I'm not paying.
Verizon: Well, call your DSL service. Make them fix it or pay
Me: (calls john katz. please bitch about ISP customer service on slashdot so i can bitch and be on topic
Katz: No Prob!
Best Jon Katz ever! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Best Jon Katz ever! (Score:2)
But after I was done, it seemed to have the tone of the 'frustrated guy trying to deal with these tech types' that would have been better received by Arizona Highways or the AARP newsletter.
But at least it made sense.
And now the fun part ... (Score:2)
Sometimes snail mail is the best policy (Score:3, Interesting)
Hmmm.. (Score:2)
Google is your friend (Score:2)
Asking Google: how do I cancel my Earthlink account" gives me this page with specific instructions: http://help.mindspring.com/modules/00800/00823.htm [mindspring.com]
Lay off the weed, ok? Makes thinking clearer.
Easy steps to unsubscribe... (Score:5, Informative)
Credit card companies are used to dealing with business who make it hard to cancel recurring charges. They know what to do, and in this case they are your allies. Good Luck!
Re:Easy steps to unsubscribe... (Score:3, Funny)
On good answer is "broken record."
No matter what they say to distract you, say
"I want to disconnect my service."
I.e.
Them: "Is there a problem?"
You: "I want to disconnect my service."
Them: "Why do you want to cancel the service?"
You: "I want to disconnect my service."
Them: "Would a free month change your mind?"
You: "I want to disconnect my service."
Them: "I need to put down a reason."
You: "I want to disconnect my service."
Them: "Why not wait till the end of the month?"
You: "I want to disconnect my service."
Them: "But why?"
You: "I want to disconnect my service."
Most people give up after the third repeat.
-- this is not a
Couple things I'm still wondering (Score:2)
2. Is the use of internet services for ISPs a symptom of globalization and furthurmore the lack of internet cancellations an attempt to make it even more difficult for people temporarily outside of the country to cancel their accounts?
3. Is this a symptom of the disorganization and uncertainty caused by the economic instabillity of AOL/TW and Earthlink fighting to survive in an economy in the midst of a recession?
Either way this is definatly one of the best JonKatz articles I've seen. When he sticks to the topic at hand and doesn't try to blow it out of proportion or make any stunning (and often incorrect) revelations he can be a decent writer.
Backhanded compliment :) (Score:2, Insightful)
I have to say that by sticking to the primary source account and resisting the urge to excessively editorialize, you made something I found worthwhile to read.
Thank you, and I agree that this aspect of tech support should be put under the spotlight. Telecom companies are the very worst abusers in my opinion. Not only do they make it difficult to disconnect, but then they try to ruin all of your future dinner hours trying to "get you back".
QWest/MSN Slamming (Score:2)
Call Center might be Indian... (Score:2)
The best part of this for Business is that they get happy, clueless employees that don't mind sub-US minimum wage and can handle extremely rude, self-righteous (and more than likely correct) American callers with a smile on their faces. So next time you want to curse out a company via their customer service learn some nasty words in Hindi to get your point across. Maybe the Indian programmer that took away my last job a few years ago could help us out with a few creative Hindi dirty words.
2 basic steps to stop the billing: (Score:3, Insightful)
- Notify them in writing. If you write (a letter, not an e-mail) to the billing address and say you want to cancel the service, then they (and you) have written, legal proof of your request to cancel. So you have the law on your side when it comes to step #2.
- Call your credit card company. Tell them that
you have written the company asking to stop billing you, and instruct your bank to block any future charges from them.
I'm not claiming that this is the easiest thing to do or that it makes for good customer service on the part of ISPs. Many ISPs won't make you jump through these hoops (as a tech with my former employer, we could all cancel accounts, all we had to do was click "Cancel" -- and we didn't ask for a reason). But there is no way they can refute your intent to cancel if you've requested it in writing.Snail mail? (Score:2)
Guaranteed Instant Cancellation!!! (Score:2)
Spam a million accounts from your AOL/xenulink account. Problem solved!
Try this trick :) (Score:2, Interesting)
Hey! Einstein! Look here! (Score:2)
"I heard the usual chirpy recorded message urging me onto the site's website, where, the voice assured me, all my questions could be answered."
Go to support.earthlink.net [earthlink.net] Log in. Without even scrolling down, look on the left side of your screen, under "Customer Service," right next to the bit that tells you their call center wait times (which you obviously didn't check before calling). What do you see?
The fourth hyperlink down:
How to cancel your Earthlink account. [earthlink.net]
And, yes, their on-line chat tech support works, and the wait time on that is a heck of a lot shorter than their call-in lines.
Please tell me you taped the conversations... (Score:2)
I really would love to be able to download an
Katz hasn't actually cancelled! (Score:2)
In other words, Earthlink and AOL both claimed his service was cancelled -- but will they keep billing his credit card anyway? Of course! That's part of the whole cancellation hell; even when you think you've won, the battle has only just begun.
The Beauty of Credit Cards (Score:2)
My uncle got his new computer, and dropped in the "Free AOL Trial" CD. As per usual, it wanted a credit card number before you could use your "free" trial. So, he entered the details of his card that was going to run out soonest, which happened to be in just over a months time. 3 weeks later, he'd decided AOL wasn't for him, and picked a new ISP. After 5 minutes trying to cancel and deciding it was too hard, he did nothing. AOL customer support then spent the next month trying to coerce his new credit card number out of him. Eventually, 2 weeks after the card had expired, they took his hints that he wanted to cancel, and terminated the account
I subscribed to the BT Anytime service over the summer, so I could use the net as much as I do at college without running up huge bills. After checking the minimum sign-up time and cancelation methods well, I signed up with my credit card. Come the end of the summer, I phoned up to cancel. With a copy of the contract in front of me, I asked if they could cancel the account, or if I should send them a letter, and copy it to my credit card company and ask that no more billing went through. Took 3 minutes to cancel the account :)
My dad changed from one local ISP to another to get ADSL. Apart for getting stung a bit for transfering his domain to the new ISP, it was very pleasant
earthlink blows.... (Score:2)
So fuck erathlink I hope they rot in the darkest tech-hell
Money goes in easy, out hard? (Score:2)
AOL "Stop-safe" (Score:2, Interesting)
Things can't be so good?! (Score:5, Insightful)
Things can't be so good at Slashdot if they're having to nickel-and-dime over $9.95 of expenses!
John Katz (Score:2)
Cancelling Earthlink (Score:5, Informative)
10. TERMINATION.
You may terminate your account at any time and for any reason by providing notice of intent to terminate to EarthLink by:
- registered or certified mail, return receipt requested addressed to EarthLink Inc., 1375 Peachtree St. Level A, Atlanta, GA 30309; or
- telephone calls directed to Accounts-Customer Service at (800) 719-4660, option #2.
Email termination of your basic Internet access account will not be accepted. To terminate DSL service, you must call (888) 829-8466. To terminate Web Hosting and/or Business Services, you must call (800) 237-0148. Your termination will only be complete upon your receipt of a cancellation confirmation number from EarthLink. Charges to your account will stop accruing the day EarthLink provides you with a cancellation confirmation number. Based on your billing cycle, charges accrued prior to your termination may apply after you receive a cancellation confirmation. Email cancellation requests will not be accepted. If your account included space on EarthLink's servers, anything stored on this space will be deleted upon termination.Without prior notice, EarthLink may terminate this Agreement, your password, your account, or your use of the Services, for any reason, including, without limitation, if EarthLink, in its sole discretion, believes you have violated this Agreement, our Acceptable Use Policy, or any of the applicable user policies, or if you fail to pay any charges when due. EarthLink may provide termination notice to you by: email addressed to your email account or by US Mail or courier service to the address you provided for the Services. All notices to you shall be deemed effective on the first (1st) calendar day following the date of electronic mailing or on the fourth (4th) calendar day following the date of first-class mailing or deposit with a commercial courier service.
Sections 3, 4, 6, and 11 of this Agreement shall survive termination of this Agreement.
Re:Cancelling Earthlink (Score:3, Interesting)
Section 3
You agree to remove any software that requires a Linux based operating system from all computers in your household. MS retains the right to perform on-site audits without any notice whatsoever.
Section 4
In accepting this agreement, you agree that your soul, if it does exist, belongs to Bill Gates.
Section 5
Without prior notice MS may terminate this agreement. You may terminate this agreement as well with written notice notarized, signed in blood, and hand delivered to customer service in Virginia.
Sections 3 and 4 of this Agreement shall survive termination of this Agreement.
AT&T/@Home (Score:2)
My attempt to cancel with AT&T resulted in me being placed in the on-hold hell they are so famous for. Rather than spend an hour on hold, I hung up and wrote a formal letter canceling my service and told them to contact me to make arrangements for the return of the cablemodem. We kept receiving a bill, and I kept writing "service canceled on {date}" on the bill and attaching a copy of the letter. Eventually, they called me because of an overdue bill. When I said I had cancelled in writing they said you can't do it that way and I had to pay. I said, yes I can cancel in writing and that I would not pay. She tried to insist otherwise, but I stood firm. I got the info to return the cablemodem and haven't been bothered since (other than the occassional junk mail advertising their cablemodem service "now available" in my area).
Q: "Why? We need to list a reason." (Score:2)
A: None of your business. I'm not doing your marketing research for you; commission a study if you want that.
Q: What am I supposed to write down on the form?
A: Anything you want. I'm not receiving the form. My next call will be to my credit card company to tell them not to authorize auto-billing from you anymore. At that point, I won't care what's on the form.
Just like Rogers (Score:2)
Now Rogers had *never* answered their phone for me in less than 30 minutes, and this time was no different. What made it excrutiatingly awful was that the on-hold music was some old-time country and western yodelling music (I kid you not).
When a human finally picked up the other end, the first question he asked was why I wanted to cancel my service. Did I give him an earful!
After that he went on auto-pilot. Confirming my name, address, account number, etc. He was so much on auto-pilot, that he ended the phone call with
"Thank you for choosing Rogers!"
I laughed and hung up.
My how things have changed. (Score:2)
I dropped AOL service a long time ago (when 28.2Kb modems were state of the art) and had no trouble at all. I did get a slew of letters from Steve Case wondering why I'd cancelled the service but no surly Customer Service person berating my reason for leaving. :-)
Someone should be explaining to Brian what the job market is like nowadays. Might just clear up that attitude problem he's got.
The truth is so boring...spice it up a bit (Score:2)
He knew they were going to ask him why he was leaving and spent his 30 minutes of hold time thinking of a good response. His conversation went something like this:
AOL guy: Why are you cancelling your AOL service?
Roommate: Did you see the movie Memento?
AOL: Yes
R: I have that same memory problem and I woke up this morning with a note pinned to my shirt that said "Cancel AOL".
AOL: Were you having any problems with your service?
R: I really can't remember. But I should probably do what the note says.
AOL: OK. Your account has been canceled.
You don't owe them any explanation. You're a customer and you don't want to pay them anymore.
That should be enough.
-B
Try cancelling a cell phone (Score:4, Interesting)
"We can't"
"We can, but it your contract must run the rest of the year"
"Maybe there was no contract, but there's a $50 service charge"
"Maybe there is no service charge, but you'll have to clear it with the Loyalty department"
At this point my wife is mentions how the Loyalty department has tones of "1984". The service representative says he never saw the movie. *sigh*.
The Loyalty department:
"How about another month's contract just in case you really do need it"
"How about a month's free service" (!)
"How about three months' free service" (!!!)
"Why do you want to cancel?"
"Can you give a better reason?" (!)
Finally, they refused to cancel the service for three months. They'd just stop billing us and if we didn't use the service, it would expire...
Now after all that (which makes for great anecdotes at parties, even if it took a while), they did actually keep their word and we saw no more bills.
Earthling CS = Nonexistant (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't remember getting any bull about trying to keep me as a customer, but then again, when I'm talking on the phone, I'm like one step removed from pathological liar ("Um, I'm going to Africa for 6 months. . . I'm getting an OC3 installed in my apartment building. . . due to the nature of my employment, I cannot divulge personal information over insecure lines. )
Now that my new apt has a T1 line, I actually *enjoy* telling broadband telemarketer's the truth.
CSR: You do understand that Verison DSL can give you speeds up to 50 times as fast as dial up access, along with great reliability and consolidated billing with your local phone access.
Me: I've got a T1 line in my apt.
CSR: Well, in many areas, DSL service is faster than a Cable modem.
Me: No, I've got a T1. You know how you guys are an ISP, and you provide internet access to other people via your larger network backbone.
CSR: Er, yes...
Me: Well, that's what I've got. I could be you guys and offer customers broadband access from me. You could NEVER offer me access as fast as what I've currently got. *evil cackle*
CSR: Ok, thanks for your time *sniff*
Even if you don't have a T1, even if your still on dialup. I suggest ppl take this route w/ telemarketers. It'll give you an amazing evil/warm fuzzy all over.
Easy way to cancel AOL (seriously) (Score:3, Insightful)
I tried it, and sure enough, it works. Just don't expect to be able to use the same credit card to sign up for AOL again... But then again, why would you want to?
Katz... good? (Score:4, Funny)
Learn to Lie (Score:5, Funny)
AOL REP: And why do you want to cancel your account?
ME: I've converted my religion and am no longer allowed to use computers.
AOL REP: That doesn't sound legitimate.
ME: Are you questioning my faith, because if you are, that would be discrimination. My church has lawyers to deal with this kind of thing.
here is where you went wrong (Score:3, Insightful)
As someone in tech support I can say that you lost the guy at that point, from this point on he did not want to help you. NEVER ask for a supervisor unless you have no other option. Plus the "supervisor" you talked to was just the guy in the next cube over.
Earthlink Customer Service (Score:4, Informative)
1)Technical Support (handles technical issues *obviously*)
2) Customer Service (handles billing and account maintenance - cancelling would be account maintenance)
3) Sales (obviously handles the setup of new accounts)
Each of our 3 divisions has access to different databases (to streamline the 'customer experience' by letting reps focus on specifics).
As for the hold time - I have a LCD display that allows me to see how long someone has been on hold. For the past month now our hold time hasn't been over 10 minutes in customer service (if you call during peak hours *8am-5pm PST respectively). If you call after of before peak hours our hold time is next to nothing (if we even have a hold time at that) Our Tech support line hasn't had a hold time for at least 3 months now.
As for account verification - we accept the last 4 digits of your credit card, calling the account holder back at the phone number listed on the account, a secret word (which the user sets up at time of initial signup), or the last 2 characters of the password (after which the user would be required to setup a secret word).
I can't speak for AOL on these matters (for obvious reasons)
Re:The credit card company can be your friend... (Score:5, Informative)
I had that wonderful experience with Compuserve way back when. My ID didn't work, but the billing was still on my credit card.
I'm still in therapy for my experiences trying to sort that mess out. :-)
Re:I Cancelled My Earthlink Account (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I Cancelled My Earthlink Account (Score:2, Informative)
Pretend you are on a rotary phone, don't press any buttons. You'll be forwarded to a recptionist, and they'll forward you directly to the department you ask for. You still get to wait on hold, but it's less jumps.
Re:I Cancelled My Earthlink Account (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh, if only it were that easy. Allow me to relate a horrow story of a friend of mine that he had with MSN. After a few months of service, he decided to cancel and move on to someone else's service.
He went to their webpage, which actually had a cancellation procedure (whatever happened to those days? I smell a conspiracy!). However, after he entered his info and tried to cancel the service (by clicking the button on the webpage), the browser just hung, until the page timed out. He tried several times, but he could never get a cancellation confirmation page to load.
So, he called customer service and tried to cancel through them. They were happy to take his information, waste his time, and then inform him that they were experiencing computer problems, and they could not cancel his service at that time.
So, he called a few days later, and same story. He just kind of let it go, because it was just $20 a month, no big deal, right? So he calls customer service a couple months later, and their computers have since been up and running, but are now broken again. Yeah, a likely story...
So my friend calls Discover, and tells him that he wants to stop accepting charges from MSN. Discover informs him that these charges are recurring and must be cancelled with MSN, Discover cannot decline them.
In the end, my friend was forced to pay off his Discover card and then cancel it. Welcome to Hell, my friends, weclome to Hell...
Re:I Cancelled My Earthlink Account (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I Cancelled My Earthlink Account (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I Cancelled My Earthlink Account (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I Cancelled My Earthlink Account (Score:2)
Re:I Cancelled My Earthlink Account (Score:2, Funny)
I just thought of a VERY fast way to get your Earthlink or AOL account cancelled. Send out spam as fast as you can. They have automated scripts to can accounts that send out a certain rate of e-mails.
Re:The easy way to cancel earthlink: (Score:2, Interesting)
the chat-window support option is the way to go.
Not AOL... (Score:5, Funny)
After a while, my parents tried to move to another ISP, probably because they were sick of hearing our whining. My father's call to AOL went something like this:
Dad: "I'd like to cancel my account."
AOL: "Why?"
Dad: "We want to use another service."
AOL: "What if we give you another month for free?"
Dad: "Okay."
So we were stuck with AOL for another month. At the end of that month, he tried cancelling again only to end up having the same conversation. And this happened yet again another month later. We finally moved to another ISP because, left with no other alternatives, I asked my parents to switch to something better as a "birthday present."
Maybe Jon Katz didn't speak to the same representatives at AOL, or maybe they've changed this policy. I find that hard to believe, though, when all you have to do for 1000 free hours is pick up a CD at 7-11 or wait for one to arrive in the mail. AOL gets their money from aggressive advertising - requiring people to see an ad and click "No Thanks" every time they sign on, for instance, and (as a