Friends don't let friends use AOL.
For years AOL had convinced users of the Internet that their service was simpler to use than other Internet providers and for some it might be "the only service that can work on your machine". In the tech support world at the time, we would joke that the claim was true, we would say, "you can put an AOL disk in a toaster and it'll connect you to the Internet long enough to take your Credit Card number".
For years I had heard of horror the horror stories of trying to cancel an AOL account. Follow below for more:
Two years ago, (before the famous tape released on the Internet of a customer trying to cancel I link to below) I was back East in NJ and setting my Dad up with a new computer and yes a new Internet service.
For years, my Mom (actually step mother) had insisted on using AOL as it offered travel dialup numbers and she could "pop an AOL disk in any machine".
After my Mother (to me) passed away, my Dad was ready for a new Internet provider, we set him up with a local ISP to his area (NJ) and got him online.
Here's a local NJ ISP we recommend:
Monmouth, NJ.com We used, good service. I recommend them.
Even a seasoned, tech support person as myself was not prepared for what ensued. I listened while my Dad, (A former mediator/arbitrator) proceeded to try to cancel. He explained how his wife was dead, he had a death certificate he could fax or send them, they told him that would not be necessary. He pleaded with them and tried to bargain for emails for the months that led up to her death, and explained how they were important to him, no deal. Basically, if he paid for service he hadn't used in 11 months, they would "release" her emails. He hadn't had any online usage at that time. My wife (also a tech) myself, and my Dad took turns calling in and trying to cancel. We called my Dad's credit card company. No good, he would have to cancel the credit card he'd had with them since the 50's.
At one point, they still wanted to talk with my Mom. My Dad walked in the bedroom and held the phone up to Mom's ashes and said "her she is ...".
The last and final straw, and the last call to them, was when they offered my Dad "A $300 gift certificate from WALLMART to stay on".
My Dad lost it. "I've been fighting for Unions all my life and my Father before me did the same. I think Wallmart is schlocky, and I think you're schlocky ...". He hung up.
(The first time I've known my Dad to hang up on anyone other then me.) He resolved it by canceling the MasterCard account he'd had since the 50's that AOL was attached to.
There are three or four or five top Internet providers and they charge more and manage to have most of the customers over local Internet providers that usually are better and charge less. Please. If you are using MSN, AOL, Earthlink or whatever other Corporate dominated service, please consider using a local Internet provider in your area, if of course one is available. If you are not happy with the service of a local service, you can cancel with a phone call. I promise.
That said. It looks like AOL is going down the tubes. Wow! Their monthly service is now $26 bucks for dialup!!
AOL Floudering?
Hard to quit AOL?