All Hail AOL!!

Golfgar4 · Aug 19, 2003

We also had AOL for awhile. It came with our first computer and gave us 2 or 3 months of free service. At the time, we had never had any kind of internet service, so we figured we'd use AOL since they were the big one!

After using the service for about a year, and absolutely hating the fact that we couldn't use our phone at the same time, we decided to switch to our local cable provider's service. We contacted AOL to inform them when we were ending our relationship, and they asked us why we were changing. We gave them the basic reasons, and they asked us to fill out a survey about the service that they provided. We were honest about our feelings for their service when we filled out the survey, and after we sent it in, we got a thank you from them and have not heard from them again! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Must have caught a new employee on the first day!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Chuck52 · Aug 19, 2003

After providing a death certificate, which as MossRoad says is not too much for the comapny to ask, if further trouble with the company ensued, I would inform your state Attorney General's office. I had problems with some mail order stuff a while back....I can't even recall what it was....but at the time the Missouri Attorney General was making a reputation for going after out-of-state mail order companies that were causing good citizens of Missouri grief. As I recall, simply saying I had reported my case to the Attorney General's office resulted in a nice letter cancelling the debt I didn't owe and wishing me well.

Chuck

pruntyc · Aug 19, 2003

Big Dave, I have tryed a lot of them, but this intergate.com I will put it at the top of the list. It is $99 a year if you pay by the year. Of course having had aol, and probably a dozen and a half or more others, I tryed them by the month first. Have almost no problems with them, if they go down its only for a very few minutes. No busy signals either. Have 2 numbers here in hicksville to, so if I did I could use the other one, but never have. You might want to try them sometime, they are everywhere, nation wide, and they are good.

BillG_in_TX · Aug 19, 2003

ISP alternatives

Big Dave,

When I was looking for a less expensive ISP, I found FreedomList, which lists 87 national ISP's that charge $10 or less per month - 12 of which are free. After perusing the profiles, user "reviews" and websites, it's not too difficult to narrow down the field based on your particular requirements.

Every provider has a list of access numbers available, and I found that most of them are the same. There are evidently only 4 or 5 companies that provide the connections nationwide - everyone else is a reseller. For example, look at PeopleStar. They offer 3 different plans through 3 different networks - world.net, pop.net and surf.net - starting at $7.75 per month. They list 18 pages of access numbers in Texas cities and towns.

By the way, PeopleStar had probably the highest ratings by users, and if I wasn't such a cheapskate, I would have gone with them instead of Access4Free. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

fivestring · Aug 19, 2003

"The cd's, however, ARE good for hanging in the garden."

I like that, Ron.

I have not had cable tv since 1993 because Time-Warner/AOL has the cable monopoly around here. I'd sell my tv's before I supported their floundering company. Now AOL is pressuring lawmakers to come up with laws to penalize satellite providers (DirecTV) because folks like me don't use cable tv. I don't go see movies that Time-Warner is involved in.
I don't support printed material that Time-Warner is involved in.
Guess what I think of Time-Warner? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

PitbullMidwest · Aug 19, 2003

AOL wants an original copy of the certificate from the clerk of court and a copy of the will. My mother in law isn't about to spend one more dime on AOL to get the copy and they sure as heck aren't going to get a copy of his will. It was easier to cancel the credit card (also in his name) than to close this account.

She has sent AOL a photocopy of the death certificate and informed them that all fututre corrospondance is to be sent to her lawyer.

We are all wondering how long they will provide service that is not being paid for, if she had simply quit paying the bill without notifying AOL as to the reason I'm sure they would have shut off service the next month.

Wingnut · Aug 19, 2003

Big Dave ... I've been on Earthlink for 5 years and I'm still happy with it although they have changed local numbers three times in that period. I'm paying 2 bucks less though .... signed up through Sam's (a membership benefit) ... so you can figure the Sam's membership almost gets paid by the $24 savings on monthly fees.
If you've got a Sam's membership, you might want to look into it.
The kicker for me, like you, is the ability to get my email wherever I travel, even over in Europe.

pete

shado · Aug 20, 2003

After reading all the posts here & other situations of the past postings, I'll have to say one thing about this group, the majority seems to want to take the high road. Now how about a simple resolution to the troubles, but it might just be a little late since a fuss has been made now. If I were in that situation to start, when the customer service person wanted to have the 'authurizor' cancel the account (and since no one from AOL has personally seen him), I either would have gotten a'hold of a male friend or disguised my voice to sound like a man and spoke to the rep about canceling since I had all that account info in hand. You might have to kept a straight face while answering all those survey questions, but no reason why it should not have fooled a low-wage earner in the first place. Have they got a voice-print on file? I dobt it! Maybe you can get lucky and speak to a different customer service rep that's not been involved in past conversations, but that might not work now if they have a note stuck to the subscriber's file now.
J.W.

pruntyc · Aug 20, 2003

Re: ISP alternatives

I also need to add, with intergate, it is unlimited as I use it hours each day. And it gives you 100 email accounts and 100MB of free web site, for your personal use. You can check there numbers at their web site, they are every where you may go. http://www.intergate.com/index.shtml

OkeeDon · Aug 20, 2003

We have cable access through adelphia at our current house, so have no dial-up ISP. We're taking a trip through Labor Day, and want to check Email. I found this outfit: Budget Dialup - prepaid access which isn't the cheapest around, but it works like a phone card - pay in some $$$ and use up the time, then pay in a little more if needed. No monthly bills, no contracts, no wasted time - it stays around for a year, and you can buy as much or as little as you need. Best of all, they have 800-number access for those places that just don't have dial-up numbers (like Hiawassee, GA, where we will be, and West Jefferson, NC where our cabin is). The only way we could get local numbers in those areas would be to sign up with a local ISP and then cancel - not worth it for a couple of weeks.

The 800-number service works out to be as cheap as 5.5 cents per minute, including the 800 number and the ISP service, which is way cheaper than paying $19.95/month and then 10 cents a minute for an 800 number, and cheaper than most long distance rates. They do have local numbers in most areas of the country.