Complain about a product or service

Earthlink Free Trial

Earthlink • Tech Support • Cancellation disputes • Billing problems • "Free" trial • Other offers • DSL cancellation • DSL installation • DSL speed • Mailstation

Rhonda of Neenah WI (1/29/04):
I purchased a Dell computer in July 2003. I installed Earthlink for the 6 month trial period. There were numerous problems with the software and I uninstalled Earthlink in November 2003 and called Earthlink to let them know I desired to cancel. I was ignorantly blissful for 2 months, enjoying problem-free service from AOL.

Last week I opened my Discover bill and was shocked to find a charge from Earthlink for the month of January. I called a customer representative to have the charge removed and was told that they could not remove the charge even though the account had not been active after the free trial period. It seems my cancellation had not been noted on my account. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was given the same rhetoric. I know it is only $21.00 and some odd cents, but this is an outrage. I was informed that the license agreement was agreed to, upon installing the software and it states that the account must be cancelled in order for the monthly charges to be closed.

First of all, it was cancelled. It is not my fault the call was not noted and the cancellation was not generated. Secondly, the reason I cancelled was because of the poor service. There are numerous notations of calls related to technical problems with the Earthlink service. The "agreement" between Earthlink and myself was breached early on by Earthlink. The contract was rendered void when I did not receive the service promised in the Earthlink sevice contract.

The customer service representatives I spoke with were shameless in their arrogance regarding the fact that they would not remove the charge. Is this the image Earthlink wishes to project to potential customers? Is this what customers should expect when deciding whether or not to try the "free" trial with Earthlink?

Earthlink breached their contact with me before I ever cancelled the service. I have been robbed. Maybe Earthlink is not concerned about the possibility of class action lawsuits. It is, after all, the "small" people like myself who keep Earthlink up and running by purchasing this product. I may not have purchased this product of my own free will, but I do have communication skills and I will never reccommend this product to anyone. If this charge is not removed I will not give up on getting this issue resolved. I will not go away.

Margarett of St. Louis (10/30/03):
In Feb. 2003 I purchased an iMac computer. In the hook-up process I signed up for 2 months free internet service, just to get the computer up and on the internet. The service was through Mac.com, which in turn is through Earhlink. I e-mailed them my request to cancel the account before the 60 days were up and never used the account again. They have been billng me for eight months for an account I never used and was unaware I had, after all I had canceled it.

My ex-husband had had an account with earthlink that was being billed to my visa, he had changed the billing arrangements upon our seperation, but I had thought the payments on my visa were still his earthlink account. We thought they were billing us both for his account. When he called to clear up the problem, earthlink informed him that I had an account also (surprise). Earthlink say they don't except cancelations via e-mail and will not refund me charges on the account.

Cecil of Vancouver WA (8/31/03):
I signed up for Earthlink on a 45 day "free Trial" basis. I received a package in the mail which included a CD for installing Earthlink. I installed it as directed and was informed that I was a Earthlink user now. But there was never any icon on my desktop and so I could not and did not use Earthlink. However, my credit card was billed for $21.95 after less than a month. I called to protest and a very nice man ran through the set-up procedure with me over the phone until I did get an icon on my desktop. He said they would apply the $21.95 to my first month of use AFTER the 45-day free trial time was up. My credit card was charged again the very next month. So much for the free trial.

So I used Earthlink for a week or so and did not like it at all. It was much more difficult to use and much slower than AOL, my old provider. So I tried to cancel via the internet. I did everything as instructed to cancel and the service was cancelled, but I kept being billed every month. I phoned each time I saw I was being billed and demanded they stop billing me and demanded they credit my card with the amount they had taken. Each person I called assured me that the billing would stop and that I would receive a check in the mail for the amount wrongfully charged to my account.

They were always sympathetic and very apologetic. However, they never sent the check and I would get billed again the next month. Finally, after almost a year They stopped billing me. (I had threatened them with legal action.) And I was assured that I would get a check within 10 days for the entire $241.45. I never did receive a check but they did credit my credit card for $87.80. That is the equivalent of 4 months charge, not the 11 months they owed me. I will make one final phone call to them and if I don't get real satisfaction in a reasonable time I will seek legal recourse. I'll say this for them though. They are the most polite rip-offs I have ever seen.

I figure they owe me $153.65. It is not the money, it is the principle. I hate getting snookered by anyone. If everyone would raise hell with them about getting cheated, maybe they would improve their system and methods.

Michael of Tucson, AZ, writes:
After buying a WebPCJr from Microworkz my wife and I used the included software (and preloaded links) to sign up for our 1 year of free internet service through Earthlink. After having a problem with our bank to get us our banking statements to our new address, we discovered months later that Earthlink was charging us for the internet service.

Earthlink's total charges were from June to October for a total at $19.95 a month. The total was almost $100 dollars. I would like either Earthlink or Microworkz to refund me that money.

Microworkz has a hard time delivering on its promises and has recently been sued by the Washington Attorney General, so this is hardly surprising news. Michael should send a certified letter to Earthlink vigorously protesting the charge and demanding an immediate refund. If that doesn't work, Small Claims Court is a good option.