The State of Florida has reached an agreement with America Online, resolving consumer complaints about billing issues and membership charges. The company has previously settled similar complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, New York, Ohio and other states.
In addition to making consumer restitution, AOL has agreed to forgive consumer debts stemming from the issues involved in Attorney General Charlie Crist's investigation, but consumers in other states remain at the company's mercy.
Crist's Economic Crimes Division began investigating the Internet service provider in September 2005 after receiving more than 1,000 consumer complaints. ConsumerAffairs.com has received more than 4,000 consumer complaints about AOL, most of them dealing with double-billing, cancellation problems and unauthorized charges.
In September 2003, AOL agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that obligated it to process subscriber cancellations promptly and ensure that billing ceased. Complaints from consumers have continued unabated, however.
The investigation focused on several areas, including consumer complaints that cancellation requests were not honored, former accounts were reactivated without consumers' authorization, charges were imposed for "spin-off accounts," and consumers were being mistakenly billed for AOL services on their phone bills.
"Consumers should not have to keep looking over their shoulders to make sure mega-corporations aren't trying to take advantage of them," said Crist. "This agreement is an important step toward protecting our citizens from consumer fraud."
Under the agreement, AOL will pay consumer restitution or otherwise forgive outstanding balances to consumers identified during the course of the investigation as having been potentially affected by AOL consultant misconduct, as well as to consumers who have filed complaints with the Florida Attorney General's Office prior to or during the investigation.
In addition to providing restitution to these consumers, AOL has agreed to provide refunds, credits and debt forgiveness to all eligible Florida consumers who file a complaint with the company.
