AOL Reviews

I order AOL as Internet Provider on April 2, 2009. I was told it was a "get free month, when you pay for one month." After the account was opened, I was told that that deal ended, and that I was not getting a free month of AOL. I purchased a prepaid Visa card for May 09 payment and the rep at AOL did not know how to enter the Visa number to receive payment. I called the bank that issued the card and AOL three times. The bank offered to help AOL with the billing but AOL would not contact the bank. The account was suspended on May 6, 2009.

For quite a few years, I had AOL service $9.94. All of a sudden, I got another service. I thought the price of AOL went up, it did not. They added another service that I knew nothing about and that service is also $9.94. I called AOL and they told me that they could not do it. They said I would have to do it on line. (1) There is no website; and (2) there is no phone number. I made my bank aware of it. I want to cancel it. They keep billing me. Can you please help me? I don't know what else to do.

I had set up my boyfriend an AOL account (**). A few years later (last year), I tried to cancel it because we got broadband and they wouldn't let me because I wasn't him. Well, not only did he not have the time to mess with it, he didn't know any of the information they kept asking. I did, but he was working 200 miles away from me. Anyway, so we decided to ride it out until the credit card expired. A month before it expired, I got online and switched from a paying account to a free account. Yet, after it expired, they still kept billing us and telling us to update our account information. So, again, we both called and canceled it.

I called AOL to change my address and my phone number, and they told me that my monthly charge of $9.99 went up to $11.99 a month. I told them that without notice, I would not pay for that. I said I wanted to cancel my paying account after 15 years paying them and 90% are getting it free. I wanted to cancel, and they were trying to sell me all different plans. I kept saying cancel, but they kept on going, not hearing what I had to say. I hung up and called back, and they said, "Keep what you have, I will give it to you for $4.99." I said no and that I wanted to cancel and wanted free AOL mail. They finally said yes. I had to call them back four times.

I called AOL to cancel my internet account with them as I had another internet provider. I had been paying AOL $25.00 a month for the last ten years. The rep told me I could keep AOL for $11.00 a month. I told them I did want it. At this point, I was offered the service for $4.00 per month. Again, I turned them down. Finally, I was told that I could have the internet service free of charge. I was quite shocked at this. The rep told me that if I had gone to the account management page I would have seen that these options were available and have been since 2006. When I asked them why I was not informed that I could obtain a lower rate, I was told it was my responsibility to go and find this information. I asked for a refund of money but was denied. I pointed out that I never received a letter or an email regarding this. I feel that AOL has deliberately ripped me off and that I was paying what turns out to be an exorbitant fee for something that I could have had for much less for the past 3 years.

Despite cancellation of my internet service with Compuserve, they continued to deduct $21.95 per month from my MasterCard for twenty-three months. Phone calls and letters were ignored. I can produce my bills, letter, and confirmation number. They claimed that they do not have the cancellation number that I gave them. This is a lie. The person, who took my cancellation info, gave me the info I have. I am out $504.85 for services that I did receive. Hopefully, you can help me. Thanks.

On 7/20/09, AOL illegally charged my H&R Block Debit Account $77.70 for an unknown reason. I called AOL to find out why I was charged and how they got my debit account number, but I was told that someone possibly used my debit account number to open an account with AOL. I asked them for the name of the person that opened the account, but they would not tell me, for "personal" reasons, etc...

I tried to cancel AOL by use of their online service. When I looked up my credit card invoice online, I noticed that it had charged me anyway. I canceled online again. When the invoice arrived, I tried to dispute the charge. They conveniently had no record of either of my online attempts. I wrote a letter canceling for February 2010. They canceled me as of July 2009. When I contacted someone through live help (I was hung up on when I tried to call), I was told that they can't cancel ahead. When I asked why I was not notified and advised, the question was ignored. I was also told that they could not reinstate me - I would have to begin paying again as though I was a new customer. The upshot is that I have paid AOL for services for the next five months that I'm not getting.

I had America Online service for almost five years. The last year we had their service, it was extremely slow and had problems getting Web pages to come up. It timed out and couldn't access email most of the time either. I made several calls to AOL tech support and they would say it was my computer. Then, I would call Dell and they would run through stuff with me - in the end, it was the dial-up service.

In May of 2007, I tried to sign in and use my computer. I was denied access. Prior to this, I had to change my debit card because the number was compromised. My bank contacted me so I cancelled the card. I have not used AOL since then. Now, in July 2009, I received a bill from AOL for $103.60. I called them to say what happened and they told me that I should have called to cancel. I said I was cancelled by AOL so I did not think I had to cancel. I then asked them why they are sending me a bill now instead of sending a monthly bill. I did not get an answer. I told them that I would make a payment for a month, but do not feel like I owe for a service that I have not used in over 2 years.

AOL continues to bill our checking account after I have called and canceled the AOL account a number of times. We haven't used AOL internet service in probably 5 years. Our account keeps becoming negative. AOL will keep billing until they have their money. Sometimes they charge twice in one week. When I call, they want info like our checking and routing numbers and SS number. We have paid them hundreds if not over a thousand dollars for services we do not have.

I received a bill from AOL for $103.60. I have an AOL free email address, but have not had an account with them since I was in grade school. I called the number on the bill and the rep told me I had to pay the full amount or my name would be sent to the credit bureau. The invoice was marked as past due. The rep told me that they didn't have my address so the account went into late status and once they found my address, they sent the invoice. I have lived at my current address my entire life. If I had an account with AOL, they should have had my information. I plan to send a certified letter disputing the claim, but don't want AOL to ruin my credit score. This billing seems very wrong to me.

Beware of AOL billing, they like to double bill you and if you cancel your account, watch your billing information because they will bill you again after you have cancelled. AOL offers free email since 2006 I found out today, so why are they charging anyone at all?

Following several years of poor AOL internet service, the company's retention department in 2005 (then based in Albuquerque, NM) promised that if I remained with AOL, they would lower my monthly charge to $9.95 per month, and that it would never go up in return for my loyalty. This was reneged on by AOL about a year ago, but corrected when I called customer service in Virginia. However, on 6/23/09, AOL emailed to announce a rate hike to $11.99 per month effective 7/23/09 - with absolutely no acknowledgment of the prior agreement. When I tried calling the American customer service number, 703-265-1000, I was called back by a Mr. ** who could not have been more rude or threatening.

American Online (AOL) will not allow a user to delete their master screen name. AOL's refusal to delete an account allows them to mislead any advertiser or business partner. If AOL never deletes screen names (email addresses), then they could essentially command advertising dollars based on millions of non-users. I no longer use AOL but they use my old screen name.

I waited on support chat for over an hour and never did get a response to my question. This is exactly why I will never recommend or support the use of AOL to any of my customers. In my 35 years in the computer business, I have never seen a bigger or stranger acceptance of a product by individuals who use this piece of bug-ridden, advertisement-laden, and unnecessary sorry excuse for software. Anyone who would pay good money, especially during this economic crisis, for this outdated excuse for software should be denied the privilege of using a computer. It is no wonder you are losing market share. So much for your chat!

I canceled my account with AOL over the phone in 2004. After canceling the account, charges of $25.90 continued to show up on my credit card statement each month. I called back again and canceled the account and was told it was canceled. I also canceled that credit card to prevent any similar issues from occurring again. Now today, July 11, 2009 I received a letter in the mail from AOL saying I owe them payment for the last 2 months. I called and talked with several people asking why I was still being charged and why it had not been canceled. The person I talked to had apparently never canceled the account, despite telling me the total opposite.

I cancelled AOL 2-1/2 years ago. I even had gone so far as paying the bank $36 to block them after cancelling. Now they are charging me again. This account was not mine but, for my father who hasn't had a computer for 3 years now. I am very frustrated and have spent so much time on this in the past that I thought I would contact to you to see if you have any ideas on how to go about cancelling this.

After reading about all those complaints about aol.com, I am so glad they closed my e-mail service in March of 2009. They have not responded to any of the three letters I sent to get the service re-opened. That is what I get for fifteen years of customer loyalty. Since then, I have gotten better deals from their competitors. I lost about ten days of business before I had another system up and running. I am so glad that aol.com made the MSN list of the worst company responding to consumer complaints in America.

AOL switched my services to dial up from broadband; it went from $11.99 to $25.90 back on August 2007. I was away on vacation and I know for a fact that we never switched to this higher service. We never changed to a dial-up service so no need for this higher-priced service. Because we pay by credit card, we did not notice the big increase in cost until now. AOL gave me the date they changed the service plan - a date that we were away, so it was easy to catch their abuse!

I received "Try one month of AOL, Free" with three steps to follow: 1) Pop in AOL free offer. CD 2) Enter the registration # and password (given in the offer). 3) Enjoy the free trial. I followed these directions and during the set up, they asked for my credit card information, although in the mail-in offer, it says "No credit card required". I tried their services for two weeks and then I called to cancel, because I didn't like the speed compared to Cable. They canceled me and they gave me a confirmation number and said that I will not be charged on my credit card.

I cannot get aol to work with McAfee. Every time I try log on, AOL hangs. No other program on my system does this and I cannot find any help to solve this. It is vital to me to have access to AOL since some of my more urgent issues are through them. There is no damage, just a lack of support on this one issue.

I had cancelled AOL service back in September of 2008. A payment had been made to keep service for one month only. An email was sent by AOL confirming the cancellation and when the account would close. I had signed up for another ISP, Comcast cable, during that month to take the place of AOL's service. I continued with free AOL Mail even though the account should have ended by the end of September 2008.

I received an email from the Office of the President of the United States which was totally unsolicited. I never authorized AOL to release my email to anyone, including the president of the U.S.

We switched from a paid account (that we had for many years) to a free account, but now, we can't access our email! We have been getting messages for over a week on all the email addresses that said we can't access due to "temporary maintenance" which was undefined. We have sent emails to no avail, and you can't reach a live person when you call their customer service number. This seems like advertising fraud to me. How can "temporary maintenance" go on for over a week?

I signed up for a free 3-month trial but cancelled it in 1 month (back in March). In May, they deducted money from my bank and said I never cancelled. What a joke. So I am out the money after I argued with them and caught them in several lies. I did get them to admit there has been no activity whatsoever since March. Hmm, figure it out. It's terrible customer service. That is, if you get to talk to someone and not left on hold!

They keep charging me for things that I do not want. They said it is I who charged them. Well, I did not do it. Ever since I put a stop to AOL service, it's the same thing over and over again. I am a handicap person and by my self, and they have got me going crazy. I have been sick for a whole week this last time. So finally, my bank told me to put a stop to my debit card, which I did. Do you people understand that we cannot get ahold of them by phone! We have to converse by email only.

I signed up for a three-month free trial. The AOL Company took money out of my account and charged me for a service fee for using the checks. I never received any bills or other information from them. I talked to Mr. ** and he told me he could refund some of my money but then, taking this money out without my knowledge overdrew my account a $30 fee.

My situation is that AOL double billed me on my account. I have one computer and this has been going on for over a year. My service is $26.95. About three days later, I got a debit from my bank for $32.90. What can I do about this and what is my possibility of reimbursement? I also need phone numbers so I can call this and let them know how I feel about this. Thank you.

I was charged $51.80 on May 1, 2009 and I called in and they sent me a form to fill out and mail back in. I did that 3 weeks ago and still no refund to my debit card. I did not order AOL due to the fact that I have had either Cox or Qwest internet for over 3 years now. I told AOL that it was and is fraud and they say they have not received this form I sent 3 weeks ago. They will not refund my money. I did not eat for 2 weeks in May and got severely ill. Plus I borrowed money to feed my dogs for the month of May and I owe it back and cannot pay it back because they refused to refund my $51.80 back.

I closed my AOL account in January, and they continued to bill me. So far, they claim I owe $75.96, and they keep telling me they are going to go to a collection agency to ‘resolve the matter’, if I do not pay immediately. I was very surprised to read similar horror stories about AOL on this consumer affairs website, how people are pissed off, or afraid that AOL is putting bad marks on their credit reports. I am afraid they will do the same to me.

I joined AOL in late September 2008. I needed dial-up for access while traveling. Because the service/connectivity/speed was so appalling (even for dial-up), I called up within ten days and canceled. I have never used the account since. Why would I? I thought it was canceled. On 5/28/09, I started getting repeated calls as shown on the caller ID from a number I did not recognize. They did not leave messages (nine calls in 2 days). I called that number back and got a heavily accented male (outsourced customer service, go AOL). I managed to figure out that he was trying to tell me that I owed AOL over $100 for 4 months of service. I promptly hung up and called AOL.

Well about 9 years ago, we got our first computer so we tried the AOL 90-day free trial online deal and we were assured that no long distance charges would accrue. Well, there was & AOL took care of it, but gave us a lot of problems. Well around the 5th Jan., 2009, my children, knowing I am disabled, bought me a computer and told me to get online and have fun. So, ok, they got me the 30-day AOL free trial disc. I remembered what happened the last time we tried the online experience trial. So before I even thought about going online, I read the fine print and called AOL to make sure I would not be charged any charges whatsoever because I am disabled and only get a $687.00 social security check. So I asked the rep. 3 times, “Are you sure with these access numbers you helped me put in? Am I going to be charged?” 3 times he told me, no, so I said, “Are you sure?” He said, “If,” and I was to call 1-800-827-6364. So I said, “No, I want to make sure I am not going to be charged.” He said, “No, Mr. **, you won’t be charged.”

I recently discovered that AOL was triple billing me (quadruple billed me in Feb. 09). They had initially declined my method of payment - a debit card. So I tried again. That, too, was turned down. As I was exiting the site, it allowed me to put the billing method on my phone, which I did. It later authorized the debit cards and began taking money out, twice. I was unaware I was being billed, because I received the bill on my phone bill. I opened a new account, had my billing transferred over, and just happened to catch the double charge on the account they had initially declined (and billing me on my phone). I tried to bring that to their attention and was told by Billing to call Frauds who told me to have my bank contact them, and my bank tried to recover the illegal withdrawals. But AOL refused any attempts to make it right.

AOL sent me a letter stating they had overcharged me $200 and soon I would receive a check. They never did since my plan is only $9.99 per month. On 3/09 they charged my account (Feb. & March) $31.28, then in May they charged my account a total of $44.57. When speaking with the rep, he stated that I had not paid for 4 months, yet it is drafted from my checking and I have bank statements to prove I canceled my account on 5/14/09 after being an outstanding member for 7 yrs. Because of the illegal account drafting which was not authorized except for the $9.99, it caused my account to be overdrawn and I suffered fees in the amount of over $100.

AOL has charged us random monthly fees from 9/2006 to 8/2008. AOL is over billing for free email account! In Aug. 2006, it was announced that AOL email would be free. My husband, Mitch, called to cancel his $9.99 AOL monthly charge for email. The rep told him that the free email would not allow him to keep his existing email address. Mitch did not want to change that email address so he agreed to pay the small $2/month charge that the rep said it would cost to keep the same email address. My husband blindly paid monthly but the amount began to change each month going up to $14.95. Every month was different and we could not get a straight answer when we called customer service.

I do not have and never have had or even tried AOL. Somehow they got my credit card information and have been charging my credit card for $9.95 - $11.99 per month for the last 1 1/2 years. It was a small amount and thought it was connected to something else perhaps, but then I finally looked back through my statements and noticed a pattern of unauthorized charges by AOL on the same date every single month. I worked with my credit card company to get the charges reimbursed. Hopefully, the credit card company will get it back from AOL.

For two and a half years, I paid AOL monthly on my US MasterCard credit card. I had a fraud alert on my card and had it cancelled. In Feb '09, AOL shut off my service because the credit card was cancelled. I contacted AOL customer service help desk at 0844 499 5555 to inform them of the changed card and to provide them with my new credit card information. The AOL helpdesk person informed me that the new credit card was in the system and my service would be restored within three days. I called back a week later in early March '09 because the service was still not working. I was then told by the AOL helpdesk person that they could not accept my United States Credit card (MasterCard from bank USAA). Neither the helpdesk person nor the helpdesk manager could make a US credit card work in their system.

I have been charged as being late with my AOL account that I have lost count. I have checked with my bank and they have been paid every time. When I have tried to explain this to them, they just want the money. They think I owed so I have been paying them double for close to a year.

I'm a customer of AOL for 10 years. AOL charges me $31.95 a month for service. AOL has been deducting my checking account during this time. I learned today, 4/29, through a friend that AOL Service is free with DSL or cable connection. I have had cable connection for over 5 years. Therefore, I contacted AOL directly to resolve matters with my account regarding the fact that I am paying for a service that is technically free.

My girlfriend bought a computer in November and tried to set up an America Online account for me. For some reason, we were not successful to set up an ID so deleted the free trial offer from the AOL program. We did not need it for further purchase since we were getting free MSN online. Now they are billing me for a program that was never used. I did not register with AOL and I'm not interested. They are telling me that AOL account access has been suspended for non-payment. I never had even an access to AOL which was deleted in the first place. I protested the charge of $65.80 for an AOL account that I never had. My girlfriend and I have fairly good credit history and such a collection described above is not fair and correct. If I had access to use AOL in the first place, I would be willing to pay but my girlfriend and I have no AOL access at all. Please help me solve this problem because they have an account number assigned to my name to pay for a service that does not and never existed.

I am a member of AOL for almost 12 years with five email addresses, 3 for business and 2 for personal use. I have an estate liquidation business in Las Vegas, NV and have used ** for most of those 12 years, sending out 2-4 emails a month with newsletter with announcements of where the estate sale will be and what is going up for sale. A few years ago, AOL began enforcing a limit of 100 emails but if you called and got on their mass email list, you would be cleared to send out newsletters and such. Several times in the past, I have sent out my email and gone online thereafter and not been able to sign on to my account. I would call AOL, remind them I have permission to send them and they would update their data.

Account was opened in May 2003 for free 45 days. They billed $28.90 a month from July to December on the phone bill. This account was closed on October 13, ‘03. Another account was opened on Oct. 4 for 1,175 hours free which they claim was up on Oct. 7 (impossible, that totals 72 hours if I stayed on non-stop). They started billing my checking account on Nov. 2. Also, I received a lock out for non-payment of an old sub account from my friend’s account from 2001. I mailed a check received on Oct. 8, ‘03 for $23.80 after finding out what that was billed for.

Why has my McAfee security service expired when it is supposed to be included in my AOL service?

AOL suddenly blocked today, 17.04.2009, without any prior notice. My screen name is **. I tried many times with correct password but every time getting a reply that password was not correct. I telephoned AOL & also sent a number of emails but without any response. I have hundreds of business & private emails stored at AOL, which are to be attended urgently. I normally get 200 business emails on the average.

I cancelled online internet service with this co. about 8 or so months ago. They ignored my 2 email attempts to cancel service. Finally, I had to stop payment to the co. which cost me a bank fee. A few months ago, they decided to help themselves to my bank account again, and I would not have known they were helping themselves to my account until a non-sufficient funds notice arrived, which cost me another bank fee.

I cancelled AOL in December and the service was cancelled. The problem is, they still charged me another year of service. I am being charged for something I do not have. I contacted what they call customer service? They stated I had to cancel in Sept. to not be charged, 4 months before my agreement was up. They have no interest in solving this problem.

I had unauthorized amounts taken out of my account. AOL stated that they went back to 2008 and realized that I had been charged incorrectly (which is not correct!). It was on 4-11-09 that this occurred. AOL refused to credit back my account. I cancelled my AOL service with them immediately after speaking to a supervisor (in Europe), Adrainne at 1-800-827-6364. I received no communication from AOL that this transaction was to be taken out of my account, no confirmation # and no notification prior to this transaction (to avoid this - robbing me), because they have my credit card info.

In 2006, AOL refused to cancel my service and continued to bill my credit card without permission. I cancelled the credit card after numerous attempts to get them to stop billing me for services I was not using. AOL is now (2009) trying to collect $47.95 for unpaid service that occurred after I cancelled the credit card. I have requested a paper bill because I will not give AOL my credit card information again. They refuse to send me a bill and threaten to ruin my credit if I don't pay them using a credit card immediately.

I contacted America Online in 2001 and canceled my internet provider services with them via their 1 800 number. I had switched to broadband services with Verizon. The gentleman on the phone said I could keep my email accounts even if I did not use their dial up services. He made no mention of charges. Since AOL offers free email accounts like Hotmail does, that is exactly what I was led to believe I was doing. My wife informed me today that we have been getting charged $20.95 per month since 2001 for AOL services we have not used. When I notified AOL, they said the charges were normal and were charged whether we used their dial up services or not since they have no record of us ever canceling with them. They do, however, have records showing we have not used their dial up services since 2001 but cannot refund our money because it is not their policy. To add salt to the wound, he goes into a 20-min. sales pitch trying to sell me more products I do not need.

We have been on yearly billing with AOL, which was costing $20/month. We have broadband through Frontier. When I called to cancel, they told me they'd sent an email in September saying that unless I cancelled by December 26 (I think) I would be billed for another year. I didn't get this email to the best of my recollection. Now they're billing me for a whole year. I've spent the past few weeks trying to resolve this. I've been overbilled by them for quite some time (a member since 1979). My daughter only pays $9.99/month. I was told by an AOL rep that extra was for more antivirus protection. I hadn't signed up for this and wasn't told I was paying for extra protection. Obviously I didn't have any because in spite of having Norton and AOL over the years, two computers became corrupted. I am willing to pay for usage from January-April, but not for a whole year.

AOL has been debiting my Direct Express card since January 2009 for unauthorized charges. I don't even have an account with them. My service with them was cancelled July 11, 2008. They said they would take care of it, but they didn't. They claim they would send out a claim form for me to fill out and send back, but they didn't. I am disabled and receive social security disability. All my bills are accounted for each month, and AOL is not included. Please advise or help. Thank you.

I signed up for AOL three years ago and have been paying the $25.90 a month. I even paid it when it became free. I went from dial-up service to DSL in November. Today, they had the audacity to send me an email informing me that I will now be switched to free AOL, but I owe them $103.60. If the service is free to everyone else, why am I being penalized (and has been for some time)? Why am I being asked to pay the $103.60? I find that insulting.

I have been trying to cancel AOL for a month. You can't fire these people. I have tried looking online to cancel and there is no way to do that. I tried calling AOL and no one will answer the phone. They are charging me for some voice service that I did not order, nor do I need. I have DSL, I don't use the phone line. What do you have to do to fire these **? Please help.