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You are slimy, AOL. Slimy and sneaky and untrustworthy. You need to be watched every second like a damn Republican.
Today not only did I receive my hand-typed cancellation letter back as "Return to Sender" (after shelling out nearly $4 for delivery confirmation AND priority mailing. Don't think I won't be going back to the Post Office for a refund), after sending it to the address exactly as it appears on AOL's own website, but alongside it I got a cheerful letter from AOL confirming my continuation of service, thanking me for deciding to stay with them!
"This letter confirms that on June 15, 2005 you agreed to continue your AOL Service (technically correct. Like I said, they talked me into the $10-a-month plan to keep using the McAfee). Your service will continue and you will be charged $23.90 per month as agreed." (Here's where AOL develops the shifty, selective memory normally attributed to politicians and certain unscrupulous news media. Nice try, AOL. I know my memory is spotty at best, but I can certainly remember a conversation that took place only 10 days ago. Especially one noteworthy enough to write about in my blog. Though I suppose it's worth a try if they get even one ditz who says, "Gee, I could've sworn I called them to cancel my service. Oh, well, they are #1. They must know what they're talking about!")
So I had to use the damn phone AGAIN, which I was so desperately hoping to avoid. I got "John", whose thick, practically indecipherable Asian accent forced me to question whether that was his real name. From the sound of him, he could have been one of my ESL doctors moonlighting on the weekend. John's routine was very similar to Matt's so I won't bother to reiterate it here. He was able to walk the line between claiming to understand the lure of high-speed internet while insisting that I really was better off with AOL, more skillfully than excitable Matt. He again kept repeating the security selling points and praising me on my long-time customer loyalty, so I played the "gotta get back to work" card again. He asked me to hold while he put my cancellation through, after which followed a silence so absolute and so extended that I honestly thought I had lost him. This was either another ploy to get customers to hang up before finalizing the deal, or maybe John's company computer operated on a dial-up connection as well.
I think the deed is done. I'm not 100% sure, because when I asked John to send me a confirmation of the cancellation, he muttered something about how I needed to pay attention to some "very important details," then wished me a good day and hung up before actually giving me any. My suspicions are not allayed in the slightest by the fact that both John and Matt promised to send me an email regarding the request, both of whom were evidently lying.
This is by far the ugliest break-up I've ever gone through.
Today not only did I receive my hand-typed cancellation letter back as "Return to Sender" (after shelling out nearly $4 for delivery confirmation AND priority mailing. Don't think I won't be going back to the Post Office for a refund), after sending it to the address exactly as it appears on AOL's own website, but alongside it I got a cheerful letter from AOL confirming my continuation of service, thanking me for deciding to stay with them!
"This letter confirms that on June 15, 2005 you agreed to continue your AOL Service (technically correct. Like I said, they talked me into the $10-a-month plan to keep using the McAfee). Your service will continue and you will be charged $23.90 per month as agreed." (Here's where AOL develops the shifty, selective memory normally attributed to politicians and certain unscrupulous news media. Nice try, AOL. I know my memory is spotty at best, but I can certainly remember a conversation that took place only 10 days ago. Especially one noteworthy enough to write about in my blog. Though I suppose it's worth a try if they get even one ditz who says, "Gee, I could've sworn I called them to cancel my service. Oh, well, they are #1. They must know what they're talking about!")
So I had to use the damn phone AGAIN, which I was so desperately hoping to avoid. I got "John", whose thick, practically indecipherable Asian accent forced me to question whether that was his real name. From the sound of him, he could have been one of my ESL doctors moonlighting on the weekend. John's routine was very similar to Matt's so I won't bother to reiterate it here. He was able to walk the line between claiming to understand the lure of high-speed internet while insisting that I really was better off with AOL, more skillfully than excitable Matt. He again kept repeating the security selling points and praising me on my long-time customer loyalty, so I played the "gotta get back to work" card again. He asked me to hold while he put my cancellation through, after which followed a silence so absolute and so extended that I honestly thought I had lost him. This was either another ploy to get customers to hang up before finalizing the deal, or maybe John's company computer operated on a dial-up connection as well.
I think the deed is done. I'm not 100% sure, because when I asked John to send me a confirmation of the cancellation, he muttered something about how I needed to pay attention to some "very important details," then wished me a good day and hung up before actually giving me any. My suspicions are not allayed in the slightest by the fact that both John and Matt promised to send me an email regarding the request, both of whom were evidently lying.
This is by far the ugliest break-up I've ever gone through.
