My AOL Customer Service Story

Okay, don't say I didn't warn you. ;)

So a couple months ago, I tried to sign up for an AOL account as part of one of the freebie sites I did. It gave me the option of using my AIM screenname, so I did that. When I tried to log in, it told me the account was not active.

I thought maybe it had to do with the AIM SN, so I created an entirely new one. This one worked. I was supposed to get a free trial of the MusicNet service, but it was telling me I'd already signed up before, which I hadn't. So I called customer service, and the lady informed me it was because I had two open accounts (I can't log into one, but hey, I guess it's still open).

So I asked her to close the one that I made with my AIM screenname. Before she did that though, I specifically asked her: "This won't affect my AIM account, right?" She assured me it wouldn't.

Of course, the next day when I tried to log into AIM, lo and behold, it says my account is suspended.

I call AOL support.

It's an automated system, and a woman's voice asks you questions and gives you options and you have to speak into the phone with your answers (I hate that).

Five minutes later, I realize that I'm getting nowhere with these questions, and that I won't be getting my answers this way. I just want to speak to a rep. So I say, "I need to speak with a rep because my AOL account was cancelled and now I can't log into Instant Messenger."

And the AUTOMATED VOICE, which actually sounded annoyed, says, "I'm sorry, but if I transfer you now to a representative, they will just have to ask you the same questions I'm asking you now, and then they will have to transfer you to someone else, and you'll have to answer more questions. It will be much easier if you just answer my questions now."

It was bitchy with me!

Finally I get to a live person, and by that point I'm already annoyed. They tell me that they can't reactivate my AIM because the first lady terminated my account. He says he can't even reopen it. He says I can just create a new AIM screenname. I told him I don't want to lose all my contacts, because that's a pain.

He transfers me to another guy. I tell my story AGAIN. This guy tells me that I can reactivate the account to use AIM. I asked him if I could just reactivate the AIM part, because I don't want to pay for the AOL service. He says no, because I activated the AOL service once with it, and now they're tied together. Cancel one, cancel the other. I told him they should warn people when they sign up, because I never would have used my AIM screenname had I known.

This guy transfers me to yet another person. I get to repeat my fun story again. Still no help, says the same thing as the other person. Says there might be something that can be done, but he has to transfer me to another department. Joy.

So I finally get this lady, who tells me that she can reactivate my account, give me free service until November, and that I just needed to call back and cancel the account before the free period was up, and my AIM will still be available.

And yet, somehow the three people before her didn't know this was possible.

Of course, however, when our credit card bill came, there was a charge from AOL for $23.95.

I called customer service again, and the guy says that he can't find a note anywhere that says I was given free service. I told him that the only reason I reactivated was to recover my AIM account, and that I never even logged into the AOL part of it, and that I even had a second account (remember the other one I had to open?) open, and why in the world would I reactivate this account unless the lady told me this was the only way to recover my AIM name and that it would be free? I told him, that's what she told me, and it's not my fault it didn't get documented properly, and I wanted my goddamn money back.

He put me on hold. When he came back, he said he could refund PART of my money.

I asked how much, he said $15. I said no, I'm not paying a dime, because SHE TOLD ME IT WOULD BE FREE UNTIL NOVEMBER. He said he couldn't do anything about it. I asked to speak to a manager.

The manager gets on the phone, and she says, "Well, just as a one-time courtesy, and because you haven't logged into this account at all, I'm going to go ahead and refund all your money."

Courtesy my ass.

And that's my LONG AOL horror story.