Comments on: For all the armchair lawyers…

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 18:09:00 +0000

Vinny you rock man. They should syndicate your ass. I love how the one guy commented, “I do agree it’s time to stop going on television.” Thanks for the career advice there Potsy. Rush who? Let’s tackle some real issues!

I’m sure you could hammer cell phone companies for the next decade or so if you’re up for it. I’m so happy that my new $500.00 Verizon Wireless bluetooth enabled phone has a wireless headset. After all, who wants the hassle of wireless sync and file transfer? It’s so much easier to carry a USB cable in your pocket.

Keep it up brother. If you don’t, I’ll send you the infamous AOL startup CD with 2 gagillion free hours every week like clockwork.

Chris

By: steve

steve — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 22:44:00 +0000

I thought I would add my experiences with aol to yours and others about 3 or better years ago I tried aol out for free I was new to the internet and on a limited budget so who turns down free right well after a few months actually about 5 weeks I kept getting theese annoying pop ups that blocked what I was trying to see then theese come ons for free stuff any way I started having problems so I called their technical support people big joke you need a translator to understand theese people who live in india and are given American sounding names and you try and describe your problem and then after making some futile gesture to fix the problem you are refered to another department for a “free ” whatever dinner road service ect the free is a joke they delete money from your bank account for services rendered so one day i got feed up with being bled dry and said i want out well after countless minutes of arguing and promises of 6 months of free service if i stayed I kept telling them I want out then came the insults on you must bee really dumb brain dead ect to pass up this free offer so I said is there any one in the office that understood English I want out !!!so eventually after hours of pleas negotians and insults veiled threats I thought I was finally out and after searching for another Isp found one and got service with them and found out when I got my bank statement that they were still doing invasive raids on my bank account so I went down to the bamnk to tell them to stop payment on any and all acess to my account by aol and any and all affiliates agent or people or companies associated with them in any way shape or form permanently this is non revokeable by any one period for any reason and thought i was done with the matter only to find out that they were still tryimg to take money unlawfully by putting in requests for funds after midnight or forfing my name to said requests so I and the bank called aol corporate and said that what they were doing was criminal and if it continues we will file charges with the states attorney ,the FTC and FCC who I called and sent several copies of letters sent to them as well as bank statements letters sent to them finally got them to stop 5 months later or so i thought they had so infected my computer that I could not delete their protocols that when I signed on with my new Isp I was hijacked back to aol several technical people tried to clean them out but they kept comming back so eventually I had to get rid of the the computer and get a new one and even now I get come back letters that go in the dumpster along with their free cds thats my srory so far

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 16:51:00 +0000

I’m pretty sure there will be an unfortunate technical problem if that situation ever arrises.

By: The Comedian

The Comedian — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 16:19:00 +0000

Leo's Trick (above) made me wonder this: If the calls are really recorded, and archived, can they be asked for as part of the discovery process in a class action lawsuit?

By: Tim Latimer

Tim Latimer — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 15:30:00 +0000

Thank you. I had the same experience three years ago. I found that AOL had essentially taken over all my saved files and was far too present. I called to cancel and was badly abused by a “customer service representative” for at least an hour. I was offered “free tech support”, “free hours” and “free months” and continually challenged as to why I was not being “reasonable”. As a state licensed mental health counselor, trained not to lose my temper, I found myself yelling four letter expletives over the phone by the end of that hour and telling colleagues about my experience for days later. At my mildest forty-five minutes in, I continued to state, “Look, I just want to cancel my membership” to no avail. Your experience is not the experience of only one individual or of one customer associate. Clearly, these AOL associates are, and have been for years, under tremendous pressue not to allow anyone to just say no. I thought I was the only one dealing with one crazy associate…three years later, I know I’m not.

By: Leo

Leo — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 14:50:00 +0000

Well, in any case, you can always make words work to your favor, specially for those with higher IQs than the CSRs on the other side of the line.

Just start a phone conversation like this…

Company’s automated phone answering system says: This call will be recorded for quality assurance.

CSR: Hello, this is stupid me. (Note: get used to hear this line with a thick accent more and more often).

You (pissed costumer): So, is this call being recorded?

CSR: Yes, this call is being recorded so that… blah blah blah.

You (pissed costumer): Good, this call is being recorded. (You just let the CSR know this call is being recorded, but it simply went over his head).

There, that’s how you do it.

By: Billy Chuckfist

Billy Chuckfist — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 13:31:00 +0000

AOL is for fat people?

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 10:49:00 +0000

Spencer may have already mentioned this somewhere along the way, but years ago we recorded a phone call to a credit card company who was sending bills to the wrong location and then refusing to give us our total via phone when we called to tell them we had never received it.

It was a whole big mess, including many late fees and what not because we didn’t have a payment address for 4 months or so. We finally taped a conversation with one of the CSRs who was telling us the address they were sending the bills to, and us giving them our correct address because they just kept saying they were never given an updated address.

May favorite part of the recording? “Calls may be recorded for quality assurance.”

By: John Weber

John Weber — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 10:02:00 +0000

I heard your AOL recording. My (one) experience with them was typical. My rep simply would not cancel the account no matter how many times I said it. My mother had the same experience. It seems obvious that this is a company policy, although they may never come right out and say it. AOL sux and I discourage anyone from signing up with the.

By: mike reichold

mike reichold — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:50:00 +0000

I’m surprised at the sympathy expressed for the CSR. Frankly, I doubt they fired him because I believe he was doing as he was told. Fired or not, the CSR’s behavior was reprehensible. In my experience, AOL’s behavior has been reprehensible.

Talking with my coworkers, I heard similar horror stories. Kudos to Vincent for dragging AOL out into the light of day so it can be seen. I wish I’d recorded my conversation with their CSR, thought it was illegal.

I’m not a lawyer, but I imagine that AOL would have sought legal remedy for the recording if they could. As to whether or not Vincent was ethical, I see nothing unethical about revealing a bully as a bully, and AOL was a bully. The whole notion that someone could behave that way and think they deserve to get away with it is absurd. If anyone was unethical, it was AOL.

Cheers

By: Kim

Kim — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 06:52:00 +0000

My husbands mother died last year and he had to call and cancel her AOL account. They kept asking him why she wanted to cancel her account. He said “She’s DEAD!!!” He finally agreed to a years committment in HIS name just to get off the phone. UNBELIEVABLE! Twelve months later, he lost his wallet and I had to cancel his credit cards. AOL notified us they could no longer charge our card. I consider that a BLESSING! They’ll never get another card # from me.

By: Ross

Ross — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 01:54:00 +0000

I’m glad you did what you did. We’ve all dealt with jerks from these big companies (not just AOL) who want to treat common people like dirt. We have the right to fight back, and anyone who says that you were unethical in taping your conversation is just an idiot, plain and simple. These companies are the unethical ones. And frankly, I’m glad that moron lost his job, it’s obvious he was treating you like crap out of contempt for his dead end, crappy job.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 23:20:00 +0000

Regarding “Bob S Yruncle” comment, it never fails. There’s always some dumbass devil’s advocate out there that love to flame on public Internet forums.

By: John (not THE John from AOL)

John (not THE John from AOL) — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:35:00 +0000

With the many posts describing other stories, I’d be surprised if this doesn’t turn into a class action suit. I’d bet there are lawyers trying to contact the folks describing their issues in order to build a case.

If the AOL John was just a scapegoat, it would be in his best interests to come forward and file a wrongful termination suit since he was just following policy, right? Well, to thwart off that, I’m sure AOL gave him a pretty good severance package and had him sign a non-disclosure termination contract to keep him quiet. I’d bet the AOL John is doing OK right now. With the cutbacks they are going through, he probably has gotten a better deal than others that will be “downsized” or “outsourced”.

By: Deb

Deb — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:31:00 +0000

Thank you for exposing the type of behavior that AOL’s employee displayed. I would have wanted to grab the guy by the neck and strangle him, listening to his crap.

Thank you for reminding me of just one of the reasons I am glad I never used AOL.

By: Roland

Roland — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:12:00 +0000

Bob S Yruncle = John from AOL Your a loser buddy who needs to grow up and stop defending low life people like John. It doesn’t matter what Vinny’s motives were the fact remains that John was extremely rude (like yourself) and had been to many people so he definitely deserves to be in the unemployement line (like yourself). So stop crying about it and get over yourself:!:

By: David Pinero

David Pinero — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 15:08:00 +0000

LOL, actually, I took your advice Vince and listened to (and am actually listening to it now) your interview on Leo Laporte’s LA show. You’re right, I am much relieved to hear your, and the host’s comments. However, I am especially happy to see you come to the same conclusion I did on the recording issue. You nailed it: They themselves record or monitor their calls so there IS no issue respective to privacy between a customer and the calltaker. That sentiment could be challenged in two-party states, but I don’t think any lawyer would bother knowing AOL itself encourages the use of recorded conversations.

Besides, I seriously doubt AOL would be stupid enough to engage in a superflouous retaliatory attack on you. A few of the zecs that caused this problem would be better off at home with their families praying and hoping this controversy dies than antagonizing you.

Right now I guarantee anyone that people are going to be recording their cancellation calls. Not a lot, but enough and with enough uncertainty, that AOL will never again be comfortable taking the conversation beyond “I want to cancel my account” and then “Yes sir.”

Dave

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 15:02:00 +0000

Bob S Yruncle = John? lol

Comeon Bob that guy needs to be working in a cracker factory away from the public.

I feel sorry for the next employer that hires him.

By: kathryn

kathryn — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 14:42:00 +0000

Vince- how do you read through all of this???? My god, especially through the crap comments from people who have nothing nice to say, and obviously nothing else to do. What morons they are. Disagreeing is one thing, but calling you names……. so stupid. I would love to get a look at “Bob S Yruncle”…. he must be a really beauty!
love- your agent.

By: Ernie

Ernie — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 12:40:00 +0000

Great blog. I completely sympathize with you and all the other former AOL customers. When I canceled them a couple of years back I had the ‘pleasure’ of speaking with a heavily accented foreign office customer service employee. He used every trick in the book to delay the inevitable including asking me over 5 times to “please repeat that, sir. Your phone is breaking up.” Then he actually got offended that I raised my voice so that he could hear me clearly. Who would tolerate such b/s tactics? I will never use A O Hell again. The CNN spot was great!
Best wishes.