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Video and Article: Rep Won't Let Customer Cancel AOL Account

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Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL

On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL

An incredible video from CNBC shows an AOL customer trying to cancel his account, but a phone rep won't let him do it. What customer Vincent Ferrari got when he tried to cancel his account was a lot of frustration.

It took him 15 minutes waiting on the phone just to reach a real, live person.

And, what happened next was recorded by Ferrari on audio and lasted about four minutes:


CLOCK READOUT - 00:00

AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL... how may I help you today?

VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.

AOL: Sorry to hear that. Let's pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?

VINCENT: Vincent Ferrari.

CLOCK READOUT - 00:30

AOL: You've had this account for a long time.

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?

VINCENT: I just don't use it anymore.

AOL: Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: How long have you had that...

VINCENT: Years...

AOL: ...the high speed?

VINCENT: ...years.

AOL: Well, actually I'm showing a lot of usage on this account.

VINCENT: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently...

CLOCK READOUT - 01:47

AOL: Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?

VINCENT: No. I just don't use it, I don't need it, I don't want it. I just don't need it anymore.

AOL: Okay. So when you use this... I mean, use the computer, I'm saying, is that for business or for... for school?

VINCENT: Dude, what difference does it make. I don't want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?

CLOCK READOUT - 02:21

AOL: Last year was 545, last month was 545 hours of usage...

VINCENT: I don't know how to make this any clearer, so I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.

AOL: Well explain to me what's, why...

VINCENT: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.

AOL: Well, what's the matter man? We're just, I'm just trying to help here.

VINCENT: You're not helping me. You're helping me...

AOL: I am trying to help.

VINCENT: Helping... listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.

AOL: No, it wouldn't actually...

VINCENT: Cancel my account...

AOL: Turning off your account...

VINCENT: ...cancel the account...

AOL: ...would be the worst thing that...

VINCENT: ...cancel the account.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:02

AOL: Okay, cause I'm just trying to figure out...

VINCENT: Cancel the account. I don't know how to make this any clearer for you. Cancel the account. When I say cancel the account, I don't mean help me figure out how to keep it, I mean cancel the account.

AOL: Well, I'm sorry, I don't know what anybody's done to you Vincent because all I'm...

VINCENT: Will you please cancel the account.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:32

AOL: Alright, some day when you calmed down you're gonna realize that all I was trying to do was help you... and it was actually in your best interest to listen to me.

VINCENT: Wonderful, Okay.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:39

"I've never ever experienced anything like that," Ferrari told CNBC.

He recounts how the AOL representative - as a last resort even asked if his dad was home.

"I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point," said the 30-year-old Ferrari.

Ferrari then posted the call online, and the response was tremendous.

AOL sent him an apology and said the customer service rep was no longer with the company.

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

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^ Craziness

Before I left England I cancelled my T-Mobile account. After agreeing to pay ridiculous cancellation fees I was told service to my phone would be switched off on June 7th. June 7th arrived, nothing happened. I checked my bank account - no cancellation fees had been taken - I was still connected. So I called T-Mobile UK from America, spoke to a customer service guy and explained, and he put me on hold for an hour and a half!! My calling card ran out and I got disconnected. Tried contacting them by e-mail, got an automated response back.

War does not make one great.

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You know, I had so many problems with those attendants I just don't care anymore, first thing I tell them is to shut the f**k up and do as I say. years ago I tried to cancel my cell phone because I was moving to another operator, so I called them and they offered me a free cell phone if I kept with them. I said "okay", and went to the mall where they said I would be able to get it. There, they told me they never do this and they were not going to give me anything. I cancelled the cell phone there, screaming at them.

My biggest fight was with my phone company, which provides me the phone line and internet. I had so many problems with them to get it connected, and to fix it when the service was down for three weeks. They told me someone would be at home to make the repairs, and they clearly said I would have to be there, and those three times, NO ONE arrived, I had to leave the office at a rainy day and wait there for 30 minutes and no one was there. I had to speak with 5 phone attendants, all absolutely stupid, and yell at the top of my lungs every single cursing word I know in portuguese, and two in english, I had to wish them to DIE on the phone, I had to yell the F word out loud at the middle of my office. Only when I envolved the government agency dealing with communications business I had something done, only when I threatened to move into a legal action.

Oh, but I do get my revenge when they call me and offer me services! Like when they called me offering a call identifier, I pretended to be dumb and asked her to explain me what was it for, and how did it work, and three examples of a situation in which it would be used. Then, I politely asked what was her name and said her voice was pretty. Just as I was going to ask what she was wearing, she politely excused herself to hang up. I love when THEY call ME!
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Originally posted by: ricarleite
I had to speak with 5 phone attendants, all absolutely stupid, and yell at the top of my lungs every single cursing word I know in portuguese, and two in english, I had to wish them to DIE on the phone, I had to yell the F word out loud at the middle of my office. LOL

Originally posted by: ricarleite
Oh, but I do get my revenge when they call me and offer me services! Like when they called me offering a call identifier, I pretended to be dumb and asked her to explain me what was it for, and how did it work, and three examples of a situation in which it would be used. Then, I politely asked what was her name and said her voice was pretty. Just as I was going to ask what she was wearing, she politely excused herself to hang up. I love when THEY call ME!
I have 2 standard ways of dealing with telemarketers:

1. I tell them I'm very busy right now but if they would like to give me their home phone number I'll gladly call them back at an inconvenient time.

2. I ask them if they have let our Lord Jesus Christ into their life.



War does not make one great.

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Oh, ric, that is genius! Fake flirting with the annoying phone bitches! I've had more than my share of those too. Well, actually, I haven't had that much of a share, because, until recently, I could just say I wasn't an adult (the only time I ever bragged about kids not having the rights to order things over the phone), and they'd usually hang right up without saying anything, those rude assholes. But for a few years, I've sounded too old to get away with that anymore. The thing with me is that I'm usually too polite. I just have a hard time telling people to get off my back. I'm pretty passive-aggressive unless someone really hits that trigger (which my mom does all the time) that causes me to go berserk. I remember this lady with a very affected Asian accent called me one morning last summer. I don't even remember what she was offering. I told her I wasn't interested, but she just wouldn't let me go. I must have told her fifteen times I wasn't interested, but she acted like it didn't really matter, and it almost seemed like her boss was standing over her with a gun, and if she didn't make this sale, she'd be shot. That's the kind of fervor she had. And she seemed so nice and timid (aside from refusing to let me off the phone) that I just couldn't be mean to her, so I started getting roped into it. After about half an hour of me putting it off, she finally started to break down my spirit and my sanity. She kept on asking for my social security number, which I told her I didn't feel comfortable giving her. But she kept on pestering me for it, so I acted like I was about to give it to her, and then just quietly hung up. About fifteen seconds later, the phone rang again. I thought it was her again, and like some bad horror movie sequel, she just refused to leave me alone. So I ran into the bathroom, locked the door, and plugged my ears with my fingers while humming. I later found out it was my girlfriend, who made fun of me for being such a wuss in that situation. Since then, I've realized that politeness only gets you so far, and I've taken a firmer stance. But then again, I've never since encountered one as sneaky, dangerous, and pushy as her. I'm tempted to use your idea, ric, but I wouldn't use it if the person would just go away when I said I wasn't interested. I'd have to save it for someone pushy, like the one I just described.

I'm embarrassed to tell that story, because I can't believe what a pushover I was.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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I have done this kind of work, and it is the worst job imaginable. At least the guy who shovel manure for a living can think of all the pretty flowers the cow patties will help grow. But when you're a customer service rep, the customers hate you and the company hates you, and you can't make any kind of difference... ever.

It kind of sucks that the rep lost his job over this because more than likely he was just doing what the company wanted him to do. It's stupid, really.

And if you want out of your cell phone contract in the US, just tell them you're moving to New Hampshire. You'll get out of your contract w/o paying cancelation fees, in most cases.
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Yeah, I was thinking that, too, that it's probably his job to find out why people want to cancel their subscriptions.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: jack Spencer Jr
And if you want out of your cell phone contract in the US, just tell them you're moving to New Hampshire. You'll get out of your contract w/o paying cancelation fees, in most cases.
How come?

War does not make one great.

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Maybe no cell phone coverage exists in New Hampshire, so they just let it slide?

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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You have to be careful in telling cell phone companies that you are moving to an area with no coverage. It used to work sometimes, but they've figured out that the only people who 'move' to these areas are those who just want out of their contracts, and demand that you send them copies of some utilities bill with your name, the address and ZIP code on that is from the non-covered area before they will cancel service.
If you want another AOL story, read this account of a person who tried to cancel her late mother's AOL service, and the company refused.
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/top/aol-wants-to-sell-"internet"-to-the-dead-182185.php
AOL is supposed to be one of the worst services to cancel. Its a bit better when you refuse to give a reason why you want to cancel, but not by much.
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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
Maybe no cell phone coverage exists in New Hampshire, so they just let it slide?


Really? No cell phones there? Kinda odd...
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Yes, cell coverage exists in New Hampshire. I've got a friend who lives there now who has a very operable cellphone.

Try saying you're going on a religious mission to Africa or Central America. That might work.

Then pull a YIYF and ask if they've accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into their life. That should expedite the cancellation.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
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Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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This Jesus Chris one is very good. Can't wait until one of them call me asking if I want a magazine subscription!
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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I would think that asking telemarketers if they know how scientology can help them would work even better.
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Originally posted by: ricarleite
Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
Maybe no cell phone coverage exists in New Hampshire, so they just let it slide?


Really? No cell phones there? Kinda odd...


I was just making a joke. I would assume they would, but that was the only explanation I could come up with.

EDIT: And, Number 20, that story was even more horrible than the Vincent one. Talk about heartless and stupid.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: Number20
I would think that asking telemarketers if they know how scientology can help them would work even better.


That would! Asking about Jesus is risky, because they may actually have and then you're stuck in a religious discussion (unless that's what you want). Asking about Scientology would likely turn them right the hell off. Then ask if they have accepted Xenu as their Lord and Savior. YEAHHHHHHH!
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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AOHell is one of the WORST companies ever created. Back in the mid 90's when they were new (V 1.0 software), they used to charge $3.95 per HOUR of usage. They did not have a monthly fee, it was solely an hourly rate. Because of those outrageous fees, many people including myself created fake accounts. All you had to do was obtain a "cert", which was the registration number used to sign up. After obtaining the cert, you entered in fake personal info, selected "pay by checking acct", and as long as you entered in a valid routing number, the account would last from 1-3 weeks before it was shut off. Apparently the bank account validation was not anywhere nearly as sophisticated as it is today. At that time, they offered 20 free hours, and $50 of advance hourly credit, which was more than enough for one fake account. Eventually I found a cert which could be used over and over, and used it until they finally switched over to a monthly fee instead of hourly fees. I canceled my service around the time of 3.0, and have never gone back (I know better now!).
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Here's a little story for you, my grandmother had never touched a computer before in her life as of four years ago. No desire, no need. Then my grandfather died. While my mom and uncle were down there for the funeral, they bought her a computer. And they signed her up for AOL. Within three months of using AOL, my grandmother e-mailed everyone saying that she was having a change of e-mail address as she couldn't stand AOHell. My grandmother, at 80 years old, was wise to how shitty AOHell was.

And friends of mine thought I was insane for dumping it back in '98. Best decision I've ever made.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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Originally posted by: Bossk
Originally posted by: Number20
I would think that asking telemarketers if they know how scientology can help them would work even better.


That would! Asking about Jesus is risky, because they may actually have and then you're stuck in a religious discussion (unless that's what you want). Asking about Scientology would likely turn them right the hell off. Then ask if they have accepted Xenu as their Lord and Savior. YEAHHHHHHH!


Scientology is not known around here. I am currently the only one on this country, that I am aware of, which actually knows what Scientology is. Mostly because people around here don't have a lot of money to spend on crazy religions. So I gotta stick with the JC. Perhaps if I ask her what would Jesus do, she would agree with me that hanging up is what the saviour and messiah would do in such a situation.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Surely there is another cultish type religion that you could use that others in Brazil know about, instead of Jesus.
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Originally posted by: Bossk
Yes, cell coverage exists in New Hampshire. I've got a friend who lives there now who has a very operable cellphone.


Oh, beg your pardon, a quick Google shows I was mistaken, it was Vermont, not New Hampshire. They had very strict laws regarding the construction of cell towers, although it appears to be loosening up now. But when I was a rep for T Mobile about, jeez 3 years ago, if someone was moving to VT, we would have to cancel their account because there was nothing to be done about it.
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As I said, today Cell phone companies have gotten to where you have to prove that you are moving somewere that they don't serve, not just tell them that you are. In addition, their coverage maps shows more coverage than actually exists, so people end up stuck with a phone they can't use, and the cell phone company refuses to cancel service.
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if a telemarketer calls me, here is what I say to him/her:

No Thankyou. *click*

that works everytime.

This thread has me completely convinced to never do any business with AOL. I am very glad I have never signed up with them.
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We, too, fell into the grips of AO-HELL when we got our first computer.

Fortunately, a year and a half in we switched to broadband and haven't looked back since.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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We were an AOL family ("it's the cheapest!") for years...now we are almost as worse off, USFamilyNet. Ugh...isn't DSL supposed to be faster than dialup?

I worked briefly for Verizon Wireless in the financial call center. Only job I flat out told my employer I was leaving within 3 days.

What that AOL guy did was exactly what they taught us to do at Verizon. Always, ALWAYS ask why they are leaving the company and try to make it "better."

I hate Verizon...
Which is the more foolish, the fool (the OT) or the fool who follows (the PT)?

"Stay back, or Mr...Fett gets it!"