Harassed by AOL
September 25th, 2006
Since moving into our new home, we’ve gotten somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 calls from some anonymous recorded message. The message goes something like this:
Please call 888-844-5604. This is not a sales call. This is an important business matter. Again, please call 888-844-5604.
Now, I didn’t know who this was, but as we have never given out our home number to anyone except our immediate family, I knew whoever it was could have no business with us. The home phone is exclusively used for the purpose of maintaining our DSL line, and even our closest friends just use our cell phones. So I tried to ignore the calls, hoping they would go away.
After about 15 or so of these calls I finally decided to call the number and ask them to stop. At this point I still had no idea who could be behind all this.
Ring. Ahhhh… AOL. That explains a lot. I’ve heard horror stories about AOL.
I was already hot under the collar for the number of times that they’ve called. So when I got a “please hold” message, you can imagine how happy that made me. Fortunately they didn’t make me wait too long on hold, and someone came on to “assist” me. She asked for my home phone number, which I provided (apparently they don’t have caller id), and then, in the most thick and unintelligible Indian accent I have ever heard, asked if I was a person whose name I could not understand. I replied that I was not. She then proceeded to ask me for my mailing address. Now, at this point I wasn’t certain who I was talking to. For all I knew, it may have been some scam artist in Nigeria. So at this point not only was I defensive, I had also become suspicious. I replied that she did not need my address, and obviously they already had my phone number, and that because I had no business with AOL, please stop calling me! Click.
Naturally that didn’t work.
The calls stopped for a day or so, and then started up in earnest. It was as if they had flipped the harassment machine into high gear. And they even started mixing in a different message, as if that would fool me into calling again. Altogether we got another 5 or so calls between my first contact with them and when I called the second time.
Second time around I was quite nicer. Someone came on who could speak English, and I sweetly explained that I would like them to stop calling us. She asked for my phone number, which I provided again, and if I was Trevor So-and-so, which I replied that I was not. This time she did not ask for my address. She said that she was sorry and that she had taken our number off the list. Success!
Not. They kept calling. After several more calls, I became very pissed. Repeat step 2. This was the third time I’ve called.
More calls. Fourth time. I have had enough. I’ve decided to stop erasing the messages from the machine and just let them accumulate. Evidence. This morning is my fourth time calling, and I am not in a good mood. I get someone with basic Indian English skills.
“I’ve gotten many calls from AOL and I think there is some mistake.”
“Is your name Trevor So-and-so?”
“No, I do not know who that is. Please stop calling me.”
“Sir, we’ve taken your name off our calling list.”
“Yes, that’s what they said the past three times I’ve called. I don’t believe you. Give me some assurance…”
“Click.” Yes, she hung up on me. On ME! On the person whom they have been harassing for the past month. Bugger.
I called back immediately, and got the same person. She hung up again as soon as I identified myself. I called back again. She hung up again. I was going to keep calling back until they begged for mercy.
Finally on the seventh call I got someone different. I explained the situation again (and nicely enough, I think). She looked up my number, and asked if I was Trevor So-and-so. Sigh. No, I swear to you I am not. (Now obviously, since she was able to pull up my phone number and ask if I was that person, the other lady had lied that my name was off their list.) She promised to take my name off the list. Please, please let that be true.
Harassing former customers (whether a case of mistaken identity or not) is certainly not a way to build genuine loyalty. Sadly, I deal regularly with companies like AOL who see me as an annoyance to be gotten rid of as soon as they’ve taken my money.
This may not be the end of AOL for us. I sincerely hope that someday AOL might come to understand that their customers are their ally, not their enemy.
22 Responses to “Harassed by AOL”
Sorry, comments are closed for this article.
September 25th, 2006 at 08:19 AM Amazing. Sometimes, an offer to call the Better Business Bureau, or even your state's Attorney General, can help.
September 25th, 2006 at 08:28 AM Man, that sounds like some kind of nightmare. There has to be money in a lawsuit about this... but that's not a headache you want to have to deal with, is it? How frustrating is that.
September 25th, 2006 at 10:58 AM That really sucks Ryan. I remember the hassle they gave a family member of mine just to cancel their account. It's really ridiculous that AOL keeps doing these kinds of things. You'd think they would have learnt by now.
September 25th, 2006 at 05:02 PM http://despair.com/disservice1.html
September 26th, 2006 at 03:56 AM Guess that is why they call it AOLHELL. What a wonderful tactic to keep users...not.
September 26th, 2006 at 04:23 AM They just called again this morning. I called back (8th time now) and I explained that if they call me again I will pursue legal action. Not sure what that legal action would be, but there it is. I'll probably take your suggestion, Mike, and call the BBB.
September 26th, 2006 at 11:46 PM Reading this makes me glad I switched from AOL in 1995! I wanted real internet access, not all their junk and little rooms and keywords, the real 'net!! Back then they didn't hassle me - probably since they were almost a monopoly back then.
September 28th, 2006 at 09:31 AM I too have a general disdain for AOL's customer service department. They sold my wife's (then fiance) debt to a collection agent. The debt was completely bogus though, since she had cancelled her AOL service after the 6 month trial period expired (that came free with her Dell). Moreover, the time they claimed her account was in use was when we were in Estonia, and the laptop was back in Kentucky! Not only that, but I had uninstalled the AOL software completely, so someone would've had to have re-installed it, and known her old username/password. Ultimately, I solved the problem by doing a WHOIS lookup on the collection agent's website and finding his home phone number. I left a message to this effect: "Obviously, you have her home address, since you keep sending her unsolicited mail. I just wanted to let you know that I have your address as well. It's up to you. This can play out however you want." No more problems after that.
October 3rd, 2006 at 09:10 AM They've been calling me too since August 16th...at this point its illegal, I've cursed them out and filed with the attorney general. My phone company hooked me up with a company that files complaints against this, but my agent there hasn't been able to help. they hang up on me all the time and claim they have no supervisors. they actually just called 5 minutes ago, so i'll be calling them back now.
October 5th, 2006 at 05:05 PM This is a random blog entry, but I am also getting the annoying AOL automated calls. And I've noticed that if you do not pick up the phone call, you get a few more harassing phone calls later in the day. Please let me know if you ever find a solution to this, AOL cust. support is ridiculous.
October 6th, 2006 at 02:08 AM As far as I can tell, the calls have stopped. I've turned off my answering machine though, so I wouldn't know if they've tried to call again. Last time I spoke to them I threatened to take legal action if they call me again.
October 6th, 2006 at 04:05 AM Our family just started getting these calls about 1 week ago. We had not used AOL in probably over 8 years. My mom kept freaking out, wondering what was going on, and i told her it was probably just a scam. I finally googled the message they left, and found it here...and apparently it isn't technically a scam (though, it may as well be one). I am going to call now and see if i can get off the list while resisting the urge to cuss at these jerks for calling us at least 20 times over the past week.
October 6th, 2006 at 04:10 AM Update: well, that was quick...called AOL(took under 5 minutes total), sounded like some general customer service number. Told her AOL was leaving us messages. She asked for my number and asked if some person named "martin somin..." (her voice was impossible to understand, AND she was an american too no less). I said that person never lived here, and then upon askin her how long we had this number that we had had it for over 12 years.... She then said she would put this number on a blacklist. we shall see how many more calls we get now.... im not optimistic though
October 11th, 2006 at 03:55 AM well, i'm still getting calls, and i've called (and probably obtained their india tech support) three times, and also directly called their billing dept once. no such luck, and its oct 11th already!
October 12th, 2006 at 04:28 AM well, its 6 days after my first post.. and, SURPRISE SURPRISE, AOL is calling again..lol, those bastages
October 12th, 2006 at 04:59 AM ehh..well, called em again. They said that some random name(different from the one they said before) was attached to this phone. She said she'd "blacklist" it, then i questioned waht that would do since i already went through this charade before....then i got a bit heated and kept prodding her on what she woudl actually be able to do. THEN asked for the supervisor, and she somehow knew that she was on the phone at that moment....hummm, how did she know INSTANTLY that her supervisor was on the phone??? then i threatened legal action, i just hope she didn't see through the fact it was an empty thread!! ill wait another week for them to call again. Guess it brings a little excitement from working on the computer all day
October 12th, 2006 at 06:34 AM Crazy - your experience is almost identical to mine. I've come up with a very effective (but unsustainable) solution: I've turned off both my ringer and my answering machine. I suppose one of these days I'll turn it back on again. Woe to AOL if they call me then.
October 20th, 2006 at 03:20 AM Called AGAIN.... i to,d the woman i have called at least 5 times, and she said that my number had not been added to the list. I told her i have gone through this exact process 5 times in the past, and she says that no one has added my number to the blacklist, despite the reps always saying i was added... lets see if thsi woman decided to add me to the list :( bastards...
January 21st, 2007 at 02:33 PM
I am the same boat that all of you are. They started calling me about a month and half ago even though i am on the national do nt call registry. I have called them back and asked to be removed from their call list repeated times and even got a letter from them saying that they will not call back. Now they just call and when I answer they just hang up. The last 2 times i have called i got the name, title, dept. of the persons I talked too. This isnt helping either because they have called 4 times again this week each time hanging up when the phone is answered. I have filed complaints with the call registry but that doesnt seem to be helping either.
January 21st, 2007 at 02:35 PM
P.S. i have never been and now would never be even if they were the only isp on earth a customer of this pos company
January 24th, 2007 at 08:20 PM
Miyamoto, Lance 19119 Eagle Mine Ter Leesburg, VA 20176
571-333-5755 name address and home telephone number for aol’s vp of human resource dept.
have fun
March 28th, 2007 at 10:35 PM
I have an on-going and unpleasant situation with AOL: in December, 2006 I signed up for dial-up isp with AOL. It was with the understanding that the first month was free. Within the first month, due to the fact that the service was unbelievably slow – I cancelled, over the phone. I was told that the first month was, indeed free. So I believed that I would not be billed anything. But I was billed, on my VISA account (I had to give them my VISA account number before they would hook me up). I phone VISA and finally got the charge taken off (AOL was informed, VISA told me and they did not contest the charge being removed). I thought it was a done deal, but lately I received a notice stating I owe that first month – $25.90 and I must pay it immediatley or the debt would be turned over to a collection agency. The telephone # in their letter is no good: 1-866-770-9450