We'd be interested to hear from AOL customers as to what you think about their current services.

Please feel free to use the new AOL section to share experiences with other AOL customers.

Thanks

Jason

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Jason Lloyd

moneysupermarket.com

In a word??

Arrrrrggghhhhhhhhhhh!!! 

I'll start a thread.....

Hi Jason

Have been using AOL from wayback - probably started a dial up account with them 11 years ago and have fond attachment to aol screenames - one of which we use for our company so it is on co. vehicles etc - hence will need good reason to leave aol - have always had very good connections and was very alarmed when talktalk took over the aol uk franchise - had heard the scare stories on watchdog abt the free offer debacle etc. So far our service seems largely unaffected by switchover and have not had to use the customer service online which was always very good (ireland?) , although it may be my imagination the service does seem to have slowed up a tad - how can you tell? AOL US was a big experienced innovator and often UK companies dont innovate the way US companies do so I expect the aol uk service to decline slowly in terms of level of service and extra features etc. Many of the complaints you read aired on forums etc are probably related to the line connections provided by BT - again for us this has so far (touch wood) been faultless and hence I will probably opt for IIABDFI

This is a pity though as I would like to shop around to get a total landline, mobile, broadband deal from er... that would be a choice of one ie BT - we have two lines - one split for broadband and telephone and the other just as a landline - the calls amout to about 30 percent of the total and we pay 75 per quarter for telephones plus 18 per month for aol silver service

 BTW if you have not gone over to wifi yet do it and ignore the aol advice that the silver service cannot be shared over wifi - that is bull - you can have the main pc with the wifi router logged on to aol silver while any other wifi enabled pcs are surfing on using IE - this works no problem - Im led to beleive if you tell aol you are switching they will reduce your monthly billing - and as they are always offering new customers incentives not offered to long standing existing customers that may be a strategy to use when I no longer need to screennames ending AT aol.com -there must be substantial savings to be made if only there was competition on line rental but as we all know there is no cheaper option for line rental.

cheers

The AOL service has dramatically worsened over the last few months but you may not notice unless you transfer "large ammounts" of data on a regular basis. The service has become massively oversubscribed since the TT/CPW takeover and the introduction of draconian AUP/FUP ammendments have not improved this situation. AOL customers are being switched to LLU circuits without notice and this can mean downtime and considerable expense should they wish to transfer to another provider.

Run regular tests at speedtest.bbmax.co.uk as a means of checking the performance of your connection.

Well if you're looking for a broadband, phone, mobile provider there is of course Virgin Media who offer a deal for all three of these services for £30 a mth and no line rental.

Cheers

Jason

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Jason Lloyd

moneysupermarket.com

Jason

Its not that simple as you probably know, thats fine if you have cable - where we live on the south coast we dont have any cable in our town - the nearest is Southampton to the east - so the total package switch to Virgin is not an option - as I say if you want to access any provider out there no matter cheap they are you still have to add the BT charges on top! Be glad to hear of something I have missed but as I said eh... thats it, Hobsons choice rather than Bransons!

 

 

Hi Caymanos

Have you ever considered Vodafone at Home?

Vodafone! I hear you cry! If you took on a mobile phone contract from them and combined it with their Vodafone at Home package of up to 8Mb / Unlimited broadband a free UK landline calls and 25% off mobile calls you'd get everything you need and a truly great deal. (no BT line rental, it's built into the flat £25 a mth fee).

Ironically it's based on the BT platform but what they offer is really good - if you want more info let me know?

Cheers

Jason

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Jason Lloyd

moneysupermarket.com

We have been with AOL for a number of years having had a bad experience with TISCALI.  To date service has been good but I am worried now that CPW have taken over the UK end.  Was considering switching to Talk Talk (why pay more for AOL when run by same outfit) or SKY - but both seem to have their problems.   Will probably stay with AOL until get major problem and then switch.  BT seem to be the only ones with good reviews.

Jason

I'm just about to ditch Virgin Media 3 for 30 because they cut off my phone line by mistake nearly two weeks ago and I have had an extremely frustrating (and expensive)  hour each day telling dozens of customer "care" people my story, being promised action and returned calls and still nothing. I don't think they are necessarily incompetent, but suspect they have been given a script that they stick to whether it solves anything or not. They are the pits when something goes wrong! Twice insisted on speaking to a manager and discovered that their tactic is to then leave you on hold until you give up. There are certainly better deals around just now, but many of them get equally bad reviews. I might look at Madasafish - they have someone reading the reviews on this forum daily and respond personally to problems raised - isn't that refreshing when VM couldn't care less?!!

I am currently on AOL and wish to leave as they are rubbish. My 12 months are up next month and I do not want

cable and am down to talk talk or vodaphone but do not know if they are any good for internet. I cannot find any reviews on vodaphone internet and home calls but I do have a contract with them for a mobile. I would like my internet and home calls all on one bill so any tips would be useful.

 

Many thanks

Min Hills 

 

I have left AOL due to their appalling service and rudeness in communication. After I cancelled my membership, they continued to charge me for 2 months using my debit card details. They have ignored all subsequent correspondence, and apparently there is nothing I can do to get the money back, I've talked to the bank, citizens advice, trading standards and everything. All I can do is tell everyone I come across to NEVER use AOL. As far as I'm concerned they are THIEVES.

AOL = CARPHONE WAREHOUSE = TALK TALK

Anyone see the investigation into abusers of the BACS and Direct Debit system in the news? Guess who was quoted as abusing the system - yeah, you got it!

When will people learn - Craphone Whorehouse can no longer deliver anything other than a totally useless service.

SHARK! 

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For every positive action, there's an equal and opposite government plan.

Craphone Whorehouse - love it!!

I actually had my first mobile and sim from them, a few years ago on their Fresh tarriff and even though it was pay as you go, they let me run into credit by 70 pounds! I thought at one point, "this top up (of 10 pounds) is lasting ages...." When it told me I had run out of credit, I put another tenner on it and it didn;t activate. When I went to ask them why, they said I had to pay off the 70 pounds I owed them first. I was so surprised I almost fainted right there in the store....I pointed out it was payg, and they said they reserved the right to let you have actual credit at their discretion (without telling you) and it was in the small print. (I checked, and it wasn't) They then told me if I didn't like it I could take my business elsewhere, and I did. They must have known they didn't have a case, b/c they never contacted me again or tried to recover the money I "owed" them. I wasn't aware that they were connected to AOL - makes sense though...one big crappy family.

By the way, when was it in the news? Any particular programme, like panorama? I'd like to find that and watch it....

Hi Jason

I have had similar experiences with AOL to Caymanos, overall good service, used all seven screennames for our family & work. Originally dial-up but now

However now I have retired I would like to reduce my bills, and want to consider switching ISP and having a joint phone & broadband package. Recent feedback on AOL looks horrendous.

If I switch ISP will I have to change my email address from aol.com? For me this would be the big inhibitor, rather like having to change a phone number.

Regards

Hi mate,

very interested to see your message. Obviously a long time ago, but it seems I am going through the same thing.

I moved house on the 27th June this year, and attempted to migrate my AOL BB over to my new address. At the time i was around 7 months into my new contract. After several telephone calls, and much time, I eventually got sick and tired of failed promises and demanded that my contract be cancelled, as it was clear they were not able to activate my service at the new address. I was promised a refund on my account for the time I had not used but was still paying, on closure of my account, £89.97 in total.

Happily I began using my new £5 a month, relatively trouble free SKY broadband.

However I noted that in September, I was still charged my monthly £29.99. After calling again, I was advised that there had been a problem with my refund and it would be re-issued again, and would take 30 days to arrive. This happened again in October and I was told the same thing.

It has happened again in November, and I have called today. I was assured that:

No more payments will be taken. Payment will take 30-44 days. A refund was issued on the 19th November for £89.97 and £29.99 from today (also taking 30-44 days).

I decided to take a look at the forum, and saw your post. It sounds like sounds like something very similar? Surely this "30-44 day" is not a stalling comment so they can continue to take money off me? I really can't believe that a large organisation such as AOL can operate as dishonestly as this?

Basically, I am now at the stage where I am considering just cancelling my DD and writing off the supposed refunds I am supposed to be getting, so that they cannot take any more money off me. (i'll wait till late December).

I had considered using Citizens advice and noted your comment too. Do any other people have stories such as this?

All the best,

Allyp