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AOL push for Direct Debit
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[Deleted User]
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Has anyone else had problems? In September I received notice that unless I went to DD I would be charged an extra 99p/month. Reluctantly I signed up for DD in the first week of October. I then received a bill which said "Do not worry, you do not need to do anything, this payment will be taken automatically by Direct Debit on or immediately after the 11/10/10".
On Thursday I was cut off without warning. After spending an age on their technical helpline where he reset my dialbb I was told to switch off for 30 minutes and then it would work. Of course, it didn't. It then dawned on me that I had not noticed the DD come out of my bank a/c. I called their billing line and after 30 minutes of dire musak I was told that as the DD came into effect on the 13th it could not be used so, yes, my line had been barred and I would have to pay by card to get back on. I was told the technical help should have checked if there was a bar as the first test.
On Friday it still would not work so back to the technical helpline. Had the bar been lifted? Yes. I was then taken through a totally different routine from yesterday involving deleting the existing dialbb connection. He then said that on the left of the screen there would be a menu with 'create dialbb' on it. There was no such menu. We went through the process all over again and there was still no such menu. He then said he could help me no further because the fault must be with my computer and I would have to find a local computer technician to come and sort it. He then gave me the pass code to enter into the new dialbb.
After putting the phone down I simply did a system restore to undo his handiwork and remembered the bit of the control panel we went into yesterday, entered the new code and got straight on.
Roll on the end of the contract - I shall be off to somebody whose 'customer service' actually is a service.
On Thursday I was cut off without warning. After spending an age on their technical helpline where he reset my dialbb I was told to switch off for 30 minutes and then it would work. Of course, it didn't. It then dawned on me that I had not noticed the DD come out of my bank a/c. I called their billing line and after 30 minutes of dire musak I was told that as the DD came into effect on the 13th it could not be used so, yes, my line had been barred and I would have to pay by card to get back on. I was told the technical help should have checked if there was a bar as the first test.
On Friday it still would not work so back to the technical helpline. Had the bar been lifted? Yes. I was then taken through a totally different routine from yesterday involving deleting the existing dialbb connection. He then said that on the left of the screen there would be a menu with 'create dialbb' on it. There was no such menu. We went through the process all over again and there was still no such menu. He then said he could help me no further because the fault must be with my computer and I would have to find a local computer technician to come and sort it. He then gave me the pass code to enter into the new dialbb.
After putting the phone down I simply did a system restore to undo his handiwork and remembered the bit of the control panel we went into yesterday, entered the new code and got straight on.
Roll on the end of the contract - I shall be off to somebody whose 'customer service' actually is a service.
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My ex had the same issue. Without fail every month she rang on 27th, paid via card and no problem. Then had a letter saying that unless she paid by direct debit, it would cost an extra £3.50 per month :eek: (Still have letter to prove it). No problem, followed the advice to setup dd online and away we go. All of a sudden last friday calls barred, although bb still active. Cue 6 DAYS of calls back and for, arguing that she hadn't even had an e-bill to notify of amount due, nevermind confirmation of dd date. Over a week later and phone is still barred due to what they are calling 'technical issue'. Complained to the highest ranking person I could speak to, who offered her a £4 rebate for loss of service. Needless to say that was unacceptable, so she asked to be released from her contract 7 months early due to poor service. After 5 minutes of hold, operator came back and said she could leave. I blame the takeover by talk talk, as before that she never had a problem.
I didn't read the small print about this in AOL's September email so the amount deducted from my CC showed the extra 99p this month. I decided to set-up a DD online but I wasn't sure about the stipulation that the bank account name must exactly match the AOL account name. The BB account is in my name but the only bank account I can use for DD is the joint account I share with my missus. So I contacted AOL to verify if this would be OK and after numerous phone calls and emails to the "customer care team" (LOL), I'm none-the-wiser.
From your experiences, I suppose I should expect a failed DD in November. Didn't I see a warning about a £10 charge for late payment in the same email?
After cancelling and being disconnected, for some reason (call it intuition or knowing how bad AOL were!) i went into my online bank account and cancelled the AOL DD setup.
Three months later I get a letter from AOL saying I hadn't been paying the bill and that they would be pursuing further action to get the money, basically implying legal action. I rang and explained and for once they actually were fine and said it was their mistake. Needless to say I still got the operators name, the date and the time and noted them, which I have still in my drawer just incase AOL come back from the dead and try to claim some money! So glad I cancelled the setup because no doubt I would never have got the 3 months back if they had took it.
Now we have talktalk on home phone (not broadband - got O2 for that for 2 years and they have been fantastic) and keep getting phone calls to switch to their broadband - my parents don't understand why I don't want to switch to them :rolleyes:- can you tell they never used the internet much when we were with AOL?
AOL are one of the worst companies I have ever had a service with or bought something off. I will never ever use them again.
I'd add Orange to that too... (although their mobile phone service ain't too bad)..
I had an email too, it states I shall now be paying £19.99 per month instead of the £10.98 I am paying at the moment (by monthly debit card payments). For the lousy speed I am getting? I don't think so.
Crap isn`t it
Considering the amount of slagging off they get on here, their customer base must be quite low. They seem to be losing customers on here every week.