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Canceling an AOL account as my ISP (Internet Service Provider) has been one of the simplest and easiest processes for me personally, and I have done so on at least three occasions after using their free minutes bundle trials years ago which they offered on dial up.

Being from the UK I can testify that our calls are routed to Ireland where knowledgeable and friendly staff have always managed to do my bidding and fulfill my wishes with the most minimal of ease.

After asking the preliminary security questions such as; your full name, your master screen name, the last four digits of the credit card, debit card or bank account number you provided when you registered with AOL, and your contact telephone number, they begin to process your request.

At first the representative will do all they can to ensure that you stay with them, and ask why you have chosen to leave them. Also they inquire as to which of their competitors you intend to leave them for. On each and every occasion they have extended the minutes on offer as a sweetener to entice me to stay, or given me a months further "trial" to see whether I will change my mind about the service and retain my custom with them. Of course this was not preferential treatment just for me, it seems to be standard policy and protocol to offer this as a sign of how much they value their clients and a sign of the lengths they will go to retain them with such gestures. Many friends have vouched that they too have been coaxed to stay with AOL a little while longer, and why not? What harm is there in taking more free minutes if they are handing it to you?

Once that secondary offer is close to expiration however it is imperative that one terminates the contract by calling them on their hot line number, which is clearly advertised on the CD case through which their service was first installed. Failure to do so results in them using the credit card details you signed up with and charging you on a monthly basis.

Although my personal experience was to do with canceling a dial up account, and we have moved on immensely since then in terms of broadband and internet speeds, I imagine the same department would be responsible for cutting off your internet and fulfilling their contractual obligations.

After confirming some data to convince the representative it is indeed you, and following an attempt to cajole you into sticking with them, coaxing you to stay, they simply cut off your account within minutes! After hanging up the phone with AOL customer representative you will find that you are no longer able to log in. Compare this to other ISPs I have dealt with which normally set a cut off date which is usually 2-4 weeks in the future, assuming your contract is up or that have paid the remainder of the contract in full so as to make termination available. This could well be the case with broadband as they are on a contractual basis where as the dial up I dealt with was monthly.

I have heard horror stories of poor customer service from AOL as experienced in the USA but I can honestly say it was a hassle free experience for all the people I have known to use their service, me included.

Learn more about this author, A. M. Kane.
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