GregHowley.com

Where did this recording come from? If it's from the caller, it's kinda messed up that he felt he had to do that (but it worked). If it's from AOL... I have a big problem with that.

Before AOL, before Netscape, before just about everybody but CompuServe and STD, there was AT&T Worldnet. AT&T made three or four stabs at providing dial-up access to the masses (meaning those poor people who were stuck with Windows because they couldn't figure out UNIX and use STD's "The World" like the rest of us).

I tried several iterations of this because, as a consultant, people were always asking me to recommend on-line stuff, which was pretty new and scary back then. The fun always came at cancel-the-account time, but AT&T was memorable. They auto-billed my AMEX card, BTW. The phone call to cancel took 30 seconds and all was well . . . for about six months.

Then, the monthly charges started showing up again. Called AMEX and had it fixed. A few months went by, then BANG! More charges. Another call to AMEX. This went on for close to five YEARS, at intervals that varied from two months to over a year.

This is one of the reasons I use AMEX--VISA and MC have given me incredible hassles about disputing charges--send us a FAX, write a letter, all kinds of crap like that. All it's ever taken with AMEX is a phone call, usually lasting less than three minutes.

The ultimate fix to the AT&T problem was to let AMEX beat them over the head until they got it right.

I currently work in the IT department of a credit union and have a bit of advice for anyone who subscribes to anything that does an auto-debit: ALWAYS use a credit card. NEVER use a debit card or give out your checking account number. Once these bozos have a debit or account number, canceling is traumatic. The two absolute worst offenders are (1) any health club or gym and (2) AOL. The only way to get these bastards to stop billing you if they have your account number is to close the account and open a new one.

Here's an unbelievable followup, published on The Consumerist:

Hi! I'm writing after hearing the phone conversation between Vincent and AOL. I was curious about this because I had a similar conversation with AOL back in February.

My mom had AOL, but on February 21st, she was killed in a car accident. On February 23rd, I called AOL to cancel her service. I wish I could have recorded the conversation for you. It was unbelievable. After explaining that my mother was killed in the accident, the rep told me that he was sorry that my mom was unhappy with the service. He then suggested lowering the number of hours per month to reduce the bill. I said "she was killed." The rep then said, "I understand what you are saying, I'm just trying to come up with a solution." He actually got snippy with me. AOL finally told me that my mom would have to call and cancel the service herself (even after I provided the coroner's ID number for the incident, etc.). I told them that if they could reach her that they should let me know how they did it. I told them that in the meanwhile, all credit cards, etc. were being canceled as a result of her death.

I had to go back to my mom's in April (I live in Ohio and she lived in CA). I checked the connection and sure enough - AOL hadn't canceled. I bet if I tried to connect again from her house it will still be connected."

Vincent made the morning TV news (don't know if it was local or national--don't watch TV news).

This whole thing puts me in mind of an old lawyer joke:

What's the difference between a hooker and a lawyer?

A hooker will stop screwing you when you're dead!