I'm still with AOL, because I can't be bothered to move. The service is adequate, I don't need to use AOL software if I don't want to (and I'll get rid of it as soon as I can be bothered), I very rarely need tech support (don't ever phone AOL tech support, it's less fuss to just move to a different ISP) and I'm on one of their old unlimited packages.
They've been bugging me for months to take their free upgrade offer they made me because I'm a "loyal member". Which is annoying babble. I'm a customer who's been paying them for a service for years, which is a completely different thing.
Anyway, the offer is broadband as fast as my hardware will support, a reduction in price and free phone calls if I want them. No new contract, so no lock-in period. Right now, I'm paying £18 a month for a 2Mbps service (which was originally for a 512Kbps service, but AOL increased it over time).
On a whim, I decided to take the offer. I asked, twice, for confirmation that I was not being moved to one of AOL's current packages, which are very bad indeed, and that I would retain unlimited downloads. Which, of course, aren't really unlimited - there's a "fair use" cap, they just won't tell customers what the cap is.
However, the cap on the new packages is 10GB per month. A few hours of iplayer, some video clips and some gaming and you're over the cap. I downloaded a game client a couple of days ago that was over a gig and which downloaded a 150MB patch immediately after installation. 10GB is next to nothing. I really don't want to be that restricted.
So I asked again for confirmation that I was not being moved to any of the crappy new packages and was told again that I absolutely, definitely wasn't. This was a Special Offer (it was capitalised, even in speech) for loyal members, blah blah. Absolutely everything the same as I have now, except for the increase in speed and the decrease in price. A decrease to, worryingly, exactly the same price as the standard crappy new package with a 10GB cap. I could have 24Mbps wireless with a free new router too, if I signed up for another year...no, thank you.
The bottom line is that I don't trust AOL. I don't trust their honesty and I don't trust their competence. I would not be surprised if the callcentre people are ordered to lie to customers and I would not be surprised if the callcentre people have been lied to and I would not be surprised if someone moved me to one of the new crappy packages by mistake.
So I'm concerned, which of course means that I must rush to the internet and post a long rambling message.
They've been bugging me for months to take their free upgrade offer they made me because I'm a "loyal member". Which is annoying babble. I'm a customer who's been paying them for a service for years, which is a completely different thing.
Anyway, the offer is broadband as fast as my hardware will support, a reduction in price and free phone calls if I want them. No new contract, so no lock-in period. Right now, I'm paying £18 a month for a 2Mbps service (which was originally for a 512Kbps service, but AOL increased it over time).
On a whim, I decided to take the offer. I asked, twice, for confirmation that I was not being moved to one of AOL's current packages, which are very bad indeed, and that I would retain unlimited downloads. Which, of course, aren't really unlimited - there's a "fair use" cap, they just won't tell customers what the cap is.
However, the cap on the new packages is 10GB per month. A few hours of iplayer, some video clips and some gaming and you're over the cap. I downloaded a game client a couple of days ago that was over a gig and which downloaded a 150MB patch immediately after installation. 10GB is next to nothing. I really don't want to be that restricted.
So I asked again for confirmation that I was not being moved to any of the crappy new packages and was told again that I absolutely, definitely wasn't. This was a Special Offer (it was capitalised, even in speech) for loyal members, blah blah. Absolutely everything the same as I have now, except for the increase in speed and the decrease in price. A decrease to, worryingly, exactly the same price as the standard crappy new package with a 10GB cap. I could have 24Mbps wireless with a free new router too, if I signed up for another year...no, thank you.
The bottom line is that I don't trust AOL. I don't trust their honesty and I don't trust their competence. I would not be surprised if the callcentre people are ordered to lie to customers and I would not be surprised if the callcentre people have been lied to and I would not be surprised if someone moved me to one of the new crappy packages by mistake.
So I'm concerned, which of course means that I must rush to the internet and post a long rambling message.