I have been trying since October to get my mother's Compuserve service cancelled and her $250 returned to her. My mother signed up for Compuserve when she purchased a computer in November. Her three year contract was up so she tried to cancel it, with my help. She is a Senior Citizen and hard of hearing so I do the calling for her.
On October 19, an email from Compuserve, in response to my mother's question as how and when she could cancel, said that she could "call the cancellation dept. At least 72 hours before your billing date (October 25th for November service) in order to avoid being charged next month's membership fees." So, we called three days prior to October 25th and she was told o.K. That she would not be charged the $250 and the $21.95 would be taken out and her service cancelled. She had signed up for automatic payments through her bank and checking account.
Then on October 29th she received a letter from Compuserve stating that she would be charged the $250 as she cancelled prior to the expiration date. My mother called them and reinstated the service so they could take out one more month. On November 8th I called to clarify why she got this letter and spoke to John. John said that we should ignore the letter, that the November payment would be taken out now that she reinstated and that she could then cancel if she called back in 7 days.
On November 15th, we called back and we were told that her account would be not be charged the $250 and that the $21.95 would be taken out. They even gave us a confirmation #. On December 28th, her bank statement showed that $250 was taken out of her checking account. I called again and spoke to Stephen in the Billing Dept. Who said that they couldn't get the $21.95 payment as the bank refused it and that's why they charged her the $250. She still owed her last month's payment according to Stephen. Funny how they were able to get the bank to pay them $250 but not $21.95.
My mother checked with her bank and they NEVER refused the $21.95. Stephen said that the $21.95 would now be taken and the $250 credited. To this date, January 17, no $250 has been credited on my mother's account. She is a senior citizena and lives on a fixed income. This $250 is very important to her. I am done calling Compuserve and am now turning this over to Planet Feedback, to the District Attorney's office of San Diego and to all the media in San Diego.
I will do all I can to make sure that Compuserve does not "screw" anyone anymore. When I saw all the complaints on this website for them, I wasn't shocked. It is the worst company I have ever had to deal with and they are crocked beyond words plus the fact that no one speaks English over there. I want them to refund my mother's $250 to her RIGHT NOW! They can take the $21.95 that she owes but give her back her $250.
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