My mother, who lives with me and my family, signed up for a free trial of AOL for her personal computer. When signing up for the free trial, she was never asked for a credit card number or a bank account number. After 2 weeks she cancelled the service, or thought she did because the customer care representative told her it was cancelled.
6 months later we discover the account was never closed. AOL took the liberty of accessing my personal checking account to pay for my mother's so called cancelled service.
The only way AOL found our checking account number was through cross referencing the address or phone number. My husband and I used AOL years ago as our ISP, but now use another service. Our address and phone number are the only thing my mother and my family have in common regarding any type of accounts. It is evident AOL does not purge old accounts because our old AOL account did access our checking account via a closed debit card account.
My mother and I contacted the Federal Trade Commission and the State Attorney General's Office. Both agencies are currently accepting complaints on AOL.
So I urge all people affected by this ripoff to please contact the Federal Trade Commission and your state AG's office. We need to send a message to these "big" businesses that we will not be governed by their rules. I live in Ohio and I know high officials know what is going on and want to hear from you.
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