Pathetic! And they wonder why we mistrust AOL
peter
+== acb-l Message from Barbara Rhodes <[log in to unmask]> ==+
Hi --
FYI
Barbara Rhodes
----- Original Message -----
From: "ColdFire" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 8:26 PM
Subject: Re: [peeps-talk] Fw: aol beta testers
Typical AOL marketing crap. They say they want beta testers, but what they
really want is your credit card number. Every new customer is entitled to a
free month on AOL, but they expect blind people to use up their free month
beta testing their software. Then, if the software doesn't work to your
satisfaction, you have to cancel your account and monitor your credit card
bills closely to make sure that they aren't still charging your account.
I tried using an earlier version of AOL. I signed up for the free month,
and then tried canceling my account at the end. Because the service was so
inaccessible, I couldn't cancel my account online. I had to call them on
the phone. It took me forever to convince them to cancel my account, and
then they kept trying to charge my credit card for over a year later.
Now they want our credit card numbers again so we can use the free month
that they offer to everyone else to test a new version. What crap.
And of course, one of the new accessibility options that they've included is
eliminating the ability to send plain text mail. In an attempt to get even
more visual, they have decided that all mail must be sent in HTML format.
Now there's nothing wrong with HTML mail. But some mailing lists require
that messages be sent in plain text. And AOL's decision to take away this
choice shows just how accessible they want to be.
It would have been so easy for them to set up temporary accounts for beta
testing. These accounts could have expired after a designated time period.
But that would have defeated the whole purpose of getting your credit card
information. And they are counting on the fact that a certain number of
people will forget to cancel their accounts. And as a friend of mine who
works at AOL said, they don't think that blind people will watch their
credit card statements as closely as sighted people.
So go ahead and help them beta test if you want. But pray that the software
is at least accessible enough for you to be able to cancel your account if
you don't like it. And whatever you do, watch your credit card statement
closely. They have been taken to court more than once for continuing to
charge cards after the accounts were canceled.
----- Original Message -----
From: "bob tweedy" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2001 12:36 PM
Subject: [peeps-talk] Fw: aol beta testers
> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2001 1:30 PM
> Subject: Fw: aol beta testers
>
>
> >
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I don't know about this, personally I have my doubts about Aol, but hear
> is
> > some information for you.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > John, Faircloth, Moderator, thecyberlounge
> >
> > Msn, [log in to unmask]
> >
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