Re: OT, off topic, aol broadband.

In message <[email protected]>
MVP <mr.nice@*nospam*softhome.net> wrote:

> OT, off topic, aol broadband.
>
> A friend of mine has her broadband supplied by AOL, they fecked up the
> direct debits and took more money than they should, now they say she
> owes them £80 and won't release her broadband line until she pays up.
> She needs AOL to release the line/connection so she can sign-up
> elsewhere.
>
> Question, can they withold her connection like this?
>
> Any suggestions for an immediate way forward, proving to them that
> thsy have had more money than they should and she does infact not owe
> them £80 is going to take time and she needs internet access for her
> work.
>
>
> Regards.
> Mark.

They did the same to me. I just changed provider, rang then tell
them had got it wrong and lost a customer as a result. A risky
stragtegy, but I then just ignored their letters and they went away.

Richard
--
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"beamendsltd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:f3f94d7a4d%[email protected]...
> In message <[email protected]>
> MVP <mr.nice@*nospam*softhome.net> wrote:
>
>> OT, off topic, aol broadband.
>>
>> A friend of mine has her broadband supplied by AOL, they fecked up the
>> direct debits and took more money than they should, now they say she
>> owes them £80 and won't release her broadband line until she pays up.
>> She needs AOL to release the line/connection so she can sign-up
>> elsewhere.
>>
>> Question, can they withold her connection like this?
>>
>> Any suggestions for an immediate way forward, proving to them that
>> thsy have had more money than they should and she does infact not owe
>> them £80 is going to take time and she needs internet access for her
>> work.

Send them copies of bank statements proving payment and threaten them in
return with legal action for something along the lines of "attempting to
extort money with menaces". That'll wipe the smiles off of their smug faces.
AFAIUI, all you need do is disconnect the cable, wipe their software off the
machine (Be prepared for a total hard-drive wipe and reinstallation, though,
as AOL writes to just about all of the software in the machine and is
notoriously difficult to clear!) and sign up with, say, BT who will send you
one of their modems and software.
I cannot see how they (AOL) can block this, as they have no physical hold
over her line - unless she uses them as her telephone line service
provider?? (Do AOL do this?)

>>
>>
>> Regards.
>> Mark.
>
> They did the same to me. I just changed provider, rang then tell
> them had got it wrong and lost a customer as a result. A risky
> stragtegy, but I then just ignored their letters and they went away.
>
> Richard

Freeserve tried it on with me when I went broadband (BT and happy with it!),
sending me bills for dates after I had stopped utilising their "service", so
I told them I would be taking them to the small claims court to seek
recompense for the 6 hours or so of labour at £45* per hour that it had
taken me to try and resolve the issue with them, that I was not prepared to
waste any more of my time attempting to get them to understand hard written
facts etc etc. It worked!
* - £45 was what I claimed I could have made per wasted hour as a
consultancy fee for V8 engine technical advice!!!
Don't give in and allow yourself to be bullied.
Badger.

On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 08:58:20 +0000 (UTC), "Badger"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I cannot see how they (AOL) can block this, as they have no physical hold
>over her line

They can (and are) refusing to issue a MAC migration code. This is
how the line provider (BT) assigns the broadband to s service provider
(ISP). The only alternative is to cancel, then wait, then reprovision
a new broadband service.

"Mother" <"@ {m} @"@101fc.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 08:58:20 +0000 (UTC), "Badger"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I cannot see how they (AOL) can block this, as they have no physical hold
>>over her line
>
> They can (and are) refusing to issue a MAC migration code. This is
> how the line provider (BT) assigns the broadband to s service provider
> (ISP). The only alternative is to cancel, then wait, then reprovision
> a new broadband service.

Ah, so that's how it's done. I take it it's a similar type of thing to
"porting" a mobile phone number from one provider to another then?
Badger.

On or around Mon, 13 Jun 2005 10:44:17 +0100, Mother <"@ {m} @"@101fc.net>
enlightened us thusly:

>On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 08:58:20 +0000 (UTC), "Badger"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I cannot see how they (AOL) can block this, as they have no physical hold
>>over her line
>
>They can (and are) refusing to issue a MAC migration code. This is
>how the line provider (BT) assigns the broadband to s service provider
>(ISP). The only alternative is to cancel, then wait, then reprovision
>a new broadband service.

I wonder If you can ask BT to take the line out altogether, then have a new
one put in, possibly with another telco?


--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat" Euripedes, quoted in
Boswell's "Johnson".