I am surprised there has not been a discussion on AOL changing their freephone helpline to 0870.
I wonder if you can point me in the direction of the thread regarding this, if one.
I would like to know if there is a geographical number.

~ Edit by Dave: Threads merged and title amended.

There should be short thread on  it some where on this site , as i recall posting it.

There is a long thread  about it on the mse site.see
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=66798

The alternative no was 0117 919 1100.I dont know if this still works now that the 0870 number is running.Perhaps you could let us know.

Yes just tried it and the opening voice says " Welcome to AOL, your free helpline"
0870 does not start until 01/08/2005, that might be the day to check.
Trouble is with the thread on mse being widely discussed and AOL  having been contacted re this issue, seeing the geographical number, i reckon they will block this one.

AOL are to start using an 0870 number for General advice and Technical Support. Martin MSE has recently announced on the MSE site.(Up unto now calls have been free).

Martin has spoken to them and they have confirmed that they will make money from the calls,and they cant promise they want be held in a queue.

Isn't AOL the ISP which dumps all manner of garbage onto your computer when you use their setup CD?

Yes the very same one that has Call Centres in the UK,EIRE,and INDIA.

Anyone who is with AOL can vote with their feet [without penalty] (regardless of how far through their 12 month contract they are).

I have just had the following confirmation from AOL.

"The new number represents a change to the current AOL Member Agreement, so you have the right to cancel your contract with AOL within 30 days of the email notifying you of this change."

Thanks
Daniel

Should you wish to cancel your AOL contract early due to the changes in them moving their support lines from 0800 to 0870 numbers, you need to call them on 0800 376 4406 and choose the option for cancellations.

There is no requirement to give them 30 days notice, and it doesn't matter if you are still within your 12 month contract.

Hope this helps some of you that were wanting to leave AOL for this reason, or another reason.

Thanks
Daniel

Wish I was with AOL so that I could cancel!
No, on second thoughts I'm glad I never went near them, most users I know are always complaining (hence the reason for going 'premium rate' I assume - to screw more cash from it's 'customers')!

Think I may  be on to a freephone number, I rang to enquire about the AOL talk package re a letter I received this morning.
The number to ring is 0800 200 6200.
When you cnnect there is a choice of thre options, press 3 and it is for calls not relating to AOL talk. ;D

jochrisbryan wrote on Jul 26^th, 2005 at 2:55pm:

Think I may  be on to a freephone number, I rang to enquire about the AOL talk package re a letter I received this morning. The number to ring is 0800 200 6200. When you cnnect there is a choice of thre options, press 3 and it is for calls not relating to AOL talk. ;D

When you press that option it tells you to ring
0800 376 5432. which is the number that is supposed to cease on the1/8/05.

~ Edit by Dave: Thread merged and link on quote box updated.

Hi, I just tried the no. given on the website here for AOL Tech support (0117 919 1100). A support person in India told me it is only for dial-up support. She gave me 08703 202020 for broadband support, but couldn't (or wouldn't) give me a geographical no.
Does anyone else have any new info please? Many thanks.

0117 919 1100 I would guess, being a Bristol number goes through to the old Compuserve centre at 1 redcliffe way, bristol.

Used to live in bristol back in the days of Compuserve and if I ever had a problem with them I always went and saw a person face to face! ah those were the days!

AOL are such a load of useless poo. Gawd knows why anyone signs-up with them. I just don't see the point.

And ye olde Compuserve!! Yes I remember them fondly. I stuck my Compuserve email address on my biz card many, many years ago - and folks used to think I was crazy! - "what's this stupid email stuff then? It'll never catch on etc..." :-))

But being billed per Kb of message was the funny bit! Imagine that now?

But soon VoIP will come and rescue us all and we will no more pay for call charges then we would pay for email!

PeDaSp wrote on Aug 30^th, 2005 at 6:37pm:

But soon VoIP will come and rescue us all and we will no more pay for call charges then we would pay for email!

PeDaSp contrary to your overly optimistic predictions on Voip you will still pay for voice calls to the abusers because there is a clear cost to them in taking voice calls that cannot be avoided.  Clearly ICSTIS will set up a replacement regime for current 09 premium numbers using Voip calling and credit card payments instead.

Easyjet successfully avoids all possible support costs on emails sent to them by forwarding them all immediately to the recycle bin.  That is why emails can be received for free.  Because there is no need for merely receiving an email to impose any additional costs on your business at all.  But taking voice calls does impose an additional cost, assuming that is that you ever let the caller escape from the electronic queue and speak to a human operator instead! ;) ::)

By the way as to Compuserve charging oddly well they still charge a 10USD monthly retainer fee just for still having the account and then munificently allow you to connect for 5 hours a month, so long as you pay the phone bill, and then after that charge 3USD an hour just to be connected on a phone call for which you are paying.  My mother had one of these legacy email accounts she inherited from my father.  I have recently finally weaned her away in favour of a £5 per month 0808 dial up service from www.flexi-surf.co.uk.

The whole point of being an AOL customer was that you were a dummy who needed your hand held which is why they were always the most expensive in the market place.  To not only ditch 0800 calls but to replace it with 0870 is utterly beyond belief.  The people who run these businesses are utter cynics.

~ Edit by Dave: Thread merged and link on quote box updated.

NGM: Agree with most of what you say. But as I've said before, the current situation is:

A: The public are used to paying for ALL calls to their friends, family and companies.

B: But they are duped into paying MORE for 0870/45 is the fuzzy belief they are "normal rate" calls.

C: They clearly know when they are paying for premium rate calls.

But after VoIP, the public will get used to NOT PAYING for calls at all to their friends, family and many companies. Then when they ARE forced to pay for a call via a VoIP credit card system (which I agree will happen) they will REALLY be aware of it.

And when some companies start to issue VoIP numbers for contact; all the others WILL be forced to follow suit.

It won't be nirvana - but it will be progress.

I'm not totally against companies charging for customer support. Many, many customers cannot be bothered to read manuals, pay for profession IT support or look at a website closely. They much prefer to just ring a support line. Anybody who works on a support or customer service line can regale you with stories of stupid lazy customers.

Why should I pay extra for my products and services for plebs to spend hours talking on the phone because they're morons???

ie: anybody who is signed-up to AOL is by definition a pleb-moron and deserves to pay through the nose to talk to some other pleb-moron in AOL customer support.

PeDaSp wrote on Aug 31^st, 2005 at 8:13pm:

ie: anybody who is signed-up to AOL is by definition a pleb-moron and deserves to pay through the nose to talk to some other pleb-moron in AOL customer support

AOL customers more than pay through the nose through the excessive subscription costs compared to other ISPs.  So historically AOL could afford the 0800 number.

Presumably with greater price competition on broadband and greater user simplicity in broadband set up with Windows XP they are now going to have to compete on subscription price instead.

I have no time for AOL given they way they deliberately provided no upgrade for Compuserve customers who wanted to keep their Compuserve email address.

~ Edit by Dave: Thread merged and link on quote box updated.

mc661 wrote on Aug 30^th, 2005 at 6:06pm:

0117 919 1100 I would guess, being a Bristol number goes through to the old Compuserve centre at 1 redcliffe way, bristol.

Actually it takes you to their New Delhi call centre, where the service is c**p!!

~ Edit by Dave: Thread merged and link on quote box updated.

Freddie wrote on Sep 1^st, 2005 at 7:23pm:

Actually it takes you to their New Delhi call centre, where the service is c**p!!

theyve still got an office on the....errr 10th floor I think at 1 redcliffe way, bristol.

~ Edit by Dave: Thread merged and link on quote box updated.

mc661 wrote on Sep 1^st, 2005 at 10:35pm:

theyve still got an office on the....errr 10th floor I think at 1 redcliffe way, bristol.

So AOL customers get routed to India and pay extra for the privilege!

Surely the huge reduction in the number of customers bothering to call once they had discovered the number went to India would have meant there was no need to also switch from 0800 to 0870.

~ Edit by Dave: Thread merged and link on quote box updated.

I have come across a number for AOL 0117 919 1100 I am fed up of the 0870 numbers AOL keep you online for ages and it is starting to cost a bit :(  Does anyone have free phone numbers still for aol

Sorry if this has been posted before

Justin

From their site.

"Customers who order AOL Talk by 27 August 2006 will be able to call AOL Member Services on 0870 320 2020 at no extra cost. Calls to Member Services for customers ordering AOL Talk after 27 August 2006 will be charged at the applicable rate for a 0870 number under the available AOL Talk price plan(s). "

Other countries: (International access code) + 44 117 919 1100  Just use a 0 instead of the +44 it works fine :)

Thought you might be interested in a copy of a letter I've just sent to the Customer services head of the company in the UK:
November 23 2006

Dear Ms O’Leary

I have been a long term AOL subscriber. I recently took up the offer of broadband with the free Netgear router. I’m pretty good with a computer but I did encounter many problems getting the wireless system to work properly.

What I am complaining about is that the time I spent on the phone to your customer services 0870 number has cost me nearly 10 pounds! This is an absolute outrage. It would actually have been cheaper for me to have rung the 1 800 AOL customer services number in the US on my cheap rate to the US with One-Tel.

I would be interested in your position on this. Customer services should not charge a premium rate. Are you considering reintroducing an 0 800 number. I spend a lot of time in the US and I guarantee the US public wouldn’t put up with the scandal that is 0870 numbers for customer services.

Sincerely

Remember that AOL has now been bought by the greedy Carphone Warehouse who utilise mostly 0870 numbers so I very much doubt that they will go back to freephone or even the new 03x range when available.

From Charle Dunstone's blog, entry 017 of Monday 13 November 2006:

Quote:

AOL customers, welcome to the Carphone Warehouse family I want to reassure you that we have no plans to change the service in any way at all. It will continue to be run by the existing team and will work, look and feel just as it does today. We have entered a long-term deal with Time Warner to keep providing the AOL content and we don't want to mess with what has clearly been a very popular product to date. In the New Year, all AOL customers will be offered the choice of transferring to Free Broadband if they want, by moving their line rental to TalkTalk and signing up for our Talk3 international telephone service. There will be continuity of service with the ability to take your AOL email address to TalkTalk and access to much of the content you previously enjoyed.

Being a AOL customer i am not sure what to think

[edit]by Dave:
Quote box and link to blog added. Also added the bit about it being Charles Dunstone's blog as I initially thought that Justin was a Carphone Warehouse employee.[/edit]

Thanks Dave I d not work for CWH lol