AOL apologises for unmetered problems

AOL is to issue a formal apology and refund disgruntled users following a series of complaints last week.

The ISP has been looking into some 300 complaints, a proportion of which have claimed to have major problems cancelling their AOL unmetered services after the free month-long trial.

According to an AOL spokesman the ISP has been working through the weekend in an attempt to rectify the problem and has now written to every one of the complainants offering an apology and a refund. "We have also changed the way we do things. Some people were phoning the freephone number to cancel and having horrendous waiting times," admitted the spokesman. With more people on the phones, AOL is confident the waiting time will now be no more than two minutes.

AOL has become something of a consumers' champion over recent years, heading the complaints against BT's Net services and helping secure a better unmetered deal for the industry. It is hopeful this position will not be lost. "We like to think of ourselves as an honest company and one that is on the consumer's side. Frankly after this consumers won't believe us and that really concerns us," said the spokesman.

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