ahhh, i hate my life

November 29, 2005 3:45 PM

Difficulties with canceling Netscape Internet Service...

I signed up for Netscape Internet Service for my uncle's kid using my credit card. They've since gotten DSL, and I've been trying to cancel the Netscape account, but, I've run into some difficulties. I've called customer service, and they were able to verify that I have an account open with them, but, they refuse to cancel the account without me first giving them the email address of the account in question, which I don't know. We have no idea what the email address for the Netscape account is. The computer Netscape was installed on was recently reformatted and no longer has the account information available. Customer service also adamantly refuses to tell me what the email address is, citing "security concerns", despite me being able to answer the "secret question", and knowing my credit card information :( So, how do I cancel my account? Help!

Also: A coworker suggested that I just dispute the charges with my credit card company. Would that actually work? I would prefer to be able to just cancel the account with Netscape outright...

posted by yeoz to computers & internet (7 comments total)

Next time you get on the phone to the call center monkey, ask to speak to a supervisor. This seems like a pretty clear-cut situation -- hopefully once you've explained it to someone with two brain cells to rub together who's not reading from a script, they'll be able to sort you out.

If not, threaten to get your credit card company onto them for mischarges.
posted by chrismear at 3:52 PM on November 29, 2005

Seconded. Tell them you're going to do chargebacks on the credit card: they'll drop you real quick, especially since the chargebacks are expensive for them.
posted by NucleophilicAttack at 4:44 PM on November 29, 2005

Per Netscape's site on how to cancel, either the last four digits of credit card # or the security question should work to cancel the acct; in fact, they ask for only "ONE" identifying piece of information.

If they give you guff on the phone again, direct them to that page. Or maybe type up a memo, append it with a printout of that page, and fax it over (that webpage implies if you do it by tomorrow, you shouldn't be charged for December's fee.)
posted by neda at 6:27 PM on November 29, 2005

Yup, threaten chargebacks and they will drop you like hotcakes.
posted by antifuse at 1:31 AM on November 30, 2005

It's really, really difficult to get a credit card chargeback when you have already authorized a recurring charge. The company will have no problem showing that you authorized the charge (since they've been charging you all along) so the burden will be on you to prove to the credit card company that you cancelled the Netscape account. If you've only called Netscape to cancel, you don't have any proof.

If you think you might need to go this route, you have to get some written documentation. For starters, send Netscape a registered letter requesting that your account be cancelled and keep copies of everything.

I doubt threatening them with a chargeback will help, since at this point they're clearly at an advantage.
posted by clarissajoy at 7:17 AM on November 30, 2005

You're absolutely right, clarissajoy, but I don't think the Netscape folks are particularly 'fighting' over this account. I doubt that anyone there is looking at this account and thinking, "Ah, we're at an advantage! We can screw them for all they've got!". It sounds much more like (an) individual(s) at the company just being a bit incompetent.

The idea of threatening them with getting the credit card company involved is really just to shock them a bit, make them realise, "Woah, this is actually a serious complaint", and encourage them to take the time to deal with it.
posted by chrismear at 8:07 AM on November 30, 2005

And, it did work, which is why I marked the above answers as best answers. Didn't even need to go to a supervisor, I just threatened to talk to my credit card company and suddenly, they were much more cooperative :)
posted by yeoz at 5:55 PM on November 30, 2005