AOL reaches its third consumer settlement
zdnet.com
For the third time in less than three years, America Online Inc. has reached a settlement with state attorneys general who had targeted the company over billing problems and access glitches.
Thursday's agreement provides for 44 states to share a $2.6 million settlement fee for legal costs, and requires the online service to give users 30 days notice of any future price hikes. It also calls for
AOL (AOL) to clarify its 50-free-hours trial offer, adding explicit notices that the trial time must be used within a month and that the consumer must cancel the trial to avoid billing.
AOL must notify users via a pop-up screen when they enter premium-service areas, and the screen must state the rate per minute of the extra charges, under the terms of the deal.
Company officials said in a statement that they were "pleased" to have reached the settlement deal. Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan said in a statement that the deal provides for consumers to get more
and clearer information from AOL about its services than they have in the past.
"The goal is to make sure that consumers know all the facts so they can make informed choices," Ryan said. In February 1997, AOL signed a settlement agreement with 37 states that provided refunds
to users who were unable to use the service in the months after it switched to $19.95-per-month unlimited-access pricing. In December 1996, the company reached a deal with 19 states requiring it to
revise its pricing strategy and to give users more notice of changes.
The states taking part in Thursday's settlement are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. |
