AOL Allows Switch Online 4:13 PM EDT, August 8, 2006 By ERIC GERSHON, The Hartford Courant http://www.courant.com/business/hc-aolemail0808,0,2731743.story?coll=hc-headlines-home America Online has relented, at least temporarily, and is permitting paid subscribers to switch to its free email service online.
However, this is one change AOL isn't shouting about. After insisting last week that the only way existing customers could switch to the new free service was to call AOL and have a customer service worker make the change, AOL confirmed Tuesday there is a way customers can do it online. Non-customers have all along been able to sign up for free service, which was announced last Wednesday, through the Internet. While it took a minute or two for non-subscribers to enroll, it frequently took subscribers 10 minutes or longer to switch because of the high volume of calls. AOL quietly set up a Web option for subscribers by Thursday night in response to long telephone wait times, spokeswoman Tricia Primrose Wallace confirmed Tuesday. For now, subscribers can enter AOL keyword "change plan" from their AOL homepage and follow the directions to free email, she said. Don't expect the option for paid subscribers to last. "This keyword is a temporary measure and at some point it will come down," Wallace said. Fearful that customers who mean to keep AOL as a paid Internet Service Provider will cancel service by mistake, she said, the company still recommends that subscribers call its 800-number. Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
