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Netzero

PO Box 3009, Westlake Village, CA 91359

NetZero • Billing disputes • Cancellation problems • Sample cancellation letter • Dropped calls • Installation problems --- • Juno complaints • Classmates.com complaints --- • Classmates Joins Netzero, Juno • NetZero, Juno Merge into United Online

NetZero and Juno tried to make it as free Internet providers but the implosion of Internet advertising put a quick end to that. They then struggled along, trying to provide cheap Internet service. Now they're merged (see story)into something called United Online and are struggling along trying to provide not-quite-so-cheap Internet service under both brand names. Along the way, a few customers have gotten burned. See below.

Renee of Jacksonville, FL October 6, 2009

I called the Netzero tech support on 9/27/09 unaware that when I gave my debit card number a 25 "hold" would be placed on my checking acct with Bank of America in Jacksonville, FL. I am in my free trial period with Netzero, I called on a Sunday because I couldn't sign on to the internet and a recording gave me the info @ a 1.95 charge.

I later talked to a male rep in tech support and he told me that the 1.95 wouldn't be taken out. I was unaware of the 25 "hold". Meanwhile, I didn't even have 25 in my checking account when this was done; therefore, 3 items bounced and I was charged three 35 overdraft fees totaling 105 which I couldn't recoup from my bank.

I've contacted Netzero billing several times by email and they explained no refund for at least the 25 would be coming. I requested they write a letter to my bank stating the policy of the "hold" on the account and they won't. They have refused.

On my last email I called them a bunch of crooks, thieves, and scammers and stated that I will complain to the Better Business Bureau in Minnesota. Please help. Thank you. I had 3 items to bounce in my checking account at Bank of America in Jacksonville, Fl and 3 overdraft charges of 35 each with a total of 105.

Steven of HAverhill, MA October 2, 2009

I have tried 12 times over the past 4 years to cancel my service to netzero...No one ever answere the phone I sit on hold for hours to no avail. I did not realize how useless this service was I have never once in four years even got an email using the account. I am so mad that years later I still cannot cancel my account. As of this month I will have spent 717.50 on nothing. This company is a joke. It makes you stay because you really have no other choice.

Vickie of Mesa, AZ September 28, 2009

On 9-23-09 @0945 I called the NetAero cancellation number to cancel my account, because every time I tried to sign on it would sign me right back off again or say I wasn't connected. This was consistently after having a difficult time signing in with it taking an inordinant amount of time. The person I spoke to on the phone kept saying things like "I'll connect you to technical support" ( which charges you 1.99 a minute or "I'll give you a month free to stay with NetZero". The whole time I kept saying, "No, I want the account cancelled." This wnet on for several minutes, until I finally told her to cancel the account or give me her supervisor. When She finally agreed to cancel the account, she then started saying she would give me 6 free months of Norton security. I asked her if this was going to automatically be billed at the end of the 6 months and she refused to answer, stating I could continue it then for 4.95 a month. I told her, "No, I don't want that" to which she answered she would set it up for me to try. I again told her no and this went on for several more minutes. I told her again to cancel that or I would report her for her actions. She gave me a cancellation #ref-044363549. Today in checking my emails on another account, I have a message stating I have been set up with a new NETZero account for 4.95 a month for up the ten hours of usage a month. I did not request nor do I want this. In attempting to send them an email, I find no place where I can "contact them". I no longer have the cancellation number I called.

Linda of Stites, ID September 20, 2009

I have been a customer of NetZero for over three years and have been reasonably satisfied with your (albeit slow) Internet service. On September 14, 15, and 16, 2009, I received the following message after trying to connect to the Internet via their ISP service, "Unable to contact our network. Please try again later." Having work that needed to be done, I was forced to call their live phone support people (who are located in India) for assistance at the rate of 1.95 per minute. (Call reference number 044306778.) It took 25 minutes for their technician to assist me in correcting the problem and NetZero charged my VISA 48.76.

I asked their technician if other customers had also experienced this problem and he said yes. I asked their technician why this problem occurred and he said it was a technical issue with NetZero. Because this technical issue was NetZero's problem and not mine, I do not feel I should have to pay anything to correct NetZero's problem. In addition, NetZero also charged my VISA an additional 25.00 and I have absolutely no idea why. Rip off!!!

Marisa of Laytonville, CA September 17, 2009

I signed up for netzero service about six months ago, and for the first month or so that I had it, it worked fine. The high-speed meter went to the top and pretty much stayed there, and pages loaded without any problems. Once my free-trial was over, and they had my credit card number, I started experiencing major problems. I have supposed high-speed service, which I pay 14.99 a month for, and it is now so slow that my computer gets stuck all the time, and pages have to be reloaded, if they even load at all. When I first dial up, it navigates to the first page pretty quickly, but as soon as I try to navigate to another page, it says it's working for at least 5 minutes before it loads. I have lost information, and have had to abort and restart my computer so many times I can't keep track anymore. There is a high-speed meter that is supposed to represent the load speed, and it goes up to the top of the meter at first, but then quickly drops down to the bottom and stays there for the entire time that I'm online. I have hooked my computer up to wireless service, and have not experienced any load problems, so I know that it is my service that is super-slow, not my computer.

I have tried to call netzero, because my computer wouldn't log onto the internet at all, and netzero wanted me to pay 2 just to speak with someone. Since I've been encountering problems I have tried to contact them via their homepage, which gives me the "contact us" option, but will not load the page that actually lets me contact them. I refuse to pay 2 just to speak with a representative, as I feel like I've been paying and paying, and getting very little in return. I have also had my service disconnect, repeatedly, while trying to navigate pages, and have had it refuse to disconnect,making it so that I cannot use my phone (I do not have a dedicated internet line) many, many times. I try to disconnect, and it says netzero not responding, and I have to go into my internet settings to manually disconnect the internet, at which point the load shortcut completely disappears,and I cannot re-connect to netzero at all, without shutting my system down and restarting. I have also woken up in the morning to see that my computer is online, even though it wasn't when I went to bed, and I never asked it to dial. I have auto-dial disabled, so that is not supposed to ever happen, but it does, whenever it wants to, and without warning.

Even with the slowest dial up service, a google search usually only takes a second or two, and with this service, it took me 5 minutes to navigate to this page. It also refuses to load applications when on facebook or myspace, even though everyone else I know can use the same applications that I cannot use. Again, when hooked up to wireless service, all applications work fine, so again, I know this is a problem with my service, not my computer. I'm not sure what to do at this point to remedy my issues, as I can't seem to actually contact someone representing netzero, and I feel like I have been getting ripped off, for 6 months now, and want that money back! If I'd known that netzero was gonna be worthless, I never would have subscribed, and now that I've read some of the other complaints and have tried to contact the company, I don't feel like I can even cancel the service, as I cannot get ahold of anyone. Netzero has my credit card info, and charges me every month, but doesn't provide the services that I subscribed for, and provides no customer support at all. Netzero also forces me to use a certain version of Norton anti-virus, which doesn't stop tracking cookies or other small security risks, which further slows down my system, and requires me to do a full system scan, which takes at least two hours, like once a week to get rid of these things.

I am very unhappy with my netzero service, and I would like some advice as to what step I should take next, to rid my computer of all of these issues, and make it so that my system works properly. At this point I am worried about permanant damage to my computer, as I know it's not good for it to restart five times a day, and it's not good for my phone to be tied up when I don't even know it, and I am concerned about my phone getting charged long distance charges for things that it's doing while I'm sleeping. I am required to leave my computer on at night, as windows is set to update at 3am. I do not want to have to shut it down at night, because it will miss those critical updates, and will be forced to try and update in the morning when I am trying to use it, which again slows down my system.

m of cleveland, OH September 10, 2009

I haven't been able to connect to netzero. I haven't been able to talk to a csr nor connect to any rep on the internet. They have me for highspeed I suppose to have dailup. I haven't been able to connect for the last three months. They are charging me every month for no services.

Barbara of Grafton, WV September 5, 2009

I have tried many times over the last three or four months to cancel an account with Netzero since signing on with Comcast High Speed Internet. I thought this was settled and had not gotten a bill for the last three or four months and now on September 4, 2009, they withdrew 12.94 from my checking account again.

I called Netzero and did not get an explanation as to why this happened. I was told my this man I talked to that they would put the money back into my checking account within the next couple of billing cycles. I told him to put that money back in my account immediately. He then said it would be put back in within 36 hours. I am now waiting the 36 hours to see if it gets put back into my checking account. As soon as I get this money back, I am closing that checking account because I have had so much trouble with them.

Angela of Oro Valley, AZ September 1, 2009

I called to cancel my "free trial" july 29th. I had signed up July 17th thru a connect now button on my new computers screen. The gentleman I talked to said ok no problem is there a reason for you canceling. I replied that we went with another company and I had DSL internet thru my phone company. He then canceled my account and offered me a 5 dollar a month back up internet. I told him NO. At the end of August I get an email from NetZero telling me that they couldnt get money from my bank account for my bill.

I called them today and was told that I had signed up for the backup service and that I didnt get a free trial because I signed up thru the internet. I responded that I signed up thru my computer and she replied that my trial was thru my computer makers company? I replied that her statement made no sense to me at all because there was NO WHERE on their site or my computer maker's site where I could cancle thru the computer company for their service.

After being on the phone with her and repeatedly being put on hold for god knows what reason. She came back on and acted like she was doing me a favor by canceling my account (AGAIN) and withdrawing the charges. She only did this after I said that I didnt want to talk to her anymore and that I just needed my account canceled AGAIN and that when they billed my in paper that I would contest it with them and the credit companies. This place is rediculous.

neil of loretto, MN August 27, 2009

WHAT A BIG SCAMMER!!!! netzero so sucks!!! we called them to cancel my account last june but they still didnt do yet. and all the sudden they are charging me in my account 11 something its costing me for overdraft. just stop advertising your company...it just so sucks!!!!!!so slow thats why we use a wireless now...

karen of landrum , SC August 19, 2009

this is still to do with the on going case against net zero about taking my 115.57 off my debt card without permission .. tis is a out rage it was and still is my disability money that net zero stole off my card i did not and still do not owe them anything , icancelled net zero june 13 2009 i have been with msn since and net zero takes my money off my debt card july 2 2009 three weeks afther i had cancelled . the only if any amount i would of owed them would of been 9.99 not no 115.57 but any way direct express was suppose to give me back my 115 .57 privisionary credit while they so called investigated . as i told them whats to investigate it is my disability money net zero did that without authorization .

so i sent a summery letter to the main company in austin texas july 3 2009 at direct express request while wating for the form to be mailed to me to dispuye the claim against net zero i did not get the form until nearly the end of july .. altough i called direct express about every day asking for my 115.57 back the credit they promished me then they said it was denied i said it cant be denied i called you on july 2 2009 when it fist happenned you said you would send me aform to dispute it but while iwas waiting on the form to be mailed to me i could write the main company in austin texas to write my own dispute summery so i did and sent it off july 3 2009 ..

up date i never got my money that was stole from me by net zero at all in july 2009 .. i suffered that was my grocery money etc .. but out of the blue i happened to check my direct express debt card on august 3 2009 and my 115.54 was put back on there . iwas so happy so i went shopping and spent most of it leaving me 14.24 left to live on until september 1 2009 .. so i put the card up in a safe place i did not use it for eight days or more but i decided to go to a store called lil cricket i got four items a dollar a piece four dollars gave the cashier my card because i still had 14.24 left and to my shock again it was declined.. embarrssed i went home called put in my account # at direct express it said zero balance again .. i cold not believe this i was thinking net zero did it again..

so t called direct express i talked to a woman named crystal or christina she put me on hold came back and said that direct express denied my claim .. i said mam that is bull not the bad word just mam that is bull it was my disability money and the whole 115.57 was put back on august 3 2009 the 14.24 it was what i had left from that

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