I had AOL for a number of years so my kids could chat with their friends. A couple of weeks ago I tried to drop it. Apparently you can only do so by phone, and can only get a live operator if you talk to a robot for five or ten minutes.
The first try, they said the system was down and they couldn’t put the cancellation through.
I tried again today, same tedious procedure, and finally got the live operator. She tried to sell me this and that, but finally said that I could stop being billed, but could keep all my user names for free. I suppose that means that the kids can still use AIM if they want to. We’ll see if there’s any hidden tricks.
But I suspect they are so desperate to keep their subscribers, so they can collect advertising revenue, that they are offering to keep you listed for nothing. That way, their numbers look better, as long as no one looks into it too closely.
Most people I knew cancelled the card they have on file with AOL. They kept charging them month after month. It was the only way the billing stopped.