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Originally Posted by ryanfx
oh.. also forgot to mention.. there's a good chance this is on your credit report now as well. Once you get this all worked out make sure you check all three credit unions and see if it made it or not!!
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that's easy enough to deal with. all you have to do is contact them in writing (all three, if the info appears on all three reports) and tell them you are disputing the original debt. they will contact the reporter (TWX AOL) and ask them to verify the debt. if they don't verify within 90 days, poof the item gets removed from the report(s). even if they do somehow convince the reporting agency that the debt is valid, then you have the right to include a couple lines of text with the report and you can tell how they have been charging you without actually having an account with them. unfortunately, there might have been too much time passed already, so i would check into this immediately. by law, each reporting agency has to provide you with a free copy of your report every year, or when you've been denied credit, so you don't have to join one of those stupid "free credit report" companies that are raking in the bucks by charging idiots that don't understand the law.
i would also start checking around for a class action lawsuit to join. it sounds like (by the google you supplied) they have been doing this to too many people for some time now. that always spells class action, as some lawyer will get the idea to take the case on, and a cash cow like AOL is perfect for a large lump sum settlement. at the very least you will get any interest you would have collected on the money that was supposed to be in your account but was diverted to AOL's pockets, and at the most you could get back a sum equal to all of the fees they collected (regardless if they paid you back or not - it's known as a punitive award) or are trying to collect, plus the interest. definitely worth chasing down. no law suit to join? talk to a few contingency lawyers about taking the case on (they don't charge you anything if they don't win a settlement or judgment). what that means to me is that they are sure they will win either a settlement or judgment if they take the case on. no one likes working for free.
in any case, good luck. and be sure to read the fine print of any offer by best buy or a like-competitor. they may be subsidizing the low price by an agreement between them and AOL to put AOL on your computer and surrender your personal info. this is what it sounds like has happened here, and i wouldn't be the least bit surprised by shady actions such as these, by companies trying to stay in the black.