February 25, 2002
A lawsuit accuses America Online with charging thousands of its customers for merchandise they did not order. The suit claims that AOL Shop Direct shipped products to customers even when they clicked the "no thanks" button on their screens.
The suit, which seeks class action status, was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Attorney Barry Himmelstein said his firm had received dozens of complaints and said the company should change its slogan from "You Got Mail" to "You got a package."
AOL said it would "vigorously contest" the action and noted that only three individual plaintiffs are named in the suit.
One, Dawn Briskey of Fresno, CA, said she was charged $74 for bed sheets which she did not order. An Oakland woman said she was charged $181 for a desk planner and a stereo and a Rialto, CA, man said he was charged $150 for a toothbrush and some books.
Such complaints against AOL are not unusual. In December, Terry of North Babylon, NY, told ConsumerAffairs.com AOL shipped a scanner without authorization. In Louisville, Lynn complained that she was charged for a leather jacket she did not want to order.
The suit seeks unspecified damages and the return of all unauthorized payments. It also asks that customers be allowed to keep any unordered merchandise at AOL's expense.
