Well I started my company about 1 year ago, I then decided about 6 months ago to start some advertising campaigns. One of the websites I signed up with was CitySearch. I did the online method and let the ads run. Well I was unhappy with the results and after several months at $250/month, I decided to cancel. I canceled my service on 2/17/10, two days after my renewal period of the 15^th. Well I did not want to continue my service an be billed another $250 for that month, I was only two days past the renew date and I think its only fair I should not have to pay $250 for something I don't want.

I sent this email to my account manager listed on CitySearch's website.

“to: mark.moore@citysearch.com

date: Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 7:38 PM

subject: Problem Canceling Account

Customer ID: 304492

Just canceled my account,

says I have to wait till 3/15. I don't want another $250 bill, please cancel my ads now!

Thanks,

--

Erin O'Meara

Salmon Bay Technology”

I sent the message and never received a response. Until I started to receive collection notices for the amount + late fee + collection fee. Well as you can imagine I was upset so I called the number on the collections notice and after some heated discussions and some transfers I was told the only person who can reverse the charges are my account manager. I was really now now. This guy figured when he saw my email asking to cancel that the that last charge of $250 would go unnoticed so why do the right thing and cancel it early?

I called up Mark Moore of CitySearch and gave him a piece of my mind. He kept repeating that I agreed to the term of service and that I was obligated to pay. I told him I understand that there are terms of service and that there has to be a line. And that Its not like I called 2 days before I was going to be billed, I sent him a message two days into a 30 day billing cycle. I would not charge one of my customers for a 30 day service if they canceled in the first two days. Would you?

After I told him I was never going to pay, he finely said he was going to take care of it and that it would go away but he had to talk with the accounting department but every one I talked with before Mark Moore said he was the decision maker. Mark called me back and said that everything was taken care of. All this happened on July 1^st.

July 13^th rolls around and I received another collections notice, sent an email to Mark Moore again with no response.

“to: mark.moore@citysearch.com

date: Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 10:23 AM

subject : Re: Problem Canceling Account

Just got another collection notice dated July 7th, that's several days after we talked are you sure you got this taken care of?

Account #304492

--

Erin O'Meara

Salmon Bay Technology”

Well fast forward to today, I get a call from the collections agency telling me they want to rectify the situation by taking a payment. I told them that the problem is already sorted out and that they need to contact Mark Moore my account manager. The person at the collection agency asks if that means I'm declining to pay? Yes, call the account manager if you really want to “rectify the situation”.

How hard would it have been for Mark to take care of this properly the first go around when I sent him my first email? How much time could he have spent more productively with other clients? Do you think I'm ever going to use CitySearch again?

I would never have done this to a customer, previous or present.