State Officials Meet With AOL Over Technical Woes

NEW YORK —  Consumer-protection officials from 20 states met with America Online on Thursday to try to resolve a rash of complaints against the nation’s largest online service--even as a fresh technical glitch further irked its customers.

The meeting in Chicago, which ended Thursday afternoon, was spurred by customers’ growing difficulty in getting the online access they paid for. A new pricing plan that charges customers $19.95 a month for unlimited online time has strained AOL’s network, creating long delays in getting online, busy signals and other frustrations.

Representatives from 20 state attorneys general offices tried to get the company to “give some relief to AOL customers who feel the company is not living up to its pledge,” said Dan Curry, a spokesman for Illinois Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan, whose office hosted the meeting.

While details from the meeting weren’t disclosed, representatives from states said the ball is in AOL’s court. The issue isn’t expected to be resolved until at least next week.

Indeed, the latest brownout to hit America Online only heightened concerns about AOL’s ability to accommodate a flood of new users. A power outage prevented the company’s customers from accessing their e-mail for two hours Thursday morning, the firm said.

Curry and others declined to comment on the nature of any proposed settlement with America Online. But a source close to the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some states were interested in trying to get AOL to refund some money to customers.

AOL declined to elaborate on the meeting, other than to call it “a good, constructive meeting”; she said the company is cooperating with the attorneys general.