You used to get a free AOL 10 day trial cd (number of days varied) on every damn magazine you picked up (not sure if they still do it).

A friend signed up with the intention of not continuing after the trial period, but you have to hand over you credit card details before you get the trial.

On an error on his judgement he didnt realise that you had to cancel the subscription once the trial period expired.

Unfortunatly he ended up paying for the first month anyway, and then canceled the subcription... which he ended up doing for the next 4 months...

Each month they stated that is was canceled, and each month he got a bill from aol.

I'm not sure how it all ended up, if he payed all the months or not, but this scam just reminds me of that time.

"In settling, the defendants haven't admitted they're guilty."

Definition of "Admit": acknowledge: admit the truth.

Innocent before proven guilty, surely?

If I steal someone's money, whether I "have enough to pay them back" or not doesn't matter: I go to jail for stealing.

I don't have much hands on (ahem) experience of this but it';s the way6 i understand things. Using a phone bill or a glass cutter or a deft hand in the back pocket: theft is theft.

Bless are the brass necked, for they shall inherit the earth, eh?

"Using a phone bill or a glass cutter or a deft hand in the back pocket: theft is theft."

Not true. The first is a white collar criminal, who does no real damage, while the latter two are just common criminals who must pay society for their wrongs.

Ooops, I was out walking in a pasture and just stepped in something brown, mushy and stinky.

I hope they get sued by the victims. Maybe they say they can't afford it, but I'd make sure they can't afford anything.

If the FTC was really serious about this, they'd take away their passports, too. There are dozens of Caribbean countries with rather liberal banking laws and pretty good privacy.