I want you all to be aware of this situation:

I signed up with PocketMail a year ago in September 2000, giving them
my Master Card number by phone. I did not want to renew but on my
last MasterCard statement appears a $239.- CDN item from PocketMail
(renewal for one year). They had send no invoice, no statement,
nothing. Just drew the money for an unwanted renewal out of my
MasterCard account. I consider this very aggressive (bad) business
practise.
I have taken steps to reverse this situation and hope to be
successful. Meanwhile I thought those of you who are with PocketMail
should beware and take care.

George of Scaramouche, Lake Ontario, Canada

Any suggestions on how to handle/avoid such a situation?

Frankly, a lot of cruisers probably like that feature.  There's probably
nothing worse than finding out way down island that your pocketmail account
has expired.

Could it have been done differently?  For sure.  But the goal of every
subscriber-based outfit is to keep people attached to their service, and
this is one way to do it.  It's business.  I'm sure somewhere in the
teeny-tiny fine print of your contract you probably did authorized an
on-going charge.  It seems to be in almost every contract for subscriber /
membership anymore.

Let us know if you get a hassle from PocketMail.  I'd be interested to hear.
I suspect all will go well.

Rick

Rick the Mouseherder - nh2f
Westsail 32 Xapic, Hull #438
Cabo San Juan, Puerto Rico

A small boat and a suitcase full of money
beats a 40 footer tied to the Bank.

Creative graphic solutions in vinyl for your boat lettering & designs
http://www.mouseherder.com

Visit our Westsail 32 Xapic
http://www.mouseherder.com/xapic

The Westsail Owners Assn. Homepage
http://www.westsail.org

With the migration south on the ICW ready to begin and the discussion on
Pocket Mail, I would like to pass on a short word of caution about using
your credit card for boating. Always get a final receipt for dockage and
expenditures before you leave. If you plan on leaving early get your
account settled before they close.

We left a Fla marina without closing the account and they charged us for
four more days. And it has been time consuming, not to mention annoying, to
deal with the credit card folks. Fortunately, I have receipts from the
marinas before and after, so I think I will win, but it happened on
Memorial day is yet to be settled.

Always get a receipt. If you want to leave early settle before they close
the night before.

PS: I am in enough trouble with this cheating marina without getting sued
for slander, so I will not reveal the name, but if your in Palm Beach and
need work, go to the honest folks at Rybovich Spencer.

Skooch - 42 Hatteras LRC
Worton Creek, Md

David Stahl

Kennett Internet Services, 112 S. Union Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348
610-444-9008              Visit our web site at http://www.kennett.net