LexisNexis Pulls An AOL

You know, as somebody who has used LexisNexis for years (and yes, it costs a lot of money), I didn't expect them to give me such great difficulty in canceling my account. But they "pulled an AOL".

When I tried to find a contact number to reach them on their website, well, they don't make it obvious. When I got through to a representative I was told, "You can only cancel your account through your account representative." (Every time I have had to contact my representative, it has been a different person.) The reason is obvious - they want to try to talk you out of ending the service, instead of simply complying with your request.

My representative? I had to leave a voice mail. Her message indicated that she was out of the office for the week, and would not be checking her messages during that time. There's some great customer service for you. She called back today, apparently having been too busy on Monday to return my call, and immediately went into her "Why, why, why" routine. When I told her that I didn't want to explain my decision, but simply wanted my request to be granted, I got a very curt response. I indicated that she was doing a pretty good job of ensuring that they don't get my business in the future and I got the complaint, "You're not telling us how we can get your business, anyway."

Sure I was. It's just that she wasn't listening. If they wanted my business in the future, they would have treated me with respect, would have honored my request to cancel my account, and would not have required that I jump through hurdles. If they truly wanted my business, they might even have thanked me for my years of patronage.

She then imposed yet another hoop for me to jump through - I had to send her an email requesting cancellation.

If they really want to know the "big secret" for why I was canceling, here goes: When my contract was almost up, I got an impersonal letter from them indicating that if I did not promptly renew my fees would be increased. The rep who was so interested in why I was canceling didn't call to see why I hadn't renewed. Then WestLaw called, and offered a really nice package. Which isn't surprising, because that's what people do when they want your business - they call you and try to sell you their services.

I switched from WestLaw to Lexis a number of years ago. At that time, all I had to do was contact West and request that they cancel my account. They were very polite, and didn't impose any further hurdles or hoops. I will be disappointed if that's not the case in the future, should I cancel my WestLaw account, but... Let's just say it's a good thing for Lexis that it will be a few years before my contract with West is up. I have no present interest in switching back to Lexis.