Email firm adjusts biblical definition of life spa

USERS WHO SIGNED UP with a forwarding email service back in 1996 on the basis the service would be "for life" have been told that the definition has changed from three score years and ten to just eight.

An unknown number of users have received a missive saying that forwarding accounts will now cost them $9.95, so creating a brand new definition of "free" as well as "life".

This is a short abstract from the email users received:

"Thank you for using an e-mail address powered by Mail.com. Our records indicate that your xxxxx@unforgettable.com account is a forwarding account. This means your Mail.com e-mail account is set to automatically send all new e-mails to another e-mail address.

"Unfortunately we are no longer able to offer this service to you free of charge and on 12/01/2001 we made forwarding a premium pay service."

The outfit is offering this $9.95 at a special discounted rate - that is half of the annual rate of $19.95 - even less free than the ten buck offer.

The e-missive continued: "To upgrade your forwarding account, please login to http://mymail.iname.com and signup for our new forwarding services by following the instructions at the bottom of this e-mail. For the next 45 days only, this service is being offered at an introductory promotional rate of ONLY $9.95 per annum. Signup today!"

One incensed user told the INQUIRER: "In 1996 I signed up with iname for a free email address for life - clearly at the time a forwarding service, as web based mail didn't really exist) - the offer page is still available in the waybackmachine. This has served me well over the years as I moved from one academic institution to another, and between various ISPs".

He wrote this note to the company:

"When I originally signed up for the mail forwarding service, I was promised a "free E-mail address for life" - this was an offer which I was keen to accept. At the time, there was no indication that there would ever be any charges associated with your service, for either webmail or E-mail forwarding.

"I would like to register my anger at your decision to start charging for a service which you originally offered as free, and question the legal basis for this decision. I would be grateful if you could explain the justification of charging for a service which was described as "free for life", and any legal advice which you have taken before making this decision."

But mail.com maintains it's within its rights to offer forwarding as a paid service, despite the "free for life" offer.

A letter to one particular customer said: "Recently, Mail.com initiated a new policy which reclassified the forwarding service as a premium feature. Therefore, effective the date referenced in our original notice to users, all currently existing users of the free email service must now subscribe to this premium forwarding feature if they would like to continue to have their email forwarded to an email account outside the Mail.com network."

It maintains that the change in terms has no impact on the original promise of a free and permanent email address made by mail.com

"Any and all claims that attempt to extend the notion of a free email account to a free forwarding service are misguided. Rest assured, your email account in and of itself remains a free, permanent account."

Which we think in plain English means gets lost. µ