Online reactivation of an account or service

• US 7,395,212 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2001
• Issued: 07/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL LLC (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Donegan, Thomas Neal, Swann, Allen Thomas, Juneau, Brad Joseph, Tobin, Patricia Carter, Kochetkov, Dmitri Vasilievich, Weiss, Gregory John, Bishop, David Crane
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes; John W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Saliard; Shannon S
• Application Number:
  US09/860,639
• Publication Number:
  US 20020019739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,598 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/35, 705/38
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof

Abstract

Responding to an account reactivation request includes receiving an account reactivation request from a former subscriber having a deactivated account and automatically accessing stored account information related to the deactivated account based on the account reactivation request. The stored account information is compared with a reactivation standard to produce a comparison result. Based on the comparison result a response to the reactivation request is provided. The receiving, accessing, comparing, and responding may be performed by a computer without interaction between the former subscriber and a service representative.

Claims

1. A method of responding to an account reactivation request, the method comprising:

receiving an account reactivation request from a former subscriber having a deactivated account;

automatically accessing stored account information related to the deactivated account of the former subscriber based on the account reactivation request;

comparing the stored account information with a reactivation standard, which includes at least one criterion that corresponds to at least one attribute of a deactivated account, to produce a comparison result; and

responding to the account reactivation request based on the comparison result produced by comparing the stored account information with the reactivation standard, wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes at least one of a payment method and an account type.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving, accessing, comparing, and responding are performed by a computer without the former subscriber interacting with a service representative.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the account reactivation request comprises receiving an account activation request from the former subscriber and determining that the account activation request may be satisfied by reactivating the previously deactivated account.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the account reactivation request comprises receiving the account reactivation request over the Internet.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the account reactivation request comprises receiving the account reactivation request over the telephone.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically accessing stored account information related to the deactivated account of the former subscriber includes using information contained in the account reactivation request to access associated account information stored in a relational database, and the information contained in the account reactivation request comprises an identifier associated with the former subscriber.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the identifier comprises at least one of a name or an identification number associated with the former subscriber.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the information contained in the account reactivation request further comprises a birth date of the former subscriber.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the information contained in the account reactivation request further comprises an account number associated with the deactivated account.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes an account deactivation date.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes an account status.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the account status includes information indicating that the account was cancelled by the former subscriber.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the account status includes information indicating that the account was terminated by the account provider.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the account status includes information indicating that the account has an outstanding balance due.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information indicating a payment method.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information indicating an account type.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information about the demographics of the former subscriber.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information about the use of the account by the former subscriber.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the comparison result comprises an eligibility score derived from comparing the stored account information with the activation standard.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein responding to the account reactivation request includes accepting the request to reactivate the deactivated account when the eligibility score satisfies a first predetermined threshold.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein responding to the account reactivation request further comprises offering the former subscriber an additional benefit when the eligibility score satisfies a second predetermined threshold.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the additional benefit includes a service or account upgrade.

23. The method of claim 19 wherein responding to the account reactivation request includes rejecting the request to reactivate the deactivated account when the eligibility score does not satisfy a predetermined threshold.

24. The method of claim 19 wherein responding to the account reactivation request includes accepting the request to reactivate the deactivated account only when the former subscriber accepts an additional condition if the eligibility score does not satisfy a predetermined threshold.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the additional condition includes a service or an account downgrade.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the additional condition includes acceptance by the former subscriber of an agreement to provide a guarantee of payment, or of a payment method that differs from a payment method required by the deactivated account.

69. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is performed by a computer.

70. The method of claim 1 wherein responding to the account reactivation request based on the comparison result includes one of indicating a determination to reactivate the account with the original terms, indicating a determination to reactivate the account with terms changed from the original terms of the deactivated account, and indicating a determination not to reactivate the account.

71. The method of claim 1 wherein a first response is used to respond to the account reactivation request when the comparison result indicates that the stored information matches all of the at least one criterion of the reactivation standard, and a second response is used to respond to the account reactivation request when the comparison result indicates that the stored information does not match all of the at least one criterion of the reactivation standard.

72. The method of claim 71 wherein the first response indicates a decision to reactivate the account and offer a reward for choosing to reactivate the account and the second response indicates a decision to reactivate the account.

73. The method of claim 71 wherein the first response indicates a decision to reactivate the account and the second response indicates a decision to reactivate the account if the former subscriber accepts terms changed from the original terms.

74. The method of claim 73 wherein the terms changed from the original terms include at least one of an account downgrade, an altered payment condition, and a trial period for reactivation.

75. The method of claim 1 wherein a first response is used to respond to the account reactivation request when the comparison result indicates that the stored information matches a first reactivation standard, and a second response is used to respond to the account reactivation request when the comparison result indicates that the stored information matches a second reactivation standard that differs from the first reactivation standard.

76. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information related to the deactivated account of the former subscriber prior to deactivation.

27. A system of responding to an account reactivation request, the system comprising:

receiving means for receiving an account reactivation request from a former subscriber having a deactivated account;

accessing means for automatically accessing stored account information related to the deactivated account of the former subscriber based on the account reactivation request;

comparing means for comparing the stored account information with a reactivation standard, which includes at least one criterion that corresponds to at least one attribute of a deactivated account, to produce a comparison result; and

responding means for responding to the account reactivation request based on the comparison result produced by the comparing means,

wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes at least one of a payment method and an account type.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the receiving means, accessing means, comparing means, and responding means do not cause the former subscriber to interact with a service representative.

29. The system of claim 27 wherein the accessing means includes database means for using information contained in the account reactivation request to access associated account information stored in a relational database, wherein the information contained in the account reactivation request comprises an identifier associated with the former subscriber.

30. The system of claim 27 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes an account deactivation date.

31. The system of claim 27 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes an account status.

32. The system of claim 27 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information indicating a payment method.

33. The system of claim 27 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information indicating an account type.

34. The system of claim 27 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information about the demographics of the former subscriber.

35. The system of claim 27 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information about the use of the account by the former subscriber.

36. The system of claim 27 wherein the comparison result comprises an eligibility score derived from comparing the stored account information with the activation standard.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein the responding means includes accepting means for accepting the request to reactivate the deactivated account when the eligibility score satisfies a first predetermine threshold.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein the responding means further comprises offering means for offering the former subscriber additional benefit when the eligibility score satisfies a second predetermined threshold.

39. The system of claim 36 wherein the responding means includes rejecting means for rejecting the request to reactivate the deactivated account when the eligibility score does not satisfy a predetermined threshold.

40. The system of claim 36 wherein the responding means includes conditional acceptance means for accepting the request to reactivate the deactivated account only when the former subscriber accepts an additional condition if the eligibility score does not satisfy a predetermined threshold.

41. A computer program stored on a computer readable medium for responding to an account reactivation request, the computer program comprising:

a receiving code segment that causes a computer to receive an account reactivation request from a former subscriber having a deactivated account;

an accessing code segment that causes the computer automatically to access stored account information related to the deactivated account of the former subscriber based on the account reactivation request;

a comparing code segment that causes the computer to compare the stored account information with a reactivation standard, which includes at least one criterion that corresponds to at least one attribute of a deactivated account, to produce a comparison result; and

a responding code segment that causes the computer to respond to the account reactivation request based on the comparison result produced by the computer under the control of the comparing code segment,

wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes at least one of a payment method and an account type.

42. The computer program of claim 41 wherein the receiving, accessing, comparing, and responding code segments do not cause the computer to require that the former subscriber interact with a service representative.

43. The computer program of claim 41 wherein the accessing code segment includes a database code segment that causes the computer to use information contained in the account reactivation request to access associated account information stored in a relational database, wherein the information contained in the account reactivation request comprises a name and/or an identification number associated with the former subscriber.

44. The computer program of claim 41 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes an account deactivation date.

45. The computer program of claim 41 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes an account status.

46. The system of claim 41 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information indicating a payment method.

47. The system of claim 41 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information indicating an account type.

48. The system of claim 41 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information about the demographics of the former subscriber.

49. The system of claim 41 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information about the use of the account by the former subscriber.

50. The system of claim 41 wherein the comparison result comprises an eligibility score derived from comparing the stored account information with the activation standard.

51. The computer of claim 50 wherein the responding code segment includes an accepting code segment that causes the computer to accept the request to reactivate the deactivated account when the eligibility score satisfies a first predetermined threshold.

52. The computer program of claim 51 wherein the responding code segment further comprises an offering code segment that causes the computer to offer the former subscriber an additional benefit when the eligibility score satisfies a second predetermined threshold.

53. The computer program of claim 50 wherein the responding code segment includes a rejecting code segment that causes the computer to reject the request to reactive the deactivated account when the eligibility score does not satisfy a predetermined threshold.

54. The computer program of claim 50 wherein the responding code segment includes a conditional acceptance code segment that causes the computer to accept the request to reactive the deactivated account only when the former subscriber accepts an additional condition if the eligibility score does not satisfy a predetermined threshold.

55. A system of responding to an account reactivation request, the system comprising:

a first computer configured to receive an account reactivation request from a former subscriber having a deactivated account;

a second computer configured automatically to access stored account information related to the deactivated account of the former subscriber based on the account reactivation request and that compares the stored account information with reactivation standards, which include at least one criterion that corresponds to at least one attribute of a deactivated account, to produce a comparison result; and

a third computer configured to respond to the account reactivation request based on the comparison result produced by the second computer,

wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes at least one of a payment method and an account type.

56. The system of claim 55 wherein the system does not cause the former subscriber to interact with a service representative when receiving the account reactivation request, when accessing the stored account information, and comparing the stored account information with the reactivation standards to produce a comparison result, or when responding to the account reactivation request.

57. The system of claim 55 wherein being configured automatically to access stored account information includes being configured to use information contained in the account reactivation request to access associated account information stored in a relational database, wherein the information contained in the account reactivation request comprises an identifier associated with the former subscriber.

58. The system of claim 55 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standards includes an account deactivation date.

59. The system of claim 55 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standards includes an account status.

60. The system of claim 55 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standards includes information indicating a payment method.

61. The system of claim 55 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standards includes information indicating an account type.

62. The system of claim 55 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standards includes information about the demographics of the former subscriber.

63. The system of claim 55 wherein the stored account information that is compared with the reactivation standard includes information about the use of the account by the former subscriber.

64. The system of claim 55 wherein the comparison result comprises an eligibility score derived from comparing the stored account information with the activation standard.

65. The system of claim 64 wherein being configured to respond to the account reactivation request includes being configured to accept the request to reactivate the deactivated account when the eligibility score satisfies a first predetermined threshold.

66. The system of claim 65 wherein being configured to respond to the account reactivation request includes being configured to offer to the former subscriber an additional benefit when the eligibility score satisfies a second predetermined threshold.

67. The system of claim 64 wherein being configured to respond to the account reactivation request includes being configured to reject the request to reactivate the deactivated account when the eligibility score does not satisfy a predetermined threshold.

68. The system of claim 64 wherein being configured to respond to the account reactivation request includes being configured to accept the request to reactivate the deactivated account only when the former subscriber accepts an additional condition if the eligibility score does not satisfy a predetermined threshold.