Verizon to charge customers $2 when they pay bills online or by phone

[onehandle]

Well, it's true. Verizon has confirmed to us that it's adding the $2 convenience fee for paying your bill online or over the phone, and has posted a blurb in its News Center detailing the options available to someone who wants to avoid it. Obviously many customers use AutoPay, which avoids this hassle entirely, but we're sure there will be plenty of customers frustrated by the fee when it goes live on January 15th.

What's unclear right now is if this constitutes a change in contract terms, which could potentially allow unsatisfied customers to hop off Verizon without a spendy ETF penalty. We've asked Verizon to clarify, and we also asked for some more details on exactly why online and robo-phone payments are more expensive to process than the "free" options they list — you know, the ones where you pay Verizon money, but don't pay for the privilege.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/verizon-to-charge-customers-2-when-they-pay-bills-online-or-by-phone/2011/12/29/gIQAUaBqOP_story.html

[bemildred]

1. Makes me glad I dumped them. nt

[DissedByBush]

20. I'm staying with Verizon for now

My wife and I are grandfathered in on the cheap unlimited data plan from a couple years ago, and are not going to give up that sweet deal now that all carriers are dropping their unlimited plans.

[crazy homeless guy]

47. I am staying ATT for now as I am grandfathered into a true unlimited for $80, ..but

Sprint does still have true unlimited for roughly the same price. Still about $30 more than it is worth.

[DissedByBush]

59. $80 total?

Mine's unlimited data for $30 on top of the rest of the bill.

[LiberalFighter]

2. I would think in this situation that you don't allow them

to specify that it not a change in contract terms. If they don't agree that it is a change then sue the hell out of them.

[SteveW]

3. You can tell when the punks are in charge: More fees in a recession. nt

[RC]

4. Click on the link and read before you decide your head needs to explode.

If you're looking to avoid the $2 charge going forward, here are Verizon's options for you:

[TheMadMonk]

61. Most of which involve a fee paid to someone else. Fees which all "trickle up"...

...to a handful of "parent organisations". It ALL ultimately goes to the same beneficiaries. And we're supposed to be grateful they're not dipping twice when they've got the opportunity.

And this little gem? "Enrollment in AutoPay using credit/debit/ATM card or electronic check;"

Carte blanche to dip into your bank account whenever they think you owe them money, even take you deep into overdraught.

[RC]

65. I do not pay a fee to pay my Verizon bill and I pay it electronically.

I also use my debt card as a credit card, instead of checks and do not pay a fee either. But then I use a regional bank and not a national bank.

[Kelvin Mace]

5. They are called junk fees

And this is the exact thing a consumer protection bureau is needed for.

[Turbineguy]

6. It's the new form of competition

fuck your customers slightly less than the next guy.

[DissedByBush]

22. This is why I was against the AT&T buy of T-Mobile

There's little enough national competition as it is, we definitely don't want it shrunk down any more.

[freshwest]

7. I doubt they're promoting the postal service. I pay everything I can by mail, but that's just me.

[CTyankee]

66. so do I but I really don't understand this. It has GOT to cost them more $ to open a paper

envelope...

[freshwest]

68. They may already have a charge for that. Some of my bills do. It's worth it to me,

To keep the USPS going.

If it is split up, like the telecoms by Reagan's DOJ, there will be no more universal service and cost sharing.

Universal service and coverage even by a private company is considered to be a socialist idea. And that's why the right wants to destroy the USPS and every other thing providing equal service to all.

CLAS WARFARE R US (R)

[Ezlivin]

8. Then I'll have to subtract my $4 FYATHYRIO fee

Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

[Aerows]

25. LMAO

I have the feeling that somehow or another, those exact words are going to pop out of my mouth one day at one of these corporations trying to monkey around with fees to drain their customers.

[gtar100]

9. Why do I hate big corporations? Let me count the ways.

1. They use people, not serve them.
2. They hide behind "policy" as a justification for gouging more from people.
3. They are undemocratic.
4. They are willing to hurt people to get more money.
5. They care more about money than service.
6. To the extent they care about service, it's about making money.
7. Their marketing is all about image.
8. Their primary purpose is to make investors money, not contribute to society.
9. They lobby the government with bribes to skew the rules in their favor.

... this is too easy.

Looking forward to the revolution. The inevitable revolution.

[RickFromMN]

58. I suspect point 8 is only partially correct. More often, it's to make senior executives money.

[annabanana]

10. Looks like I'm going to dust off the old checkbook.

I'm sure it'll be more convenient for them to deal with that.

[onehandle]

12. What's weird is that it probably costs them more to process a check.

I write maybe one or two checks a year. Usually in some oddball situation.

[MaineDem]

29. I'm sure it costs more for a check.

They may actually need a person to handle it at some point.

[Ms. Toad]

37. Probably not - Credit cards charge a fee to merchants for each tx

Usually in the ballpark of 2%. On my Verizon bill, that's roughly $2/month. I doubt it costs more than a few cents to process checks - post Check21 when paper disappears from the stream at the first possible instant.

[ThomThom]

16. me too

I am getting tired of their crappy service and slow connectivity. They have over sold the equipment around here and sometimes they drop me off line or take for ever to connect.

[Fearless]

11. They might want to contact BofA before being stupid(er). n/t

[sorefeet]

13. land line

I quit a cell phone three years ago and don't know why I had one in the first place. If I travel which is rare I'll get a trac phone for safety otherwise the land line is fine with me, saved about $100 bucks a month. Verizon was the worst.

[DissedByBush]

26. I quite a cell phone for years

My first cell was in the early 90s when I was younger and never home. Then with a family I didn't need one so dumped it. But since the iPhone, functionalities like PDA, music player, video player, portable game machine, book reader, etc., that I used all merged with the cell phone.

So now I have a cell phone, and no home phone.

[Javaman]

14. My gas company does the same damn thing...

they just upgraded their website so it's easier to pay on line, but guess what? it will now cost me an additional $1.50 pay on line. WTF?

In the grand scheme of things, I'm actually fine with this. My letter will, hopefully, keep a postal employee employed.

[wordpix]

64. "keep a postal employee employed"---maybe this is a scheme to keep the USPS in business

If online and phone payment fees are more than the cost of a stamp, it stands to reason that the US gov could be in on this decision

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. companies don't want mailed checks anymore, now they don't want online. they just

want autopay now, I guess

[Swede Atlanta]

17. This should be subject to regulation.......

I have Verizon and receive my bill electronically, mostly to save the environment and the amount of junk that comes in my mailbox every day. I have used their online bill pay a few times for convenience but usually pay by check and mail it in.

They should not be able to charge you to pay your bill. Pretty soon they will charge a fee for processing a paper check...I mean which is easier and cheaper for them? I assume auto-pay is cheapest followed by online bill pay and then checks or pay by phone where they have to pay someone to either open the envelope, verify the payment, scan and/or enter the payment information into their system and then process the check OR pay someone to answer the phone and key in the payment information.

They should not be able to limit your options, at no additional charge, on how you pay your bill. Auto-pay is giving them authorization to access your account on their terms. I NEVER, NEVER, EVER give anyone auto -pay or auto deduct authorization.

[dotymed]

57. Yes, autopay is dangerous, unless you have a lot of extra money in your account.

I just called verizon about this new charge. Of course, their fine print (supposedly) allows them to charge this new fee and not violate our agreement.
We can pay them over the phone, at no charge, using an "electronic check." Now, I have to contact my bank and see if they charge me for using an electronic check. This is ridiculous.

People before profits. Lets all physically join OWS and get the ball rolling. With millions of us in the streets, we will get the change we demand.
As it now stands, it is very true that Americans fear their government while in other "Democracy's," the governments fear their citizens.

That may be a very good indication that we are not a Democracy, we just have the illusion of being one.

[Weisbergkevin]

18. Verizon is slick. More autopay=more bounced checks and more late fees

Some people choose not to enroll in autopay in case they one day have no money in their accounts. Also, people wanna have flexibility. If something happens to the card I use for autopay, I can choose to use another credit card at the last minute; but with autopay, you are screwed. This is a calculated move by a greedy corporation to squeeze more money out of people.

[Aerows]

23. Exactly

and it's also a source of extra capital if they decide they need it. Just overcharge all of the autopay customers to beef up the books, hold onto the money for a few days, then force the customer to jump through hoops to get it back. Never mind the hassle for the customer, and their bank fees.

I will never use autopay on something variable like a phone bill. A bill that doesn't change like a car payment is fine and convenient, but something that changes from month to month? Oh hell no.

[NJCher]

44. oh and let's not forget what they do with that info

As soon as you stop autopay, they send out alerts. Why? Because they've found that people who stop autopay do so because they've lost their job. So while it may not go on your credit rating, there is some way they have of communicating this to other creditors.

Source for this is NPR.


Cher

[Demonaut]

19. auto pay on cell phones is a bit dodgy, if they mess up and bill you for too much

good luck getting your money back as quickly as they withdrew it


on edit
http://consumerist.com/2010/12/verizon-mistakenly-charges-me-6k-promises-refund-isnt-delivering.html

When Scott upgraded to a smartphone, Verizon forgot to initiate his new data plan, so he was soaked with a $6,000 bill under his antiquated former plan. Since Scott is signed up for auto-billing, his credit card was charged before he could argue. He says Verizon admitted its error and agreed to a refund, but it's been 30 days and Scott is still waiting.


this is why you NEVER autopay cell

[quakerboy]

53. Beyond dodgy

I know Tmobile has a special way about them

They double charged someone I know. Basically, they had auto pay, but then for some reason it didn't go through on the proper day one month, and the person saw all the little pop up account messages online about how her service would be cut (she pays at the last possible second) if she didn't pay on time, so she did so. Then they processed the extra payment and the auto pay. And then they refused to refund the payment.

There were some extenuating circumstances, but it was still clear that they had absolutely no intention of providing assistance or returning a red cent to a person living on very limited income.

[Aerows]

21. And using AutoPay

If they overcharge you a ghastly amount, the money still comes right out of your bank account, and you have no money and bank fees.

For a house payment or a car payment that is the same every month, auto pay is fine. For something that can vary like a phone bill? Hell no. I've heard way too many stories of people getting hit with massive bills accidentally, and once they have your money, they take their sweet time returning it to you. You can try threats of a lawsuit, etc., but the bottom line is the hassle is not worth the convenience of autopaying.

Just wait for it - you will soon be hearing stories of people who have their accounts drained because of accidental overcharges.

[DissedByBush]

27. My phone bill never varies

Verizon-Verizon and 10 friends calls don't count, and that's most of our calls so we're always way under our minutes. Text and data is unlimited. Our bill hasn't varied in two years.

But I'm still not doing auto-pay for that exact reason, you never know when they're going to get a wild hair up their ass and charge you $5,000 for nothing.

[TBF]

24. I'll pay by check or take payment to the store -

after reading about their labor issues I'm dumping them as soon as the contract ends anyway.

[DissedByBush]

30. Not the same part

Verizon Wireless is a partnership between Verizon Communications and the British Vodafone. It is highly profitable, which makes this fee even more offensive.

The recent labor issues are sad, but they are with Verizon's landline business. A fact of the days is that landline phone, POTS, is going the way of the dodo, to be replaced by VOIP and wireless. Verizon's landline voice business is not doing well because of this, shrinking every year.

In this country, unions do not react well to cutbacks due to shrinking demands for their members' labor. Things got ugly.

[jwirr]

28. A lot of businesses do that. What does it cost them to take the money? In other words what

exactly are they charging us for?

[Dont call me Shirley]

31. How ironic, they now charge you to pay your bills. What a racket!

[TroglodyteScholar]

32. I called and got clarification...

This is only if you use a credit or debit card to pay. If, like me, you use electronic checks through your bank's online services, the fee does not apply.

In other words, it's inaccurate to lump together all forms of online payment when describing this fee. I still think it's ridiculous to charge your customer for paying you, but it won't affect me at all. I am very happy with the service they provide, and their customer service reps are always super helpful, friendly and professional.

[NYC_SKP]

35. Now lookie here, TroglodyteScholar. Facts haz nothin' to do with this!

There's charges bein' charged and we at DU don't need no stinkin' FACTS before we get our panties and/or briefs and/or suspendabelts up in a bunch!

Nothing against the OP, one of my favorites, but the replies: folks just don't always read the details.

Thanks for reading the details!

I use online with AT&T (what a pain of a site) and pay out of my checking account, so if that's how Verizon customers do it, they should be ok.

[The Wizard]

33. Looks like they'll be getting a check

with a 94 cent overpayment. Let them waste resources processing that.

[MaineDem]

34. I like that.

And put a note in with the check and someone will have to process that, too.

[Utopian Leftist]

36. This is every bit as bad as Skank of America's $5 proposed and dropped cat food fee.

And if Verizon has any sense, they will ditch this plan too. It will only hurt the most vulnerable.

It is time for we the consumers to rise up and demand that the corporations stop treating us like cattle.

[sarcasmo]

43. Right on.

[RoccoR5955]

38. I'm gonna start paying them in cash...

ALL PENNIES!

[unapatriciated]

39. I dumped verizon three years ago and have no regrets.

I chose Credo. It is a little more expensive but well worth it.

http://www.credomobile.com/mission/Progressive-Social-Change.aspx

Green in every way
CREDO is not just green, it's real green. We print our bills on all-recycled paper. We plant 100 trees for every ton of paper we use (enough to make another ton of paper). And we're the only one that's donated more than $10 million to groups like Earthjustice, Sierra Club Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Vote Solar Initiative.

We work with our partner Carbonfund.org to offset the estimated lifetime electricity usage and shipping of all our mobile phones. We were the first phone company to offer solar-powered chargers. And we're a leader in phone recycling: to make it easy for our members to send in their old phones for reuse or recycling, we've teamed up with Flipswap, an eco-friendly organization that offers cash back or makes a donation to CREDO's nonprofit groups if your recycled phone has any value.

[crazy homeless guy]

48. Looks like they are Sprint resellers.

I believe Sprint is the onlymajor cell company that still sells bulk data to the smaller guys. I can't remember what they call it.

Also the Galaxy s2 that they carry is a Sprint only model, which reinforces that they operate through Sprints network.

[unapatriciated]

51. Sprint is the network provider-I guess you could say Credo is a sub contractor. :)

How's your coverage?
Our calls are carried on the all-digital nationwide Sprint® network, reaching more than 280 million people.† So you get great coverage — plus CREDO Mobile's commitment to progressive causes. Our service areas are always expanding, so be sure to check our coverage maps for the latest coverage information.

http://www.credomobile.com/support/CREDO-questions.aspx

They let you know right up front who the provider is.

[Fuddnik]

60. They all still do it.

I have Straight Talk. Regular cell phones operate on the Verizon Network. Some smartphones are on AT&T. My 'droid is on Sprint.

When I had a regular phone, on Straight Talks Verizon system, I could get Verizon's best unlimited plan for 1/3 the cost Verizon would charge me.

Unlimited talk, text, data on my Galaxy for $45 per month. No hidden fees, other than sales tax.

[quakerboy]

54. I was curious

I looked up a sprint phone and service, compared it to the same phone at credo.

Phone price, GalaxySII, same. 199.99 either way.

Sprint offers Unlimited service (voice, texts, data) for 99.99
Credo offers Unlimited Voice and texting for 69.99, and Unlimited data for an addnl 29.99. total 99.98 for the same service

Credo actually charges a penny less for the same service. Although, strangely, an unlimited family plan costs more than 2 individual phones with Credo. I would consider switching, but they do not seem to have prepaid service, and I am not interested in a contract.

From experience, how would you rate their coverage? Ive wondered about that, never been with sprint or credo. How does their coverage compare to At&t, Verizon, or T-mobile?

[unapatriciated]

73. I have not had any problems with coverage except for the usual that you find with most companies.

In fact I had Verizon first and did not have great coverage when we drove cross country in 2005. We travel a lot since we moved to GA... NY, DC, FL. NC and SC. We travel all over GA and have had only one time that we did not have Coverage and that was only for a short period. I really like the benefit of being able to donate to different charities and causes. I round up a few dollars every month and at the end of the year I can specify where the monies will go. Credo also donates and it adds up to millions.

[quakerboy]

74. I will keep that in mind

Unfortunately Credo does not offer either service that I am interested in. I prefer to buy my own phone and skip the contract, and Credo does not offer prepaid, at least as far as I can tell on the website. And I am looking for a data service for a tablet at some point, as I hope to travel someday. And they do not seem to offer that service either.

[Ilsa]

40. If they are changing the terms of the existing contracts,

does that mean people can opt out of any long term contracts? If not, I don't see what gives them the right to change a contract to their benefit.

[onehandle]

41. Contracts universally have a line about being subject to rate changes and additional fees.

But the best way to get out of a cellular contract is to call them with complaints daily or more.

They will quickly label you a 'nuisance' and show you the door.

[sarcasmo]

42. Gald we are month to month, time to close another account.

[RockyMtnGuy]

45. Send this guy an email

So email the PR guy with your complaint: [e-mail]. I suggested to him that we will be billing Verizon for the inconvenience of mailing payments to them.

[sarcasmo]

62. Out of office response. This guy is gonna have a fun first day back from vacation.

[jimlup]

46. Jerks

And folks wonder why I insist on retaining my "paper bills"

Companies will jerk people around in any way that they can to squeeze more.

[diane in sf]

49. You can pay from your own bank/credit union website without incurring the $2 fee.

[crazy homeless guy]

50. Google entertained buying wireless spectrum but never pulled the trigger.

Instead they made soe weird agreement with Verizon.

I wonder what would have been if Google bought that spectrum? ....near free ad supported Google phones? I think most would choose to allow Google to serve them extremely targeted adds based on their cell usage and conversations in exchange for a free mobil data and voice plan.

It is almost scary Google might be able to target adds based on the Google voice service translating your conversation into searchable text.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

52. Take it up with the credit card processors

When I worked for a major retailer we were paying more in credit card interchange fees than we were paying for utilities and property taxes nation wide. And because most transactions by a company such as Verizon are going to be cardless the fees are even higher due to the risk of fraud being greater.

Strictly speaking it could be argued this violates Verizon's merchant agreement with their credit card processors as applying a surcharge to creditcard transactions is usually forbidden, but there is probably a loop hole in the language here.

[mwb970]

55. Jeez, I just got a Verizon cell phone yesterday!

It was a gift from a friend. The phone is an Octane, which is pretty cool (still working on the manual). My friend put me on her family account, so she is the one who will have to deal with matters like this!

[bluedigger]

56. I'm going to start billing potential employers for responding to their help wanted ads. n/t

[1monster]

63. And all of my accounts practically beg and threaten for me to change to online billing and payment..

Ain't happening.

[totodeinhere]

67. Things like this make me happy that I am one of the few people in the world who doesn't even have a

cell phone. People got by just fine for many years up to the early nineties without cell phones yet now many act like they can't live without them. But I'm not buying it. They can't even drive down the street without gabbing on their phone and causing a safety hazard.

[DaveJ]

69. I'm on autopay, but this is still pretty dumb

I guess they want to eliminate the need for call center employees. That's the mission of job creators.

They just want the money to flow directly into the executives' pockets.

[Islandlife]

70. Is this an attempt to force us to use th US Postal service

It does become the cheaper option and will help bolster th USPS.

[totodeinhere]

71. Let me advance a conspiracy theory. We know that the Postal Service will be cutting back.

Perhaps they will eliminate Saturday deliveries. So there is a good chance that sending in a bill by mail will become a less reliable option making it more likely that payments sent in by mail will arrive late allowing Verizon to charge a late fee and make even more money.

[Islandlife]

75. The USPS is always an option if you plan ahead. Verizon can do anything it wants.

This is not a "right" that is being taken away and it is not an attempt to rip off consumers. It is a serious risk being taken by Verizon for business purposes. The risk is a serious loss of business. I would not pay the $2 and instead pay by mail. If that doesn't work out switch carriers, pay the $2, or pay by mail.

I don't see anything controversial here.

[MaineDem]

72. Verizon Bows to Critics, Drops Plans for $2 'Convenience' Charge Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/

Sorry this is Fox.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/30/verizon-to-add-2-convenience-charge-despite-network-outages/