Help Verizon 4g/LTE Hidden Fees (disaster adverted, I was dumb, it's my activation fee)

[dyezak]

Ok...I was expecting the usual taxes, federal fees, etc. And I see those on my first 4g/LTE bill:

Taxes, Governmental Surcharges & Fees Includes sales, excise and other taxes and governmental surcharges and fees that we are required by law to bill customers. $12.98

However there's another line that I wasn't expecting, wasn't explained to me, and wasn't even alluded to by VZW when signing my contract:

Verizon Wireless' Surcharges and Other Charges & Credits Verizon Wireless Surcharges - Includes charges to recover or help defray costs of taxes and of governmental charges and fees imposed on us by the government. Other Charges and Credits - includes charges for products and services, and credits owing. $44.69

So they are making me pay the government fees, then making me pay them again? Not likely...so I dug deeper and found a more detailed description of these fees:

Verizon Wireless' Surcharges include charges to recover or help defray costs of taxes and of governmental charges and fees imposed on us, including a Regulatory Charge (which helps defray costs of various regulatory mandates, including government number administration and license fees) and a Federal Universal Service Charge (and, if applicable, a State Universal Service Charge) to recover costs imposed on us by the government to support universal service, and may include other charges also related to our governmental costs. It also includes an Administrative Charge, which helps defray certain costs we incur, currently including (i) charges we, or our agents, pay local telephone companies for delivering calls from our customers to their customers, (ii) fees and assessments on network facilities and service, and (iii) certain costs and charges associated with proceedings related to new cell site construction. Please note that these are Verizon Wireless charges, not taxes. These charges, and what's included, are subject to change from time to time.

So are they hiding the 4g upcharge in these fees and advertizing that 4g is no more than 3g? Does everyone have these $44.69 fees on their new bill? Did you have these $44.69 fees when you were on your old 3g service?

I ask because I'm a new Verizon customer....

 

[Lucidot]

Mine hover right around $6.80 and has for the past 3 billing cycles.

You must have another charge on there for something specific. A phone call will most likely get you a better explanation as to what it is for.

 

[thebra]

I'll be curious to find this out as well. I just switched from ATT and was expecting a slightly lower bill. I know that there are always stupid carrier and govt fees but that seems high.

 

[Odinist]

Check your bill, are you sure you're not seeing the activation charge?

I checked my second month statement (started with VZW a month before the TBolt, switched to the TBolt when it came out) just now, and my data fee is 29.99 (well, it's cheaper because of my corp discount), but yeah, it's what it's supposed to be.

 

[TheDanimal]

Definitely warrants a call to customer service, it also mentioned other charges and credits, which could be activation fess or accessories or even downloads

 

[lamoglinsgal]

Call and have them do a run-through with you. It's most likely prorated/activation charges. The first bill is usually higher.

 

[dyezak]

Check your bill, are you sure you're not seeing the activation charge?
QUOTE]

NICE! I don't see the activation charge listed anywhere so it's probably just hidden in that $44.69. And for a $35 activation fee that would be actual hidden fees of $9.69...not bad.

I will call VZW when I get off work to ensure that's the case.

 

[dyezak]

Updated title to reflect my ignorance!

 

[lamoglinsgal]

Updated title to reflect my ignorance!

LOL! No worries. I've had first bill moments of panic myself.