Verizon to start charging to pay your bill

[stereoeclectic]

Verizon Wireless backs off $2 fee after deluge of digital customer outrage | NJ.com

 

[stereoeclectic]

glad to hear it. pay by phone is a much better option than mailing in a bill.

 

[jmz768]

glad to hear it. pay by phone is a much better option than mailing in a bill.

Auto bill pay is a better option than both. No idea why people would use any other option.

 

[TxGoat]

Auto bill pay is a better option than both. No idea why people would use any other option.

The only problem I hate with Auto bill pay (from the payee's side) is to cancel a payment is next to impossible.

 

[kl68]

And try to fix an error on your account once they already have your money is also next to impossible. Took me almost 6 months to get credit back on an overcharge error that they made.

The only problem I hate with Auto bill pay (from the payee's side) is to cancel a payment is next to impossible.

 

[HookEmHorns*UT*]

This will not be happening. It was announced today that they will not be charging this "convenience" fee!

 

[zuben el genub]

Yeah, the FTC decided to look at the charge, too.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Looking-Into-Verizons-2-Convenience-Fee-117639

 

[AndroidAdvntge]

I just saw the advertisement on the t.v. My greatest sympathy is for all of you Verizon users.

 

[andr01d]

1. Thank you FCC !!

2. I am not a fan of autopay. I want to review the bill to see that it is correct or in the ballpark (without a $2000 roaming charge!!)

3. We all need to fight back this silly $2 fee.

4. This $2 is nothing but their idea/principle sucks.

5. If they really want their money fast, they should do what businesses already do -- give a 2% or 1% discount if the payment is received in the first 5 days.

 

[octoberdana]

So since they won't charge the fee for those who pay a certan way they will just look for another way to gain the lost revenue. We will have some sort of a fee increase.

 

[copestag]

So since they won't charge the fee for those who pay a certan way they will just look for another way to gain the lost revenue. We will have some sort of a fee increase.

exactly!! the only difference will be that the different fee will be applied to everyone instead of just the people who are too irresponsible or incompetent to manage paying their bills

 

[EKhatch]

exactly!! the only difference will be that the different fee will be applied to everyone instead of just the people who are too irresponsible or incompetent to manage paying their bills

So paying my bill online with my card as soon as it is available makes me incompetent and irresponsible?

 

[cmybliss]

exactly!! the only difference will be that the different fee will be applied to everyone instead of just the people who are too irresponsible or incompetent to manage paying their bills

That's an ill informed statement. I, like many people I'm sure, pay my bill on time using my debit card. I like being able to review my charges before I send payment.
The banks made a big push to get everyone using debit cards instead of checks, now all these other companies want to charge us for using them. How much do you want to bet that if we all started sending in checks again, they'd add a "check processing fee".It's corporate greed at work.

 

[kl68]

Simple, then VZ should just cancel the accounts of those "irresponsible or incompetent" subscribers...problem fixed, right? It's corporate greed. Don't know about you but I don't want ANY vendor dipping their dirty hands into my cookie jar automatically every month, especially when I haven't had to the chance to review the charges prior to paying.

I read somewhere someone said something that was interesting, if you have autopay, and God forbid you die, VZ keeps on deducting your monthly subscription automatically. That could amount to hundreds or thousands of dollars for months until someone discovers it. And if you're not the account holder on record (since you're dead) it'll take whoever is in charge of your estate months to cancel it.

exactly!! the only difference will be that the different fee will be applied to everyone instead of just the people who are too irresponsible or incompetent to manage paying their bills

 

[copestag]

yes lets stoke the fire with some extreme paranoia......

hundreds of thousands in overcharges because you died? how much was your monthly bill? a simple 10 minute phone call from ANY relative solves this

overcharges that are impossible to get corrected....... though rare, overccharges and mistakes do happen..... again a simple 10 minute phone call solves this.... now if youre going to get into a cat fight over charges that you dont think are fair then sure its not going to be an easy phone call..... but typically they are correct and the consumer is just being whiney

mature adults can resolve all the paranoid BS excuses .......... theres no reason to pay your bills late........ and those who 'claim' they pay on time but still prefer to call in every month and make a single payment are a very small minority..... I'll do some digging later to find the source but I recall reading sometime last year that something like 65% of all accounts are delinquent on VZW...... THIS has a lot to do with the reason for adding what you would call "greedy" charges.......... and then also consider how many millions of customers VZW has...... if everyone is calling in every month (whether on time or not) to pay their bill, thats a ton of employees they need just to answer billing calls........ forget the tech calls on top of that

so a company wants to save some money and discourage some bad behaviour by YOU..... and all you can do is whine that they are greedy....... remember that in 3 months when they raise the rates for everyone by $5 to pay for all those phone calls...... of course then your response would probably be to send more of those jobs to Habib to save money....... then whine because more jobs are going overseas

YAWN

 

[kl68]

I'm trying to create jobs, not sending them overseas, I need someone to send me my statements and process the checks that I will be sending to them. Isn't that what they want me to do? Why are you mad? I' m only doing what they're asking.

yes lets stoke the fire with some extreme paranoia......

hundreds of thousands in overcharges because you died? how much was your monthly bill? a simple 10 minute phone call from ANY relative solves this

overcharges that are impossible to get corrected....... though rare, overccharges and mistakes do happen..... again a simple 10 minute phone call solves this.... now if youre going to get into a cat fight over charges that you dont think are fair then sure its not going to be an easy phone call..... but typically they are correct and the consumer is just being whiney or ******ed

mature adults can resolve all the paranoid BS excuses .......... theres no reason to pay your bills late........ and those who 'claim' they pay on time but still prefer to call in every month and make a single payment are a very small minority..... I'll do some digging later to find the source but I recall reading sometime last year that something like 65% of all accounts are delinquent on VZW...... THIS has a lot to do with the reason for adding what you would call "greedy" charges.......... and then also consider how many millions of customers VZW has...... if everyone is calling in every month (whether on time or not) to pay their bill, thats a ton of employees they need just to answer billing calls........ forget the tech calls on top of that

so a company wants to save some money and discourage some bad behaviour by YOU..... and all you can do is whine that they are greedy....... remember that in 3 months when they raise the rates for everyone by $5 to pay for all those phone calls...... of course then your response would probably be to send more of those jobs to Habib to save money....... then whine because more jobs are going overseas

YAWN

 

[copestag]

perfect..... send in that paper check and save yourself $2 (if they left the fee)..... what exactly is all the whining about?

 

[kl68]

It contradicts your point about VZ wanting to save money. How is it saving them money when people send it checks for them to process vs people paying electronically every month? It will end up costing them more, the real reason is they want to squeeze more money out of consumers.

And in the previous post I said hundreds OR thousands, not hundreds OF thousands
. And I was relaying a story I read about someone's actual experience.

perfect..... send in that paper check and save yourself $2 (if they left the fee)..... what exactly is all the whining about?

 

[dirkbonn]

It contradicts your point about VZ wanting to save money. How is it saving them money when people send it checks for them to process vs people paying electronically every month? It will end up costing them more, the real reason is they want to squeeze more money out of consumers.

Verizon has to have someone on the payroll to process payments whether the payment is via check or credit card. the differnce arises because the bank charges Verizon a small fee to process a credit card payment whereas no such fee is charged when a check is presented to the bank for payment.

So, if your wireless bill is $200 and you pay by check, Verizon gets $200. If you pay that same bill with a credit card, Verizon gets $198.62. (My figures are a gustimate only and are for demonstration purposes only)

 

[andr01d]

^typically 2.5% to 4% transaction fee to use a credit card. Ouch! Amex and Discover are on the high side, which is why some businesses do not want to accept these two cards.

 

[dan330]

yes... credit card.. does cost about 3%avg.. but is fast and easy .. very little human interaction is needed, so once it is done, it is done.

checks.. wait for mail.. someone has to sort the mail.. enter the check.. double check for errors...store the check for a short period.. then dispose of the paper.
if it bounces, then you have another round of issues.
and of course customer service isues.. the "did you not receive my check, in the mail?"

 

[cmybliss]

Verizon has to have someone on the payroll to process payments whether the payment is via check or credit card. the differnce arises because the bank charges Verizon a small fee to process a credit card payment whereas no such fee is charged when a check is presented to the bank for payment.

So, if your wireless bill is $200 and you pay by check, Verizon gets $200. If you pay that same bill with a credit card, Verizon gets $198.62. (My figures are a gustimate only and are for demonstration purposes only)

This is true, but for as long as I can remember, retailers have agreed to pay this fee in exchange for more business. Convenience for your customer translates to more dollars in your coffers.
You know who's really winning here is the cc companies. They're sitting back watching the consumer and the retailers duke it out while they get paid twice.

 

[dirkbonn]

This is true, but for as long as I can remember, retailers have agreed to pay this fee in exchange for more business. Convenience for your customer translates to more dollars in your coffers.
You know who's really winning here is the cc companies. They're sitting back watching the consumer and the retailers duke it out while they get paid twice.

This "agreement to pay" you're referring to is the contract the retailer signed with the credit card companies which specified a percentage fee they paid to accept credit cards. The more business came from customers that came to your business because you accepted credit cards for payment and another business did not. So if you accepted credit cards you did see an increase in business. But today it's difficult to find a business that doesn't accept Credit cards so it is no longer a selling point for a business, it has become a necessity. As you know now even fast food and movie theaters even accept credit cards and they were some of the last hold outs to accept credit cards.

Some businesses even even raise prices and then offer a discount for cash when selling thier products as a method to recover the fee thay must pay when taking credit cards.

You are correct cmybliss, the real winner is the credit card company because it's a fee the customer never sees and thus doesn't have a reason to complain to them for the higher prices that they ultimately pay.

I'm sure many people have credit cards that give you cash back for using them. Where do you think that money comes from that you're getting back? It's not a gift from the Credit Card company, It's your own money you're getting back. You paid a higher price for whatever you bought with your card, the retailer paid the cerdit card company a fee for processing your credit card, then the credit card company gave you a portion of your own money back because you used thier card.

So, ultimately now companies are going to start looking for ways to recover these fees they are paying that no longer give them an advantage gaining new business. Many have already raised thier prices to cover the fee. (which is a cost of doing business)

But, businesses will always be looking for ways to increase income.... this is just one of them.

Best of luck to all of us,

 

[cmybliss]

This "agreement to pay" you're referring to is the contract the retailer signed with the credit card companies which specified a percentage fee they paid to accept credit cards. The more business came from customers that came to your business because you accepted credit cards for payment and another business did not. So if you accepted credit cards you did see an increase in business. But today it's difficult to find a business that doesn't accept Credit cards so it is no longer a selling point for a business, it has become a necessity. As you know now even fast food and movie theaters even accept credit cards and they were some of the last hold outs to accept credit cards.

Some businesses even even raise prices and then offer a discount for cash when selling thier products as a method to recover the fee thay must pay when taking credit cards.

You are correct cmybliss, the real winner is the credit card company because it's a fee the customer never sees and thus doesn't have a reason to complain to them for the higher prices that they ultimately pay.

I'm sure many people have credit cards that give you cash back for using them. Where do you think that money comes from that you're getting back? It's not a gift from the Credit Card company, It's your own money you're getting back. You paid a higher price for whatever you bought with your card, the retailer paid the cerdit card company a fee for processing your credit card, then the credit card company gave you a portion of your own money back because you used thier card.

So, ultimately now companies are going to start looking for ways to recover these fees they are paying that no longer give them an advantage gaining new business. Many have already raised thier prices to cover the fee. (which is a cost of doing business)

But, businesses will always be looking for ways to increase income.... this is just one of them.

Best of luck to all of us,

Gas stations are notorious for this. I choose to not buy my gas from those stations that engage in this practice. Instead, I go to the one across the street that is always with in a penny or two in price.
I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this point. But thanks for the lively debate.

 

[andr01d]

I just paid mine. They of course didn't charge the $2.
They immediately text messaged my phone saying "blah blah blah applied/paid". And i promptly text messaged back to their server saying "Cool" ha ha i feel silly. Hey if their server wants to txt me i can txt back too!!