Verizon to start charging to pay your bill

Merged duplicate threads

daddyd302 said:

Is this in our contract? If they want to charge us extra that was never mention in the original contract, can't we get out of the contract?

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I don't think this will qualify as a change in the contract since there are still options available to pay without the fee. Not to mention when they had the regulatory fees change back in July they just waived the fees for the remainder of the contract for those who tried to get out of their contracts if this does qualify they will more than likely do something about the same.

kl68 said:

And another thing, I didn't see them give me credit for switching to online billing only and saving them money by not having to print out my bill and mailing it to me. I'm going to switch it back so they'll have to send me the hard copy of bill.

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When will some of you realize that companies don't pay anything? the customers of the company pays for everything. For example, when the government raises corporate taxes, the corperation doesn't pay the additional taxes owed, the companies customers do with raised prices. Same thing happens when they have to pay postage and printing fees to send out paper statements. They just raise prices to cover the cost.

Remember, companies are in business to make a profit. If they can't raise thier prices to a point where they make a profit, they close thier doors and cease to do business.

If it costs Verizon a couple bucks to process credit cards presented for payment, they either raise prices across the board to cover those fees, or they charge a fee to the credit card customer to cover the cost. I myself prefer they charge the person that incurs the charge rather than everyone. Hence the $2 fee to customers that pay by credit card. Leave the customer that pays by check, (either electonicly or by mail) alone. That method of payment incurs no additional cost to process.

My thoughts on the subject on a lazy Friday morning.....

Verizon Wireless to charge $2 for one-time payment (See article on Yahoo News)

I am completely disgusted by the GREED of Verizon and other big companies. I feel their wireless charges are absurd and all they want is MORE MONEY.

Well, I for one am sick of it. I have been a long time customer but this is the LAST STRAW! If Verizon implements this I will cancel my Verizon Accounts, PERIOD!

I don't know how many others are fed up with these large companies taking advantage of their customers, but it has to STOP! You saw what happened to NETFLIX when they pulled their GREEDY little stunt. They lost nearly 50% of Subscribers.

We all need to do the same thing with Verizon and any other company that thinks they can take advantage of the poor consumers.

Please send an e-mail to Verizon Wireless Customer Support and voice your opposition to the crap. Then, if they go ahead with this fee, CANCEL SERVICE!!!

I wonder if the change in fees applies to everyone or just new contracts and if it applies to all accounts then do I have the right to cancel service without an ETF?

GaryGoldberg said:

Verizon Wireless to charge $2 for one-time payment (See article on Yahoo News)

I am completely disgusted by the GREED of Verizon and other big companies. I feel their wireless charges are absurd and all they want is MORE MONEY.

Well, I for one am sick of it. I have been a long time customer but this is the LAST STRAW! If Verizon implements this I will cancel my Verizon Accounts, PERIOD!

I don't know how many others are fed up with these large companies taking advantage of their customers, but it has to STOP! You saw what happened to NETFLIX when they pulled their GREEDY little stunt. They lost nearly 50% of Subscribers.

We all need to do the same thing with Verizon and any other company that thinks they can take advantage of the poor consumers.

Please send an e-mail to Verizon Wireless Customer Support and voice your opposition to the crap. Then, if they go ahead with this fee, CANCEL SERVICE!!!

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Gary makes an excellent point. This is how the system is supposed to work. If you aren't happy with the way a company operates and the prices thay charge, you don't do business with them. You give a company that does business more the way you prefer your hard earned dollars.

That way, company #1 (in this case Verizon Wireless) either changes the way they do business or they do business without you as a customer. Maybe later they change the way they does business and you come back, but maybe you don't. That's a gamble they take whenever they change the way they do business. i.e. raise prices or something else.

Again, this is how business competition is supposed to work.

Best of luck to everyone.....

Just canceled my paperless statement today, many people are also doing it to send Big Red a message. I will also send them a paper check to process. The post office will make money, the recycling plant will make money, Dunder Mifflin will make money, everybody wins except for Big Red. I want my 3 pound 20-30 page statements (I text and call alot) sent to me by USPS.

In the words of Roman Moronie, "you fargin iceholes". If you guys haven't seen the movie Johnny Dangerously you should watch it, funny stuff. Roman Moronie's speech - YouTube

Companies don't pay? Really? Have you seen what happened to Netflix? They're paying big time aren't they? Did the CEO of Netflix just jumped to run Verizon or something?

I perfer VZ not charge anyone for "their" convenience, not ours. What's more convenient, for me to pay them electronically every month or would they rather process a paper check?

dirkbonn said:

When will some of you realize that companies don't pay anything? the customers of the company pays for everything. For example, when the government raises corporate taxes, the corperation doesn't pay the additional taxes owed, the companies customers do with raised prices. Same thing happens when they have to pay postage and printing fees to send out paper statements. They just raise prices to cover the cost.

Remember, companies are in business to make a profit. If they can't raise thier prices to a point where they make a profit, they close thier doors and cease to do business.

If it costs Verizon a couple bucks to process credit cards presented for payment, they either raise prices across the board to cover those fees, or they charge a fee to the credit card customer to cover the cost. I myself prefer they charge the person that incurs the charge rather than everyone. Hence the $2 fee to customers that pay by credit card. Leave the customer that pays by check, (either electonicly or by mail) alone. That method of payment incurs no additional cost to process.

My thoughts on the subject on a lazy Friday morning.....

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Great Idea! I just cancelled my Paperless Billing option too. Let these Money Hungry Bastards pay for their GREED!

Awesome, these guys need a Netflix punch in the mouth.

GaryGoldberg said:

Great Idea! I just cancelled my Paperless Billing option too. Let these Money Hungry Bastards pay for their GREED!

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I guess you can walk into a local branch and pay with cash...or will they accept cash money anymore?

set up autopay. the fee does not apply to that.

it's your choice whether to do business with them if you are not satisfied. walk away if you wish. i'm quite sure somewhere in the small print in the contract(which you likely didn't read) there is a stipulation that they are able to change fees as they please as long as they notify you.

it's their service, they can do what they want with it.

once again, speak with your wallet. it's not like they are the only cell provider out there. i'm quite sure another provider would be glad to take your money(make sure you read their small print).

GaryGoldberg said:

Great Idea! I just cancelled my Paperless Billing option too. Let these Money Hungry Bastards pay for their GREED!

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Ok, let me throw this out there and see if it rings a bell....

Do you remember when you had a checking account at a bank, you always got your cancelled checks back with your checking account statement? If you're 25 to 30 years old, of course you do. You also remember the push to get you to forgo getting your checks back with the offer of getting an electronic image of any cancelled check if you needed it. The banks next move, for the customers who still wanted all thier cancelled checks back was to charge them a small fee for the priviledge. (My bank charged $1.00/month) This was in effect for a number of years. The banks next move (for those who STILL wanted their cancelled checks returned) was to increase the fee to $2.00/month. It was at this time that I relented and cried "Uncle". So I don't know what my bank has done to those who continued to want thier checks back.

The reason I told this story was to predict what Verizon will do with customers who want a paper statement each month. This won't happen overnight by any means but over the next few years I will say that Verizon will begin charging customers to receive paper statements. They already are appealing to peoples sense of going "green" and saving trees to get you to get your statements via email. But the holdouts for paper statements will be further enticed to "go green" and get thier statements electonically by being required to pay a small fee to continue to receive paper statements. This fee will be increased slowly over a number of years untill all customers get thier statements via email.

I don't work for Verizon and never have so I have no inside infomation on this subject. This is just my educated guess of what will happen....

Best of luck to all of us.....

jkc120 said:

Just saw this comment on the droid-life comments:



Since I use a saved checking account with routing #/etc, I guess it'll remain free for me. They seem to be only charging for debit or credit charging.

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This is incorrect according to what the CS Rep told me when I called this morning. I also have it set up in this manner and they said I would be charged the fee........So much for convenience.

I saw this on the NBC morning news and they basically headlined that Verizon was going to start charging you for electronic payment, period. Nice omission of the all the facts here. After they reiterated the same thing a few times by just re-arranging what they were saying, they finally slipped in the fact that this is for one-time credit and debit transactions. And they proceeded to say when contacted by them, Verizon responded that the reason autopay would remain free for all customers regardless of payment method is because it guarantees they get paid on time. Sounds to me like they're trying to lower operating costs associated with late payments. Anyway, I don't understand the uproar over this. Their are easy ways to avoid this fee and maintain electronic payment unlike the other things they've done recently like the elimination of unlimited data or simple service fee increases.

kl68 said:

Just canceled my paperless statement today, many people are also doing it to send Big Red a message. I will also send them a paper check to process. The post office will make money, the recycling plant will make money, Dunder Mifflin will make money, everybody wins except for Big Red. I want my 3 pound 20-30 page statements (I text and call alot) sent to me by USPS.

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And then they'll start charging you $5 for detailed billing - LOL. Next thing you know, you'll be getting a bill postage due with a single piece of paper with your account number and the amount due, and they'll stop including a return envelope. In the end, you'll lose. Why bother trying so hard to swim upstream?

go to store.. pay with nickles and pennies... a convenience fee

BofA: "They'll understand what we're doing -- understand we have a right to make a profit," BofA CEO Brian Moynihan stated in October. But by November, the company retreated and dropped the charge.

Netflix: "In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success," wrote Hastings, who went on to criticize the way the pricing change got communicated to subscribers. "We have done very well for a long time by steadily improving our service, without doing much CEO communication. Inside Netflix I say, "Actions speak louder than words," and we should just keep improving our service," he said.

kyler13 said:

I saw this on the NBC morning news and they basically headlined that Verizon was going to start charging you for electronic payment, period. Nice omission of the all the facts here. After they reiterated the same thing a few times by just re-arranging what they were saying, they finally slipped in the fact that this is for one-time credit and debit transactions. And they proceeded to say when contacted by them, Verizon responded that the reason autopay would remain free for all customers regardless of payment method is because it guarantees they get paid on time. Sounds to me like they're trying to lower operating costs associated with late payments. Anyway, I don't understand the uproar over this. Their are easy ways to avoid this fee and maintain electronic payment unlike the other things they've done recently like the elimination of unlimited data or simple service fee increases.


And then they'll start charging you $5 for detailed billing - LOL. Next thing you know, you'll be getting a bill postage due with a single piece of paper with your account number and the amount due, and they'll stop including a return envelope. In the end, you'll lose. Why bother trying so hard to swim upstream?

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You know what "guarantees they get paid on time"? Late fees. I don't want to incur it so I always pay my bills on time.

I always swim upstream and I don't follow the herd, and I tell me kids to do the same. You can take it lying down from Verizon if you want, but I act when something doesn't sit right with me. I dropped BofA when they announced the debit fees, I canceled Netflix when they increased their prices, and I'll switch carriers if VZ follows through with this. You got it wrong, in the end VZ will loose because consumers have choices.

kl68 said:

You know what "guarantees they get paid on time"? Late fees. I don't want to incur it so I always pay my bills on time.

I always swim upstream and I don't follow the herd, and I tell me kids to do the same. You can take it lying down from Verizon if you want, but I act when something doesn't sit right with me. I dropped BofA when they announced the debit fees, I canceled Netflix when they increased their prices, and I'll switch carriers if VZ follows through with this. You got it wrong, in the end VZ will loose because consumers have choices.

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From a bigger business sense, late fees don't adequately compensate for the hit on monthly cash flow for the company. The issue is trying to steer customers towards something that will help mitigate this issue. You could call it a profit making scheme, but the fact that anyone can avoid this fee easily doesn't make it guaranteed income for Verizon by any means.

Swimming upstream is not the same as not following the herd. There's nothing wrong with thinking for yourself and making your own decisions, but I would hope you'd also tell your kids to choose their battles wisely. I'd save the militant rebellion for unavoidable fee and rate hikes, or across-the-board paring down of features. Or how about the pricing increase on premium devices from $199 to $299? Note that Netflix and BofA were imposing fees on everyone indiscriminately and the actions you took in those cases I don't disagree with.

To close, I'm not quite sure what you would suggest I do to stand up to Verizon for something that is transparent in my case. The convenience fee doesn't apply to me. So how exactly am I taking it lying down? Should I call and complain on your behalf? Should I take extra steps to make it more difficult for Verizon at my own expense?

Apparently Verizon is too stupid to have noticed the excreta maelstrom that rained down on the banks for their $5 debit card fee.

I will do my best to bring them up to speed.

I've just posted on their FB page AND sent an email to their Exec VP that **the very first time** they access me ANY charge to process a payment **that wasn't so detailed in my contract with them** I will consider that a contract voidable action on their part.

I suggest others do the same.

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Netflix, BofA, VZ... the same principle applies, stop corporate greed and no stupid fee charges for ANYONE, whether you're impacted by it or not. I'm not doing this just because it'll benefit me ($2/month is immaterial) but to send a message to Big Red. The actions that I took with BofA and Netflix and the collective actions of other consumers worked. At the end of the day we'll see who blinks first, VZ or consumers.

kyler13 said:

From a bigger business sense, late fees don't adequately compensate for the hit on monthly cash flow for the company. The issue is trying to steer customers towards something that will help mitigate this issue. You could call it a profit making scheme, but the fact that anyone can avoid this fee easily doesn't make it guaranteed income for Verizon by any means.

Swimming upstream is not the same as not following the herd. There's nothing wrong with thinking for yourself and making your own decisions, but I would hope you'd also tell your kids to choose their battles wisely. I'd save the militant rebellion for unavoidable fee and rate hikes, or across-the-board paring down of features. Or how about the pricing increase on premium devices from $199 to $299? Note that Netflix and BofA were imposing fees on everyone indiscriminately and the actions you took in those cases I don't disagree with.

To close, I'm not quite sure what you would suggest I do to stand up to Verizon for something that is transparent in my case. The convenience fee doesn't apply to me. So how exactly am I taking it lying down? Should I call and complain on your behalf? Should I take extra steps to make it more difficult for Verizon at my own expense?

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There are so many other options for paying your bill that don't involve the fee that nobody should be getting so bent out shape over this.

That's correct, now I'll send them a paper check if that's more convenient for them. The thing is online payment was mutually beneficial for both the consumer and VZ, but now they want to charge a fee for it.

FCC looking into Verizon Wireless $2 fee

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The telecommunications regulator is looking into a Verizon Wireless decision to charge $2 for one-time online and telephone bill payments.
"On behalf of American consumers, we're concerned about Verizon's actions and are looking into the matter," an official for the Federal Communications Commission said on Friday.
The day before, Verizon Wireless had said it would start charging the $2 fee on January 15, causing a storm of criticism from customers and industry commentators.

jmz768 said:

There are so many other options for paying your bill that don't involve the fee that nobody should be getting so bent out shape over this.

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$2 x 12 months x 1million (small % of their customer base) = $24million.. for doing what?

Fox news just reported, verizon is scrapping its plans to charge the $2 fee.