Verizon charging me to pay my bill?

[CoolBreeze]

The largest wireless carrier in the United States, Verizon Wireless, is going to start implementing a $2 convenience fee on payments made over the phone and online.

Customers who pay by electronic check (ACH) and those that enroll in AutoPay using any payment method won't have to worry about the fee.

However, if you are one of the old school folks that like to pay by phone or if you for some reason like paying your bills online every month without the use of AutoPay, be prepared to fork over some extra cash.

News of the convenience fee comes shortly after Verizon experienced three of data outages across the United States in December alone.


http://www.dailytech.com/Quick+Note+Ver ... e23630.htm

[lastone]

AEP does the same thing. They want you to "sign up", if not, mail it in or pay a third party fee.
There used to be regulations on these bastards.
That will be $5 please.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Another trick they use is factoring in "payment received dates" ... an ugly little stunt that serves as yet another hidden revenue producer. You don't find out about it until your back is against the wall.

For example, my bill is due on January 5. I get paid on January 4 through direct deposit. On January 4, after verifying I have funds in my account, I log on to pay my balance online. Oops! Can't have that money transferred on January 4 or even January 5 -- which is the bill's due date. The online payment program tells me the earliest they can allow my payment to be accepted is January 7, and yes, you'll eat the late fee.

Gasoline credit cards are bad about doing this, as is AEP and a few more traditional credit card companies. It's utter bullshit, because internet transactions are (or at least should be) instantaneous. If I can sit in front of a computer in my underwear at 2:00 am and buy a used bicycle horn on eBay from some dude in Walla Walla, Washington and PayPal transfers the sale price and shipping from my bank account to the seller's account immediately, then some corporate monster like AEP, AT&T or Marathon/Speedway can do the same damn thing.

And yes, Verizon has screwing people down to a science. Been there, done that.

[Jay Nunley]

Much like Ohio State, fuck Verizon.

[AmpedNow]

Left them 2 years ago and never looked back.

AT&T isn't much better in some aspects. But their WV coverage is far superior. 3G is finally popping up everywhere.

[lastone]

5:20 PM 12/30..........Verizon announces they are NOT going to go ahead with the fee!

[CoolBreeze]

This seems like a great way to get millions in free publicity.

Maybe a radio station should try it.... say Rock 105.

They could let it leak out that they will be moving to an all Christian Rock format.

[Hoosier Daddy]

This seems like a great way to get millions in free publicity.

Doing something really stupid that wrecked your public image worked for Lindsay Lohan.



No, wait.
Nevermind.