Verizon To Pay $25M For Years of 'Mystery Fees'

Ponca City writes "The Washington Post reports that the FCC has reached a record $25 million settlement with Verizon Wireless over the company's wrongly charging subscribers 'mystery' Internet fees over the past several years — the largest settlement in FCC history. With the action, Verizon Wireless's total costs associated with false data fees reached $77.8 million, one of the largest payouts for false business practices in the communications services industry. 'People shouldn't find mystery fees when they open their phone bills — and they certainly shouldn't have to pay for services they didn't want and didn't use,' says FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. 'In these rough economic times, every $1.99 counts.' Verizon Wireless said in a news release that its overcharges were inadvertent. 'We accept responsibility for those errors, and apologize to our customers who received accidental data charges on their bills.'"

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3 Good Reasons Why You Don’t Need A Cell Pho

[Anonymous Coward]

Do I even need a cell phone at all?

              I mean, I’m paying $50 a month for a phone I rarely, if ever use. And even if I switch to a “Pay As You Go” plan, I’m still going to have to buy a new phone (mine is dead; I’m paying $50 a month for a dead phone) So, why bother? Why not just get one of those cheap “emergency phones” that give you 5 or 10 minutes of talk time and leave it at that? The idea, when I had it, seemed so radical, and so fringe, that I had to mull it over a few days to get used to it. I mean, who doesn’t have a cell phone? Would I spontaneously combust if I cancelled my plan without getting another?

        This is why I’m offering up 3 reasons why canceling your cell phone plan might be a good idea.

Now, I fully realize that many people, especially parents with children, consider their cell phone to be a crucial part of their life. And admittedly if I had children, I would not even think of giving up my phone.

For the rest of you who aren’t as attached to your cell phones, here we go:

3 Reasons You Should Cancel Your Cell Phone Plan

1. You Can Save A Lot Of Money

I know this is the most obvious reason, but I couldn’t leave it out.

I fork over $50 every month to Verizon. If I cancel my cell phone entirely, that will save me $600 every year. How much would you save without a cell phone bill? How much would you save without all the extra “fees” of going over your minutes, texting, watching TV, and everything else? The number might be staggering

2. Quality of Life

If you use your cell phone so you can be available once you leave work, then this means you’re working more every day and probably not getting paid for it. Remember this novel idea, years ago, when you worked while you were at work, and then didn’t work when you left?

I know, it’s a fascinating concept that seems almost too good to be true

All joking aside, however, maybe this is an idea we really need to explore more. I mean, what’s wrong with not being reachable 24/7? Don’t you think it would be liberating not being tied to a cell phone? Wouldn’t it be a bit fun to be, well, on your own?

3. Health

We’ve probably all heard of the cases of people who got tumors in their brain that were shaped like a cell phone. And while it’s easy to pass this off, it still begs the question: do we really know if cell phones are doing us harm?

I mean, last year the FDA was certain that the BPA chemical in plastic bottles was completely safe. Now, they’re not so sure.

Years ago, the tobacco industry swore on a stack of Bibles that cigarettes were completely harmless. Now? Yikes.

I’m certainly not advocating we go around like Chicken Little, afraid of everything, but if you’re thinking of trying a life sans cellphone, then this could be the best reason to kick the habit. Because really, we just don’t know how safe they really are.

  Edit: there's also the benefit to mental health that comes from enjoying your quiet time by yourself and the people you actually care about without being bothered by others.
Edit Part Two: And, at risk of sounding paranoid, it is REALLY easy to track people's movements and activities with a cell phone. They are also easier to tap and/or crack than landlines, so you can spy on people remotely with their own phones as an audio and video recording device.

  article reposted from: http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2008/11/3-good-reasons-why-you-dont-need-a-cell-phone/

Re:An insult of a fine

[paganizer]

I've also got family share, with 5 lines; I just logged in to Verizon, and all my lines except 1, the one I have "unlimited data" on, have data charges. and those 4 other lines have data blocked.
1 of those lines is my mom's emergency phone, which has never had a text sent or received on it, at least not in the last 13 months; she doesn't do that sort of thing.
She also is being billed for 3 "premium" SMS messages this month...

Not counting the premium SMS thing, every month I get data charges on those blocked phones, even on phones that never made it out of the glovebox for long, long periods.

Their denial is sort of humorous.

Unfortunately for me, they have the only towers in my area.

my apologies if this is a dupe.