Verizon Backtracks On $2 Convenience Fee

Velcroman1 writes with a followup to yesterday's news that Verizon would be implementing a $2 'convenience fee' for certain online and phone-based bill payments. In addition to dealing with outrage from customers, Verizon also felt resistance from the Federal Communications Commission, who decided they would investigate the matter. Today, in a brief press release, Verizon announced that they've canceled their plans for the new fee in response to customer feedback.

Comments

Big Red Will Still Get Their 2 bucks

[greyline]

They may have backtracked on this "convenience fee", but Verizon will still get their $2 from their customers, just not as obviously.

Saw This Coming

[kaellinn18]

When are these idiots going to realize that bullshit charges like this aren't going to fly anymore? First Bank of America with their ridiculous ATM card fee and now Verizon with this. Consumers are finally waking up, and they're tired of what basically amounts to theft.

Re:Why all the hostility against a la carte pricin

[dgatwood]

Yes. This fee screws the people who can least afford it. People who pay their bill online or by phone on a one-off basis are usually the people who are struggling to pay that bill at all. By charging those folks an extra fee, Verizon basically said, "Screw the poor." To which I say, "Screw Verizon."

Sure, those folks pose a higher risk of non-payment. That doesn't mean Verizon has the right to discriminate against them, and it certainly doesn't mean Verizon is justified in charging them extra fees that increase the risk of non-payment. They're basically starting to act like credit card companies, and need to be dealt with in the same way that we dealt with them—with harsh federal regulations that punish such behavior. It's really the only way to deal with companies that are so big that they feel unthreatened by competition.

Re:Don't you love asshats

[Renraku]

Auto-pay is hilarious. All my friends have had trouble with it but continue to use it. "Oops, my mistake!" they say after they plunder your bank account for $500 because they billed it multiple times. "Here's your $500 back, less the bill you owed..and you're still in the red because your bank hit you with a couple of overdraft charges!"