Verizon Wireless to charge customers $2 per month to pay bills starting Jan 2012
December 29, 2011 29
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There is no such thing as a free lunch. Apparently there is also no such thing as hard-working, honest Americans paying their monthly phone bill without being charged for the privilege. Starting January 15, 2012 Verizon Wireless is going to charge their customers $2 per month for anyone that pays their phone bill online or via the phone. (This is $2 per bill — not $2 per line, for those that have family plans.) The only way to avoid this $2 surcharge is to either signup for Autopay or pay via electronic check.
For what it is worth, Verizon Wireless isn’t the only one doing this. Sprint and T-Mobile USA have already done something similar; last year Sprint started charging customers $4.99 unless they signed up for automatic payments and T-Mobile started charging customers $1 per month for receiving a paper bill, so Verizon is sort of late to the party. Still, though — getting charged for paying your damn bill? Forget net neutrality; how about dont-charge-customers-for-paying-their-bills neutrality, first.
As a conciliation prize, this new fee most likely will trigger that sweet clause in your contract with Verizon that states you can break contract and stop using Verizon Wireless services without paying an Early Termination Fee if Verizon changes the terms of the contract. Tacking on an extra fee may or may not be considered a change in the terms of contract — only time will tell. Be sure to let us know if you are able to quit Verizon without paying ETF because of this.
Feel free to discuss in the comments below.
[via Engadget]
But this whole thing brings up the question of whether a biller should be able to charge more to customers who choose more expensive ways (to the biller) to pay. Or, to put it the way billers would prefer, can the biller give discounts to customer who pay in cheap ways?
For example, here in Massachusetts I believe there is a law that a merchant has to charge the same whether payment is by cash or by credit card. This sounds very decent and favorable to consumers, but there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Merchants have to adjust their prices upward to cover the extra costs to them (i.e., fees charged by credit card companies) of purchases made by credit card. So if I go to a restaurant where most people use the convenience of paying by credit card, and I pay cash (which I prefer to do, since I’d rather the money went to the merchant than the credit card company), I am subsidizing the credit card customers.
Of course I’m not talking about profiteering, but about putting the extra costs of convenience on the people who benefit from that convenience and incur those costs.
And yes, I think this has been a fine wake-up call that people should shop wisely for their phone service. Where there are alternatives this is the surest safeguard against profiteering.
@James:
I can understand your anger over this, goodness knows we get enough extra charges from everywhere. There’s a little matter of setting the record straight here though. I used to work for T-Mobile.
The extra fee mentioned is for hard copy paper bills only. Per the management it’s an attempt to reduce not only the expenses of printing and mailing but the pollution involved with paper as well. When this was announced it was widely advertised and anyone who already had the billing for free had the option to call in and have that service continued FOR FREE. I remember about 4 months of setting up customers for that. At that time many people did leave T-Mobile over it, but nobody is doing so now. Even the option to continue the service for free for existing customers can’t be added to the account now, though those that took advantage of it still have it to the best of my knowledge.
T-Mobile doesn’t charge for online or automated phone system payments either. You do get charged a service fee if you speak to a rep to make a payment, that’s all. In all you can find your account balance one of 6 different ways and there are two ways to see your bill electronically, email and online, for free. So aside from the fact that they charge you for a paper bill, with it’s related extra expenses, T-Mobile is doing exactly what you said you considered fair. Hope this clears the air a little.
Does anyone knows if because of the new fee can I break contract with verizon?
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