dotd

The non-partisan site that calls people out for being fools

Posts for Tag: BS

Verizon wants to charge customers $2 fee to pay bills online, then buckles under bad press

For some reason, on December 29, 2011, Verizon thought it would be a good idea to start charging a fee to pay your bill online if you don't sign up for their auto-payment plan.

Verizon Wireless offers customers numerous free and simple payment options and we encourage customers to use those options. Starting January 15, a new $2 payment convenience fee will be instituted for customers who make single bill payments online or by telephone... The fee will help allow us to continue to support these single bill payment options in these channels and is designed to address costs incurred by us for only those customers who choose to make single bill payments in alternate payment channels (online, mobile, telephone). It is waived for those who pay by electronic check or enroll in AutoPay...

source

Personally, I don't like auto-pay because if I have an issue with a bill, I'd rather not pay until I get it resolved. But the issue here is that Verizon is claiming this new fee will help them "address costs incurred" to support it. I'm sorry, but I'm already paying you $100 a month. You need another $2/mo just to take that payment? It's absurd, and insulting this is their excuse.

The next day, December 30, they sent out a new press release, reneging the fee.

Verizon Wireless has decided it will not institute the fee for online or telephone single payments that was announced earlier this week.

The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions. The company continues to encourage customers to take advantage of the numerous simple and convenient payment methods it provides.

“At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time,” said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless.

source

Uh huh. Sure.