Verizon abandons plan to charge $2 for online bill payments

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
After being met with public backlash and potential government scrutiny, Verizon Wireless has abandoned its plans to charge customers a $2 service fee for paying their bill online.



Calling Verizon's reversal "remarkably swift," The New York Times noted that Verizon faced heavy criticism from customers who objected to the $2 fee. Verizon said in a statement that the "convenience fee" was dropped due to customer feedback.



"Verizon Wireless has decided it will not institute the fee for online or telephone single payments that was announced earlier this week," Verizon's statement reads. "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."



The largest carrier in the U.S. initially announced last week that it would charge customers $2 if they used a credit or debit card to make a one-time payment via telephone or Verizon's website. Some people mistakenly believed that the fee would apply to all credit-card-based transactions.



In addition to catching the ire of consumers, Verizon's original plan also prompted scrutiny from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. In a statement, the FCC said it was "concerned about Verizon's actions."



Verizon and Apple teamed up in early 2011, when Apple ended years of iPhone carrier exclusivity in the U.S. with AT&T. Rankings from Consumer Reports released in December revealed that customers felt Verizon offers the best wireless service in the U.S., while AT&T ranked worst.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Wow, breaking news!
  • Reply 2 of 13
    Verizon to charge a $2.00 "whining about convenience fees" fee.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    bwikbwik Posts: 565member
    To offer a "deep thoughts" post, evidently companies were 100% right to say social media is important. A CEO can't commit to a pricing action unless he or she is pretty sure the social media will not bitch-slap them so hard their bell will ring for a week. In some sense, this is quite new for CEOs. So they definitely want to learn how to control this, if at all.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    joelsaltjoelsalt Posts: 827member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bwik View Post


    To offer a "deep thoughts" post, evidently companies were 100% right to say social media is important. A CEO can't commit to a pricing action unless he or she is pretty sure the social media will not bitch-slap them so hard their bell will ring for a week. In some sense, this is quite new for CEOs. So they definitely want to learn how to control this, if at all.



    Strangely enough, Fido, a Canadian Cell provider, charges 2 dollars if you pay via paper transaction (donated to charity) and there is no fee for paying online.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    Someone in their PR department needs to lose a job over this mess...

    Their reasoning for charging a $2 fee was total BS...

    One time Payments and Recurring Payments on a Credit Card cost Verizon the same 2.x% fee...



    I can understand a fee to push paper check and cash payments to credit card, via online but really, to charge for online payments, when every other company in the world is working to move customers to online just sounds stupid!
  • Reply 6 of 13
    ezduzitezduzit Posts: 158member
    what verizon should have done, after their faux pas made them retreat, should be to try and generate some good will. how about doubling the lowest limits on texts. the monthly costs to run an iphone are really harsh.
  • Reply 7 of 13
    ....Verizon did not drop this $2 fee:



    Every single customer should mail their bill/check to them. This would force Verizon to hire hundreds of administrative staff just to open the letters and deposit the checks.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    kent909kent909 Posts: 731member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    "Verizon Wireless has decided it will not institute the fee for online or telephone single payments that was announced earlier this week," Verizon's statement reads. "The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, .



    I really get a kick out of how they say "based on customer feedback", when they really backed off to avoid costly lobbying expenses to deal with a government investigation. Like they actually thought customers would cheer and embrace an opportunity to pay another $2 for an already overpriced service!
  • Reply 9 of 13
    ericblrericblr Posts: 172member
    In many states, including Texas, it is against state law for a company to charge extra for using a credit or debit card. THAT is probably the real reason for them backing down.
  • Reply 10 of 13
    Whenever I hear of a company charging more for online transactions, my first guess is that the place is infected with Windows computers and countless tech support personnel whose jobs need to be financed somehow.



    At those times, I am convinced doing things by hand would be cheaper than hiring and maintaining this infrastructure.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by noexpectations View Post


    ....Verizon did not drop this $2 fee:



    Every single customer should mail their bill/check to them. This would force Verizon to hire hundreds of administrative staff just to open the letters and deposit the checks.



    This is exactly what people need to do, paying online with a credit card cost them far less even with the transaction fee they pay to the CC companies. This is just another example of the greedy being more greedy.



    Way back when ATM's came out and people began to use them more an more, my bank at the time decided they too want to make money on each ATM transaction. When this happen I stop using the ATM an started going back into the bank and using the tellers to withdrawal money. The teller tells me I could simple use the ATM, and the Bank Manager/President was standing there and I say, your correct by using the ATM cost me and using the Teller cost the bank more, so until the fees are dropped at the ATM I will use the teller. I few month later after many people like me began doing the same thing the bank change its position.
  • Reply 12 of 13
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    After being met with public backlash and potential government scrutiny, Verizon Wireless has abandoned its plans to charge customers a $2 service fee for paying their bill online.



    Calling Verizon's reversal "remarkably swift," The New York Times noted that Verizon faced heavy criticism from customers who objected to the $2 fee. Verizon said in a statement that the "convenience fee" was dropped due to customer feedback.



    "Verizon Wireless has decided it will not institute the fee for online or telephone single payments that was announced earlier this week," Verizon's statement reads. "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."



    The largest carrier in the U.S. initially announced last week that it would charge customers $2 if they used a credit or debit card to make a one-time payment via telephone or Verizon's website. Some people mistakenly believed that the fee would apply to all credit-card-based transactions.



    In addition to catching the ire of consumers, Verizon's original plan also prompted scrutiny from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. In a statement, the FCC said it was "concerned about Verizon's actions."



    Verizon and Apple teamed up in early 2011, when Apple ended years of iPhone carrier exclusivity in the U.S. with AT&T. Rankings from Consumer Reports released in December revealed that customers felt Verizon offers the best wireless service in the U.S., while AT&T ranked worst.



    Really? Only a week late with this... Duh !!!!
  • Reply 13 of 13
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by noexpectations View Post


    ....Verizon did not drop this $2 fee:



    Every single customer should mail their bill/check to them. This would force Verizon to hire hundreds of administrative staff just to open the letters and deposit the checks.



    http://randomfunnypicture.com/funny-...verizon-check/
Sign In or Register to comment.