Verizon is playing with fire.

[Rafagon]

The more I learn about Verizon, the more I hate them. They're not my provider, and some of their recent actions guarantee that they never will be. Here are some things to think about if you use Verizon. The first in my list is brand new to me, the other two I've known about for a few days.

Domestic Violence PSA: Boycott Verizon for Portraying All Men as Abusive Monsters and All Boys as Potential Abusive Monsters: http://www.shrink4men.com/2011/12/02/domestic-violence-psa-boycott-verizon-for-portraying-all-men-as-monsters-and-all-boys-as-potential-monsters/

Verizon To Charge “Convenience” Fee For Payments Made Online Or Via Phone Starting January 15th [Rant]: http://www.cultofAndroid.com/1439/verizon-to-charge-convenience-fee-for-payments-made-online-or-via-phone-starting-january-15th-rant/

With Month's Third Outage, Is Verizon Still 'Most Reliable?': http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/29/technology/verizon_4g_outage/index.htm

I hope you find this small collection informative. All are very recent events. Feel free to comment and/or provide more examples of Verizon's spreading of misinformation and their lack of responsibility.

 

[MuddyPaws]

I watched that video....I don't see anywhere in that video where it says all men are abusive monsters or all boys are potential monsters. Did you watch the video? It says boys that are abused are more likely to be abusers.

 

[IceCold357]

So Verizon customers have to pay Verizon in order to pay their bill. SMH.


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[Rugaby]

So Verizon customers have to pay Verizon in order to pay their bill. SMH.


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This isn't uncommon in a lot of businessses. Not talking just about cell phone companies either. A lot of places require you to pay a connivence fee depending on your method of payment.
It cost companies money to allow their customers to use credit cards as payment methods. They actually lose money by allowing that but is worth the trade off to keep customers happy. If you notice many places have a minimum purchase amount for you to use your credit card. Specifically has stations. Visa charges $1.10 per transaction for all transactions. That number goes down when you have 15,000 transactions a month but doesn't go down by much.
That's a $1.10 every swipe of the card that businesss has to pay.
Verizon charging two dollars when you choose to pay per your phone is them trying to get some money back. It's still free of you pay by mail or at a Verizon authorized location.

 

[Rafagon]

That's a $1.10 every swipe of the card that businesss has to pay.
Verizon charging two dollars when you choose to pay per your phone is them trying to get some money back. It's still free of you pay by mail or at a Verizon authorized location.

I wasn't aware of the $1.10 figure, so $2 I guess is their way of making this retroactive. Eventually, the pesky credit card customers will pay for all the months they got away with paying their bill without a fee.

Also, Verizon is waiving the $2 fee for customers who enroll on autopay even if they use a credit card. I guess they're banking on their customers not calling in to dispute a charge after they see their bill if the customer thinks "Oh, well, it's already paid for, and such a small amount isn't worth being put on hold for."

Verizon and the others are already ripping people off, for example, with text messaging. Even if you're a heavy-duty texter, you probably don't send anywhere near 1 MB of information per month via text. Maybe if you send a WHOLE LOT of picture messages, you might. Compare what they charge you for your text plan vs. what they charge you for data, and it becomes very easy to see how texting is a ripoff. This alone more than makes up for what they spend on credit card fees.


Sent from your momma.

 

[Rafagon]

I watched that video....I don't see anywhere in that video where it says all men are abusive monsters or all boys are potential monsters. Did you watch the video? It says boys that are abused are more likely to be abusers.

When I tried to watch the video, I got a message that it was no longer available. So I very much had to take the article's word for it. The article was very explicit about what happened in the video, but I had no way to verify it. I'll give it another shot!


Sent from your momma.

 

[Rugaby]

Verizon and the others are already ripping people off, for example, with text messaging. Even if you're a heavy-duty texter, you probably don't send anywhere near 1 MB of information per month via text. Maybe if you send a WHOLE LOT of picture messages, you might. Compare what they charge you for your text plan vs. what they charge you for data, and it becomes very easy to see how texting is a ripoff. This alone more than makes up for what they spend on credit card fees.
.

Last I checked owning a cell phone and having service through Verizon or whomever is a privilege. Certainly not a right. If customers aren't happy with the $2 or feel they pay to much for text messaging they can switch carriers or not have a carrier at all.

 

[katelynneemma]

Some credit card companies charge the retailer a percent of what you spend. That's the reason most places offer their own "store brand" card. The percentages for them are traditionally less if it's not MasterCard, discover etc. Also the reason a lot of gas stations offer x cents off per gallon if you pay cash. Still cheaper then processing a card.

 

[MuddyPaws]

When I tried to watch the video, I got a message that it was no longer available. So I very much had to take the article's word for it. The article was very explicit about what happened in the video, but I had no way to verify it. I'll give it another shot!


Sent from your momma.

I looked it up on youtube. It's nothing like the article says. IMO

 

[Rafagon]

Last I checked owning a cell phone and having service through Verizon or whomever is a privilege. Certainly not a right. If customers aren't happy with the $2 or feel they pay to much for text messaging they can switch carriers or not have a carrier at all.

That is very true, but at least the FCC seems interested in Verizon's latest move:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/30/verizon-to-add-2-convenience-charge-despite-network-outages/

Which makes me happy, because companies sometimes like to go a little overboard with what they charge for the privileges they offer their customers, sometimes simply because not enough people make a fuss about it.

 

[IceCold357]

Looks like the FCC is looking into this "convenience" fee.

Now it looks like Verizon is backtracking and won't institute the $2.00 charge.

http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=9554

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[CanadianNemo]

Just got an update from CNN that they scrapped the $2 fee citing "customer feedback". Excuse my langauge, but - no sh*t, Sherlock.

 

[Vonwachtstain]

Verizon announced that they are scrapping this idea citing customer dissatisfaction.

*I am late

 

[Bennyboy]

Of course, Netflix probably called them, or bank or America.

 

[Rafagon]

That's great news, I'd rather see the $2 in any one of our pockets rather than theirs, despite not being a customer of theirs. It's great to see that this was nipped in the bud. One point for all of us!


Sent from your momma.

 

[Rafagon]

Of course, Netflix probably called them, or bank or America.

Yeah, right?! Their timing was horrible, what with their outages and all! I think "Customer Dissatisfaction" is an understatement.


Sent from your momma.

 

[Iloveiphones]

I know our school has a electronic lunch money deposit system and they have a $3 charge. But yes, I wasn't very happy about three and I was afraid AT&T would start it too.