FCC Asks Verizon About That $1.99 Mystery Data Fee > How about this classic?

How about this classic?

How about they have idiots programming their billing systems and can't figure out how to not charge users even though they told Verizon to disable online data access. And their phones programming allows users to turn on data by accident by picking a wrong menu option.

It might be, at least to begin with. Verizon is abysmal when it comes to their billing systems. But it doesn't explain why the problems don't get resolved.

There are legitimate questions here about how the volume of these errors suffered by Verizon customers, be they this $1.99 fee, or the phantom FiOS TV fees that enjoy popping up -- they make quite a tidy profit off of their own dysfunction by customers who don't examine their bill with a fine-toothed comb.

I mean, this is a company that can wire 40% of its footprint nationally with fiber to the home in three to four years, but they can't bill their customers accurately?

reply to vzwcon
Or, "it's just business".

reply to fAcEtIOUs
It is the crappy vendors they use for their software design who seem to have no clue. Also, it takes money to fix the issue...and anytime it costs money to resolve an issue Verizon will not fix it untill they are forced to by the Government/Regulatory Bodies.

reply to Rob
In these mega corps like VZW, there's probably a group that defined what the programmers were to put into the system, and somewhere along the way (either programmer, or audit)a logic step is missing, and due to the programmer / business relationship, it is stuck in a 'NMP' finger pointing.

Eg. Programmer put in code that any messages/data access requires a $1.99 fee / month.
VZW sends out a text message monthly for 'free' with your balance.
User gets charged $1.99 data fee, but no txt message fee (as text is disabled).

Need some upper/middle management to step in and take care of the issue and eat crow.

reply to Dolgan
It takes a macro, not money, to remove a charge from all user's accounts.. and, if it does cost money, it's a very small amount that they can dip into their profits to correct - aka, "operating expense"..

reply to en102
I would imagine that's exactly where it's starts, but if you read the insider quoted in the last Pogue column, it's highly inferred that at this point Verizon's fully aware of the problem -- they just don't want to fix it because it generates millions in additional revenues annually. For doing nothing (well I guess they have to incur their own support costs). Nice profit margin I think.

reply to Karl Bode
Att started charging data like this about 4 months ago. You use 1 kilobyte and blam flat $2.00 fee. No collusion here...

reply to Rob
LMFAOd at work.

reply to SrsBsns
Yes, just like the 200% collective increase in SMS prices. Accidental uniformity.

reply to fiberguy

said by fiberguy:

It takes a macro, not money, to remove a charge from all user's accounts.. and, if it does cost money, it's a very small amount that they can dip into their profits to correct - aka, "operating expense"..

reply to vzwcon
i wonder how many times one gets transferred when calling in about this. you say its a data charge, so the billing CAE pounds their forward to tech support button, but tech support has minimal training in billing(billing isnt their job its why there is a billing department) and it likely pingpongs back and forth.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports

reply to Karl Bode

reply to Karl Bode

reply to ptrowski

said by ptrowski:

said by fiberguy:

It takes a macro, not money, to remove a charge from all user's accounts.. and, if it does cost money, it's a very small amount that they can dip into their profits to correct - aka, "operating expense"..

Why spend money to fix and "issue" that is making them money?

reply to Karl Bode
It's not new at all. Even older than these anecdotes can pinpoint! This issue has been going on along with other billing related jackassery for over 10 years with vzw.

- A
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LETS GO METS!

reply to vzwcon
here's a more up-to-date one.

if you dont pay the 1.99 phantom fee, the "terrorists" will win