nycitynyPremium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY | Surprised by Fee Add-ons I just renewed with PhonePower for a prepaid year after two years with them and am surprised by the high fee add-ons. On a base renewal cost of $179.95 the add-ons total $48.78, or 27%. That is outrageous for what I thought was a forthright company.
When my first year was up I was charged $38.36 in fees for the 2nd year. A year later that $38.36 is now $48.78.
$23.76 of the $48.78 is a "Regulatory Recovery Fee" which is another way of saying it is part of the cost of doing business. That's like charging an extra fee to customers for the cost of employee health insurance.
I am quite pleased with PhonePower phone service which is why I renewed in the first place. When my two years at ViaTalk were up I jumped ship because they were not that great. But telling me the renewal cost was $179.95 plus "fees" and then charging an extra 27% for those fees is not appreciated at all. |
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 JohnInSJPremium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA
 ·PHONE POWER
 ·Comcast
| Your price comes up to $19.06/mo
Looking at the 24 month contract price here:
»www.phonepower.com/services/voip···?pid=128
Shows the monthly total cost at $19.01 (base rate $14.95, fees $5)
Should not be a surprise as its pretty much exactly what's shown on the website.
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My place : »www.schettino.us |
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 PhonePowerPremium
join:2007-07-20
Winnetka, CA
kudos:1
1 edit | reply to nycityny
Unfortunately Voip isn't very far from being considered a "regular" phone service from a legal standpoint. The state of New York alone charges a 9% tax, add to that local, county, and federal surcharges and it adds up fast.
Many of the charges are flat fee, so in effect the lower the cost of the underlying service, the higher the taxes are as a percentage of the bill.
I do suggest taking a look at the taxes and surcharges on your cell phone bill or a land-line bill (if you have access to one). |
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| "I do suggest taking a look at the taxes and surcharges on your cell phone bill or a land-line bill"
What you're saying seems to implied that because other companies are doing it, it's okay for us to do it too. Are there clear cut proof that the "taxes and fees" charged by land-line phone companies are reasonable and legitimate? If they are ripping off consumers and you are following them then, you too, are doing the same to us. |
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DSM Fan
join:2010-10-04
New Orleans, LA | reply to nycityny
The only guarantees in life are death and taxes. |
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PhonePowerPremium
join:2007-07-20
Winnetka, CA
kudos:1 | reply to bond007
What I am saying is that these taxes are legitimate.
said by bond007 :"I do suggest taking a look at the taxes and surcharges on your cell phone bill or a land-line bill"
What you're saying seems to implied that because other companies are doing it, it's okay for us to do it too. Are there clear cut proof that the "taxes and fees" charged by land-line phone companies are reasonable and legitimate? If they are ripping off consumers and you are following them then, you too, are doing the same to us.
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 ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
kudos:4 | Taxes, yes. Fees, well..... |
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nycitynyPremium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY | reply to PhonePower
said by PhonePower:I do suggest taking a look at the taxes and surcharges on your cell phone bill or a land-line bill (if you have access to one).
I am aware of the exorbitant fees and taxes charged by POTS and cellphone companies. It is one of the reasons I switched to VOIP in 2005. At the time VoicePulse charged no additional fees at all. Now they charge only a 6% USF which is justifiable as a direct charge imposed by the government.
That other VOIP companies decided to follow the path of legacy phone companies by charging "Regulatory Recovery Fees" is unfortunate. I would prefer that the cost of doing business be included in the base price, particularly the "flat fees" that you describe. If the flat fees are $2/month, for example, charge $22 instead of $20 in the base price. It would be much more forthright.
I will never be convinced that purchasing a service for $179.95 should result in my credit card being charged $228.73. |
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JohnInSJPremium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA Reviews:
·PHONE POWER
·Comcast
| reply to nycityny
Re: Surprised by Fee Add-ons said by nycityny:I will never be convinced that purchasing a service for $179.95 should result in my credit card being charged $228.73.
You need to complain to your local tax board then. They are imposing regulatory fees on viop providers, to recover the lost revenue from pots providers.
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My place : »www.schettino.us |
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nycitynyPremium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY | reply to JohnInSJ
Re: Surprised by Fee Add-ons said by JohnInSJ:You need to complain to your local tax board then. They are imposing regulatory fees on viop providers, to recover the lost revenue from pots providers.
As ptrowski alludes to above, taxes do no account for all of the difference between $179.95 and $228.73. $23.76 of the difference is a "Regulatory Recovery Fee" which really is just part of the cost of doing business (as I already wrote above).
And a "local tax board" - really? I suppose you mean the city council or state legislature. They actually enjoy imposing utility taxes because those taxes get buried where they are harder to delineate. The legislators can claim to keep income taxes down while increasing revenue in other ways. |
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JohnInSJPremium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA Reviews:
·PHONE POWER
·Comcast
| said by nycityny:said by JohnInSJ:You need to complain to your local tax board then. They are imposing regulatory fees on viop providers, to recover the lost revenue from pots providers.
As ptrowski alludes to above, taxes do no account for all of the difference between $179.95 and $228.73. $23.76 of the difference is a "Regulatory Recovery Fee" which really is just part of the cost of doing business (as I already wrote above). And a "local tax board" - really? I suppose you mean the city council or state legislature. They actually enjoy imposing utility taxes because those taxes get buried where they are harder to delineate. The legislators can claim to keep income taxes down while increasing revenue in other ways. Right - talk to whomever sets your utility tax rates, and utility fees. If your area assesses more fees and taxes, they're passed on to you by your utility company - including your telephone provider.
Or did you expect Phonepower to make lest money on its customers in NYC, or rather to have non-NYC customers subsidize NYC customers?
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My place : »www.schettino.us |
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nycitynyPremium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY | said by JohnInSJ:Right - talk to whomever sets your utility tax rates, and utility fees. If your area assesses more fees and taxes, they're passed on to you by your utility company - including your telephone provider.
Or did you expect Phonepower to make lest money on its customers in NYC, or rather to have non-NYC customers subsidize NYC customers?
Have you read anything I've written? I'm not complaining about the taxes. I'm complaining about the non-taxes (which are not imposed by New York). I'm complaining about the duplicitous practice of adding non-taxes to the cost of something so as to hide its true cost. |
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JohnInSJPremium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA Reviews:
·PHONE POWER
·Comcast
| said by nycityny:said by JohnInSJ:Right - talk to whomever sets your utility tax rates, and utility fees. If your area assesses more fees and taxes, they're passed on to you by your utility company - including your telephone provider.
Or did you expect Phonepower to make lest money on its customers in NYC, or rather to have non-NYC customers subsidize NYC customers?
Have you read anything I've written? Yes, I have. Did you read what I wrote? The regulatory fees vary by region, because each region's regulators impose differing fees.
So, like I said, because you live in NYC, and NYC charges phonepower more fees to provide you service than someone living in California (for example), your expectation is that other phonepower customers will subsidize your fees?
No, thanks. I prefer the system where the fees are passed through. If you don't like the fees, you know who to talk to. Not phonepower, but the people imposing the fees on phonepower.
You might want to vote some of those people out of whatever office they hold.
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My place : »www.schettino.us |
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nycitynyPremium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY | said by JohnInSJ:Yes, I have. Did you read what I wrote? The regulatory fees vary by region, because each region's regulators impose differing fees.
So, like I said, because you live in NYC, and NYC charges phonepower more fees to provide you service than someone living in California (for example), your expectation is that other phonepower customers will subsidize your fees?
No, thanks. I prefer the system where the fees are passed through. If you don't like the fees, you know who to talk to. Not phonepower, but the people imposing the fees on phonepower.
You might want to vote some of those people out of whatever office they hold.
PhonePower's pricing is not how you describe. They actually charge the same price to customers in most states, regardless of local taxes. I put in zip codes from various states on their website's order form and it was only California where they added local taxes since they are a California-based company.
So yes, customers in other states are subsidizing the cost of my service in New York since they pay PhonePower the same amount that I pay.
But this argument is completely irrelevant to the point I am trying to make. That is, if PhonePower's policy is to average out the "taxes and fees" so everyone pays the same amount then those fees could easily be included in the base price to better reflect the final cost. And this is particularly so for the "fees" portion since those are add-ons that are not specifically required by the government. |
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JohnInSJPremium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA Reviews:
·PHONE POWER
·Comcast
| said by nycityny:They actually charge the same price to customers in most states, regardless of local taxes.
I don't pay the same regulatory fees as you do, to phonepower.
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My place : »www.schettino.us |
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Reviews:
·PHONE POWER
| reply to nycityny
Every phone bill I had added an extra fee or "padded the tax" to aid for the administration of collecting the tax. I know most people think it is scummy adding an administration tax. However people don't work for free and PP employees are no different. What sets most VoIp companies apart is the admin fees are not meant to make a huge second revenue stream off of.
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I got the need for speed »bit.ly/topgunparody |
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