FCC Extends Deadline On Verizon $1.99 Phantom Fee Inquiry

This fee is usually due to someone accidentally activating their mobile web browser. As soon as a some usage occurs, they get billed for the first megabyte. How to block Verizon Wireless's data services and avoid this fee now:

Note: This was actually HARD to find, it is not intuitive, and "Help" was no help, naturally. Ignore anything you see about $4.99 a month for Usage Controls, as that Parental Control service is different -- confusing!!

1. Log in to "MyVerizon"
2. Under "My Services" choose "Verizon Safeguards"
3. Under "Parental Control" choose "Usage Controls"
4. Under "Usage Controls" scroll to the bottom and choose "Add/Remove Blocks"
5. Choose your phone number in the drop-down box (if you have a family plan)
6. Block the applicable services, such as "Mobile Web" and anything else that would use data.
7. Press Continue
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Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- District of Columbia -- KJ7RL
Test your Broadband connection today! -- »measurementlab.net/

I may be mistaken, but I believe even those blocks didn't prevent the charge. The charge was caused by the phone attempting to start a data connection, and by the time the system blocked access, a few bits had already been sent incurring the minimum charge of 1MB @ $1.99.

If this is not the case, then never mind.

No, you're right. Even people who had data blocked were sent messages informing them data was blocked, thereby incurring the $1.99 charge. Really absurd vicious circle...

Oh, it happens when it's blocked too! Wow!! That's very different!

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again.... Bitch!" --Emily
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Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- District of Columbia -- KJ7RL
Test your Broadband connection today! -- »measurementlab.net/

Yeah, the notice that says data is blocked actually consumes 0.06 kilobytes of data that you wind up paying for -- because you don't have a data plan.

Doesn't the data block also block MMS messages?

The govt should force cell phone companies charge a flat $50 "Data" rate for each person and be done with it. That would be a glorious day.

Except you know where they'd get the $50 from.

This is actually an "insider" shot of one of the billing terminals at Verizon. Perhaps it will help explain...
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with every mistake we must surely be learning

Yup. I went round and round with customer mis-representatives on many occasions telling them I wanted no data charges of any kind, only to have an SMS pop up on my phone telling me that no more data charges would be billed to me... Next bill, guess what happens? Another $1.99 for data!

After three months of this, I cancelled all three of my accounts. When the customer mis-representative told me I would be subject to the ETF on three lines, I got her stupervisor on the call and told her that I would be referring the matter to the lawfirm of "Dewey, Cheatham and Howe."

I waited for a few seconds, then asked if she wanted to keep yanking my dick, or did she want me to call my dogs off.

It was a total bluff on my part, but the dumb broad was too young to have caught the reference.

End of the story, I got a final bill with an amount due of $0.00... Even the stupervisors know the company is trying to break it off in our asses.

I will never again do business with Verizon.
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"Have fun storming the castle!"

"Silent Movie" if I remember correctly.

Actually no. Marx Brothers in the 1930's.

I have 4 lines with Verizon and have this charge appears every other month on at least 1 of the lines. I have called MANY times to customer service and received different answers. I was told if I blocked all data then the Pix messaging would not work. Not sure if this is true or just another Verizon lie. I have been with Verizon for 8 years and am now considering leaving. The charge is on my current bill and when I pay it I will just deduct the 1.99 charge. I'm done wasting my time talking to the stupid service reps.
If they want to terminate my service I will check with my attorney about a suit for breach of contract.

Gee.... how hard it must be to come up with, and discard draft, after draft, after draft of yet another spewage of lies designed to make the customers think this is their imagination, and that this fee/unfee is actually good for consumers.

I wouldn't be surprised if they called a press conference to address this issue, then have the spokesman hold his arm out sideways, wiggle his fingers and say... "oooo look...... fingers.... and they move!!!!", then point to a screen that will start showing another "We have a Map for that" commercial showing how bitchin they are compared to ATT, then disappear in a puff of smoke.

Then all the execs will smile, pat each other's respective asses and congratulate each other on another distractive "nothing to really see here, move along" manuever, and laugh heartily with hands on hips and heads thrown back because it succeeded....
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Follow Your Bliss -- Joseph Cambell
I reject your Reality and substitute my own! -- Adam Savage, Mythbuster

The reply to FCC will come RIGHT BEFORE Christmas. And then will get buried by the press because everyone will be too busy getting ready for the holiday. You have to love the PR depts for companies. They know how to make sure bad news gets buried. And if not near a holiday, then release bad news on a Saturday - another day that the press ignores.
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page

I remember when I was fighting them to get the charges taken off. They tried to tell me their system wasn't set up in a way that they could give credits.

Their service is the best in my area due to being in a very rural area, but they are the worst company I have ever had to deal with.

I think the issue is the 1 meg rounded up. How about 1 meg as a general meter, and 50 kbytes being the billing stop-point. That way i you use a lot of data, you end up paying by the meg, but if it's an incidental, you pay like 1-5 cents or something, if it was that squeak of data to deny access to the data service, it should NOT be billed, and arguable through CS. I doubt VZW knows how to do that level customer service though.

- A
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LETS GO METS!

you asking lot for Verizon who can't even get basic math right.

Actually, they got the basic math correct. Overbill 20 million customers by $1.99 per month (480 Milllion per year), Pay off politicians for just 2 Million per year. Net profit : 478 Million per year.
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Remember 1 in 4 people are retarded. 25% of Americans are Republican. Coincidence? I don't think so.

The reason for the delay is that our government sock puppets are waiting for the lobbyists from K-Street to deposit their campaign contribution checks and for them to clear. Once the payola has been received and noted the sock puppets will tell the FCC to lay off.

$1.99 for every customer verizon has, multiplied by the number of years this has been going on...

That would be a hefty chunk of change, not the silly slap on the wrist they are going to get.

Any fines levied on Verizon would just be passed along to consumers in the form of rate increases and "unfees."

I wonder if the FTC/DOJ could get involved and lay some criminal charge smackdown on the execs?
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"Have fun storming the castle!"

BINGO! you can't beat big biz at their own game!
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When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee

- multiplied by the number of months....

Some of these charges are a perfect example of abuse by ISP's, by charging customers for system overhead. I have commented in several of my posts that the bandwidth meter used by the ISP better not be charging customers for supervisory traffic between the data terminal equipment (In this case the handset) and the server. In the case of Verizon it appears that they are charging customers for system overhead.

I had this happen to me on my tracfone.

You have to call, to enable data, but every time you try to use the browser, you will get units deducted.

I didn't call to complain, but I am sure I am not the only person that has this going on /w tracfone either.

Maybe they teach these tactics in business school now...
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Give me bandwidth or give me death!
»/testh ··· 71/4f240

Check this paragraph from the TracFone Terms of Service. It is related to charges for data service WAP:

Access/Purchase Data Services. In order to purchase, download or access TracFone Wireless Data Services, your TRACFONE must have active service and sufficient available airtime (minutes). Your TRACFONE will not let you open the WAP browser without an airtime balance of at least 10 minutes.

Each time you access the TracFone Wireless WAP with your TRACFONE's browser, 0.5 units per minute will be deducted from your TRACFONE

("Access Charges"). Access Charges are deducted in full minute increments. WAP access of less than 60 seconds is rounded up to the next full minute.
Access Charges begin when your TRACFONE makes a data connection. This should occur shortly after you open your browser, send or receive a multi-media message (e.g., a picture), initiate a content download, view subscribed Information Services or if WAP access is initiated for any other purpose. Access Charges end when the data connection terminates. This should occur shortly after you close your browser, successfully receive or send a multi-media message (e.g., a picture), after a successful content download or after any other closure of a WAP session. The WAP access duration and the related Access Charges are NOT determined from the exact moment you press a button on your TRACFONE to open or close the browser.
In addition to the Access Charges, there will be an additional one-time charge for any content you select to download ("Content Charge") and if you subscribe to an Information Services ("Subscription Charge"). The Content Charges and Subscription Charges vary depending on the type of content and/or subscription. You will be advised of the Content Charges and/or Subscription Charges prior to finalizing your purchase.
The Data Services you purchase and download may only be used or viewed on the TRACFONE for which they were purchased and cannot be transferred to any other device, including a new or replacement TRACFONE. Data Services are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Tracfone charges to access the browser as well for webpages viewed through the browser!

What does that have to do with what I said?

I tried to use the browser. I got a message saying I can't use the browser. And it deduced units for that.

So they are charging me, for trying to use something, I can't use.

The same exact topic this story is about.
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Give me bandwidth or give me death!
»/testh ··· 71/4f240

Has anyone had any charges after "NATIONALACCESS" was removed from their account? I initially had the other blocks on the secondary (mobile web, application downloads, VCAST) and I was hit with the data usage because of a solitare game. I called in to complain and the rep removed the NationalAccess feature. She even put in a $1.99 credit on my balance so I wont call ans gripe later.

However, this NationalAccess block also disables MMS messages as well (I was OK with this since I have all messages blocked as well)... on my account, it shows up as "DATA BLOCK". So far I have had no additional usage on that line.

the FCC or someone (don't know who) doesn't fine Verizon a significant amount of actions like these

Which are clearly to screw us....

Adjustments
Megabyte / Kilobyte Adjustment for 740-294-XXXX on 09/01/ -1.99
Megabyte / Kilobyte Adjustment for 740-502-XXXX on 09/01/ -1.99
Credit Balance -$3.98

it happened in june right after we got env 2's...i assumed it was our mistake because we were learning to use new phones. i have 3 phones and a usb card for my notebook. wife's phone didn't have the charge neither did the usb card.