Verizon Scraps $3.50 Fee To Simply Pay FiOS Bill

Verizon can go to hell with their "pilot tests".

it wasnt a pilot test. it was planned for all customers, but they decided to scrap the "fee" from bad publicity. nice going public.

How can they get away with charging people to pay them, i understand if your at a 3rd party location who pays VZ for you, but to pay an additional fee to make a payment on top of what your already paying.

The government needs to step in here. This is anti consumer.

Why? More money spent on passing pointless laws? There are alternative providers. The goverment is not a nanny service. If YOU need a nanny, YOU pay for it.

"There are alternative providers."

Really? Are there? Fiber Optic providers are in competition with each other in the SAME area where you live? Or anywhere else for that matter? Please, just because there's a few cable operators in the area, does not mean there is an apples to apples alternative as you suggest.

And stop acting as if the govt. is any worse than big businesses that pull this crap. Govt. involvement in the form of enforcing existing laws would cover this just fine. The last time I checked, in-person fees were unenforceable due to the nature of cash...it's a pretty old law most companies would have us forget about.

Cash is LEGAL TENDER and must be accepted as payment for all debts, public and private. As in, it's the ONLY legal form of money anyway! Everything else is a subversion of it.

Do us all a favor and just worry about your existing rights, and protect those using the govt., it's the one thing I can think of that angers both govt. and big business the most....forcing them to follow law, enforcing ethical practices and doing the job right.

Of course this has to be supported by laws that are written by someone other than a business lobbyist or related PAC supporters. Which has been happening far too often.

quote:

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The proposed pilot test of a $3.50 per month fee for FiOS Internet and FiOS TV customers only without phone service from Verizon, and who live in California, Texas and Florida only, and who pay their bill via a credit card was scheduled to have begun on Saturday, Oct.16, but was not implemented as planned. Verizon has communicated this update to customers who fit the criteria of the proposed test. For now, we're evaluating the program before taking any further action.

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Translation:
The media reported our plans to further gouge our customers, and enough people throughout the nation, not just out "test" region, got pissed off enough to contact us and the media to tell us to pack sand.

I can already check my account online. But if I want them to stop sending me paper statements they want to charge me. F**k'em then. Let them spend the money to send me something that goes right in the shredder without even being opened. Stupid waste.

I received notice that a $3.50 fee was going to be imposed if I wanted to continue paying my bill monthly (make a one-time payment) by CC and NOT opt in to auto-pay.

As a result, I removed my CC info from Verizon, and set up a paper bank check sent monthly from my bank (a free service) to VZ in Albany.

I wonder if the $3.50 fee is also rescinded for DSL customers. In any event, I won't change back. Let them open paper checks! Piss me off again, and I will switch carriers!

Bob

»www.scribd.com/doc/40851 ··· gestions

No human ever touches your envelopes. The more mail, the more value they get out of the $50K (or whatever it is) scanner.

Or something like this, or larger. Probably start at $200k.
»www.banctec.com/products ··· -family/
I have been out of that industry for a few years, but they used to open the envelopes with a chemical and heat, to prevent damage to the payment slips and checks.

If you read that whole document, it pretty much tells you how you can send the check in such a way as to cause them to expend more manual labor. For example, you should send it in an odd-sized, perhaps colored envelope, with handwritten information, wrapped in several sheets of differently-sized paper, with random staples and paper clips attached. The check should be folded in half and hand-written in an odd yet readable way.

Your bank's bill-pay sends paper checks??? I was under the impression that bill-pay was done by EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) for pretty much all except payments to very small businesses or individuals.

Yes indeed! Computer-generated paper checks via US mail to the vendor of my choice, to a mail address I designate. I have confirmed this with the bank.

EDIT: It makes sense actually. My bank debits my account immediately on the day they write the check, it clears 4-5 days later. During that 4-5 day delay the money is invested and brings a return to the bank. It goes a ways to pay for the "free checking" account.

I also get a photocopy online of the canceled check after it is returned. EVIDENCE that I paid the bill.

Verizon is stupid forcing this!

Bob

Interesting. My bank debits my account when the payment clears, and EFT payments clear the next day (the rare paper checks taking around 4 days). And they sort out any disputes with the payee if the payee says they did not get the payment, including persuading the payee to refund late payment charges and such.

Heh, pilot test? I don't have FiOS, just DirecTV/DSL/landline, and when I paid my bill online this month was told that the $3.50 fee would kick in for us too, next month, unless we paid with a bank account, which we already do. "pilot test"? Please.
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we are brand new fios customers after having been w/ comcast for 20+ years. went to pay our very first fios bill online last month and noted this stupid $3.50 fee--------------ummm, i never saw something like that w/ comcast. they need to boot this stupid thing right out the door. btw we are seriously liking fios over comcast!