 
Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL | Or what? If Verizon doesn't drop the fee what will the FCC do? They'll do the same thing that they've done for a long time, NOTHING.
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YourIP.US - Quickly Locate Your IP! | |
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 | PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
1 edit | What did he expect? He's been a big fan of deregulation; it's disengenuous that's he's now "furious" that the telcos are exploiting it.
I thought in his ideal world, if the consumer does not like the fees, they simply choose to buy service from one of a half-dozen or so other provider of broadband services available to them. 
Oh, and remember, the President said that by next year, these same choices of affordable broadband will be available to all Americans. It was said during an election year, so it must really be going to happen, right? | |
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| | nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
 ·Comcast
| Re: What did he expect? said by PDXPLT  :He's been a big fan of deregulation; it's disengenuous that's he's now "furious" that the telcos are exploiting it... disengenuous? I think it's hilarious.
Martin is either a clueless moron, or is faking outrage to keep up appearances that the FCC gives a crap about consumers. Hard to tell which, in my opinion.
Either way, it's telecom theatre, where everybody with any power in the situation pretends that competition abounds and all regulations must be done away with (except for VOIP, of course), so the next generation of services can be rolled out to consumers.
The FCC is part of the problem right now, not part of the solution. | |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
 ·T-Mobile US
| Re: What did he expect? said by nasadude :Martin is either a clueless moron, or is faking outrage to keep up appearances that the FCC gives a crap about consumers. Hard to tell which, in my opinion. I know the person through associates and he is neither clueless nor trying to fake outrage. The Commission is trying with its limited powers is to influence a business decision that they really have little or no control over.
Wayne
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If you cannot fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. | |
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| | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| I agree...
and, what's he going to do? A Tom Cruise counch jump? DSL is non-regulted and I doubt the FCC can do much about the "fee" in the first place.. Maybe he should spare himself the loss of life-time and shut up because nothing will happen, other than more tax money will be wasted as he "investigates" something that he will never do anything about it.
And hey, on your 'broadband for everyone" presidential comment - I got a deal for you.. hold your breath until that happens, and I will give you a billion-trillion dollars... if you make it! lol When I heard that comment from Bush, I had to laugh. The big new president gets into office and one of his most vocal concerns was broadband for everyone. Yea, I guess the Federal Government sure knows it's boundaries and it's priorities of it's function.
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"Wipe out the national deficit over night... Tax the stupid!" - about 50 gMail invites available. PM if you'd like one. | |
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| | Bangy
join:2000-12-20
Lincoln, RI | it'll happen just like the 2 billion in tax breaks for building out fiber optic for the country will be used for its intended purpose.
oh, wait a minute, they have no plans to do that now..... | |
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AD7BK
Premium
join:2000-03-23
Port Orchard, WA
·wavebroadband
| Re: What did he expect? No they are doing worse
They are rolling out BPL, it is cheap to roll and cheap to supply, noting all you need is a box that can access it, um the problem is BPL pollutes the air and few bpl providers are polluting the air. More thought has to be put in that media access since if every where used it, it would pollute the airwaves with the signals. everything in the frequency range, will recive the noise it generates. I know that Tv wont be effected but in some rural areas i am in here in Choteau, Mt. Could invest in the system, since the cable company here is 20 years out of date here, they just started digital services but not internet/voip/hdtv/dvrs all-in-one wire and doesnt interfere, is not out here.
In Tacoma I could hook up to the Power Company's system. They are Power, Cable, Garbage, Sewage, Water service only thing they didnt have was voip but thanks to thier real fast for real cheap service (60 bucks for 7/768 ((better than speakeasys SDSL in speed and out lasts it in reliablity as well.)) I have never ever lost connection even when the powers out (generator powered)it lasts for a little while then dies out but with the back ups they have and as much as they invested in their pot of gold so to say, even with all its faults.. It is still the most wired city in the nation. They are very fair with the rates too. Speakeasy is the next best deal. lastly is comcast which was at&t and tci can also provide thier overpriced undermanaged and limited cable internet services too. Being both helping the sheepel and leaders at the same time.
They have a real decent cable tv service AND they also had the absolute best cable modem serice i have had the pleasure to use for 4 years. Check it out and the story about how they did it. And made everyone very happy who can afford it, but not to worry even the limited income can get on the band wagon they have thier own "assistance" program to help the senior citizens and the low income families have the basics of service which isnt too bad either 1/512k. Everyone has the hookup mostly. It works well very well. Imagine what FTTH would do which THEY are concidiering. They will not even touch BPL.
With FTTH there is no need for readers to come out they can dedicate that to connections and troubleshooting the network. And those who dont pay and has big dogs and guns, no matter a command sent to the meter and boom no lights. Currently they cut you off at the pole. They have it made there as long as they have thier sheeple. I wasnt a sheeple but I connected and the 100's of gigs i downloaded one month in a test i downloaded and uploaded over 1/2TB of data in a month and there was no questions asked. Try that on Comcast. If your connection can go as fast and constant. Comcast meters you but dont show it on paper they are disconnecting people at some "hidden limitits".
I didnt have that problem with the municipal power compnay. Tacoma owns thier own little plot of land. They provide everything and as long as you dont bother them. They will provide everything you need. The bonus with this is power company is the middle man in this, you have a choice of 3 cable internet providers. Advanced Stream, Harbor net,and Net Venture. They are providers based in certian areas in the county. They are your isps. The cable company is the hub and they resale the service. And they're very fair with the prices. 29.95 for basic all the way up to 129.00 for thier top tier 7/1 which I had for about 5 months. (And I miss dearly) But not to worry, I am going to be using EDGE,GPRS services and sure they are not near as fast they are cheap and decent. I have grown accsutom to the slowness. As soon as BRESNAN gets thier duffs up here and upgrade the cable system to have Internet. I remember that chase. And I am chasing it again.
As soon as they offer it up here and it requires cable service. Then fine i will get thier very basic HDTV service.
I am stuck using Dish Network to get HDTV way the hell out here. :P
They offer internet too but i dont want to waste my money on that. I will wait. They have DSL up here 1.5/640 for 129 (too much) I am cutting it down next month to middle service save 40 bucks a month and use that to have the cell internet too. I may drop it to basic if the cell internet proves fast. If it can go about 80% of the speed that the middle can go I will go to basic for the house and use the high speed for myself (since the family chats and listens to music) Its fast enough for that. (368/368)
The telephone co-op has the hardware needed they to proivde a more robust network with higher speeds like that of Covad. I live 1/4 mile to the CO if that Soon I will be 2 blocks down a alley directly from the phone company. Bet i can do the SDSL or HSDSL and do 30/30 or something. The phone company tells me i am 2100+ feet away from the C/O so you know this whole town would benifit from that and it wont cost hardly nothing to provide it.
But That remains to be seen. I FTTH would be the best way to go it does everything but costs alot. If they can just invest in it. It would make everything cheap to provide.
THE SHORT SIGHTENEST OF UTILITY COMPANIES.
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The following statement is true...
The preceding statement was false!!--George Carlin | |
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JamesPC
join:2005-10-12
Orange, CA | Re: Or what? or they will go over board and make an example of YOU. | |
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53059959
Temp banned from BBR more then anyone
join:2002-10-02
PwnZone
| Re: Or what? you guys are over-reacting.
if you want to know how many fees your being charged, just look at your bill! simple math. and if you want to know the fees of other companies, welcome to dslreports-ask a member.
i'll tolerate verizon making an extra $100 million a month cuz at least they have the balls to spend that much on laying fiber to homes.
broadband internet is a necessity to me just like electricity. three bucks is bananas | |
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| | | bbenso1
join:2004-11-28
Baltimore, MD
| Re: Or what? said by 53059959 :you guys are over-reacting. if you want to know how many fees your being charged, just look at your bill! simple math. and if you want to know the fees of other companies, welcome to dslreports-ask a member. The problem with that is that you can't look at your bill until you've signed up for service and committed to a contract of at least a year. So you see the add for DSL for $20/month and sign up. The first chance you get to see how many fees you're being charged is when you get the first bill. The first bill comes and you see that your $20/month DSL actually costs closer to $40/month. Guess what? Too late to cancel, you signed a one year contract. Still want to cancel? No problem, that'll be $200 in early termination fees please.
said by 53059959 :broadband internet is a necessity to me just like electricity. three bucks is bananas It is also a necessity to me and you're right, three bucks is peanuts. The problem here is one of principle. They advertise one price for their service and then they add BS, line-item "fees" that serve no purpose other than to jack up the price of service. Since broadband is a necessity for you, you'd have no problem if they advertised the service at $20/month and then added below-the-line fees of $50/month? Would that be acceptable? If not, then why is $3/month acceptable? So it's a matter of quantity? As long as they're only screwing you out of a small portion of your bill it's okay? | |
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| | | Bangy
join:2000-12-20
Lincoln, RI
| the problem is they AREN'T laying fiber to holmes. Not nearly in the amount they claimed when they accepted billions in tax breaks several years ago to do just that.
I WILL guarantee its laid in the neighborhoods that the top level corporate suits live in though.... | |
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53059959
Temp banned from BBR more then anyone
join:2002-10-02
PwnZone | Re: Or what? I live in a neighborhood where top level corporate suits live in, and I don't have fios =)
this house is now valued at 2.1 million
zillow.com 22182 | |
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| | | | short09
join:2006-07-21
| said by Bangy :the problem is they AREN'T laying fiber to holmes. Not nearly in the amount they claimed when they accepted billions in tax breaks several years ago to do just that yup. the american people got scammed out of billions of dollars. if the telcos did what they promised and built networks to the full extent. then i gurantee that the usa would be #1 world leader in broadband by far | |
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| | | jimbo33
join:2003-11-10
Livonia, MI | Speak for yourself!!!! If you're so happy why don't you just give them an extra $100 or so a month. | |
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| kdandaoc
join:2003-10-13
608052427 | Re: Sure... I wonder if he was "furious" when he found out his predecessor shelled out the contracts for 500 million to his Buddy to "wire" an influential community in Hawaii?
»FCC Cronyism Nets Big Hawaii USF Payoff | |
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Jodokast96
R.I.P Bassman442
Premium
join:2005-11-23
Erial, NJ | Re: Sure... Forgot about that one. | |
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GrammarCop
@comcast.net | "I bet he's furious... that he didn't recieve enough from the telco's"
Telcos not telco's.
Will some of you please learn how to use an apostrophe? Stop sticking apostrophes in everything your write just because something is plural. | |
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Jodokast96
R.I.P Bassman442
Premium
join:2005-11-23
Erial, NJ
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Sure... said by GrammarCop :
Will some of you please learn how to use an apostrophe? Stop sticking apostrophes in everything your write just because something is plural.
Sure, just learn the correct form of you, lol. Gotcha | |
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bleahanon
@12.160.x.x | "In everything your write"
?? WHAAAAAT ?? Surel'y this' can't be real'.! Is'nt it a law that anyone who criticize's anothers' grammar HAS to make sure there (sic) own pos'ts' are properly spell-checked and grammatically correct? | |
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| | Thers
join:2006-08-21 | Will some of you please learn how to use an apostrophe? Stop sticking apostrophes in everything your write just because something is plural.
sb everything you write | |
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| | | | grandpinaple
join:2006-01-03
New York, NY | Re: Sure... There is a difference between a typo and the apostrophe mistake. The apostrophe is symptomatic of something larger, the typo is just him rushing. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | FCC Not Going Far Enough The FCC needs to require that all these fees be added to the advertised price of the service.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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Varlik
Without Honor You Will Never Be Free
Premium
join:2002-01-06
Anderson, SC
1 edit | Re: FCC Not Going Far Enough said by pnh102 :The FCC needs to require that all these fees be added to the advertised price of the service. Yes any fees that are not required by federal or state law should be outlawed. If they want more money for their services put the d@med cost in with the total price of the service itself. Then let us see if the market is willing to bare the costs.
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"Sir SIR! We don't use DHCP servers. We only use IBM & Microsoft servers." From there my call to tech support went steadily downhill. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| Re: FCC Not Going Far Enough said by Varlik :Yes any fees that are not reguired by federal or state law should be out lawed. Personally I don't care what fees are assessed, they can impose a "toilet paper folding fee" for all I care. Just as long as the sum of the fees adds up to the advertised cost I'll be happy.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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Noah Vail
Premium
join:2004-12-10
Lorton, VA | But then we'd have....... I think truth in advertising is one of the signs of the Second Coming.
NV | |
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Dagda1175
join:2001-06-17
Goleta, CA | bogus? Last time i checked, verizon wasnt a state run company. they can charge whatever they want. you choose to use them or not. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| Re: bogus? said by Dagda1175 :they can charge whatever they want. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. However, Verizon needs to be honest with their customers about the total price of their service. In most businesses, advertising one price and charging a higher price is an illegal practice. The government is partially to blame for this because it has not enforced truth-in-advertising laws with respect to Internet and cell phone service.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| Re: bogus? said by pnh102 :And there's nothing wrong with that at all. However, Verizon needs to be honest with their customers about the total price of their service. In most businesses, advertising one price and charging a higher price is an illegal practice. The government is partially to blame for this because it has not enforced truth-in-advertising laws with respect to Internet and cell phone service. And that is the key issue. They can charge what they want, but they should be upfront about it and not make up some phony line item charge to make it seem like it is a government tax.
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Join Red Room Forum
BLOG tkjunkmail.blogspot.com
My Web Page | |
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jrobcet
join:2003-02-16
Moscow, ID
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: bogus? Exactly. Why has it become so difficult for corporations to be honest. Want to raise rates? Be honest with your customers. Let them know when, and how much. In my case, I would simply pay the extra $2.70. And do you know why? It's because Verizon has provided excellent service to my home.
But despite that excellent service, I'm seriously thinking about going with someone else because of this. Adelphia (now Time Warner) was not quite as reliable, but at least they were always honest with their rates. | |
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Bobcat
Volvo sucks donkey balls
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
| They tell you what the fee is right on the web page where you order:
said by Verizon :
Additional surcharges, taxes, and other fees apply. These include, but are not limited to, a tax recovery fee which varies by state (where applicable), and a supplier surcharge of $1.20 per month for 768kbps plans and $2.70 per month for 3Mbps plans, which is not a tax or government imposed fee.
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drkkgt
Boo
Premium
join:2003-08-26
Whittier, CA
| Re: bogus? said by Bobcat :These include, but are not limited to, That's the rub, they list one or two but not the rest.
Put this in perspective, if you go into your local grocery store and grab a bag of doritos off the shelf for a two dollar posted price then get to the counter and they add the .50 bagger fee, the .27 locust reduction tax, the .05 seasoning tax, and the .31 special ink fee. Granted, they posted about the ink fee and bagger fee at the shelf but never said word one about the others until you got to the register.
Oh yeah, so you throw the bag down and drive down the street to the other local supermarket but wait it's the exact same company just a different store. So is the next one, and the next one.
So you go to a mom and pop store but they have to have their product shipped in on the trucks the big store uses so they have to add the "big store truck fee" to your bill.
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"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila."-Mitch Ratliffe | |
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Bobcat
Volvo sucks donkey balls
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ | Re: bogus? I guess you've never purchased an airline ticket. | |
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Jodokast96
R.I.P Bassman442
Premium
join:2005-11-23
Erial, NJ | Re: bogus? That's a whole other bunch of BS, too. | |
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drkkgt
Boo
Premium
join:2003-08-26
Whittier, CA | You got me there. | |
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See 17 replies to this post |
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Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY
·Qwest.net
| Yes all Telco's should be forced to list all of their fees up front, in print and on line. When these fees see the light of day they will disappear like a cockroach in the day light. Of course then they will disappear into the over all rate but the overall rate will still be visible and open to competition. The telco's will not be able to advertise a monthly rate that has no relation to what your actual monthly fee will be.
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The older I get the more I prefer the company of my dogs over that of man kind. | |
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| | | | RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| Re: bogus? Why stop at telcos? Let's be sure that the cable companies do it, the indie ISPs like Earthlink do it, the cellular companies do it and the VoIP companies do it. And while we're at it, lets make sure that the price after the promo is advertised in as big a font as the three month promo price, along with the fine print which says you get the promo price only if you stick around for a year because they rebate the reduction in months three, six, nine and twelve.
In other words, let's make everyone advertise what we all pay, upfront and with no fine print.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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tsu9
join:2001-08-17
Wheeling, IL | Re: bogus? No blatant dishonesty in pricing? I fear the Cubs shall win the 'series again, first. | |
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58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| Re: bogus? said by tsu9 :No blatant dishonesty in pricing? I fear the Cubs shall win the 'series again, first. Hey hey, holy mackerel!
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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See 6 replies to this post |
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK
| the choice between Verizon or nothing isnt a choice. If a customer could drop verizon to go with a competitor that would make sense, but verizon has exclusive deals in many areas. That would make them a monopoly and the fees are an abuse of their monopoly.
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"WHEN THE LAUGH TRACK STARTS THEN THE FUN STARTS!" | |
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wwdubbia
join:2002-06-03
Clinton, NY
| said by Dagda1175 :Last time i checked, verizon wasnt a state run company. they can charge whatever they want. you choose to use them or not. no, but it is a state tariffed company. | |
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| | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20 | Re: bogus? DSL has no tarrif. | |
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Jodokast96
R.I.P Bassman442
Premium
join:2005-11-23
Erial, NJ | Re: bogus? Amen, Fiberguy! | |
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| Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ
| all fees and taxes should be part of the total cost as advertised on TV/radio and print. no reason at all for these after the fact below the line fees to even be legal. its their choice what to charge(except for basic telephone service which is regulated)however those fees should come in the same place as your usage charges.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports | |
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compugeek
I love making my own beer.
Premium
join:2002-07-30
Pickerington, OH
 ·Insight VOIP
·Vonage
| They are their own supplier? Isn't Verizon their own supplier? Don't they have fiber running across the country? So are they just moving the money from one hand to the other in the company?
Geek
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»www.itsnewtoyou.biz | |
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mid_term_test
@verizon.net
| elections rise and fall mid-term test for congress... they can't appear to look too greedy for the corporations which they've given carte blanche to come November... (gas prices falling, copper to fiber monopolies, eroded privacy becomes a boon to data miners/information resellers)
Hmm... and what you need to do;
vote the incumbants [aka, BUMS] OUT, be it republican, or democrat! | |
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bhan261
join:2001-02-12
New York, NY
1 edit | I'm beggin' ya... Dear FCC...Ple-e-e-ase send a letter to Speakeasy, too.
I don't mind someone making a profit, but don't add "below the line" fees under the guise of "the government made me do it". If these are legitimate costs, add them to your prices and let the marketplace decide if they're willing to pay what you ask. | |
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drkkgt
Boo
Premium
join:2003-08-26
Whittier, CA
| Still FUSF I just got an ad from verizon yesterday that was printed in August and expired in spetember that still listed a fee in the fine print for the FUSF. I t also listed a tax recovery fee. What the hell is a tax recovery fee? So they have to pay taxes as part of doing business on their subsidized lines so they tack on a fee to make it a wash?
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"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila."-Mitch Ratliffe | |
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richk_1957
If ..Then..Else
Premium
join:2001-04-11
Minas Tirith | So he's furious But is he going to do anything?
Probably not, except, in essence, tell Verizon 'Bad Boy, you shouldn't have done that'
The FCC has no teeth anymore, anyway | |
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compugeek
I love making my own beer.
Premium
join:2002-07-30
Pickerington, OH | Re: So he's furious FCC and the UN must be on the same street. Neither of them can get anything done.
Geek
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»www.itsnewtoyou.biz | |
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Fatal Vector
join:2005-11-26 | "The FCC has no teeth anymore, anyway"
Tell that to a licensee that the FCC has taken enforcement action against recently. The FCC plods along, but sooner or later those teeth that it doesn't have sink into your hide. | |
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richk_1957
If ..Then..Else
Premium
join:2001-04-11
Minas Tirith
| Re: So he's furious What kind of licensee?
I used to have a couple friends who were chief engineers at a radio & TV station. They told me about a few cases were the FCC sent 2 notices of warning, then Federal Marshall's came in and shut offending site down [and in some cases, padlocked the premises].
Now, from what I've heard, unless you have a situation where there is continuous, active interference, in the corporate world, the FCC 'suggests', or at the most, won't renew a licence. But the days of them going in & shutting people down, is for the most part, a thing of the past. | |
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| RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11 | He's furious because this interrupted a nap or his scheduled lobbyist golf outing.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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Jodokast96
R.I.P Bassman442
Premium
join:2005-11-23
Erial, NJ | Tax Recovery Fee Tax Recovery Fee - Translation: We didn't show enough losses last year so we're going to let you pay the tax bill. | |
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brooklynman4
join:2004-09-07
Brooklyn, NY | Re: Tax Recovery Fee Hes mad cause he couldnt pay-off his house at the hamptons lol | |
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Minister
join:2002-01-02
Fleeting | You know you're in trouble... When even the rabid free-marketeers think you're being sleazy. | |
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viperpa33s
Why Me?
Premium
join:2002-12-20
Bradenton, FL
·Bright House
| All part of Capitalism I don't know why he is so furious, this is all part of capitalism. Though I agree that Verizon should be honest and up front about how they charge there customers, there is nothing to stop them from charging what they want. There is nothing the FCC can do about it unless he wants government regulations to stop them. Didn't he say he was against government regulation of the internet?
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| AT&T Still charges USF fee According to at&t spokeperson in the article, at&t dropped the fee as of August 14.
With my latest bill, dated August 09, the bill looks like they charged the fee for next month, but then have a credit for the fee as well. So it looks like they have indeed dropped it.
Next months bill should be more clear.
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) | |
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ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16
Stratford, CT
| .. Im sorry if this has been brought up. The telco's want to add this "fee" NOW because they cannot increase the bottom line price with the millions of customers they currently have under contract. Theres a lot of money at stake here.. $2 a month X a shitload of DSL lines.
Going forward, I think you will see the $17.99 plan turn to $19.99 .. and so forth. (if the fee's dont slide) One way or another these companies need their revenue to stay afloat.. Its not cool how everything isnt just put in the regular price.
Bottom line.. Verizon and the other telco's need to do something respectable ... drop the fee and increase the regular price going forward for new customers and contracts. Besides.. its the TOTAL on the bill that people really care about. | |
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waiting4fios
join:2005-04-08
Howell, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS
| If Verizon offered... If Verizon offered 2 DSL packages, 1 for $17.99 + $1.20 fee or package #2 for $19.99, both services being equal, the only difference in the two is that the $19.99 package includes does not provide an itemized bill, but the $17.99 package does itemizes the fees. Which of the two will you order? The $19.99 or the $17.99 + $1.20? | |
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Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA
| Re: If Verizon offered... It's not wrong that they itemize their billing. That's perfectly ok. What is wrong is that they are trying to sneak in pricing increases as hidden fees, sometimes even calling them "government mandated" when they really aren't. (So the subscriber will curse out the government about it but not bother Verizon.)
In all of their advertising materials, they state that they will sell you DSL for $17.99. What they don't say is that there will be $20 in fees and surcharges added on. They should be forced to advertise the final price on the bill. Based solely on price, DSL wins out when choosing between a $18 DSL and a $40 cable modem connection. However, it's not so clear if you have to choose between a $38 DSL connection and a $40 cable modem connection.
Plus, once you see the fees you can't end your service. At least not without paying Verizon $200 to terminate your contract. It's really a bait and switch. Bait users in with a low advertised price and then switch it out with a higher bill after locking them in so they can't escape. It should be illegal and I hope the FCC clamps down on the practice. (I won't be holding my breath for it though.) | |
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amdace
BOHICA
join:2001-02-02
Novi, MI
clubs:
·AT&T U-Verse
·Comcast
| Pick up the phone I found this line in the article to be very powerful. BellSouth says it removed the fee because of complaints from its customers, but said its decision was also influenced by the involvement of the FCC.
If consumers want to stop these companies from essentially raising the costs of services, they need to realize that by picking up the phone and complaining about them, they wield just as much (if not more) power as the FCC.
Let the Telcos know that the market can't bear any more increases.
Maybe then the Telcos will see that to improve the bottom line they will have to improve efficiency. | |
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AD7BK
Premium
join:2000-03-23
Port Orchard, WA
·wavebroadband
| Re: Verizon Drops Fee They will automatically receive a credit on a future bill.
We thank you for choosing high speed Verizon Online DSL. We appreciate and value your business. But what future bill? They may be tring to collect the tax and promise it back but the end user wont see it returned ever.
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The following statement is true...
The preceding statement was false!!--George Carlin | |
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FCC Chief 'Furious' Over New DSL Fees
Give Me A Break