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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Verizon Wireless will soon make some customers pay for the privilege of paying their bills.
I haven't seen this posted her yet so...
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/29/technology/verizon_convenience_fee/
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Verizon Wireless will soon make some customers pay for the privilege of paying their bills.
Pay check by phone. I would never allow a cell phone company to do a preauthorized monthly debit knowing the mistakes they can make.dlgoff said:I haven't seen this posted her yet so...
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/29/technology/verizon_convenience_fee/
Evo said:I thought it was safe when I authorized AAA insurance to debit my checking account for my $127 monthly fee (I had 4 cars). One month they accidently debited $1,270, it took me a month to even find someone to talk to, my agent had quit so my account fell into a black hole. I finally reached a nice guy that did help me, but AAA wouldn't credit the money back to my account, they would only mail me a check. It took them 3 months. I switched companies.
Why doesn't the US have that? I allow direct debit to my new insurance company, insurance is too important for me to forget and they are unforgiving. A few years ago my debit card expired and I was automatically issued a new one. Same account number & pin, but a new expiration date. So my insurance company did the monthly debit, and it was rejected for the exp date and 6 days later my insurance was canceled and I didn't even know. I was furious! I had to re-apply, and pay a higher amount as if I was a new customer, they removed my "long term loyalty" discount! My time with them only reflects my "new" start date. Utilities will let you slide if you forget a payment, I have signed up for e-mail bill notification, so now I get e-mailed a link to my bill, click on it to view it, then pay. Love it. I hate mail.cristo said:This is something that the UK actually does quite well. We have something called the direct debit guarantee which any company who wants to debit your account on a regular basis must sign up to. If at any time you are over charged, or pay more than you think you should, you can simply call up the bank and they can (and will) immediately recall the money.
I think paperless billing and direct debit payments are a good thing. It stops me having to remember to pay things and is really convenient. Online banking also means I rarely have to speak to anyone at a bank, and can quickly perform most transactions. I cannot understand people who don't use this: I think with a month 'trial' you would never go back!
I was just thinking the same thing. How much more does it cost them to get paid late every month? How much does it cost them to have an employee take and manually process a payment in person? How much does it cost them to have employees opening envelopes and manually process mailed in payments?russ_watters said:Sometimes I wonder what they teach in business classes and cases like this almost make me think they must be counterproductive. It doesn't take a busines, management or marketing degree to know that the tiny profit one might generate from a fee like this isn't worth the backlash and resulting loss.
They must have gone to the same school as Netflix's management team.
Verizon Wireless has reversed its decision to charge a $2 fee for one-time telephone and online bill payments after a storm of criticism from consumers and the U.S. communications regulator.
Evo said:Seems the internet backlash cause Verizon to scrap their stupid plan.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/30/us-verizon-fcc-idUSTRE7BT13I20111230
Evo said:Seems the internet backlash cause Verizon to scrap their stupid plan.
Ivan Seeking said:Electronic media now allows public backlash to carry more weight than ever before. I like that. Almost immediately they had a pr nightmare on their hands.
The lowly customer has a powerful new weapon - the ability to easily organize.
A targeted internet campaign is much more effective than a bunch of odd people pitching tents in public parks. It took less than a day.Ivan Seeking said:Electronic media now allows public backlash to carry more weight than ever before. I like that. Almost immediately they had a pr nightmare on their hands.
The lowly customer has a powerful new weapon - the ability to easily organize.
Evo said:A targeted internet campaign is much more effective than a bunch of odd people pitching tents in public parks. It took less than a day.
How much effect do you think a group of people pitching tents on the lawn of Verizon headquarters would have had? I guess zero to none.
Or is the Occupy Verizon group getting their caravan together to go protest?
I think what we're seeing is a change in the way large corporations and even government are being curtailed. An effective internet media blitz can cause more instant pain and require instant remedies or attention.Ivan Seeking said:There is a difference between backlash, and the birth of a social movement. Social movements can be quite nutty until they crystalize. in the beginning, we saw activities similar to the occupy movement, with the environmental movement, and the anti-nuclear movement, both of which have been tremendously successful.
At least they didn't start lopping off the heads of anyone who doesn't have calluses on their hands.
A lot of people thought we anti-war protesters were un-American and unpatriotic during the VietNam war. Was gathering for marches and rallies effective? I don't know how effective, aside from getting some news coverage, but it sure would have been a whole lot easier to organize demonstrations on short notice if we had had the Internet. Might have saved a lot of lives, too.Ivan Seeking said:There is a difference between backlash, and the birth of a social movement. Social movements can be quite nutty until they crystalize. in the beginning, we saw activities similar to the occupy movement, with the environmental movement, and the anti-nuclear movement, both of which have been tremendously successful.
At least they didn't start lopping off the heads of anyone who doesn't have calluses on their hands.
Evo said:The issue is that they were imposing the fee on people unless they agreed to "automatic" withdrawal. Same payment process, but with automated pay, the customer's money is taken first, then if there is an error, the customer has to fight to get reimbursed, more money in Verizon's pockets for longer. Many customer's won't even even bother fighting after the fact, their time is too valuable and Verizon knows that.
Yep. If the company gets to take the money on their own terms, earn interest on their "float" and make the customers fight to get the over-payment back, that is all to the companies' benefit. Unfortunately, in the US, the companies and their lobbyists get to push the rules through, and we individuals don't have enough clout to force them into ethical conduct. I have a large MM account and roll-over IRA account with an investment bank that I trust. All our other money is with a 401K trustee and with a local credit union. It used to be that local savings banks were trusted institutions run by your neighbors. No more.Evo said:The issue is that they were imposing the fee on people unless they agreed to "automatic" withdrawal. Same payment process, but with automated pay, the customer's money is taken first, then if there is an error, the customer has to fight to get reimbursed, more money in Verizon's pockets for longer. Many customer's won't even even bother fighting after the fact, their time is too valuable and Verizon knows that.
Just wait until a $127 automatic debit becomes a $1,270 debit that takes four months of constant phone calls to get a mailed refund. I have also had direct debits of canceled shipments billed and over a month to get a credit back. Right now only my car insurance is automatic. Everything else I control by authorizing the debit so there are no mistakes.Moonbear said:I've used their automatic payments for years with no problem. You can schedule it to be paid on the due date so they don't have your money longer than needed, and theirs is through a credit card anyway, so you always have protection through your credit card charge dispute system. I think they were one of the first companies I ever set up automatic payments with, because it's through a credit card, not direct to a bank account, so there's a buffer if they screw up. Since it's the same charge every month, it's easy to spot an error right away. They could just as easily screw up the charge on a one-time payment too. I also don't understand the argument against direct debit from a bank account either. If you mail a check, they have all the same information directly on the check, and large companies don't even take the physical paper check to a bank to cash...they all show up as electronic transfers anyway as the checks are batch processed by automated systems. Beforevwe had people hacking databases, we had people intercepting checks right out of mailboxes. I only have one stupid local utility that doesn't have any form of electronic payment, and I've had more billing problems with them and their inept two-people office staff to the point I bring my payments to them in person and get a receipt and beg them to get an automated system every single month so they stop screwing up the bills. I'd happily pay a convenience fee to put those two out of a job and have a computer do accurate processing of payments, because I waste enough time and gas every month already to pay that bill.
Evo said:Just wait until a $127 automatic debit becomes a $1,270 debit that takes four months of constant phone calls to get a mailed refund. ...
It wasn't a debit card it was a direct debit from my checking account.nsaspook said:I never use a debit card for automatic payments, only a real credit card that's paid in full every month. Let the Bank fight the other big company for the money.
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/10-places-not-to-use-debit-card-1271.php
Yea, me too. And the only things automatic for me are automatic deposits.rootX said:... I prefer to pay it myself.
Yeah, online petition.edward said:I haven't read all of the posts or links, but the evening news said that Verison backed down when a woman showed up with 50,000 signatures.
This is the same woman who got BOA to back down on the $5 service fee for a debit card.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2011/12/verizon-cancels-2-fee/
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-verizon-drop-the-fee-for-paying-bills-online
Verizon Wireless is charging customers for the privilege of paying their bills, which means they are charging an additional fee for customers to pay their monthly bill.
The exact amount varies depending on the customer's plan and location, but it can range from $2 to $10 per month.
Verizon Wireless claims that this fee is to cover the costs of processing payments and maintaining their billing systems. However, many customers view it as an unnecessary and unfair charge.
Some customers have reported being able to get the fee waived by contacting Verizon Wireless and expressing their dissatisfaction. Others have had success by setting up automatic payments or using alternative payment methods.
As of now, there are no laws specifically prohibiting companies from charging customers for paying their bills. However, some states have introduced legislation to ban this practice, and there have been class action lawsuits filed against Verizon Wireless for this fee.