VZW will charge $2 "convenience" fee for bills paid online or over the phone.

[AgentElliot007]

Sure, it's easy to set up online bill pay through the bank - which lets me know that the money's been deducted from my account. What it DOESN'T tell me is that the money has been RECEIVED by the person I'm paying (which is actually something I'm dealing with right now - two due to the post office, and one was an online payment). The way I do it now, I know, I can track, and I can avoid late fees (and overdraft charges). Autodraft? Absolutely NOT. My bank's online bill pay? Not if you paid me.

I guess working in banking for the last 9 years has soured me on it, but not without good reason.

I never believed in it until the last year or so. Things have improved a lot. I've had no problems whatsoever when handling personal banking online, at work as an accountant/bookkeeper for a small business, and with my own small business of sorts at night and on weekends as a gigging musician. I do most of it through PNC and Chase now, and Chase has been spot on every time (1 day or less to deliver payment). I've had one minor slip up with PNC and they're a bit slower with eChecks, but we're talking one slip up after thousands of transactions for a small business. You'll likely have those one way or another anyways, and at least we have a clear "digital confirmation" trail to back us up now.

Maybe you should just find a new bank. Everyone talks crap about Chase, but they've always been good about waiving fees for me when I was just a high school kid, then a poor college kid, a poor post-college kid and then a slightly more stable young-adult. They've promptly corrected any errors that have come up and waived numerous overdraft fees for me when I was younger and not aware of linking my checking and savings account. And with Chase, I can manage ALL of my accounts and pay all of my bills in one app on my iPhone or iPad. I don't even need to go to the website anymore. I can see everything from one central location and I don't need to worry about having credit card data everywhere. There are no fees, and it's amazingly simple. And again, to be totally clear, I have literally had to pay just one, as in 1, $10 fee to chase one time when I set up and managed an account incorrectly. They probably would've waived it if I called, but it was well-documented upon basic inspection and clearly my fault so I didn't bother.

Also, I've found again and again that just because a bank has fees listed out on paper, they don't always get enforced. I take a few minutes to sit down with a banker once a year or so to go over all of my accounts and any changes, and should anything odd arise that might lead to a fee, it's been pretty easy to get the fee waived. I oftentimes don't even have to ask; they just do it as I'm sitting there. I can't speak from an internal perspective, but I have to imagine that they're more willing to help out customers who take initiative and seek out some semblance of a relationship because A) on some level they might trust those customers a bit more and B) they're going to want to maintain that relationship to keep the customer with the bank.

So I always tell people, if you don't have a pattern of screwing up, if you take some initiative and if you're friendly and polite, things can be pretty smooth dealing with even the biggest of banks. It's obviously not a hard fast rule, but it's worked for me and many of my friends who took the advice.

 

[8ate8]

I didn't read through all 4 pages of comments (got through 2 and didn't see a mention of it), but does this apply to all of Verizon, or just Verizon Wireless? I have Fios tv, internet, and home phone and was wondering if the same $2 fee is going to apply to Fios...

 

[wordoflife]

That is a fee that Verizon in this case has been swallowing for years and years now.

We (customers) expect Verizon to cover this fee as they have been doing in the past. Just as most other store/service has.

 

[labman]

Though I feel like a broken record, to be clear...

Everyone does realize that credit card companies charge billers a 2-3% processing fee for every payment a consumer makes with a credit card, right???

That is a fee that Verizon in this case has been swallowing for years and years now.

We stand to lose $2 a month if we still want to pay online with a credit card, but Verizon has been losing hundreds of millions of dollars per year for a good while now so we could pay with credit cards.

And again, to be clear, there's plenty of simple (if not simpler) and safer ways to pay electronically now that avoid Verizon having to pay this fee. This has more to do with all of us, be it a huge business like Verizon or us little consumers, cutting out an unnecessary middle man in Visa or Mastercard or any other credit card company. Verizon isn't the enemy here. If you need an enemy, pull out your debit or credit card and look at the little logo in the corner.

I know it's human nature to have a knee-jerk reaction to this, but long-run, this is a good thing for all parties involved.

Yes they also don't have to pay a employee to process your payment. Taking care of a customer trying to pay there bill while somebody waits to sign a new contract. Unhappy customers waiting in lines to pay bills. Money going directly into there bank account. The reality it saves them money not cost them money!

 

[AgentElliot007]

yes, every retailer, store, whatever has to pay the 2-3% fee. So using your theory, we should not use credit/debit cards anywhere?? Really? These fees should be considered a cost of doing business, period.

If you're a retailer or restaurant or provide a service that isn't billed monthly, yes. And it's not bad for those businesses. How many small businesses get burned by bounced checks every day? Sometimes the fees pay for themselves in other ways.

But with anything that is billed monthly, such as a cable bill, cell phone bill, gas bill, electric bill, lawn maintenance bill, water bill, whatever, there's a much simpler and more cost effective way of doing things now with electronic billing handled strictly by the banks. It makes absolutely no logical sense for a business to piss away money on credit card processing fees if there's now a completely reasonable alternative that's simple, just as convenient and again, even safer for customers.

This is just change. I'm sorry, but change is a part of life. This is a change for the better whether you see it that way or not. You just have to adjust a little.

Crying about this is like crying about any other change. A lot of small businesses don't take checks anymore due to all the scams and bounced checks. People whine. Some businesses try to not let you pay with $100 bills or pay in cash for anything over $100 because they don't want to have a lot of cash on hand. Some businesses don't let you pay with a credit card at all. And years ago, people were probably pissing and moaning that they couldn't pay with fox pelts anymore and had to have cash.

Moral of the story: get over it.

This is progress whether you see it that way at this moment or not. At some point in the near future, you will, and you'll forget all about silly little things like this that popped up in the transition period.

I'll argue with anyone any day about these cellular and internet providers making a killing at the expense of other industries any day. Believe me, I can get going. But on this particular issue, I'm completely on Verizon's side.

I get it, it makes sense, it cuts out a middle man. It's progress.

 

[tahoeroscoe]

Everyone does realize that credit card companies charge billers a 2-3% processing fee for every payment a consumer makes with a credit card, right???

everyone knows that. However most businesses just consider it a cost of doing business and subsidize it through the rates they charge.

Transaction fees passed on to consumers is an ancient way of doing business. It puts friction between the customer and the business. If i'm paying my bill and theres a transaction fee i'll probably just delay the payment and pay every other month to dilute the fee and carry a balance on the account.

fee dropped: http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/30/2670975/verizon-drops-convenience-fee

 

[soloer]

Verizon just announced they have decided to scrap this idea

 

[Ambrose Chapel]

That was quick:

Just a day after it confirmed that it would be adding a $2 'convenience fee' for the privilege of paying bills online or over the phone, Verizon's cancelled the charge, citing negative customer feedback as the reason for the shift.

In addition to customer outrage, the move caught the attention of federal regulators: as Reuters reports, an FCC spokesperson said that "on behalf of American consumers, we're concerned about Verizon's actions and are looking into the matter." It's not the first time the FCC has looked into Verizon's billing practices -- Bloomberg reported last year that Verizon agreed to pay a settlement of $25 million to the US and at least $52.8 million to customers as part of an FCC investigation into "mystery fees."

http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/30/2670975/verizon-drops-convenience-fee

 

[shartypants]

Geez, "Convenience Fee"? Everything about a smartphone is Convenient! Maybe they should charge $2 every few seconds that you use the phone! Come on Verizon, you're being a jerk!

 

[AgentElliot007]

Yes they also don't have to pay a employee to process your payment. Taking care of a customer trying to pay there bill while somebody waits to sign a new contract. Unhappy customers waiting in lines to pay bills. Money going directly into there bank account. The reality it saves them money not cost them money!

I guarantee you that this is not even close to the truth. You really think it would cost Verizon hundreds of millions of dollars per year to pay people to process checks? It's likely automated for the most part on the mail end (OCR what???) and in stores, it takes little time for employees to process bills. Kiosks? Same.

But try taking 2-3% off of maybe 50 million bills per month and counting. That adds up quick, and again, given changes and advancements in the banking industry, it's no longer necessary to piss that money away. I guarantee you that each and every person whining about this would do the same thing if they were running Verizon. It makes no sense for it to continue when there's another solution that really is a step forward in every way for most consumers as well as a money saver for Verizon.

 

[EricNau]

MacRumors News Story:

Verizon Drops $2 'Convenience Fee' Due to Complaints​

 

[AgentElliot007]

That was quick:



http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/30/2670975/verizon-drops-convenience-fee

This isn't a victory for consumers. It's a victory for the credit card companies.

Now, instead of giving people a little push forward and making some progress in the way we pay for things while also eliminating unnecessary credit processing fees, they'll just find a new place to add on to the bill that is far less transparent and we'll continue to line the pockets of Visa and Mastercard for no reason other than we decided to have a knee-jerk reaction instead of thinking critically for 2 minutes followed by 1-5 minutes of online banking setup.

Congratulations everyone on another victory for ignorance and the truly evil corporations of the world.

 

[kalex]

This isn't a victory for consumers. It's a victory for the credit card companies.

Now, instead of giving people a little push forward and making some progress in the way we pay for things while also eliminating unnecessary credit processing fees, they'll just find a new place to add on to the bill that is far less transparent and we'll continue to line the pockets of Visa and Mastercard for no reason other than we decided to have a knee-jerk reaction instead of thinking critically for 2 minutes followed by 1-5 minutes of online banking setup.

Congratulations everyone on another victory for ignorance and the truly evil corporations of the world.

Do u really think that they wouldn't introduce new fees after they pushed this fee thorough? HAHAHA

And why should I give a wireless phone company the right to access my bank account automatically every month and withdraw as much money as they decide to do on that month? what happens if there is a billing error or phantom charge and verizon already charged u for it. Its a lot harder to get money from them after they were paid than it is to call them, force them to adjust it and then pay smaller amount. Besides they already charge "administrative fee". Enough of this nickel and diming. its annoying.

Also notice that they don't offer any discounts for these so called services they offer. For example if they want me to automatic payments or pay via my bank account they should entice me to use it and there is no better way of enticing people then by offering discounts. Offer a discount of 2% of my monthly bill and i'll be more than glad to pay via my bank. instead of doing this they decide to charge me 2% instead. I don't think so

 

[theheadguy]

1) No, not everyone is poor right now.
2) I actually would be considered "poor," but I still have no problem making sure my bill is covered every month when it gets deducted.
3) YOU CAN STILL PAY VIA YOUR LEISURE THROUGH YOUR BANK'S WEBSITE.
Stop whining and be smart consumers.

What's ironic is the customer feedback this guy is whining about has now saved everyone from Verizon's ridiculous $2 fees.

 

[sk1wbw]

If it does actually indeed cost 2 to 3 bucks to pay a bill with these credit cards, then why isn't there a convenience fee every single time you use them to buy something?

 

[scaredpoet]

What's ironic is the customer feedback this guy is whining about has now saved everyone from Verizon's ridiculous $2 fees.

EXACTLY. As I said, acquiescence to this fee would've just shown Verizon that they can do this, and do it again and again. Thankfully, people spoke out, in spite of those who feel it's okay to just sit back and let it happen.

This is also validation to the argument that the fee was BS from the start. If it really cost that much to process these fees, Verizon either would not have budged so quickly, or removed the one-time online/phone payment options altogether, for being so darned expensive to maintain.

 

[rdowns]

This is also validation to the argument that the fee was BS from the start. If it really cost that much to process these fees, Verizon either would not have budged so quickly, or removed the one-time online/phone payment options altogether, for being so darned expensive to maintain.

Of course it was BS from the start. Do you really believe they haven't baked credit card fees into their model all these years? Puhleez.

 

[Prof.]

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

Verizon reverses on $2 fee for one-time payments [AP]

 

[MacManTexas56]

This isn't a victory for consumers. It's a victory for the credit card companies.

Now, instead of giving people a little push forward and making some progress in the way we pay for things while also eliminating unnecessary credit processing fees, they'll just find a new place to add on to the bill that is far less transparent and we'll continue to line the pockets of Visa and Mastercard for no reason other than we decided to have a knee-jerk reaction instead of thinking critically for 2 minutes followed by 1-5 minutes of online banking setup.

Congratulations everyone on another victory for ignorance and the truly evil corporations of the world.

isn't your verizon monthly bill $260?? and you are worried about lining credit card companies pockets? get real.

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Do u really think that they wouldn't introduce new fees after they pushed this fee thorough? HAHAHA

And why should I give a wireless phone company the right to access my bank account automatically every month and withdraw as much money as they decide to do on that month? what happens if there is a billing error or phantom charge and verizon already charged u for it. Its a lot harder to get money from them after they were paid than it is to call them, force them to adjust it and then pay smaller amount. Besides they already charge "administrative fee". Enough of this nickel and diming. its annoying.

Also notice that they don't offer any discounts for these so called services they offer. For example if they want me to automatic payments or pay via my bank account they should entice me to use it and there is no better way of enticing people then by offering discounts. Offer a discount of 2% of my monthly bill and i'll be more than glad to pay via my bank. instead of doing this they decide to charge me 2% instead. I don't think so

exactly! The only thing i allow to come out of my bank automatically is my car payment....bc it does not change each month. Man i can't imagine setting up every monthly bill for auto payment on my bank and letting them charge whatever and then deal with them later and try to get it all worked out. I've had friends who had trouble with this with Time Warner Cable and were charged twice...what do you think Time Warner did? They can't issue a refund so they credit their account the next month. A complete hassle for the consumer. I pay every bill I can with my CC and i review it as a pay it instead of after it's paid if everything was automated. Plus you get reward points for using a CC and most bank accounts barely give you any rewards back.

 

[lordofthereef]

what happens if there is a billing error or phantom charge and verizon already charged u for it. Its a lot harder to get money from them after they were paid than it is to call them, force them to adjust it and then pay smaller amount.

I am not disagreeing with you, per se, but I was overcharged $20 a month for the past three months for a service I did not use or mean to have (this is AT&T mind you) and I just realized it this past month. I called them up and they happily credited my account. Your mileage may vary, but if it is a true mistake I am sure most companies are happy to take care of it. Plus, if it is a true mistake, they happen not to want to fix it, and you just decide not to pay, your credit will eventually be hit, not to mention your service being suspended. Personally, I think there is a lot of unwarranted paranoia about auto-billing. The company isn't going to just purposely start lifting money from accounts. That's a quick way to get shut down, and they aren't in the business to make a few extra bucks illegally only to be shut right down.

 

[MacManTexas56]

I am not disagreeing with you, per se, but I was overcharged $20 a month for the past three months for a service I did not use or mean to have (this is AT&T mind you) and I just realized it this past month. I called them up and they happily credited my account. Your mileage may vary, but if it is a true mistake I am sure most companies are happy to take care of it. Plus, if it is a true mistake, they happen not to want to fix it, and you just decide not to pay, your credit will eventually be hit, not to mention your service being suspended. Personally, I think there is a lot of unwarranted paranoia about auto-billing. The company isn't going to just purposely start lifting money from accounts. That's a quick way to get shut down, and they aren't in the business to make a few extra bucks illegally only to be shut right down.

the point is the customer gets no benefit from paying with automatic payment. They don't get any discount and when they are overcharged they are credited and wait for the discount the NEXT month IF the company does it right. What happens when Verizon forgets and you are deducted again. You are then paying again upfront and are expected to get credited by Verizon the next month. I don't see how there is any benefit to the consumer to do automatic payments.

You are giving them the RIGHT to deduct money from YOUR bank account. They control it all....you better hope they are honest and right. Guess how many people will now ignore their bills bc they don't have to make the payment anymore since it's automatic. When you had your problem with the $20 fee were u paying with automatic payments? If so, it took you 3 months to figure out there was a problem. If you pay the bill yourself you are more likely going to read over the bill more and you would have caught the fee before you paid your bill.

 

[kalex]

[/COLOR]
A complete hassle for the consumer. I pay every bill I can with my CC and i review it as a pay it instead of after it's paid if everything was automated. Plus you get reward points for using a CC and most bank accounts barely give you any rewards back.

Yep forgot about this point too. Credit card companies give u points and incentives to use them. My bank doesn't give me anything for paying via bill payment so guess what I use credit card where i can to get points that I can turn into free stuff.

 

[lordofthereef]

the point is the customer gets no benefit from paying with automatic payment. They don't get any discount and when they are overcharged they are credited and wait for the discount the NEXT month IF the company does it right. What happens when Verizon forgets and you are deducted again. You are then paying again upfront and are expected to get credited by Verizon the next month. I don't see how there is any benefit to the consumer to do automatic payments.

You are giving them the RIGHT to deduct money from YOUR bank account. They control it all....you better hope they are honest and right. Guess how many people will now ignore their bills bc they don't have to make the payment anymore since it's automatic. When you had your problem with the $20 fee were u paying with automatic payments? If so, it took you 3 months to figure out there was a problem. If you pay the bill yourself you are more likely going to read over the bill more and you would have caught the fee before you paid your bill.

I can contest wrongful withdrawals with my bank. I can also call my bank and tell them "you know how VZW was authorized to make deductions? I want that to stop as of today" at any point in time if I changed my mind about auto bill pay. Don't know if all banks/credit unions allow that, but I would bet many do. I understand where you are coming from, I honestly do, but I just don't see it as big of an issue as is being made here.

Sure, I am not getting a discount for doing it this way, but I also don't have to worry about writing a check. One measly check may be nothing, but once you add in utilities and other payments, you are spending an extra couple bucks in postage per month, on top of keeping checks, and of course writing the check and mailing it out. I get a text each month stating how much was withdrawn. If that number looks weird and/or is different from my checking account, I know there are problems.

I certainly do not agree with the additional $2 fee (which seems to have been revoked at this point), but would probably end up dealing with it, as the convenience is probably worth it. Not necessarily proud of that, but I will admit it, and I am certain that is just what they are banking on.

 

[MacManTexas56]

Yep forgot about this point too. Credit card companies give u points and incentives to use them. My bank doesn't give me anything for paying via bill payment so guess what I use credit card where i can to get points that I can turn into free stuff.

exactly. plus most banks now charge fees to use a basic checking account unless you have like $6,000 in the account.

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I can contest wrongful withdrawals with my bank. I can also call my bank and tell them "you know how VZW was authorized to make deductions? I want that to stop as of today" at any point in time if I changed my mind about auto bill pay. Don't know if all banks/credit unions allow that, but I would bet many do. I understand where you are coming from, I honestly do, but I just don't see it as big of an issue as is being made here.

Sure, I am not getting a discount for doing it this way, but I also don't have to worry about writing a check. One measly check may be nothing, but once you add in utilities and other payments, you are spending an extra couple bucks in postage per month, on top of keeping checks, and of course writing the check and mailing it out. I get a text each month stating how much was withdrawn. If that number looks weird and/or is different from my checking account, I know there are problems.

I certainly do not agree with the additional $2 fee (which seems to have been revoked at this point), but would probably end up dealing with it, as the convenience is probably worth it. Not necessarily proud of that, but I will admit it, and I am certain that is just what they are banking on.

The point of banking in 2011-2012 is not to have to deal with calling up the bank or going there in person like the other guy was saying. I'm assuming since you didn't comment on it that your $20 fee you noticed was when you used autopay. What if you never noticed the fee bc you don't check the statement? I never talked about paying by check, but offer some type of discount to people having to change the ways they are used to. Instead you want the customer to go out of their way to change what they are used to and not offer a discount. When something goes wrong and you're charged the wrong amount....again the customer has to wait to get the money back. While Verizon, pockets your extra cash and earns interest from it. It would go over well if they offered a discount to use autopay and if not then you are charged the $2 fee. Look at how BofA thing turned out and same with Netflix.

Also, the wrongful withdrawals....those aren't guaranteed that you will get those back especially since you gave someone permission to make withdrawals from your account. With a CC you are protected against all that. With a checking account, kiss your money goodbye.

 

[lordofthereef]

exactly. plus most banks now charge fees to use a basic checking account unless you have like $6,000 in the account.

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The point of banking in 2011-2012 is not to have to deal with calling up the bank or going there in person like the other guy was saying. I'm assuming since you didn't comment on it that your $20 fee you noticed was when you used autopay. What if you never noticed the fee bc you don't check the statement? I never talked about paying by check, but offer some type of discount to people having to change the ways they are used to. Instead you want the customer to go out of their way to change what they are used to and not offer a discount. When something goes wrong and you're charged the wrong amount....again the customer has to wait to get the money back. It would go over well if they offered a discount to use autopay and if not then you are charged the $2 fee. Look at how BofA thing turned out and same with Netflix.

Also, the wrongful withdrawals....those aren't guaranteed that you will get those back especially since you gave someone permission to make withdrawals from your account. With a CC you are protected against all that. With a checking account, kiss your money goodbye.

I will be more specific, so that you know my situation... My mother's line is and additional line on our account since it's cheaper. She doesn't text (doesn't know how) yet she was being billed for monthly weather and horoscope packages. I called them up, explained the situation, and that was that. They could have said no, I guess, but they didn't give me so much as an ounce of trouble, so I have no reason to assume the worst.

Would I have noticed the bill was wrong earlier if I did it myself? perhaps, but the point is that I am picking auto-pay as a convenience. Nobody is forcing me to do it that way, it was just proposed that if I do do it that way, I will start getting charged. Does it suck for the consumer? Sure. Do they have the right to do it? I don't see why not.

People are always upset when they start to get charged for something that was free before. Hell, I remember when text messages were free. Now look at the killing that these companies make off of texts... It's just business. Once a certain service gets popular companies play around with fees to try and see a sweet spot. If they can make more money off of you they will. If they cannot, they won't It's THAT simple.

Lastly, giving a company permission to withdraw money from your account as your monthly bill does not equate to giving them free rein over taking out whatever they feel like without legitimate explanation. I bank with Well's, they WILL give that money back. Unfortunately it has happened before with my paypal being hit with a keylogger due to carelessness. It was exceptionally easy to fix.