Verizon: Pay us to tell you what we're billing you for

[riddler 0]

Verizon is starting a new service that may mark the beginning of a disturbing trend in the cell-phone industry. Pay more for detailed billing.

Usually, a cell-phone company will include a list of calls you made, to whom and when and for how long. But it looks like Verizon wants to charge $1.75/month for that "service". My mom got two months of $250+ phone bills, and she has no idea why. She called them, and they are asking her to pay for a detailed report. I was considering getting a new Blackberry from Verizon, and I noticed that they want $1.75 / month to show me who I called and when. It looks like they will give me a "standard" bill that just shows how much I owe them every month for free. Am I just supposed to trust them to get it right every month?

I probably don't understand the finer points here, but does this just seem wrong? How many industries in the world don't give itemized billing or expense reports as part of their cost of doing business? Why should people have to pay extra for the privilege of knowing why a company says you owe them money?

Maybe a better way to do this would be to give everyone the detailed bill, but offer a $1.75 discount to people that don't want to see the details.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[BillyVance 35]

Fuck that bullshit. Find another provider. THEN tell those assholes at Verizon why.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[akarunway 1]

Quote

Verizon is starting a new service that may mark the beginning of a disturbing trend in the cell-phone industry. Pay more for detailed billing.

Usually, a cell-phone company will include a list of calls you made, to whom and when and for how long. But it looks like Verizon wants to charge $1.75/month for that "service". My mom got two months of $250+ phone bills, and she has no idea why. She called them, and they are asking her to pay for a detailed report. I was considering getting a new Blackberry from Verizon, and I noticed that they want $1.75 / month to show me who I called and when. It looks like they will give me a "standard" bill that just shows how much I owe them every month for free. Am I just supposed to trust them to get it right every month?

I probably don't understand the finer points here, but does this just seem wrong? How many industries in the world don't give itemized billing or expense reports as part of their cost of doing business? Why should people have to pay extra for the privilege of knowing why a company says you owe them money?

Maybe a better way to do this would be to give everyone the detailed bill, but offer a $1.75 discount to people that don't want to see the details.

I've been fighting them batards for months. Gonna pay em 200 to just get rid of them

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Broke 0]

That is messed up. She should say if they won't tell her who she called when that she would like to dispute the whole bill

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[grannyinthesky 0]

I'm not thrilled with Verizon either, but where I live, there really isn't a choice. I can get the details of the billing by going online and there's no charge for that.

"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

[BillyVance 35]

Quote

I'm not thrilled with Verizon either, but where I live, there really isn't a choice. I can get the details of the billing by going online and there's no charge for that.

I didn't know that.... So you can get the online report and print it out at home free?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[grannyinthesky 0]

Yep. Go to verizon.com and set up an account. You can also pay your bill online.

"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

[skymama 37]

A gas company started charging our company a $1.50 monthly statement fee. The crazy thing is that only one out of three branches of the same company is charging this. I get dozens of statements from other companies and they don't charge a fee. I told my Boss to complain and he said their service sucks anyway and that was just the icing on the cake. They won't get our business anymore.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[grannyinthesky 0]

At least you are where you have a choice. I live in rural Idaho where there's usually "one of" _________
Fill in the blank with about anything you like

"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

[Andy9o8 2]

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They won't get our business anymore.

In that case, you'll have to pay a non-renewal fee.

[Andy9o8 2]

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At least you are where you have a choice. I live in rural Idaho where there's usually "one of" _________
Fill in the blank with about anything you like

Oh. So you're Idaho's math teacher. Got it.

[skymama 37]

Quote

At least you are where you have a choice. I live in rural Idaho where there's usually "one of" _________
Fill in the blank with about anything you like

Well, we are builders, so this is for the building process, not for monthly service. Lucky for us, subcontractors are begging for work now, so we can pretty much choose whomever we want. It would definitly be tough if there was only one company who could install gas.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[davelepka 4]

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I probably don't understand the finer points here,

It's due to the size of a detailed bill. Printing and mailing all those pages costs more.

I have a plan that more than covers the calls I make, so my bill is always the base cost for the plan. I don't need or want a detailed bill.

In truth, I wish they would stop mailing me a bill all together. I pay online, so the billis a waste of paper, and makes more garbage for me to take out.

You should be able to check the details of your bill online for free. I would also guess that if your mom's two bills were way outside her normal usage, she could contest them, and recieve detailed bills for those months at no charge.

If she wants the detailed bill every month, they she has to pay.

[TrophyHusband 0]

Quote

At least you are where you have a choice. I live in rural Idaho where there's usually "one of" _________
Fill in the blank with about anything you like

yes but you have the old time fiddler's contest, that should make up for everything. we've got nothing over here.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[grannyinthesky 0]

Yes, and the music is fantastic. I saw a couple of kids one year that could just about make their fiddles talk! It's worth a trip over this way.

"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

[TrophyHusband 0]

it's likely to encourage people use online services to reduce paper and mailing costs. i would almost like to see companies charge extra for not paying online also. so far there's been nothing i can do to convince my wife to pay bills online. maybe a fee would push her over the edge. i say almost because not everyone has a computer or internet either by choice or because they can't afford one. being poor sucks enough without being additionally penalized for it.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[TrophyHusband 0]

my dad used to go every year, but since i moved to idaho he hasn't been. i'll check it out if he goes.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[akarunway 1]

Quote

Quote

I probably don't understand the finer points here,

It's due to the size of a detailed bill. Printing and mailing all those pages costs more.

I have a plan that more than covers the calls I make, so my bill is always the base cost for the plan. I don't need or want a detailed bill.

In truth, I wish they would stop mailing me a bill all together. I pay online, so the billis a waste of paper, and makes more garbage for me to take out.

You should be able to check the details of your bill online for free. I would also guess that if your mom's two bills were way outside her normal usage, she could contest them, and recieve detailed bills for those months at no charge.

If she wants the detailed bill every month, they she has to pay.

I call bullshit. I have a thousand min. plan. Had a small crisis last month and went way over. Guess what? 45 cents a min. Asked for a detailed bill and it was like pulling teeth to get it out of verizon. T-Mobil will send you one every month.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[grannyinthesky 0]

Quote

I call bullshit. I have a thousand min. plan. Had a small crisis last month and went way over. Guess what? 45 cents a min. Asked for a detailed bill and it was like pulling teeth to get it out of verizon. T-Mobil will send you one every month.

Did you try getting it for yourself online? I have a second line for my daughter, and I check all the time.

"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

[davelepka 4]

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T-Mobil will send you one every month.

Do you want one every month? It seems like a pointless waste of time/paper/energy.

Look it up online. I know you have internet access.

[SuFantasma 0]

Switch to Sprint :

Check out this rate plans : www.sprint.com/SERO

More info available in wwww.slickdeals.net , just search for Sprint SERO and read the FAQs.....

I am getting 1250 min/month (anytime minutes) for $49.95 + unlimited text messages included, plus all the data I can eat on a Treo ...

Nights & Weekends are free and so are Sprint-to-Sprint (or Sprint-to-Nextel) calls (meaning they don't count towards your 1250 mins).

In addition, I am paying the additional $ for nights starting at 6:00pm....

And yes, they detail your bill (I use email ) at no additional cost.

Last month I got a Moto Razr Vm3 for $49.95 (2 yr contract ) ....

I've had the service for 4 years now ... can't beat it .

Y yo, pa' vivir con miedo, prefiero morir sonriendo, con el recuerdo vivo".
- Ruben Blades, "Adan Garcia"

[sunshine 2]

Quote

Yep. Go to verizon.com and set up an account.

Actually it's verizonwireless.com if it's just for the cell bill.

I love Verizon and wouldn't even think of switching to anything else. I've had it set up to only get online bills for years. It's sooo convenient. I love the little bar tracker that tells me how many of my anytime minutes i've used for the billing cycle and when the new billing cycle will start.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[akarunway 1]

Quote

Switch to Sprint :

Check out this rate plans : www.sprint.com/SERO

More info available in wwww.slickdeals.net , just search for Sprint SERO and read the FAQs.....

I am getting 1250 min/month (anytime minutes) for $49.95 + unlimited text messages included, plus all the data I can eat on a Treo ...

Nights & Weekends are free and so are Sprint-to-Sprint (or Sprint-to-Nextel) calls (meaning they don't count towards your 1250 mins).

In addition, I am paying the additional $ for nights starting at 6:00pm....

And yes, they detail your bill (I use email ) at no additional cost.

Last month I got a Moto Razr Vm3 for $49.95 (2 yr contract ) ....

I've had the service for 4 years now ... can't beat it .

I wish I had my Razr phone back You can have the LG. They suck worse than the Razr. At least the Razr had a smart card to store #'s. Took 2 mths to get all my #'s back after someone STOLE my phone. Bastards.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Lastchance 0]

When my contract is up with Verizon I will be going with somebody else. They do have the best coverage here in Montana but I'm fed up with their BS. The topper for me was a few weeks ago I had a problem with my phone and I went in to have it checked. I stood in line till it was my turn only to be told to go back to the entrance and punch all my info into a computer and then come back up and stand in line again. Very impersonal. I'm tired of being treated like a number instead of a customer. When I do go with somebody else I will get great pleasure in canceling with them and telling them exactly why. I run a retail buisness and I know my regular customers by name. I treat them like people.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[grannyinthesky 0]

Quote

Actually it's verizonwireless.com if it's just for the cell bill

Oops. I just respond to the e-mails I get from there. That must be how I found it to begin with. Thanks.

"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490