While more and more carriers and telecom companies are offering free online payment services, Verizon had apparently decided to do the reverse. It didn’t charge any fee on online and mobile payments done through Verizon but then, according to a document leaked, it had decided to start charging customers $2 per month fee for online bill payments. Luckily, Verizon backed off this plan after a rather severe backlash online and announced that it won’t be imposing the fee.
Verizon plans a $2 fee:
The news were leaked a day earlier when the entire tech-world was abuzz over the revelation that Verizon will impose a new fee on bill payments done through Verizon, either online or through mobile. This fee, as per the new apologetic Verizon statement, was to ‘improve the efficiency of transactions. The fee was to be $2 per month which mounts up to about $24 per year. Although this isn’t much, the fact is that nearly making a service paid after offering it for free for a long time does make customers angry. And that’s precisely what happened with this new plan.
Verizon’s plan was that after the fee was implemented, Verizon would prompt customers to adopt alternate methods of paying their bills if they wanted to avoid the ‘convenience fee.’ These alternative methods were payment through an electronic check, by paying the bill in person at a retail store, by using a rebate or reward card, by signing up for AutoPay or by simply mailing a check through regular postal service.
And then cancels the plan:
Clearly, no one is interested in going back to the times when bill are paid through the good, ol’ postal service. In a world fast growing digital and relying increasingly on electronic currency, it simply seemed kinda funny. The new statement by Verizon confirms that such a plan was under consideration and announces that Verizon has now backed off from the plan. It reads:
“The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions. The company continues to encourage customers to take advantage of the numerous simple and convenient payment methods it provides.”
Luckily, Verizon was quick to catch the cue and cancel the plan well before time. If it had decided to implement it without making the intents public before-hand, who knows what size of customer base it may have lost in this adventure.
Image courtesy A Florian.
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