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Old 01-19-2018, 12:58 PM   #1
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Verizon -sneaky Rate Increase

Verizon has gone from monthly to 28 day (4 week) billing. Now the same thing has been happening in many industries for years. In theory the consumer benefits by getting less fluctuation in interest charged and goods or services used, but in fact where most consumers are paying for unlimited calls and internet.... (very inexpensive computer time as opposed to very expensive human labor) we all just got switched from 12 bills per year to 13 AT EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE RATE FOR THE LONGER BILLING PERIOD.
$100 x 12 = $1200
$100 x 13 = they hope you won't notice

Hidden inflation is everywhere. Toilet paper sheets are smaller than they used to be and there are fewer sheets on a roll.

I HAVE reached the age where going off on my own isn't prudent, so I am off to sprint or tmobile before the next bill comes... or maybe even one of the real bargain providers.

I CAN afford it or It is only $30 more.... SURE... BUT I would rather spend the money on really good insurance for the trailer. There isn't any particular extra value in the big V for me.

Paula
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Old 01-19-2018, 01:15 PM   #2
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Are you in a Verizon wireline market? Or are you referring to Verizon Wireless? I have a Verizon Wireless account. I received a notice this month that the day of the month on which my bill is due is moving up 3 days, but nothing about it being billed more often than monthly. They'd need a name for the 13th bill... in their system the bills are named for the month in which they're sent, with the days covered. For example, my current bill is labeled "January (12.14.17 - 1.13.18)" and thus covers 31 days.
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Old 01-19-2018, 01:20 PM   #3
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IF you don't have esoteric needs for your wireless service, I found Straight Talk to be reliable. I used their "bring your own phone" SIM service because the phones they sell directly start at 3rd tier and go down from there. At the time I was using them you were technically prohibited from tethering and that became an issue for my work so I'm not using them presently, but they resell Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T service (depending on your market) and the T-Mobile and AT&T services are available with bring-your-own-phone SIM service.)
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Old 01-19-2018, 04:19 PM   #4
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Hidden inflation is everywhere. Toilet paper sheets are smaller than they used to be and there are fewer sheets on a roll.

Paula
All this time I thought it was butt getting bigger.

Sigh of relief,

Matti
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Old 01-20-2018, 12:43 PM   #5
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OTOH, I recently found out about a good deal from AT&T, who provides my cell phone service. In the past, when I have traveled away from the US, I have called AT&T and they have sold me a plan for while I was away from the US for maybe $60 so I could still use my cell phone without paying international rates. This time I went to Mexico and called to get a plan, and they told me I could get a plan for unlimited calling from Mexico. Cost? Zero! They just needed to tag my account that I was on the plan, and that was that. I kind of held my breath while I was in Mexico and didn't make many unnecessary calls or Internet, because it sounded too good to be true, but I just received my phone bill for the period I was in Mexico and it is the same as usual, so I guess it worked. However, it's good I called, because you aren't automatically on that plan; you have to ask.
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Old 01-20-2018, 03:04 PM   #6
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OTOH, I recently found out about a good deal from AT&T, who provides my cell phone service. In the past, when I have traveled away from the US, I have called AT&T and they have sold me a plan for while I was away from the US for maybe $60 so I could still use my cell phone without paying international rates. This time I went to Mexico and called to get a plan, and they told me I could get a plan for unlimited calling from Mexico. Cost? Zero! They just needed to tag my account that I was on the plan, and that was that. I kind of held my breath while I was in Mexico and didn't make many unnecessary calls or Internet, because it sounded too good to be true, but I just received my phone bill for the period I was in Mexico and it is the same as usual, so I guess it worked. However, it's good I called, because you aren't automatically on that plan; you have to ask.
Verizon works similarly in Canada and Mexico these days, though there's a 0.5gig/day limit to high-speed data and then it slows down. For normal use that's probably enough, but people who stream lots of video or use their phone as a hotspot may hit the cap.
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Old 01-20-2018, 05:17 PM   #7
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We have VZ unlimited. I have arranged to have my bill paid automatically on the 6th of every month. So far the bill amount has been the same for two iPhones and an iPad. For the last two months over the Thanksgiving/Christmas and New Years holidays we stayed at a RV park and we have streamed Netflix overnight for at least 2 hours each night via my iPad and so far no issues with bandwidth.
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Old 01-20-2018, 06:02 PM   #8
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I just left AT&T for T-Mobile for different reasons. Both Verizon and AT&T are awful companies to work with. I have been with both for years as we always keep a phone on one and a tablet on the other to get the broadest coverage as we travel. It has only been about 2 months on T-Mobile now but I have been very pleased with the coverage. Of course the fact that the bill is about 60% of what I was paying before is simply awesome...
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Old 01-22-2018, 05:29 PM   #9
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Verizon wireless.

First notice that they moved your bill date back 3 days.... but didn't reduce the regular charge to adjust for the three day overlap. I paid for the 7th, 8th and 9th of the month on my last bill... and now I am being told to pay dor those same days again?

Next, I asked the rep if they were converting from monthly to 28 day billing... who wiggled but finally said yes.

I used to own an answering service/call center. Many of those bill on a 28 day cycle - and it makes sense because the biggest cost is operator labor which is not variable on a 28 day cycle. Customers do routinely pay a premium when their usage of operator time goes up. A snowstorm that causes an office to close for 3 days... well a call center is an "instant temp service". A 31 day month... customers pay a bit more than they do in Feb.

Verizon wireless is not billing for labor, only computer server and antenna capacity. Those costs continue to go down, though all cell providers have to upgrade those systems. If you pay 100 bucks a month its 1200 per year. If you are still paying 100 for 28 days it comes out to 1300 per year.

When our company contemplated going to 28 day billing we figured the daily rate and multiplied it by 28 to get the bill CYCLE rate. Of course we almost instantly realized that going to email/fax billing would save more in postage than any 28 day scheme would generate.

Paula
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Old 01-22-2018, 05:31 PM   #10
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Toilet paper... not speaking for YOU but it could be both...
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Old 01-22-2018, 10:11 PM   #11
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Toilet paper... not speaking for YOU but it could be both...
Both, please leave me to my delusions. [emoji12]
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Old 01-22-2018, 10:21 PM   #12
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I could have sworn the paper was getting narrower...
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Old 01-22-2018, 10:46 PM   #13
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I just spoke with VZW customer service about this. I asked them straight up whether they were switching from billing me monthly (12x per year) to every 28 days (13x per year), which would be a sneaky hidden rate increase. They assured me I would still be billed monthly (12x per year).

I encourage everyone to make the same call and ask the same question.
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Old 01-23-2018, 05:49 AM   #14
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Looking at my past billing, current billing, and projected billing for the upcoming month, my new billing cycle has and continues to begin on the 16th of every month.

Maggie
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Old 01-23-2018, 08:10 AM   #15
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Verizon still wants the public to think of them as Ma Bell, a company that cares for you. That is not the case. They are one of the most underhanded companies currently operating in the US. As a profit center they will NEVER REMOVE a canceled feature unless you follow up and request it be removed from your bill.

When the phones became my responsibility at work I discovered over $12,000 per year in billing errors. Lines that had been canceled years before, wire maintenance contracts that were never ordered, and extensions that did not exist. If you don't watch them you are at their mercy. After over 20 years the Universal Access Charge, charged to give free phones to the less fortunate, is still going up even thought the masses have phones. Could some of that money be making it to the bottom line?

If you get a 28 day bill see how it compares to your old monthly bill and if not less by that proportional amount ask why or consider contacting your states public utilities committee.
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