verizonwireless.com — Effective March 1st, the fee will go up from $0.10 to $0.15 per message. According to engadget - "if you've been sticking to Verizon but secretly fancying another carrier, this looks like it may be your only chance to take the plunge without also taking a hit." i.e. terminating your contract without the early termination fee!
Jan 12, 2007 View in Crawl 4
circlefusionJan 13, 2007
You should have recorded the conversation when you cancelled just so you can play it back to the managers, or put it on the web to give them bad publicity.
rusty_gJan 13, 2007
this is OLD!!!! or was it Sprint that did this?????
pernskillsJan 13, 2007
anyone who doesn't use 50 texts a month which will unfortunatly go down to 33, hence the reason of this article.
Closed AccountJan 13, 2007
This all stems from a general feeling, no matter who your carrier is, that people are getting screwed. In some sense you are give that these carriers advertise these crazy calling plans with isolated pricing. $39 unlimited calling etc, only later you find that with this fee and that fee you're bill is closer to $69 or more. In fact no matter what plan I have ever signed up for I have never been able to get my bill below $70 and I've really tried! Even gone so far as to use my work cell just to see how no calls would effect my bill. The reality is that the business model of these companies is to grow revenue and profits from things other than the basic cost of service. It's simple business 101. Phone service is a commodity and there will always be a provider to offer the same service for a dollar less. So we have these crazy contracts, to prevent you from going with these changing prices, then you have all these "service fees", then "non-phone services" like buying music and ringtones. Why you would ever want to do that, or who thought that was a good idea, I'll never know. It's hard enough to keep my phone charged as it is without using it as an iPod. If my iPod dies it's "oh, bummer", if my cell phone dies, it's "oh s**t!". Then you have the especially egregious ones like Verizon that purposefully cripple their phones, in the name of security, and offer you some plan at an additional charge, to make up for it. It's wrong that Verizon displays the bluetooth logo when they deny you 99% of what BT can provide just to make a few more bucks from you. The sad thing is this is all they can do if they're going to show revenue growth in an over saturated market. Most people that want cell phones have them! Most people are in a contract, so how to do increase revenues and profit?!?! Rather than "working for you" it should read "getting more money from you." They really don't have a choice and because they've locked you into a contract, neither do you.
tmcdiggJan 13, 2007
Show me ONE fee Verizon has LOWERED-- lately?You'll be hard-pressed to find them.. although I'm sure someone will digg through their list of fees and find one.. not that it will be impressive..
jwcooperJan 13, 2007
My girlfriend just got out of her 2 year contract by calling in and being polite, but firm. The Verizon rep said they would block instant messages, but my girlfriend said that wouldn't be an option due to the very rare instances it may be needed.It does work if you take your time, be polite, and have a reasonable answer to each of their questions or offers.Give it a try if you are unhappy with this change!
tenlowJan 14, 2007
Well my plan (to be fair it was an AT&T plan) was 1000 nationwide minutes a month, free nights and weekends, and free mobile to mobile. $39 (came out to $43 or so after taxes if i didnt use text messages).Verizon's comparable 1000 minute plan was $79. So over double is not in my case an exaggeration. Their $39 plan gave 400 minutes. It was a no brainer. Cingular worked great in the DC area. The only place it didnt work is riding the metro through the tunnels. However my friend's Tmobile phone did work underground (in addition to all of the places my phone worked)And for the record, I've been cell phone free for 6 months now, and it's the greatest thing in the world.
gkisystemsJan 21, 2007
jwcooper, you said your girlfriend was able to be firm with Verizon and get out. Could you please let us know what exactly was said by both sides? Who did you talk to? Verizon customer service people will give you their first name and ID number. When was service cancelled and for what phone number? It seems like they are selectively enforcing their contract. If they let your girlfriend out, they must let all of us out too. Who's your girlfriend so I can reference back to it when I call them again?Also...whoever calls in to Verizon should record the phone call and post it online for the rest of us to hear. I'm in the process of buying a phone recorder and I'm going to record the conversations as soon as I get it.
tomgregorJan 25, 2007
try the following info to get out of you current verizon contract. I did it and it took less than 2 minutes. I still need to call the customer service rep back after I port my numbers, but it has been posted to the account to cancell at the end of the next billing cycle to cancel with no ETF's call 800-922-0204 I talked with Jeanne at ext 7243Step 1) Understand your rights. Verizon has changed their rates, and were obligated to issue a "Legal Notice." In their contract it says "IF THE CHANGES HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON YOU, HOWEVER, YOU CAN END THE AFFECTED SERVICE, WITHOUT ANY EARLY TERMINATION FEE, JUST BY CALLING US WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER WE SEND NOTICE OF THE CHANGE." This is what you will be doing.Step 2) If you have a text messaging plan, click here. If you do not, click here. Verizon customers with messaging plans will need to cite the "International Receiving Rate" as their reason for canceling. Other customers can refer to the entire rate hike.Step 3) Research other cell phone companies. Make sure you want to do this.Step 4) Call Verizon at 800) 922-0204. Calmly, but firmly, state that you wish to cancel due to the text messaging increase. Tell them you received a legal notice about the rate change that instructed you to consult your Customer Agreement. Then, read them this section of the Customer Agreement:Our Rights To Make ChangesYour service is subject to our business policies, practices, and procedures, which we can change without notice. UNLESS OTHERWISE PROHIBITED BY LAW, WE CAN ALSO CHANGE PRICES AND ANY OTHER CONDITIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT AT ANY TIME BY SENDING YOU WRITTEN NOTICE PRIOR TO THE BILLING PERIOD IN WHICH THE CHANGES WOULD GO INTO EFFECT. IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE YOUR SERVICE AFTER THAT POINT, YOU'RE ACCEPTING THE CHANGES. IF THE CHANGES HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON YOU, HOWEVER, YOU CAN END THE AFFECTED SERVICE, WITHOUT ANY EARLY TERMINATION FEE, JUST BY CALLING US WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER WE SEND NOTICE OF THE CHANGE.You may need to escalate to a supervisor. Do not give up. Verizon is letting people cancel.
hoosier70Feb 16, 2007
they refused to let me cancel. I only text 10x a month and the supervisor said I needed to do it more often. I told him I wanted to take this to arbitration and he gave me an address. Pretty pissed. I explained that it does not matter whether it is optional or not. The point is if I do want to use it I am charged more then when I signed the agreement.Anyone have advice? May I call back an speak to someone else or am I forced to arbitrate?