Verizon Scraps "Convenience Charge" Less than a Day After Announcing It
Just a day after announcing a $2 so-called "convenience charge" for customers paying their bills online or by phone, Verizon responded to a massive wave of criticism and canceled plans for the fee on Friday. The charge created an uproar online on Thursday, as irate customers took to blogs and bulletin boards to express their disdain for the charge.
The fee was scheduled to go into effect January 15th and would have applied to customers making one-time payments with a credit or debit card, whether online or by phone. The fee would not have been charged to customers making payments through the mail or at Verizon stores.
"At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time," read a statement from CEO Dan Mead.
Earlier in the day, the Federal Communications Commission had commented on the fee, saying it was "concerned" about the fee, and was looking into the matter. The opposition to the fee was so widespread, that a petition against it on Change.org brought in more than 60,000 signatures in under 24 hours.
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