Customers Not Happy About Verizon's New $2 Fee

Will outraged consumers convince Verizon to backtrack on its newest fee, just as they did with Bank of America? Perhaps: The New York Times notes that yesterday's announcement of the $2 fee, which will be levied against customers who make one-time bill payments using a credit or debit card over the phone or online, led to quite an uproar on Twitter. (Sample tweet: "Scumbags, as if we don't pay enough for crappy signals and service ... Verizon will charge fee for paying bill.") Some upset customers set up online petitions, complained in Verizon forums, and planned to flood the company with paper payments in order to ensure it makes no profit from the new fee.

The Times notes that there are still many ways to make a payment without incurring the fee, including the aforementioned check payment, automated bank or credit card payment, in-store payment, money order, or Verizon gift card or rebate card. Verizon even offers a one-time option to make a last-minute phone or Web payment via bank account, rather than credit or debit card, sans fee. Other Internet service providers already have similar fees for certain types of payments, but, of course, that fact apparently did nothing to quell the Internet outrage. The Wall Street Journal notes that Verizon customers were already feeling sore, thanks to at least three outages this month. (More Verizon stories.)