So, do you pay your Verizon wireless bill by phone? Or maybe on the Internet? Verizon will be charging you $2 for the privilege of paying them in a manner convenient to you.
Unless, of course, you do what they want.
There are ways around the fee, of course: all you have to do is enroll in autopay with Verizon! Or send them a paper check. Or an electronic check. But pay on the web or by phone and you’re a bad person who must be punished to the tune of $2.
The funny thing is, it’s not really clear why, precisely, Verizon is doing something so boneheaded in this age where customers have figured out they really can hurt huge companies by walking away in droves. Some insist their payments processor is charging them a new fee, but if that were the case, why would there be so many exceptions?
No, Verizon wants you to enroll in autopay, because once you do that, you’re both less likely to actually look at your bill, and less likely to ditch Verizon for somebody else since extricating yourself is such a pain in the neck. All this and they sell your civil rights to the FBI, too! What a deal!
UPDATE: Public backlash has led Verizon to abort this awful idea.