In the face of widespread consumer complaints and regulatory scrutiny, Verizon Wireless scrapped plans Friday to institute a $2 surcharge on single bill payments made with a credit card online or over the phone.
The nation’s largest wireless carrier disclosed a day earlier that the “convenience fee” would be in effect Jan. 15 to help cover the costs associated with processing such payments.
The company said it decided to reverse course “in response to customer feedback.”
“At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers,” Verizon chief executive Dan Mead said in a statement. “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.”
Verizon outlined other ways for subscribers to pay their bills, such as with an electronic check or by using their financial institutions’ bill-pay service.
But that did little to stem the backlash.
As of Friday afternoon, an online campaign at urging Verizon to drop the fee had garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
“Verizon’s plan to force more fees on their customers shows just how out of touch they are,” said Verizon subscriber Molly Katchpole, who started the petition, in a statement.
The campaign attracted support even after Verizon announced it would not implement the fee.
Before Verizon backtracked, the Federal Communications Commission expressed concerns about the charge and said it would look into the matter.
Verizon’s about-face is similar to Bank of America’s decision in November to drop plans to charge consumers $5 a month for debit card purchases.
An online petition was also launched against Bank of America’s proposed fee.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or
