By AnnaMaria Andriotis
UPDATE: Verizon abandons $2 fee
A cryptic statement by Verizon Wireless today has many consumers wondering, “what gives”? And they’re not alone. The banking industry is saying Verizon’s stated reasons for charging a $2 “convenience fee” beginning next month for customers who make single bill payments online or by phone could be unfounded.
Here’s the rub: Cell phone users who make single bill payments – rather than say set their monthly payments on autopay – often pay with credit cards or debit cards. Though Verizon’s statement doesn’t provide many details, the company says its new fee is addressing the “costs incurred” from these customers. Experts say that could likely boil down to the so-called interchange fees, which companies are charged by card issuers each time consumers use their debit card or credit card to pay for something.
But those fees haven’t risen, and the American Bankers Association says it’s confused by the company’s new fee. To begin with, credit card interchange fees, which typically range from 1% to 3% of the total purchase price, haven’t changed, says Nessa Feddis, vice president and senior counsel for regulatory compliance at the American Bankers Association.
Meanwhile, interchange fees on debit cards actually fell this year from 44 cents on average per transaction to roughly 21 to 24 cents. That means most companies pay less in fees to card issuers each time consumers use their debit card.
The average monthly cell phone bill comes out to about $47, according to the CTIA-The Wireless Association; so $2 would appear to be in excess of the interchange fee imposed with debit or credit. So why charge this $2 fee now?
It’s possible that the phone company’s bank that processes the debit card might charge a fee, but it would also charge a fee for check deposits and other transactions, says Feddis. In its company statement, Verizon said it wouldn’t charge the fee if customers pay in several other ways, including electronic or paper checks. Of course, it’s also possible the company is referring to a different fee. Verizon did not immediately return calls for comment.
Experts say it might be an attempt to get more customers to sign up for automatic payments, which help guarantee on-time delivery of the funds. Or perhaps it could be another example of a company trying out a new fee – and seeing if it sticks.
Though a sequel for “The Muppets” has been greenlit, one star who was integral to bringing the franchise into the new millennium will not be a part of it, reports Collider.
Jason Segel told the web site he won’t be signing up for one more round with Kermit and Co. “It’s true [that I won't be inside the sequel],” stated Segel, “but it really is entirely amicable. My objective was to bring the Muppets back and I did that, leaving them in really good hands.” Segel mentioned he desires “to pursue far more human-related projects,” adding, “All I wanted to do was to set the stage for them to complete whatever they wanted. I’m certain I’ll return in some capacity here and there, but that was half a decade of my life. Five years of tough perform. I’m prepared for just a little puppet break.”
Europe’s top rated human rights watchdog has urged Germany to quit offering sexual offenders the alternative of surgical castration.
The Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee said inside a report issued Wednesday that the practice, which aims to assist convicted sex criminals rein in their sex drives and lower their threat of reoffending, could simply be regarded as “degrading therapy.” According to Germany’s 1969 Law on Voluntary Castration, someone over the age of 25 may possibly be subjected to surgical castration if he “displays an abnormal sex drive, which … provides cause to suspect that he will commit one particular or a lot more criminal offenses.” The controversial process just isn’t mandatory plus a consensual offender can only have the operation immediately after being informed of all the implications of the decision and following medical approval has been obtained, Germany mentioned in its response, adding that it would contemplate reviewing the problem.
But Berlin also cited the treatment’s effectiveness, saying that in the 104 individuals who underwent the process inside the 1970s, only three individuals committed sexual crimes once more. Nearly half from the 53 other people who refused or were denied therapy eventually reoffended.
Voluntary castration is nevertheless quite uncommon in Germany, with fewer than five instances per year within the last decade.
The only other nation in the 47-nation bloc from the Council of Europe that provides the procedure may be the Czech Republic, which has also been the topic of criticism in current years for allowing sex offenders to opt for castration, a process it uses far more frequently than Germany.
Its great that Verizon is dropping the fee…now what can we doabout the Comcast fees
With the Netflix and Bank of America examples fresh in everyone’s mind, the Verizon move was a monumental management blunder. This will be fodder for those MBA case studies for years to come. I don’t know anybody who is a Verizon customer who has not had a bad customer service experience over something. People really dislike this company (and this was before the $2.00 fee fiasco).
VZW is a rapacious company. Stock is doing well, so this is just unreasoned greed that was easy to spot and repel. FCC and state PUCs will be burrowing into the perfidy of company execs, eh?