Verizon Wireless Billed Monthly misc. $ for data usage (though 'Get-It-Now' service is disabled) Albany Internet

Yes! they switched to a provider that will treat them better and won't talk down to them.

So, real quick. I'm trying to understand something...you went to a company that will charge you more per KB for accessing the internet on your phone?

Whether it was an accident or on purpose. Whether your kids went to check out the Megan Fox wallpaper or you were finding out exactly what a ringtone sounded like...

AT&T charges $0.01per kb for their "Media-Net"(sourced at bottom). There are 1,024kilabytes(KB) in a Megabyte(MB). This equates to $10.24 per MB If you aren't on one of their data plans. Their data plans are $30/$15/$10, which are very alike to Verizon plans except for the fact that Verizon finds ways to bundle more for the same price like Mobile E-mail, ESPN MVP and VCAST Video.

Verizon charges are flat rate of 1.99 per MB.

So here is a scenario, you are a Verizon Wireless customer, you had everything blocked (or so you though) except you didn't quite catch the part where you will still be able to receive mb charges if your kids browse wallpapers or ringtones. You get your bill and you have 9.95 charges for "Megabytes" at 1.99 each. You think, really? Verizon just ripped me off. Or did they? In my eyes they protected you, if you were with the company you just went to you would have been charged at least $40.96 before tax. (that's at their $.01 per KB rate which equates to $10.24 per MB multiplied by 4 even though there is a possibility of 5.) Yes Verizon charges you the full MB even if you don't use all of it. But this is still a cheaper price. You can use 5 mb's with the pay as you go option through Verizon before you even equate to 1 MB through AT&T.


Verizon Wireless was actually protecting you from having a huge bill from accidental clicks or your kids browsing.

And by the way
I used to work with kids everyday and they would bring their cell phones in. They would sit their and browse ringtones wallpapers then show them off to their buddies. Who knew?

I have to agree with the plaintiff, I do not like the way Verizon does business, I have been a customer for six years, and unfortunately I am going to have to switch providers.
For the last two years I have repeatedly had to call customer service regarding charges on my bill. For one thing, the "base rate" meaning, your calling plan, plus the cost to add one line, plus your text packages, & insurance, should total to one number.
Meaning my $89.99 calling plan, plus my $9.99 add a line, plus my $15 text package, and my husbands $10 text package, and his $5.99 insurance plan, should total $130.97. Then they add voice and data charges, then they add fees, then they add taxes and surcharges. (Can you tell I am familiar with their bill?)
Well, my "base rate" varies EVERY MONTH, sometimes it's $135, sometimes it's $149, sometimes it's $155 - every month a different number. To top this off, we have voice and data charges, legitimate ones are accounted for, but there are always one or two that are included, and under detailed description it says "no description available" Sounds like siphoning to me...and here's another Cold Hard Fact - I turned my phone off, MULTIPLE times, sometimes for 1/2 a month, once for a whole month, and once (because my phone was broken and I wanted to see how long I could go without it - i loved it but my husband played the safety card and made me get a new one) But once for SIX solid months I had NO PHONE, but was still paying for it and ALMOST EVERY TIME I had ATLEAST 1.99 on the voice and on the data charges!
Either way, I got tired of combing my bill over with a fine tooth comb so I thought I was just paranoid, surely no one would actually mis-charge on purpose, I wouldn't. I went to pay my bill in the store one day and the nicest verizon employee EVER inquired why my bill was so high for only 2 phones, I laughed and said "i gave up trying to figure that out, you tell me" so he did. He made a phone call, repeated a few times, "we dont want to loose a loyal customer and I've calculated many times and can't figure out why it's so high, it just doesn't add up" he put her on speaker phone and she kept answering his repeating the same thing with, "why do they always pay late" "why do they always pay late" he responded "why does it matter? even 5 $5 late fees could not amount to what their bill is!" I chimed in with "I don't relish in being late HOWEVER I have to spend un Godly amounts of time on the phone fighting customer service over my bill, (for the record, nearly every time I've paid late, it's been by a few days, and merely because I have to CONSTANTLY fine tooth comb my bill and spend tons of time on the phone with customer service, only to get the same worthless reply every time and frankly, it kind of sucks to have to hit "submit" for $180-$220 bucks every freaking month when you have NEVER gone over your minutes on a $150 plan....)
The lady on the other line said, "I'm fixing it now, future bills should read $130 (at that time we didnt have all the features we do now) plus tax. And they did, for 2 months, then they started creeping back up to $180 a month....now I'm going back through the same battle - so frustrating, I finally decided my time is worth more than I'm paying so I'll try another provider.
And one more thing, the billing wasn't the only problem, one time, way before I started letting them screw me every month, back when I didn't have 3 kids and had ALL the time in the world to fight fraudulent charges, I had a total of, around $330 due, I was fighting the past due balance of $180; I got it back down to $150 because they couldn't validate the data charges, (again with the no description crap), then when I went to pay over the phone, I (my fault) accidentally hit "pay entire amount due" instead of "pay different amount" I hung up before it processed but it was too late. Needless to say, it was Christmas time and while $150 wasn't a deal breaker, $330 sent me right into overdraft. I called back and BEGGED for them not to go through with processing and do $150 instead of $330 - i mean the remaining balance wasn't due for WEEKS, I had no intention of paying it 3 weeks before it was even due...they refused and refused, everyone, no matter how many times I called. So I gave up, I was going to go to the bank, and put in the last of my Christmas money so I didnt have an outstanding overdraw on my bank account.
When I got to the bank, I was shocked again - Impossible right? WRONG - They debited $330, causing me to overdraw, and incur a $35 fee also, then, they refunded the $330, (still leaving my account in the negative because of the $35 fee) Then WITHOUT CONSENT, withdrew $180 - which, if you're keeping up here was NOT the past due amount, but rather the most current bill, that which I hadn't even had to opportunity to haggle......So follow me here, debit $330 and incur a $35 fee, refund $330 still in the negative because of the fee, debit (without consent) $180 further pushing me in the negative AND causing me to get ANOTHER $35 fee....
At the time at the bank I was under the impression that they had refunded, as I requested the $330 and debited the $150, even though I was in for $75 worth of overdraft fees, I was grateful that someone had done as I begged and I was able to salvage some of my Christmas money. Until I left the bank. I got a call from Verizon asking when I would pay the past due balance...I bet I turned 5 shades of red - I explained the whole thing and then is when I realized...they refunded the entire amount, took without consent the most recent amount due, now they were calling for the past due amount...needless to say, I paid it, incurred a THIRD overdraft fee, and cried all the way back to the bank....basically they could have left it the way it was and I would have saved $105 in overdraft fees.....but instead it was screwed up...I am 21 years old, I have outstanding credit, I graduated from HS a year early, I married the man that fathered my children, I am a homeowner, I am a hard core christian, I am not a bum, I try and do what's right and I fight people who take my hard earned money. I'm tired of fighting, I'm switching providers. In my opinion, I am the idiot, I should have walked out the door when I heard the lady on the other line ADMIT that there was no reason I was being over charged besides the fact that I was chronically late and they could basically overcharge because I had to pay it whether I liked it or not....I should have left right then but they have such d**n good service - I concur with others who have filed rip off reports, Verizon knows they have good service and thus they can do what ever they wish.
If you want service EVERYWHERE you go, join Verizon, when you are tired of fighting them, join T-Mobile....

Here's the deal:

Any time there is a download made from the handset, an application called VZW Tones Deluxe is installed on the phone. If this application is not removed from the phone, the blocks you have are basically like locking all the doors, but leaving a window open. Your kids will still be able to "get around the blocks." It's not rocket science. Had you removed VZW Tones Deluxe from the phones, or *gasp* taken the phones away from your kids, I bet $100 you wouldn't have seen a single MB charge.

No one can guarantee that your kids won't browse ringtones or games, so no one is going to guarantee you won't see the charges. If your kids say they weren't doing anything, they're lying. Hate to break it to you, but it's the truth. Technical support can see dates, times, and length of the session each time Get it Now/Media Center or Mobile Web is accessed from the phones.

It's not a ripoff, it's pretty straight forward. The reps that you talk to don't see a dime of your $6 a month. No one is siphoning money, they aren't erroneous charges.

Hope you enjoy your service with AT&T. They bill for MBs the same way VZW does, only they charge a hell of a lot more than $1.99 per MB.