Verizon Wireless Requiring data package is unethical Elgin, Illinois

I have been a loyal customer to Verizon for almost 10 years now. I am very upset about the data package requirment. For years Verizon has been selling cell phones that are internet and mobile email capable. These phones have always had these 3G multimedia features.

However, now Verizon feels that these phones should require a data package. I find this to be a bogus lie. It is just an excuse for Verizon to get yet more money from its customers.  

I purchased a cell phone for my daughter in March 2009. Her phone started to go, so we placed an insurance claim, and they ended up sending us the Rogue because that was the most comparable phone to hers. We were never told that the Rogue required a data package. I have been fighting with Verizon ever since. Then I had the ENV touch and transferred it to a different line, and they required the data package. Yet, prior to that, I wasn't required to carry the data package.

All in all, the data packages are costing me over $30 extra a month. The internet on these phones leaves a lot to be desired. The screen is too small, and the majority of the sites that I visit are not cell phone browser capable.

Not to mention the fact that my daughter is 12 and I do not want her to have access to the internet. Now I am forced to carry this data package on her phone, and if I block internet, I am paying for a service that I am not using.

I do not think it is fair for Verizon to force its customers to carry a data package. Those who want to use their cell phones for internet purchase a cell phone that is more capable such as a Smartphone, and understand that a data package is necessary. Those of us that just want a nice cell phone should not be forced to pay for a data package. I am using a cell phone to talk and text, not to browse the internet. I was under the impression that that was what the Smartphones were supposed to be intended for.