Nickeled And Dimed To Death
August 11, 2003
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Posted by Aubrey Turner
Sometimes it’s the little things that really annoy you. Last month I switched my phone plan to the Verizon all-in-one plan, since it would give me unlimited calling (and just about everyone I call is long distance). But I forgot to factor in the huge bite that the state was going to take out of my behind for this transgression. The state in all its various forms added another $20.91 in fees, surcharges, and taxes on top of the $54.95 for the basic plan. That’s an effective tax rate of 38%.
Categories: What the heck?
A $76 phone bill? Good grief!
I know a growing number of folks have switched to celphone *only* operation.
Me? I pay $18.93 per month and then use my AT&T/Sam’s Club 1250 Minute calling card.
My situation is such that I don’t get sufficient cell coverage to ditch my land line service (i.e. my cell phone is unusable at home). Further, I need to maintain the land line for occasions when I work at home (a cell phone just doesn’t cut it when you have three or four hours of conference calls in a day).
Given that everyone I call is long distance, it still works out better than what I was paying before, but it still isn’t great.
I wonder if Verizon could be hiding their own charges in fees with official sounding names. I’ve heard several people comment on all the extra fees on their Verizon bill. I’ve had both SBC and Comcast and I’ve never paid anywhere near that percentage of regulatory fees (only around 12% on my last bill.)
You might be getting screwed. Or, as Verizon might say, you’re paying the Universal Customer Copulatory Charge.