Most companies are happy if their customers pay their bills on time, by whatever means, but not Verizon.  Verizon is taking "accounts receivable" to the next level.

Starting January 15th, 2012, Verizon will start charging its customers a $2 dollar fee for paying their bills Online or by phone.

 

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Verizon is calling it a "payment convenience fee".  It's their way of discouraging people from paying Online or by phone, and encouraging them to let Verizon use electronic fund transfer (EFT), and debit their payments directly from their bank accounts every month.

Verizon's billing computers will do this automatically and customers won't even have to think about it. In the news release on its website, Verizon encourages customers who don't want to pay the fee to use payment options that don't carry a fee.

Those options are explained on the Verizon website.  Here's the link:

Even so, you must admit this is really off the wall. Not many companies have the brass to charge YOU a fee for the right to give them YOUR money, but that’s what Verizon will be doing.

If Verizon sticks to its guns and starts collecting the two dollar fee, you can bet other providers will start advertising their service comes WITHOUT payment fees.

Verizon customers have a say in this.  They can vote against the fee by switching to a different provider. Verizon isn't the only cell phone company in town.

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