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FBN’s Gerri Willis on Verizon canceling its plan to charge a $2 fee for over-the-phone and online payments after a customer backlash.
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They -- they go again.
Another company trying to raise fees on consumers and having to do when and bearish -- about face this time.
It's Verizon.
The nation's biggest cell phone company with 91 million customers wanted to charge a brand spanking new peak to people paying their bill even if it was on time.
This was the plant people who pay online using a credit card or by telephone.
With -- -- would have been charged.
A two dollar -- even if they paid the bill and -- on time.
Verizon called it a convenience fee but really who's convenience not mine that's for sure.
Now for its part Bryson said there were lots of -- ways to pay your bill that wouldn't attracted that they.
Here -- three of them.
-- by old fashioned Paper check.
Customers making electronic check payments through my Verizon online and people making automatic credit card payments through Verizon's auto pay.
Now even though the -- wasn't intended for all customers a lot of people weren't happy about the new charge.
Some of you tweet it out to me on Twitter at Gerri Willis at BM but when -- says that's how what I described Verizon's two dollar convenient -- -- rip off.
Here's another.
Mad at BZ by the stocky yields 5% -- investing besides 5% is a good return right now and their right.
Great stuff you know we have so many comments today we want to get people on camera to voice their opinion so we took to the streets of Manhattan.
Which as you know millions are visiting for New -- to see what they had to say about Verizon.
Take a listen.
I think it's ridiculous -- -- you -- severe -- -- men don't try this yeah.
So there's certainly he's -- united -- can't I just doesn't make any sense.
I would change because because of the you know Aventis.
Did decide to satisfy general about it but I -- having.
It is switching services I would write him -- -- just like I did -- Bank of America consider charging he is I wrote in the letter and investigated banks and is going to change banks.
And then when they decided not to charge fees I didn't change things but I wrote a letter I went on email campaign and -- same -- with Verizon.
Don't mess with -- way to go girl.
-- also got a lot of reaction today on my FaceBook page and some are pretty funny like Donald -- -- Verizon can't hear me now that.
I'm leaving.
Richards' outrage to he says we should also in the Paper checks and let them deal with the expense of managing all that Paper.
Bill -- says this it's a business they are allowed to set any fees they shields.
I like that of course -- can pay whatever I want to.
And finally Michael sums it up this way I guess Verizon did not learn from the recent PR mistakes by Netflix.
And Bank of America.
Well it's -- and about 24 hours but they finally did give men.
Scared to death of the rising consumer backlash there was even an online petition calling for Verizon to get rid of the -- You can see that at change dot org slash petitions.
The Federal Communications Commission weighed in on the issue and said.
It was looking into that they they say they were concerned on behalf of American consumers.
So now the 91 million people.
The method behind Verizon's madness according to published reports -- to get customers to pay automatically through their website web -- that is.
But why use a punitive -- and do that for example AT&T is given customers ten dollar gift certificates to switch to auto pay.
I like the carrot not the stick.
In fact we know companies even the biggest listened to their customers when Bank of America announced a sixty dollar a year -- on debit.
Cardholders.
The reaction was so swift -- negative the Bank of America had to back off.
Thankfully the same thing half.
