Ever since the Motorola Droid was announced, I’ve heard stories of people ready to dump their iPhones and get a Droid—not necessarily because they want to give up their iPhones, but because they hate AT&T.

It turns out that while AT&T might have spotty coverage, Verizon is actively fleecing the hell out of people.* David Pogue explains…

Starting next week, Verizon will double the early-termination fee for smartphones. That is, if you get a BlackBerry, Android or similar phone from Verizon, and you decide to switch phones before your two-year contract is up, you’ll be socked with a $350 penalty (it used to be $175).

That’s pretty bad, but this is much worse: Verizon has designed many of their phones to have easy-to-hit-by-accident buttons that connect you to the Internet using their “Get It Now” or other stupid services, and they charge you $1.99 for pushing that button, even if you cancel the action immediately.

Better yet, if you call to have them block your account from accessing online data, those buttons return a message from the Internet saying you can’t receive data, and they charge you $1.99 for that error message too.

Whatever carrier you’re on, check your bills. These guys are merciless.

*I’m not saying AT&T is NOT actively fleecing the hell out of people—they very well might be—but I haven’t found examples as egregious as these from Verizon.** And AT&T quickly got on board with Pogue’s “Take Back the Beep” campaign, so they at least understand the value of good customer relations a little. Verizon was the ONLY carrier that didn’t respond to that campaign.

**AT&T did charge me $39.95 once to apply a 10% discount to my account. Charging me for a discount was pretty ballsy, I thought.

Anthony Hecht is The Stranger's Chief Technology Officer. He owns no monkeys.

43 replies on “Verizon Sucks Too”

  2. Verizon’s land-line service is the worst utility I’ve ever had to deal with. I’m not surprised their wireless business is so crooked.

  4. I never thought I’d say this after all these years of hating them, but Sprint rules.

    They have the cheapest data plan – $70 for unlimited data & text, GPS navigation services, and free roaming. And, I could be wrong, but I think I can change my phone any time I damn well please ($30 activation fee).

  5. I’ve used pretty much all of them at one point or another, and IMO Verizon’s the best of the bunch. I’m not sure what you’re talking about with the easy-to-hit buttons, though. Every phone I had needed you to dial *-number-number or #-number-number to get that junk (which I never did, of course).

  11. T-Mobile just changed their pricing structures. They offered to switch me to a new plan, for a small “migration fee” of $35. It was easy enough to decline and I didn’t incur any penalty, but I thought it was funny. Not “ha ha” funny, but you know…

  12. #4: Actually, T-Mobile’s new plans are the most badass out there right now: (shameless self-linking going on, yes) http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-1038….

    $79 for unlimited everything (including data) and no fee to switch phones–you just change your SIM card from one to the other.

    And they have a number of good Android devices.

    And when it comes to Verizon, don’t forget the brewing AT&T vs. Verizon war that’s starting. It should be a fun one.

  14. @8 – The laws say that the termination fees have to be prorated, so if you cancel after 18 months, they can’t charge you the full fee, but they can still charge you something (in this case $110 even if your contract is nearly up). The idea of those fees is to make up for the carrier subsidizing the cost of the phone, so really, it should approach $0 when your contract is finishing.

  15. I never understood the problems people have with ATT. I’ve been with them since 2002 and have always had really good customer service. A few years back I had to go with a GoPhone instead of staying on my family plan and had to get a new number, but that was the only difficulty I’ve come across. I actually really like the GoPhone over having a plan because I can buy any phone I want and just put in a new SIM chip with no “phone switching fee”.
    They just instituted a new unlimited plan too- $60 talk/text. And I’ve never had spotty coverage or been dropped in Seattle.

  16. What #12’s talking about can actually be a pretty sweet deal, if you can find the phone you want on Craigslist or Ebay, or already use one not under contract. The rates are good either way, but T-mobile doesn’t have the best selection of smart phones (it’s getting better), and the initial $300-700 for one can seem pretty daunting.

  17. To echo @15, I never understood the problems people have with Verizon. I’ve been with them since 1999 and have always had really good customer service.

    Yeah, they charge you for every goddamn little thing. But that’s how they roll, and they don’t pretend otherwise. The moral of the story is, you should know exactly what you should be paying, and then be aware when what you actually pay differs from that amount. Don’t complain because you didn’t read the fine print.

    Also, I have switched phones mid-contract and wasn’t charged….though of course the last time I did that was almost five years ago, so their policy may have changed since then. Maybe I get the good “loyal customer” treatment because I’ve been with them for so long?

  18. Agree with #4. I’ve never had coverage issues with Sprint, ever. The only thing I thought was weird is that when you move up to an unlimited data/text plan, you can’t get anything less than 500 minutes or something like that.

  20. @17: they do their absolute best to do things like disable mp3 ringtones on phones that support them, so that they can sell them to you through their service. They used to do the same with GPS, too. I’m pretty sure they went with CDMA just so that they could better lock down which phones their users have access to.

    A friend of mine had a Verizon phone that wouldn’t even accept a normal USB *charger* – you had to use the Verizon one.

    F those guys. They are by a long shot the worst of the big carriers in terms of fucking their customers.

    They do, however, have good coverage.

  21. Tthe subsidies wireless carriers are offering on smartphones are comparable to the early termination fees. You’re “buying” an iPhone or Droid with “$200” plus a 2 year commitment. The 2 year commitment has value, and that is why you get the expensive to make smartphone for that price. The value of the commitment can be calculated in a couple of ways: the difference between the price of a phone with contract and without(“unlocked”), or the price of early termination of the contract.

    The other part is pretty douchey, though.

  22. @21 – Yes, but as Pogue points out, if they were merely protecting their subsidy, your termination fee would be very close to $0 if you cancelled a week before your contract was up, say. With Verizon’s new fee, it would still cost you $110.

  23. I’ve honestly had good results with T-Mobile. I wouldn’t mind upgrading my G1 to one of the newer Android devices, but on the other hand, I have yet to hear of anything the MyTouch 3g or the Droid can do that the G1 can’t.

    And, I’ve never had billing problems or any questionable charges. Heck, about a year ago, I got a call from customer service telling me that my last payment hadn’t gone through (I had recently changed bank accounts, and entered the new details incorrectly), but after we squared this away she said she’d waive the late fee I’d incurred.

  24. @18 – Yeah, it’s 450 minutes, which is about 300 minutes more than I actually need in any given month, which leads me to …

    @4 – $79 is more than $70. Granted, T-Mobile is unlimited voice, and Sprint isn’t, but see what I said above.

    And, one other question, for you Matt Hickey – why is it better to pay $20 per month to avoid being in a 2-year contract? If 2-years pass, and you haven’t jumped providers yet, isn’t that the same as flushing $240 down the toilet?

  25. Forget my last question, Matt Hickey. I didn’t realize that $20 per month is actually buying hour handset over time at zero interest. That actually is a good deal.

  26. Verizon has TERRIBLY spotty coverage here in town. It’s fuzzy in First Hill and there’s a giant blackout area (that’s right, a “dead zone”) between Wallingford and Fremont.

  27. verizon also has a dead zone in white center. used to have verizon, now i have sprint. hassles w/both, but a bigger erroneous billing problem w/verizon. recent phone purchase at sprint was actually a good cell phone company interaction, which is rare. and yes – cheapest unlimited data plan (now w/unlimited mobile to mobile).

  30. I’m so glad I’m on Tmobile… infinite texts and data for $54 and I haven’t gotten a ridiculous fee yet. PS, on Verizon, unlimited data means 5GB.

  31. I love my iPhone to death, but I am not happy with AT&T. I would love to get in to CREDO Mobile, the carrier that puts a big chunk of their money to good progressive causes, but they don’t carry the iPhone. Unfortunately my moral highground disappears if I can’t have my FaceBook Mobile app.

  32. PS: all carriers have data limits for tethering, it’s just that Slashdot hasn’t outed all of them. The 5 GB story was talking about tethering, not data usage. So, let’s have a look at AT&T’s tethering plan for the iPhone…oh, that’s right, they don’t offer one. Well, have a look at their current terms of service anyway:

    http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-s…

    Don’t want to read all that junk? That’s OK, it’s what they’re counting on. Here’s the money quote for their tethering plans:

    “PDA/BLACKBERRY PLANS WITH TETHERING
    […]If you are on a data plan that does not include a monthly megabyte allowance and additional data usage rates [ed – an ‘unlimited’ plan], the parties agree that AT&T has the right to impose additional charges if you use more than 5 GB in a month. Prior to the imposition of any additional charges, AT&T shall provide you with notice and you shall have the right to terminate your service.”

    WOAH! Look at that, AT&T has EXACTLY THE SAME POLICY AS VERIZON. The lesson here isn’t that Verizon is awesome and AT&T sucks or the other way around. It’s that all carriers suck equally. If you think they don’t, you’re wrong. Get the phone you want with the features you want for the best price you can get. Do not stay loyal to your carrier, as they hate all human life. If you want to get out of a contract, wait for them to change the terms of it (they do this all the time) and then you can cancel without fees.

  33. Just be thankful you don’t deal with the contract rates here in Canada. Our stupid non-competitive monopolies have led to some of the highest rates on the world. horray!

  34. My Net10 burner rules. 10 cents a minute on AT&T’s network. No contracts, bills, etc. You only pay for the minutes used. And the LG hardware is pretty nice.

  36. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc are all evil, but I do love my Droid. A lot of my friends have Iphones, which are very nice, but I need a phone that can make calls at my house. I live in downtown Baltimore, near the Inner Harbor, and the stadiums, and I couldn’t get a AT&T signal in my house. They dropped my calls everyday. It got to the point that I’d know where I was going to lose the calls, and I would warn the person on the other end of the line that the call was going to end.

  38. I’m one of those who accidently pushes that easy-to-hit-shit internet button on my LG.

    That get it now stuff is complete money grabber. I’m glad I can use the free BitPim and connect my phone to my Mac w/o sending money to verizon.

  39. I’ve been with altel for years and was obviously happy with them because I could put my special ring-tone (A steam train whistle and bells) but not anymore. Altel never screwed up my bill with a bunch of crap. Verizon has bought Altel and screwed with the phones. My w755 is virtually worthless. I had a good slider that went bad and they wouldn’t replace it with the same phone because Verison doesn’t use it anymore. So much for the bells and whistles. I’m really pissed.

  41. Dear Anthony,
    You are a fucking retard. Verizon will only charge you the $350 etf (early termination fee) if you disconnect prior to the contract end date. Verizon also takes off $10/month off the etf. Every company has some kind of etf as a way to tie a customer to their services. As far as the the data charges, you are partially right. Most Verizon’s phones will access the web by hitting the up directional key and yes they may charge $1.99/ MB but most people now a day need access to mobile web. I do agree that not all people may need the services and it is not very ethical to have those shortcuts as default that may cause customers to get MB overages. However there is no need to talk shit about Verizon. It only takes one time to realize that you are geting MB overages. It is all up to the customer to take the proper action. If you are going to be using features that require the use of MB then switch to a data plan. Connect plans offer unlimited data usage for people that are constantly keeping up with social sites like myspace, facebook and twitter. There are also small data packages for people that don’t use MB eating features. There is the $9.99 data pack that gives you 25 MB or the $19.99 pack that offers 75 MB. Now if you don’t care for any of this, you can always have i all blocked. You can also easily change your default settings on the directional key shortcuts by going through the phone’s settings. It doesn’t take a fucking rocket scientist to figure it out. People that constantly get those overages deserve it, for they are fucking idiots for not learning after the first, second, third, fourth, fifth… month. If you stick your dick in a dirty whore and you catch an std that is curable and survived, would you stick you dick in another dirty whore again? Probably not. You learn from your mistakes and take the proper action. Moral of the story is check your damn bill and take the proper action based on your individual needs. Although i may not agree with verizon setting easy accidental web access, Verizon is still the number one wireless provider in the U.S. Coverage is unmatchable and customer service. Fuck you, fuck AT&T and all other wireless providers. I would say fuck the Iphone but i like it. The phone is just on the wrong network. Having the iphone on AT&T network is like having a Lambo on a shitty, pot hole,dirt road. Having it on VZ would be like having that same car on the autobahn were it can reach its full potential. Thank you and you have a wonderful day. 🙂

  42. I was just informed by Verizon billing department that the termination date told to me by the marketing department was wrong. She told me that I should not have relied on what the marketing department says, as they don’t have all the information. Thus, my early termination fee (terminated 1 month early on a three year contract) is valid and I owe $280 for early termination. Wish I could bill for the three times a week marketing calls. Verizon sucks.

  43. first of all your wrong about the early termination fee. its if you terminate your contract with verizon not upgrade/change your phone. and i have had the internet blocked by verizon and have never been charged for a message. i have not ever even seen the message, even when i tried to go on the internet when it was blocked. it just said that my action cant be completed and thats all. so if youre going to bash the biggest cell phone company at least get your facts right

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