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+--- Thread: Verizon Begins Charging a Fee Just to Use an Older Router (/showthread.php?tid=1333)
Verizon Begins Charging a Fee Just to Use an Older Router - dmcowen674 - 07-20-2016
7-20-2016
Verizon Begins Charging a Fee Just to Use an Older Router
Verizon has informed customers the company will begin charging FiOS customers with an older router a new "Router Maintenance Charge." An e-mail being sent to many Verizon FiOS customers says that the fee of $2.80 will soon be charged every month -- unless users pay Verizon to get the company's latest iteration of its FiOS gateway and router.
"Our records indicate that you have an older model router that is being discontinued," states the e-mail. "If you do plan to keep using your current router, we will begin billing, on 9.29.16, a monthly Router Maintenance Charge of $2.80 (plus taxes), to ensure we deliver the best support."
And here you were thinking you already pay some of the most expensive broadband prices in developed countries (according to OECD data), with that including the "best support" already.
"You also have the option to upgrade to a certified, pre-owned Fios Advanced Wi-Fi Router," says Verizon's notice. "It's a one-time purchase of $59.99 (plus taxes) with free shipping and handling for a limited time. This is a great opportunity to enhance your Fios experience with faster Wi-Fi speeds."
I reached out to Verizon, who -- as in the e-mail notice -- suggested the fee was necessary to pay for "frequent repairs" on older gear.
"The notice was sent to customers who are using our oldest generation of Fios routers (BHR1 and BHR2 models)," Verizon's Raymond McConville tells me. "Many of these routers have been in use for nearly ten years and have required more frequent repairs, so we’re trying to reduce that maintenance load and expense."
The problem is that older routers may not always be the fastest and most advanced, but work perfectly well. As such, charging a fee for a device that a consumer may be perfectly happy with really is just another way to raise rates on an otherwise already expensive service.
Needless to say, Verizon FiOS customers aren't particularly impressed.
RE: Verizon Begins Charging a Fee Just to Use an Older Router - dmcowen674 - 07-20-2016
Incredible how Corproations are finding more ways to screw over Americans
RE: Verizon Begins Charging a Fee Just to Use an Older Router - SteelCrysis - 07-20-2016
(07-20-2016, 08:46 PM)dmcowen674 Wrote: Incredible how Corproations are finding more ways to screw over AmericansNo kidding.