Verizon Billing - over billing for data - heads up!

[oldAGE]

This is a heads up to S3 users and anyone on VZW who may have purchased a new handset that drove them from an unlimited plan to either shared everything or a tiered data plan... first this...

For three months, I fought with VZW because I took offense with their $30 Upgrade Fee for moving from a 3G service that I had for years to a 4G service. As I would be upgrading from two smartphones to four, I thought that the guaranteed revenue of over $6600 for two years should be enough and they didn't need an extra $120. It was a non-starter. I spent a couple of weeks negotiating and Loyalty was able to find a combination of credits and promos that would get me to a $110 credit over two billing cycles. It was good enough... I converted my Fascinate and DroidX to two S3s and changed two messaging phones to two iPhone 4s'.

First month billing included moving from two unlimited plans to two 2GB data plans and the addition of two 2GB plans. Of course, they screwed that up and charged me for a handset that I purchased directly via a credit card because they double my warranty on devices, etc. They applied 2/3 of the expected credits and then needed adjust another $200 and change the following month. The next month, they applied the expected credits then prorated the new data plans. This month, I am on the first full 2GB across the board and this is where things go south quickly.

First off, VZW never completely documented the Promos and credits and they fell short by $8 and tell me that there is no record of a total of $110 in credits although they see three $30 credits for three data months and owed me two months of line access ($9.99) credits. They got one (less taxes) and refused one due to no record of the exact value of each promo or credit. Strike One VZW. Next, on the current bill, I see an extra $20 plus taxes and find that VZW has billed me for a Data Overage on two lines. Next, I notice that the Data Usage indicated is over 1 GB per line. And this is where I see red. As all you ex-Unlimited data users know, you didn't manage when you used WiFi and when you used Wireless. You may have controlled that for a better experience via WiFi but you didn't do that for billing reasons. Next, you may now use WiFi to control potential data overages and you may use the built in Data Usage feature on your S3. I find that useful and it's pretty accurate +- a few percentage points. And this is where it gets ugly.....

Verizon is reporting on the My Mobile App an accurate representation of data usage compared to the S3 Data Usage feature. But on the bill, they are more than tripling my data usage for my entire phone, not taking into account that over 90% of my data usage is via WiFi. Again, tripling my entire months worth of data usage of my device irrespective of whether this is via Wifi or Wireless. Not only that, it's nearly four times my average usage since January 2012 even when I had an unlimited plan. They are now on month two of this nonsense.

So, I would warn you to watch your Data Usage function on your phone and align the measurement dates with your billing cycle, watch your usage and compare to My Verizon app, and then watch your past and present bills. Finally, make sure you use the USAGE UTILITY on the My Verizon web page and compare all four to eventual reality. I am going to be watching this like a hawk...

AGE

 

[walkingrock]

I was overcharged by $10 the first month. I changed from unlimited to 2 Gb mid-cycle, and I had never used anywhere near 2 Gb before; I should not have used over 1 Gb for a partial cycle. I could not figure out how that was possible. I complained without any recourse. I thought they were going to charge me an additional $10 for the second month also, but they removed it. Even though it is only $10, it really ticked me off. I am watching my usage carefully, also. I love the way they put data all in Mb on my bill, and no total, so it is really impossible to calculate your usage by looking at your bill.

 

[rockhopperGS3]

Same exact thing happened to me. I called right away and they took it right off, but i had to waste 30min on the phone with them. I wonder how much they make off people that dont notice the overbilling or just dont care? I bet its a ton....bastards

 

[fofjjsr]

Wifi has no affect on your app on your phone showing data usages. By default when wifi comes on Verizon's data goes off, there by making it so no data information is being sent to and from Verizon's network. Wifi is in no way figured into your data totals. As far as the upgrade fees you are complaining about, every other company charges those, and they charge more just an fyi. Some special cases they are waived or promotions may happen. When you change your bill in the middle of a billing cycle (or anytime during one for that matter) you get a prorated data amount, not the full 2gb. So I guess my question for the person saying they got overages after changing during an active billing cycle, exactly how far into the billing cycle are you.

 

[fillossofer]

1997: better watch your minutes or you'll get the shaft.
2004: better watch your texts or you'll get screwed
2012: better watch your data or you'll be nailed.
2016: ?

The common theme here is that wireless companies have always set you up to go over your allotment. With data it is much harder to prove what you did or did not use. They could arbitrarily boost people's usage by 25% and there would be very little anyone could do about it. What I'd like to do one month is turn off mobile data altogether and see how much they say I used. THAT would be an interesting experiment.

 

[MrSmith317]

This thread makes me wonder...was it worth it? I've already determined that my Unlimited plan is only going away if/when Verizon pries it from my cold dead hands.

 

[Irvgotti]

This thread makes me wonder...was it worth it? I've already determined that my Unlimited plan is only going away if/when Verizon pries it from my cold dead hands.

Heck no. I'm keeping mine. I'll just keep buying at full retail every 2years. Its always good to have no limits than limits.

 

[HalizDad]

When I switched over from unlimited on Sprint to Verizon, I wasn't sure which plan to get, so I went with 4GB of data. After employee discounts, Verizon runs about $10.00 more a month than what I paid with Sprint, plus, I have LTE here and at work now. With 10 days to go in my billing cycle, I've used a whopping 371MB out of 4096MB of available data plan. I'm on WiFi 80% of the time. I'll be trimming this down to 2GB and renewing for another 2 years at the end of this billing cycle. However, Verizon has a data warning system that will both text and email you when you get to 50, 75, 90, and 100% of your data plan. All you have to do is sign up for it on their website. You can also set your phone to shut off data connections at whatever level you want. Verizon has come a long way since I had them last, in regards to ripping people off...Are they really that sneaky now, that they have me semi-defending them?

 

[oldAGE]

Wifi has no affect on your app on your phone showing data usages. By default when wifi comes on Verizon's data goes off, there by making it so no data information is being sent to and from Verizon's network. Wifi is in no way figured into your data totals. As far as the upgrade fees you are complaining about, every other company charges those, and they charge more just an fyi. Some special cases they are waived or promotions may happen. When you change your bill in the middle of a billing cycle (or anytime during one for that matter) you get a prorated data amount, not the full 2gb. So I guess my question for the person saying they got overages after changing during an active billing cycle, exactly how far into the billing cycle are you.

Sorry... you are dead wrong or you completely misunderstood what I wrote. The S3 has a Data Usage function (Settings->Wireless and network->Data Usage) that records all data to/from the device (irrespective of whether it's the LTE radio or 802.11 radio when you set it up that way) and it's pretty accurate down to a few percentage points. Secondly, as you write, My Verizon Mobile app "turns off" when WiFi is being used. So, the issue here - without being precise but to illuminate my point... If my Data Usage function of my S3 states that within my billing cycle, I used 250MB of data, and My Verizon Mobile App reports that I have used 50 MB of data, how can my Billing Report indicate that I have used 1.2 GB of data? The only thing that Verizon can bill me for is 50MB of data that traversed the wireless LTE network. The other 200MB was across WiFi.

As others have written here it seems like VZW has a product conversion problem in their billing software. I suspect that those two old "unlimited" lines will clear in the next bill cycle and I will see the expected $9.99 line and $30 data charges only. I am glad that other folks have looked and complained. As others have written here, I believe they are right that 2/3 of all consumers will pay based on the bottom line and never check their detail. Especially during the times when the bill is pro-rated and there are a thousand lines of charges and credits across different dates and multiple hand-set accounts. I think it's time for a class-action. Stay tuned....

 

[oldAGE]

When I switched over from unlimited on Sprint to Verizon, I wasn't sure which plan to get, so I went with 4GB of data. After employee discounts, Verizon runs about $10.00 more a month than what I paid with Sprint, plus, I have LTE here and at work now. With 10 days to go in my billing cycle, I've used a whopping 371MB out of 4096MB of available data plan. I'm on WiFi 80% of the time. I'll be trimming this down to 2GB and renewing for another 2 years at the end of this billing cycle. However, Verizon has a data warning system that will both text and email you when you get to 50, 75, 90, and 100% of your data plan. All you have to do is sign up for it on their website. You can also set your phone to shut off data connections at whatever level you want. Verizon has come a long way since I had them last, in regards to ripping people off...Are they really that sneaky now, that they have me semi-defending them?

Yeah... I have that all set up for the warning at each level of percentage especially on my kid's iPhone accounts plus I have it set up on the Data Usage function to warn me at 1.5 GB and stop data at 1.8Gb. Sprint always had the compelling product and price but just didn't have the service. If my contract expired one year from now, I would have reassessed Sprint if they make LTE gains better than they did and just be patient. Unfortunately, the price wasn't worth the pain. I never got 3G service for three years with VZW and that's why I was so PO'd at the $120 upgrade... I still can't get 3G on my property and in my home area but four miles into town I do get quality 4G (a little distance and geography issue that they will never overcome until their preferred roaming Extended Network partner ramps up their network which will happen in probably 10 years). Anyway... thanks for participating.

 

[Ry]

Sorry... you are dead wrong or you completely misunderstood what I wrote. The S3 has a Data Usage function (Settings->Wireless and network->Data Usage) that records all data to/from the device (irrespective of whether it's the LTE radio or 802.11 radio when you set it up that way) and it's pretty accurate down to a few percentage points. Secondly, as you write, My Verizon Mobile app "turns off" when WiFi is being used. So, the issue here - without being precise but to illuminate my point... If my Data Usage function of my S3 states that within my billing cycle, I used 250MB of data, and My Verizon Mobile App reports that I have used 50 MB of data, how can my Billing Report indicate that I have used 1.2 GB of data? The only thing that Verizon can bill me for is 50MB of data that traversed the wireless LTE network. The other 200MB was across WiFi.

As others have written here it seems like VZW has a product conversion problem in their billing software. I suspect that those two old "unlimited" lines will clear in the next bill cycle and I will see the expected $9.99 line and $30 data charges only. I am glad that other folks have looked and complained. As others have written here, I believe they are right that 2/3 of all consumers will pay based on the bottom line and never check their detail. Especially during the times when the bill is pro-rated and there are a thousand lines of charges and credits across different dates and multiple hand-set accounts. I think it's time for a class-action. Stay tuned....

Are you sure you're not looking at the current billing cycle's data usage vs. the billed data usage?

 

[oldAGE]

Are you sure you're not looking at the current billing cycle's data usage vs. the billed data usage?

Yup... knowing that I went from unlimited where all these tools and tricks were irrelevant, I became hypersensitive to data usage and was pleased to see this Data Usage function added to the devices. Then I made sure I understood how billing cycles really work vs. the historic "bill forward" vs. "bill in arrears." I got it all down.... Now, here is another trick that makes me incredibly sensitive...

So, as my contract was approaching across four different devices running from May-Sept 2012, Verizon (and this site) started talking about this Share Everything plan. I am a numbers guy. I have this spreadsheet of usage, costs, devices amortization, and all this other ridiculous nonsense to understand what this garbage costs me daily/monthly/yearly. When I went into a local VZW Corp Retail outlet, I had a very lovely augment with the GM. And right there on his screen he showed me how their analysis tool shows that my monthly data usage (this is their super secret corp tool, not the My Verizon tool) amounted to an average of 655MB per month. It went back only 7 months or so. So, I say... "I'll be right back..." and I walk to my car, and come back in with TWO YEARS of bills that shows my 3G data usage averaging approximately 4 GB per month with some months as high as 7 GB. And I show him that in Dec 2011, I used 6.3GB and "magically," on Jan 2012, my data plummeted to around 550MB and never really ranged near 1GB ever again. So I said, "So, this is interesting. I have more than two years of historical data that tells me one thing and you have 7 months that tells you all I need is a 4GB Share Everything plan for four devices and I should never see an Overage Charge ..." My point here is that I am really curious about watching two things -- VZW creeping your usage to a point just beyond your contract plan to ding you a $10 fee... then backing you down or forcing you to the next tier... then creeping you up... And secondly, what does a bad 3G experience drive vs. a better 4G experience. Will my real utilization be not 5GB but rather 8GB because my service is "that much better?"

Finally, I fear that this whole industry is about to rape us further by mobile content provider shoving content at us with embedded video and audio, more HD (pick your favorite protocol) stuff that we really don't want. This is what killed 32bit systems like XP operating systems and 2GB RAM. Internet has become too painful because of embedded browser content that you need/want 12Mb Broadband and an i5 processor and 6GB system to make your screen loads less painful... Lots of technical conspiracy theory here but, that is my industry. This is what I do for a living. I am a networker.

 

[notforios]

love the way they put data all in Mb on my bill, and no total, so it is really impossible to calculate your usage by looking at your bill.

hello 1024mb per 1gb - that should help you simplify things on your bill.

cheers

 

[AxlMyk]

hello 1024mb per 1gb - that should help you simplify things on your bill.

cheers

Not all companies read data that way. Some read it as 1000kb per meg

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Never had an iphone, and don't want one. Tapatalk on Samsung GS3.

 

[dpham00]

Not all companies read data that way. Some read it as 1000kb per meg

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Never had an iphone, and don't want one. Tapatalk on Samsung GS3.

Hard Drive companies usually do that. But verizon does do the 1024mb=1gb.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...splash/datacalculatorPopup.jsp&token=hymXhriJ

Sent from my Droid RAZR MAXX / Atrix Lapdock

 

[oldAGE]

Ummm... To all you cats who use lower case letters and such. Sorry, there is real meaning to the difference of lower case and upper case in the industry as it pertains to the "b." A lower case "b" is a bit and an upper case "B" is a Byte. I know, this is old fashion nomenclature but accuracy and precision do matter. Storage is in Bytes (A 500 GB Hard Drive) while serial communications is in bits (I have experienced VZW 4G LTE with speeds up to 22 Mb or I have Charter Broadband and I get speeds of 30 Mb). I know, picky picky picky. My current data plan is a 2 GB tier (based on VZW telling me that I rarely use more than 600 MB per month) but I know that they used to tell me that I used upwards of 7 MB when I was rarely getting 1 Mb of speed 3G service and more often, it was around 350 Kb. Now I fear that VZW will ding me penalties because I have 4G with consistently 12 Mb downloads but only a 2 GB plan. And thanks to all who participated in this thread.

 

[flatblader]

I was also told that I had never hit 2GB of data in a cycle, and rarely went much over 1GB. Now, 5 days into the billing cycle, I get a text from Verizon telling me that I have just passed the 1GB mark. Five days into the cycle! Most of my "heavy" usage is over wifi, and the data usage counter on my phone said I was at 651K when I got the alert from Verizon. Something is definitely wrong with the way they're tabulating data usage.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[oldAGE]

Don't let them off the hook. Let us know what you find out. Check your My Verizon Mobil app and the My Verizon website for your account.

 

[The Hustleman]

Wow, I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that type of foolishness.

I'd be mad if I was on a limited plan and still being overcharged

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Blackpearrl]

I'm sorry for the noob question and please by all means, direct me to the appropriate thread if this has already been reviewed somewhere, but how does one track how much data is used via WiFi vs. the network? Or do you have to manually time your usage to calculate & track? Again, if this was indicated elsewhere (or even in the detail above, sorry if I didn't pick up all that everyone put down), please direct me to that link.

Please feel free to skip the following as it bears no practical use apart from providing me a personal arena to vent:
I am so infuriated with Verizon, and frankly all the phone companies, that I could drop to the floor & spin on my shoulder until I throw up, and then start up again. When asked the rationale for random, extra fees such as the "upgrade fee" (which of course negates the 2 year discount they offer), they speak as if they are a nonprofit organization, like they need to subject users to extra fees & general deception because they are scraping for every cent to stay afloat, and otherwise would be incapable of subsisting as a corporation. It's asinine. It's not like they're a poorly-funded school or health program... they're entirely for-profit, and profit they do! We all pay for our service, more & more as time goes by! OK, I'm getting off my tiny soapbox & returning to my quiet frustration.