I recently went overseas for a few weeks and turned on a month's worth of international calling on my wireless plan, but when the bill came in, I saw I was charged twice - once for my own number and once for my wife's number which was on the same account. I set up a chat with a Verizon rep hoping to correct the problem. The rep checked my wife's calling usage during the relevant period and found that (as I already knew) she was in the States while I was overseas, and cancelled the erroneous charge. But then I was told I would have to pay the surcharges and taxes on the erroneous amount anyway because "that's up to the states and Verzion can't do anything about it." This is of course nonsense. Surcharges and taxes are calculated on the basis of the amount charged for services. If that basis changes, so do the extra charges. That's why they call it a tax! A surcharge and tax on zero is zero. This is not the first time I have heard of Verizon pulling this sort of thing. It amounts to theft. In fact it's enough for me to wonder if the erroneous charge was mistakenly billed in the first place with this scam in mind. The result is that I was surcharged and taxed on services I did not order or receive, and when confronted, Verizon said tough luck, we're pocketing the cash. Scam and a half.
