Does anyone know what this fee is for? Please can someone help me with this, thank you.
If It's mandated by your town/city to have a payment done in order to have a Franchise Agreement in the area, then it is technically needed in a business perspective. Every provider who has a Franchise Agreement with an area charges them.
Its a fee your local legislators charge you for having the honor of having cable tv service from Verizon. Like a tax basically
do i need it on my bill
Shouldn't this fee be included in our basic package quoted fees.... Because I am then going to question what are all the details in the basic charges for. What law voted this video franchise fee from our local government, and when was it passed? I want to make for certain when I contact our chamber of commerce that this issue will be an issue ASAP. As far as the PEG (Public Educational Government fee) Not only should this be included in the basic quoted package fee but how did you come up with these fees. If you think about this logically: You want us to pay the government a tax for letting us has TV/ internet / home, and having us pay a franchise tax fee for the same privilege. The franchise fee should only be collection money and taxes from the prime company that makes us satellite capable to have this usage to enable a franchise (Verizon) to be able to publicly distribute their services to us the customers. This should be a one time bulk amount or a agreed fixed leasing amount (which should be publicly visible). Now that is a contract between the actual companies providing the satellite usage to Verizon. This is not a customer fee to Verizon. If it was accurate and we are to pay, then essentially the more people that get service from you the less we would pay. Otherwise if you keep the monthly amount the same, either as a hypothetical bulk or leased fee to the franchise (Verizon), from the main satellite providing companies, then that would only say that there will no longer be any new customers. That would be a mutual contracted agreement with us(the consumers) and you(Verizon) because we wanted this service so bad that we are willing to pay additional fees to keep it going. That is a very possible hypothesis, but reality is we are being overcharged to begin with, double taxed frivolously, and cornered to pay all the fees without rhyme or real reason. Then I would only began to wonder the true basic plan in its entirety, on where that fee and what makes up the fees to total that amount quoted to the customers. You would naturally think that like most companies, that they account for fees, taxes, etc from any or all outside services so that they may generalize a standard basic quoted fee, and that it would be incorporated in the declared service quote to customers. This is very misleading the way Verizon has marketed this service. In all actuality, it is false advertisement. There must be a government entity that our everyday tax goes towards to have people in a position to watch over companies that do this very same unethical tactic. Serving your customers better, would be to not with hold information that directly affects our pocket books. It is at our expense that this service continues to attract more business without commission given to us ( the $ being the only way to continue as a franchise). Where is our cut? Where is our finders fee? If it weren't for those additional taxes by contract, forced to pay, even though false pretenses and premeditated MIS-quoting fees, you (Verizon) couldn't continue to attract more people. So we the customers are providing not only the money for you to stay in business, your marketing, your taxes, but your increase YOUR money and business. What about all this is just not quite right? Im interested in hearing some answers and comments from either the main source, Verizon, my government, or other consumers.
The charges Verizon quotes are for the services Verizon Provides. Just about all companies these days split off various taxes, fees and surcharges on top of their basic rate. When I lived in Arizona I think I counted 11 such fees on my basic telephone service. You are correct, it makes it very hard to make actual price comparisons. Yes, I agree it stinks.
If you want to get around the Franchise fee, get your TV and Internet via Satellite.
Generally the franchise fee is the fee for the honor of using established infrastructure (telephone poles) and for the privilege of providing service to the residents in the municipality. How large those fees are a function of the level of greed among your elected officials. Just about every one of those taxes, fees and surcharges represents something your elected official decided would be a good idea.
These people just love turning your utilities into tax collectors for them. In New York City, IIRC, the largest collector of taxes is actually Consolidated Edison (the electric utility).
The only situation I know of know where all fees have to be disclosed in advance are airline tickets, and the airlines fought that every step of the way.
How would one find out the total franchise fee paid by Verizon and if the fee they have passed on to their customers total more than fee they pay to the municipality?
Another rip-off by Verizon.
We pay $9.70 per month for "Surcharges and other charges" as listed on our billing - video franchise fee, PEG grant fee; federal universal service fee; regulatory recovery fee - federal and municipal right of way fee - totaling $232.80 over the 2 year contract we agreed to.
In fact we signed on for the 2 year hitch with Verizon and was told our monthly bill would total : drum roll.....$119.99.....then rec'd first billing for Fios TV, Internet, and PHone for .....$162.33
We will be finding other services at the end of this contract.
Hi,
I only recently discovered this fee on our monthly bill (needless to say, I'm not happy about it!!) and I noticed that it is different for this month from what it was last month. Why is that? Is it always like that? In my case, I actually rather hope it was a mistake last month as it was over $12!!! and this month, it's $5something...
Any ideas / explanations??
Thanks for your help
Kat
If you are a new subscriber, sometimes the first bill incorporates either less than 30 days worth of billing, and sometimes more than 30 days worth of billing, the fee should even out, and it's a fee negotiated either by the state legislators or the city. So they usually have more info on it.
1. 1st bill w FIOS is always notoriously higher. It's a 1 1/2 month bill. 1st month prorated and full 2nd month. Shoul level out (a little) after that).
2. The franchise fee is a complete ripoff and is just another **bleep** way to extract $ without it looking like it's on them.
Don't believe that Satellite is immune. I get a 'tax' on my DTV bill every month as well.
Just an FYI. While I am POed about all these various and sundry fees and charges as much as anyone I will say that the sales people are usially pretty good at giving you a bottom line number if you will ask for it. When I signed up for Verizon a few years back they were advertising their 3 services for somewhere around $99 which of course sounded like a great deal. Of course desling with Verizon for my phone and Comcast for my TV and Internet over the preceding years I knew there were all kinds of surcharges, taxes, extra rental fees etc. that never get mentioned so while discussing transfering my service I put it to the salesperson straight. I wanted a bottom line number on what my service was going to cost me, no $99 deals, none of that crap. What was I actually going to have to pay every month by the time all the **bleep** was factored in. The number I was given was almost 50% higher than their great triple play deal, I needed 4 stbs and such, but the point is there was no hemming and hawing or double talk, I was given a bottom line number and it was within a few dollars of what my first bill was. So even tho there was no great deal the way things were advertised neither was there a sticker shock because the bill was a lot more than I thought it would be. So when discussing your service and its costs make sure to mention everything you want and then ask for the bottom line number, what you are going to be putting on the check each month. You should be given it. You may not like how it compares to that great rate you see advertised on the commercials but at least you be prepared for the true number.
Now if only Verizon would quit futzing around with all those little off the wall channels some of us like just so they can add another ESPN or other sports channel or some new offering by Disney. Do we real;ly need 20 baseball games or 10 soccer channels? How about something for those of us who listen to a different drummer.
I chekc my bill every month (I campare them with eachother). Ive noticed that many of the taxes and fees change evenif everythign else stays the same. If Verizon wasnt the best in our area and in most areas I would change providers because they nick and dime for everything
I'd like to know why this Video Franchise Fee seems to increase every so often?
I've had the FIOS Triple play package with the employee discount for only EIGHT months and there's been two increases with this Video Franchise Fee!
Where does one start to inquire about this fee?
Unlike the airline industry, there is no transparency in the billing, no imminent notification of any tax increases at all.
Looks like I'm gonna have to ditch the Fiber, Cable and Satellite!!
Can we get a Verizon Representative to explain . . . or do they want to explain?
Or is this blog merely being used for people to vent and to continue to pay these ever increasing and exorbitant taxes and fees?
It's another way for them to rip us off and suck us dry with endless charges. Like the box...I must have bought it 10X over yet I still have to pay a fortune for it...cancelling next month. Started at $67. Now it's $175!
So disgusted. There are now 9 additional fees on the bill. All hidden taxes. Regional Sports Network Fee??? Universal Service Fee??? PEG Grant Fee??? **bleep**.
Not that it makes it any better, but not uncommon in the service provider industry.
I was wondering the same thing myself. My bill every month has $63 in taxes and "fees" on it. Its completely insane. I'm ready to just go over to satellite or just use internet and pay for streaming services. It'll save me over $125 a month and I won't have to use Verizon, one of the biggest thieving companies out there.
There's a pretty good explanation of the fees here and here. A lot of those fees are collected by Verizon, but go to city, state and federal governments and agencies. You may avoid at least the city and maybe some state fees by going with satellite, but nowhere near all of them. (At least, not with DIRECTV. Look up "use tax adjustment" for example.) The states and feds have figured out ways to get their due.
I have to think that in due time, they will figure oiutnhow to tax streaming services.
@blueeyes728 wrote: I was wondering the same thing myself. My bill every month has $63 in taxes and "fees" on it. Its completely insane. I'm ready to just go over to satellite or just use internet and pay for streaming services. It'll save me over $125 a month and I won't have to use Verizon, one of the biggest thieving companies out there.
You are under the misconception that those "Fees" stay with Verizon, they don't. Every Cable company is required to charge them, they are all government mandated (except for the Broadcast and Regional Sports "Fees" they are to cover the costs of your local programming/sports). And you get the same charges for Satellite. And it is just a matter of time before they do figure out how to fee the snot out of streaming services.
