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Taxes

Taxes - no one at Verizon can explain the break down of taxes or what they represent. I was informed by customer service to contact my local tax municipality. And when I informed her I know a little bit about taxes. Specifically the Federal Tax rate via the State Tax rate (in the context of wireless telecommunications tax) and other specifics, she told me to write a letter to Verizon and go through all my past bills to ensure accuracy... The taxes on my previous bills were always changing. I have been with Verzion since 2012... That's a lot of taxes / administrative fees paid to them and now I wonder if they owe me Money!! You can't charge your customers and not provide specifics on how the fees were calculated... Verizon is a publicly traded company!

Comments

Ann154

Are you having difficulty understanding the detailed bill which breaks down the individual charges?

finn39

I was focusing on the computation of how Verizon applies taxes & surcharges (essentially the math behind each line item, the percentage used to calculate the fees). My monthly taxes have been all over the place. Taxes don't change on a monthly basis as long as you are paying a fixed rate and don't exceed that monthly rate.

I don't know how long you have been with Verizon but here is one reason why one should know how the numbers are calculated:

"In general, any individual, business, or nonprofit organization, which paid federal excise tax on long distance or wireless bundled service, is eligible for the telephone tax refund, and can receive it for service billed after February 28, 2003 and before August 1, 2006." (From Verizon's Website)

Here is a better one:

Verizon Settles Cell Phone Billing Class Action for $90 Million

October 4 2010

Washington, DC: Verizon Wireless has announced that it will pay refunds totaling about $90 million to 15 million cell phone customers who were illegally charged for data sessions or Internet use. Customers will reportedly receive either credits ranging from $2 to $6 on their Verizon Wireless October or November bills or, in the case of former customers, refund checks.

The FCC had received hundreds of complaints about unauthorized charges from the telecommunications company's customers spanning the past three years. Customers claimed they were charged for data usage or Web access when their phones were not in use or when they mistakenly pushed a button that was pre-programmed to instantly active the phone's Web browser. Since early 2009, a number of publications, including The New York Times and The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, reported that customers had been complaining of the charges but had often been ignored by Verizon Wireless.

finn39

Here is another reason why full billing disclosure is necessary as opposed to a mere line item verbiage. How did Verizon not abide by the law in a state where they do business?

Verizon Wireless Reaches $10M Class Action Settlement Over Fees

June 14, 2012

Verizon Wireless has reached a $10 million class action lawsuit settlement over allegations it violated California law by charging consumers fixed fees for late charges and reconnections, regardless of how much their plans cost.

According to the Verizon Wireless class action lawsuit, Verizon customers were charged a fixed $5 late fee if they did not pay their bills on time and a $15 reconnect fee to begin service again. These fees were allegedly the same regardless of the monthly cost of the plan. The class action lawsuit alleges that California consumer protection laws make such flat fees illegal.

Under the proposed $10 million class action lawsuit settlement, Verizon has agreed to distribute funds to individuals who paid a $5 late fee between June 12, 2003 and July 20, 2012, or a $15 reconnect fee between December 1, 2004 and April 26, 2012.

Ann154

My bill usually changes slightly every three months when the FCC fees are adjusted quarterly It changes perhaps maybe a dollar up or down. When it happens, I throughly review the charges and differences from the month prior.

DENGUT38

I have been trying to extract the same info for much the same reasons and with the same results. Nobody seems to know anything about taxes, fees, or credits on the bills I receive. Each bill is different, has different line items, different taxes, different everything and all VZ wants to do is chat. SOMEWHERE is a tax table for each state, the fed, the localities. Nobody at VZ seems to want to disclose what or where those are. Maybe the NC Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs will have info on the next steps...VZ just has snarky retorts from what I have seen.

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