Why am I charged a month in advance, for a simple change in my data plan?

[robereg]

Why am I charged a month in advance, for a simple change in my data plan -- from 10gb to 20gb?  On my last bill, I was refunded $80 for the 10gb plan, and charged $140 for my new 20gb plan.  That I understand.  But why am I charged another $140 for an advanced payment on that 20gb plan?  (In the end, I'm being asked to pay $200 for last month, even though the 20gb plan is only $140.)  I'm not a new customer -- been one for 20 years.

[Weth]

Every bill is payment in advance of the next month, plus any extra fees for the usage in the last month. Your are not being charged $200 for the month.

The refund of $80 is the price you paid last month for the 10 GB plan you switched and did not use.  Instead you had 20 GB for that month in the past and so you are charged $140 to make up for the previous month where you changed from 10 GB to 20 GB.

Then on that same bill is the charge you would have gotten anyway for $140 for the next months 20GB

It all adds up, no extra charges. The key to understanding is that every bill is for the next month, not the month that already went by.

[robereg]

Thanks for the response, Weth, but I still don't understand. You said that I would have gotten a charge for $140, anyway.  That's not true.  I paid the $140, already (instead of the $80).  Why am I forced to pay the next month, in advance?  Per the Verizon rep I chatted with, that extra $60 I have to pay ($140+$140-$80=$200, or $60 above the $140 I paid for the 20gb plan) for last month is a one-time charge that I will never get back.

This is from my bill:

Account Monthly Charges

Previous Plan MORE EVERY UNL Tlk TXT 10GB Refund 03/04 - 04/03 -80.00 $80.00 per month / full month refunded

New Plan MORE EVERY UNL TLK&TXT 20GB 03/04 - 04/03 140.00 $140.00 per month / full month on new plan

Month in Advance MORE EVERY UNL TLK&TXT 20GB 04/04 - 05/03 140.00

I never have that "Month in Advance" charge.  I only incurred it, because I increased my GBs.  That is an net extra charge of $60.  Where does that $60 go?

[rcschnoor]

Every bill you have ever paid to Verizon is for a month in advance.

It is now 4/7 and you are receiving a bill for service from 4/4 thru 5/3. Is this the normal time you receive your bill? If so, that means you received a bill for a month of service(3/4 thru 4/3) for your old data plan of 10 GB a month ago, or approximately on 3/6. This means you received a bill for service from 3/4 thru 4/3 on 3/6. How is THAT not being billed for a month in advance when you are now complaining about being billed a month in advance for service from 4/4 thru 5/3 on 4/6. It is the EXACT SAME.

[rcschnoor · Accepted solution]

Let's break this down a bit more.

robereg wrote:

This is from my bill:

Account Monthly Charges

Previous Plan MORE EVERY UNL Tlk TXT 10GB Refund 03/04 - 04/03 -80.00 $80.00 per month / full month refunded

Verizon is refunding your ENTIRE payment for data for the month from 3/4 thru 4/3 for your old data allowance rate of $80 for 10 GB. You paid this LAST MONTH, IN ADVANCE meaning you have NOW not yet paid for that month of service since the full amount has now been refunded to you.

robereg wrote:

New Plan MORE EVERY UNL TLK&TXT 20GB 03/04 - 04/03 140.00 $140.00 per month / full month on new plan

Verizon is NOW charging you for the month of service from 3/4 thru 4/3 at your new data allowance rate of $140 for 20 GB. So you have paid a NET of $140 TOTAL for last month's data allowance of 20 GB.

You are now even for the past month. Now on to Verizon's normal billing cycle for this month.

robereg wrote:

Month in Advance MORE EVERY UNL TLK&TXT 20GB 04/04 - 05/03 140.00

Verizon is charging you a month in advance($140) for your 20 GB data allowance. Next month's bill which you will receive on or around 5/6 will be for service from 5/4 thru 6/3. Look at last month's bill you received on or around 3/6. It will be for service from 3/4 thru 4/3. The month before that which you received on or around 2/6 was for service from 2/4 thru 3/3. This bill is no different except you were refunded for last month's amount for your old data allowance and charged the new rate since you changed your allowance mid-month and back dated it to the beginning of the billing cycle so you would have use of the full allowance as to avoid data overages, I assume.

[robereg]

Thank you very much for your help.  What you're saying makes sense, but as I look at my bill, online, I see the following, below.  (Disregard the $250 charge; that was just credited back to me, after I was erroneously charged a disconnection fee.  And yes, I regretfully paid my previous bill late; hence, the $5 late fee.) 

When I look at the bill summary below, it looks as if I'm being charged $350.51 -- with a due date of April 28 -- for service from March 4 to April 3.  Normally, my monthly bill is i that $227 neighborhood.  Imagine my surprise, when I got a bill for $350, when I simply made a $60 upgrade to my data plan.

Bill Period: March 04, 2015 - April 03, 2015

NEED-TO-KNOW INFORMATION | EXPLANATION OF CHARGES

Previous Balance

$477.53

Payments - Thank You	-$227.53

Balance Forward (due immediately)

$250.00

Account Charges and Credits
Includes Late Fee of $5.00	$5.00

Monthly Charges   Important Monthly access charges for new accounts or existing accounts with recent plan changes may reflect a prorated (partial) month's access in addition to charges for your next month of service. Your next month's bill should be closer to what you were expecting provided there are no changes to your account. For more information, Go to Charges by Line.

$270.00

Equipment Charges Includes equipment related charges that were billed to the account at the time of purchase. Equipment includes devices, phones, and accessories.

$54.98

Verizon Wireless' Surcharges and Other Charges & Credits Verizon Wireless Surcharges - Includes charges to recover or help defray costs of taxes and of governmental charges and fees imposed on us by the government. Other Charges and Credits - includes charges for products and services, and credits owing. More Information

$12.64

Taxes, Governmental Surcharges & Fees Includes sales, excise and other taxes and governmental surcharges and fees that we are required by law to bill customers. More Information

$7.89

Total Current Charges Due by April 28, 2015 Includes all charges for your current billing period March 04, 2015 - April 03, 2015. It does not include past due charges or payments posting to the account after the billing period.

$350.51

[robereg]

That all said, rschnoor, if I lower my data plan back down to the $80/10gb plan, today, will I receive a $60 credit on my next bill?  That is: Refund $140 for the old 20gb plan, plus $80 for the new 10gb plan, which would result in a net credit of $60.

[Weth]

The problem with your thinking is you added $60 to your plan last month just completed, and another $60 to your plan for the month coming up. Remember you are always paying for the month coming up. So your bill will be expected to be $120 higher for 1 month, and then $60 higher for every month after that.

[robereg]

Thanks, again, Weth.  So I just changed my plan back to the $80/10gb plan.  Will I get a $60 credit on my next bill?  Can I expect my bill to be $120 lower for 1 month?

[Weth]

robereg wrote:

That all said, rschnoor, if I lower my data plan back down to the $80/10gb plan, today, will I receive a $60 credit on my next bill?  That is: Refund $140 for the old 20gb plan, plus $80 for the new 10gb plan, which would result in a net credit of $60.

If you lowered your plan back to 10 GB, your bill would show

-$140 credit for 20 GB paid for already but not used

+$80 charge for 10 GB for previous month used instead of 20 GB

+80 for charge of 10 GB for month in advance (this is the usual monthly charge)

So you would pay only $20 for data for that month's bill instead of $80.