Why is my bill so high?

[lilianavillate]

I made a 2 year contract with verizon in December and I was told the special promotion would be for 70 but my bill is coming out to over $180 for the past 3 months. I was also offered a 300 gift card for signing up with Verizon which I have yet to receive. Below is a copy of my bill excluding the taxes.

Triple Play

84.99

• Verizon Freedom Essentials
  30.00
• FiOS TV La Conexion
  44.99
• FiOS Internet 15/5
  30.00
• 24 Mo. Bundle Credit thru Dec 7, 2014
  -10.00
• 24-Month Contract Discount thru Dec 7, 2014
  -5.00
• 24 Mo. Contract Acceptance Credit thru Dec 7, 2014
  -5.00

1/282/27Fully Loaded Entertainment Pack

39.99

1/282/27STB Package - 3 Room

27.99

Current Charges Subtotal

$152.97

Change in Service and Partial Month

11/24Additional Outlet @ 19.99 Payment 3 of 3

6.66

Ordered Nov 24, 2012.

11/24FiOS Internet Activation Fee @ 29.99 Payment 3 of 3

10.00

Change in Service and Partial Month Subtotal

$16.66

Current Activity Total

$169.63

I understand the 3 time payments. But why am I paying $153? I have tried to contact customer service so many times and every tells me something different and the problem is never solved.

I see I am being charged $27.99 for the HD box. Is there another option that is relatively less expensive?

What is the fully loaded entertainment pack? I am not interested in HBO or those other channels if they are going to cost me $40 a month. I didn't request this service, I don't understand why I am being charged for that.

Thank you for all your help, I am so frustrated and I really can't afford to pay $180 every month. I am so unsatisfied and I feel like there are so many hidden fees. This was completrly unexpected and no one at customer service has been able to properly assist me. 

[teniab]

I HAVE BEEN A CUSTOMER OF VERIZON FOR ALMOST 4 YEARS. I WAS GIVEN A $150.00 GIFT CARD THAT'S I WOULD HAVE TO PAY BACK IF I DIDN'T KEEP SERVICE FOR A YEAR. WELL AS U NO I HAVE HAD YOUR SERVICE AGAIN FOR 4 YEARS AND U HAVE CHARGED ME FOR THAT GIFT CARD. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WOULD B TAKEN CARD OF, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN AS OF YET. I AM VERY UNHAPPY THAT THIS MATTER HAS NOT BEEN TAKEN CARE OF I HAVE ONLY UPGRADED MY SERVICE WITH U, BUT HAVE NEVER CANCELLED.. IF THIS MATTER IS NOT TAKEN CARE OF VERY SOON,  U WILL LEAVE ME NOT CHOOSE BUT TO TAKE OTHER ACTIONS.. THANK YOU 

[beetlejuice2]

Your bill is high because you have a lot of add on extras in your package.

La Conexion for $44.99 is not included in the basic packages. You also have the fully loaded entertinment pack for $40 which is all of the premium movie channels (hbo, cinemax, etc.) which is also an add on. They must have signed you up for it.

You are being charged for 3 rooms for your dvr. You must have the multi room dvr no?

You can call them and tell them to remove the add ons. There's also a way to do this on your account online yourself, which I will explain below so you won't even have to call.

Remove those and if wanted ditch the multi room dvr for a standard one. Only issue is it will only work in 1 room. I pay like $17-$18 for my single dvr so $28 isnt bad for 3 rooms. If you have 3 tv's then I would leave this alone.

Your main package is $84.99 so whoever told you it would be $70 lied. Thats why its always good to order online then you have a paper trail. Its possible they meant the basic tv package itself was $70 and $84.99 with internet.

The visa rebate comes after 90 days and normally before 120. I received mine in 3 and a half months.

Here's how to remove the premium add on's yourself.

Log into your account on verizon.net. Choose "My services" when logging in.

On the main page click on "premium channels"

The packages you have will be checked off. Uncheck them then submit the order. Within 24 hours the channels should be removed. Doing this does not effect your contract terms so don't worry about that.

You'll save some money right there. Since everything is pro rated you'll only be charged for what you've used so far and the following bil wont have the charges at all for the extra channels.

[22Becca22]

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@lilianavillate wrote:

I made a 2 year contract with verizon in December and I was told the special promotion would be for 70 but my bill is coming out to over $180 for the past 3 months. I was also offered a 300 gift card for signing up with Verizon which I have yet to receive. Below is a copy of my bill excluding the taxes.

Triple Play

84.99

• Verizon Freedom Essentials
  30.00
• FiOS TV La Conexion
  44.99
• FiOS Internet 15/5
  30.00
• 24 Mo. Bundle Credit thru Dec 7, 2014
  -10.00
• 24-Month Contract Discount thru Dec 7, 2014
  -5.00
• 24 Mo. Contract Acceptance Credit thru Dec 7, 2014
  -5.00

1/282/27Fully Loaded Entertainment Pack

39.99

1/282/27STB Package - 3 Room

27.99

Current Charges Subtotal

$152.97

Change in Service and Partial Month

11/24@Additional Outlet @ 19.99 Payment 3 of 3

6.66

Ordered Nov 24, 2012.

11/24@FIOS Internet Activation Fee @ 29.99 Payment 3 of 3

10.00

Change in Service and Partial Month Subtotal

$16.66

Current Activity Total

$169.63

I understand the 3 time payments. But why am I paying $153? I have tried to contact customer service so many times and every tells me something different and the problem is never solved.

I see I am being charged $27.99 for the HD box. Is there another option that is relatively less expensive?

What is the fully loaded entertainment pack? I am not interested in HBO or those other channels if they are going to cost me $40 a month. I didn't request this service, I don't understand why I am being charged for that.

Thank you for all your help, I am so frustrated and I really can't afford to pay $180 every month. I am so unsatisfied and I feel like there are so many hidden fees. This was completrly unexpected and no one at customer service has been able to properly assist me. 

---

Hello,

I am not certain if you are an existing customer who just had TV and/or Telephone service before, added Internet service afterwards and signed up for a 2-year contract in December 2012, or were a brand new customer with month-to-month prior and then switched to a 2-year contract in December.  I see the internet activation and additional outlet charge dated 11/24, which means you had these 2 services in November, prior to the contract date.

In any event, a few things to clarify:

• FiOS TV La Conexion is a TV plan on its own -- 195+ channels and more than 30% of those channels from popular Spanish language channels.
• The $84.99 seems to be a relatively good pricing for new customers in that triple-play package.
• STB-Package for 3 room means that you have 3 set top boxes that are HD-capable. Normally, each of those set-top-boxes are $11.99 apiece (nationally), but because of the bundled equipment discount, the monthly charge becomes $27.99 instead of $35.97 (approximately $7.98 in savings).
• If you have any TVs that are not high-definition, then you may opt to go with a digital adapter.  Or, if you have any cable-card-ready TVs, then cable-cards.  These two types of equipment options are cheaper than the regular set top box and you can get all your channels in standard definition (or HD with the cable-card), but there is a limitation in features (no On Demand, PPV, Widgets, Interactive Media Guide, etc.). 
• Customer Service/Sales representatives may have other promotions available for existing customers on set top boxes for a limited time period or somesuch, so check with them as well.
• The Fully Loaded Entertainment Package are the premium channels HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz, Encore, TMC, etc. combined in one package for $39.99 a month instead of paying for each of these channels separately.
• Presently, though, there is a running promotion nationally to have the premium channels at 50% off for a period of time (6 months or so).  Hence, I am wondering if you had TV service before and may have had these premium channels in the past at a promotional and then the promo fell off,
• OR, perhaps the portion of your bill where it shows 'Specials and Promotions' was not shown on your post.  This is normally where the 50% off discount on the premium content, plus any other discounts or savings, would appear on your bill, and the credited amounts would then be subtracted from the monthy total charge.

• Lastly, your monthly bill going forward should be the Triple-Play Bundle price (with discounts noted), set top box charges, and any additional items (movie/sports/speciality/international channels, TV/internet protection plans, HM&C, etc.).
• If someone had quoted you $70 for the three services (TV/Internet/Telephone) monthly, did he/she tell you how you got that special pricing?  Did you qualify for some sort of additional discounts outside of the norm? The $70 monthly price is remarkably lower than the currently advertised pricing shown in various public offerings (via online, by mail, TV, radio, outside sales agents, etc.) for the Triple-Play Bundle.
• Without the Fully-Loaded Pkg, your monthly bill going forward would appear to be $84.99 (Triple Play) + $27.99 (for 3 regular HD-capable STBs) = $112.98, before taxes and surcharges.

Once you make a decision about the set top boxes and recheck your bill for the premium content charge/discount, and locate any paperwork/additional information you may have for the $70 price quote, then I suggest contacting Verizon's Customer Service once more to get a resolution.

Hope this helps!

[c_etude]

Your bill is very expensive because you didn't read the fine print of your contract and didn't ask questions such as how much are the hidden fees.  It's that simple. 

[c_etude]

that's why I'm on brighthouse.

[roaddogg1]

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@c_etude wrote:

that's why I'm on brighthouse.

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Then why are you in a Verizon fios forum?

[luna945]

I have Basic phone service with Verizon in my home. I can only make unlimited LOCAL calls only. The bill for my services is $6.97 for the dial tone, unlimited local calling, $8.99 for inside wire maintenance. Yet, my bill is $45.00 for a phone I never use and there is no lower plan option. why isn't there an option to be charged per phone call? In the last month, I made maybe 1 phone call from my home phone. I always use my cell phone,.

Taxes, fees, etc are ridiculous!

[tns2]

Lots of other phone plans.  Cheapest is probably Lifeline.  Inside wire maintenance is optional, so get rid of it.

Taxes and some of the Fees are your elected officials.  Verizon is not responsible for those.

Note you are talking to peers here.

[ONEGUDMAN]

I HAVE A CHARGE ON MY BILL FOR 32$. IT IS A REQUEST FOR CHANGE IN SERVICE....W T H IS THAT FOR?????