Simplified Pricing from Verizon Wireless
Tomorrow (August 13/2015), Verizon institutes new simplified pricing.
You start by paying $20 if your device can make phone calls, or $10 if your device is data only, unless it is a smaller device like a watch in which case you pay $5.
Next, you pay $22.50 to have an account with Verizon. This is something akin to a billing fee or a customer fee.
Now, you buy gigabytes of data for $7.50 each. So one gigabyte of data is $7.50. Your basic rate is therefore $30 for one device and one gigabyte.
You can’t buy 2 gigabytes, you must buy 3. So if you go over your one gigabyte allowance you must buy 2 more gigabytes giving you 3 gig at $7.50 each. This comes to $45.
When you go past 3 gigabytes the price per gigabyte drops to $5 each over 3, but you cannot buy 4 or 5 gigabytes, you must buy 6. This comes to $60.
Now, if you go over 6 gigabytes you get a much better price of $3.33 per gigabyte. But you can’t buy 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 gigabytes. You must purchase 12 gigabytes. This comes to $80.
If you thought this was crazy, wait until you go over 12 shared gigabytes. Your price per gigabyte goes UP to $5 per gigabyte from the previous $3.33 per gigabyte. Oh, and you must buy 8 even if you only need 1. This comes to $120.
Now, if you thought it odd to pay a higher per-gigabyte rate because you are a better customer, wait until you need more than 20 GB. Your preferred customer price goes UP to $11 dollars a GB. Yes, no kidding, you now pay $11 per gigabyte. Verizon now only requires that you buy 5 gigabytes when you exceed 20. This comes to $175.
Their simple pricing gets crazier. The next 5 gigabytes cost $9.80 each, and then the next 10 are $7.60 each. The price per additional gigabyte then bounces up and down like a cork in an ocean. There is no sense to it at all.
Got that?
Oh, one more thing: If you run over your pre-purchased allowance and forget to call Verizon by the end of your billing period to adjust your rate plan, then additional gigabytes cost a punitive rate of $15 each.
The answer?
Know your monthly billing date. The day before, you should call 611 and ask them to put you on the correct rate for that month. Call every month and adjust your plan every month. This will get you the nest rate without surprises.
Verizon’s new simplified billing is just crazy-complicated.