Under pressure from the F.C.C., Verizon Wireless has now admitted that it incorrectly billed 15 million customers between $2 and $6, on average, for data services they didn’t use. Apparently, Verizon’s phones are built in such a way that it is easy for customers to accidentally press the button that opens a Web browser. If they don’t have a data plan, that would immediately tag $1.99 to their bill, no matter how quickly the request is canceled.

Verizon Wireless says it will pay current customers back for the charges by crediting their accounts and will send checks to former customers. It estimates that it owes $30 million to $90 million in restitution.

This has been one of the biggest complaints I have had with Verizon ever since I first changed to their service from Sprint six or seven years ago. I have had a family plan for all of these years and since the phones first became “web savvy” I have waited for Verizon to become the same…Hasn’t happened and now I know why. Their lack of customer service smarts made them over $100,000,000.00. Damn…Pardon my French…But, that’s real money…Just for being asses.

You will never convince me that my lack of a data plan on my phone does not register my opting out of their web “service”. And just because the button on the phone gets pressed…My preference hasn’t changed. I didn’t decide when the grandson picked up my phone that I wanted to change my service to data. When I called and had internet service blocked on my daughter’s phone line…Did they really think I wanted it unblocked every time they unblocked it? I know for certain I have called their customer service line and had that service blocked at least 4 times…And the kicker is, they still bill that line for data…And they don’t think they have a problem?

I guess if I had a problem that made me a profit of $100,000,000.00 over the course of a decade I wouldn’t figure it as a problem either…Go figure.

When this story first hit the local papers some of the commenter’s on the website were all over the government for pushing Verizon into paying these refunds. They made comments about how if this was a real problem the customers would have left…I guess they have never read their wireless contract for the early cancellation penalties.

Personally, if Verizon says they may owe $90,000,000.00 it’s probably at least twice that much.

via Editorial – Verizon Wireless Says Oops – NYTimes.com.