Verizon has quietly raised a hidden fee – parking frustration among some of its 156 million customers
In a recent Reddit post, a disgruntled customer pointed out that the company – the biggest cell provider in the US – had upped an unpopular fee.
‘I just looked at my current bill, and was met with a note that the Verizon fee is going up again,’ the post read. The charge now stands at $3.50 per voice line, and $1.60 per data line.
The ‘Verizon fee’ in question is officially called the ‘Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge’. It covers costs like property taxes, network leases, and operations, according to Verizon’s website.
Critics argue the fee, often buried in billing details, essentially makes customers shoulder the company’s operating costs, which should be included in standard plan pricing.
‘It’s the fee Verizon charges for the cost of doing business with them,’ the frustrated Reddit user continued.
‘They obfuscate it by calling it the Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge but it basically pays for their property taxes and other costs of doing business,’ they claimed.
‘Think of it like buying something at Target and they charge a fee at the end for electricity,’ they added. ‘It should be baked into the costs of their products, but they single it out.’
In a recent Reddit post, a disgruntled customer pointed out that Verizon, which is the biggest cell provider in the US, had upped an unpopular fee
Other users also expressed their anger at the fee, with one commenting: ‘How do they not ban this practice? I smell government action on this.’
Another called it an ‘abusive and fraudulent fee’, while another commented: ‘The greed is insane.’
Verizon confirmed the price hike in a statement to DailyMail.com.
‘Starting December 18, the monthly Verizon wireless Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge will increase by $0.20 per line for mobile voice (basic phones, Second Number, smartphones, etc.) and data-only (hotspots, tablets, etc.) products,’ a spokesperson said.
‘Verizon Home Internet services are not affected.’
They added that customers can review their bill and adjust their plan at any time by visiting the Verizon website or app.
The fee ‘helps defray and recover certain direct and indirect costs we or our agents incur,’ according to the Verizon website.
This also includes the cost of complying with regulatory and industry obligations and programs, wireless tower mandate costs and ‘costs paid to other companies for network services.’
The ‘Verizon fee’ in question is officially called the ‘Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge’
Verizon confirmed the price hike will kick in on December 18 in a statement
It comes after Verizon rolled out a series of price hikes earlier this year.
In March, Verizon raised the monthly price for its 5G Start, 5G Play More, 5G Get More and 5G Do More unlimited mobile plans by $4, according to TheStreet.
It also recently reduced its autopay discount from $10 to $5 per month for customers on older phone plans.
The company, which has over 156 million customers nationwide, earned $19.8 billion in revenue from its wireless service in the third quarter of this year.
This was an almost 3 percent increase year-over-year.
The provider has also suffered a series of outages in the last several months.
In October, the company confirmed it was aware that ‘a highly sophisticated nation-state actor’ had targeted several US telecommunication providers in an espionage plot.
The disclosure came hours after Chinese hackers went after the mobile devices of then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance and staff of Vice President Kamala Harris.
