Print
We have a feeling this one's not going to go over very well, but according to reports, Verizon is seriously considering doubling up its early termination fee for its FiOS TV service. That would mean that customers who jump ship before their contract reaches port would have to cough up $360 instead of $179.
According to CNet, the new fee would apply to new customers who sign up for service on or after January 17. The termination fee would then apply to those customers who opt out early of their two-year service agreement. And if the reports prove correct, new customers will no longer be able to take advantage of Verizon's 15-day grace period, in which they could try the service out for 15 days and still cancel without any repercussion.
"We don't have anything to announce on this front right now," is the official response, as stated by a spokeswoman in an email to CNet.
This wouldn't be the first time Verizon jacked up its early termination fee by a large amount. Back in November 2009, Verizon Wireless announced it was increasing its $175 ETF to $350 for "advanced devices," which decreases by $10 for every month of service for the life of the contract. This drew the attention of the FCC, who is still investigating the telco's actions.
Comments are closed on this article
Shalbatana
January 13, 2010 at 7:41pm
They're salesmen gave us wrong information (lied in our eyes), Television interactivity was horribly unresponsive (but so was their customer service), and the package cost way more than what they estimated it would be.
That's why so many people want out as quickly as they join.
Why do others stay? Well if you don't care about price, and don't ever call verizon, then their picture is fabulous, and their internet flies like no other. Their phone was clear, but we had problems getting the features activated that we contracted for.
They want to raise the early term fee to make people think twice about leaving. It costs a lot to install the Fiber Optic to the house, hook up the special hardware, etc. and when you cancel they don't take it back (except the cable itself and the STBs). I'm sure they're losing as much as they're investing.
Oh, and it's already a BIG battle to cancel even within the grace period. Our battle lasted 6 months.
Sad... I was so looking forward to it. So disappointing. So never again.
_______________________________
"There's no time like the future."
Jox
January 13, 2010 at 5:42pm
Living in Canada, Verizon is not available to me. My humble opinion, however, is that this would be a tremendous mistake. Not only would it piss off existing customers, but any potential customers are going to see this and think "Man, does Verizon's service suck so much that people are dropping them frequently enough to warrant increasing the termination fee???" and then they'll go somewhere else.
Then again, that may just be MY thought process.
-Jox
frizzly
January 15, 2010 at 10:53am
I am haveing problems with COX Cable and after many service call (each one taking several hours of my day) It still is not right. every piece of equipment and cable all the way to the pole is new. they fixed the tv, the internet stoped dropping but the signal is still at a -10 and there is static on the phone. I was all ready to switch to FIOS until i saw this article. now I dont want to end up just tradeing 1 problem for another.
Frizzly Mejere
"Once you go down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
