Free My Phone!

I've been saying for years that the way we do cell phones in this country is ridiculous, but this column articulates it a little better than I do. Seriously- cell phone companies are awful, and the only reason they get away with it is that they're all bad, and they always have been so people don't seem to notice.

Since we're on the topic, I'm going to warn everyone about a little something I like to call the "Verizon Fundraiser." My cell phone bill is like $45 a month. I never go over my minutes, so it's just $45, $45, etc. Well, one month I opened it up and it was like $100. Shocked, I scanned the call list and quickly discovered that they were charging me for calls to other Verizon users, which is supposed to be free. I called customer service, and they offered up a very heartfelt "Sorry, our bad" and erased the charges. No damage done other than wasting five minutes of my evening, right? But what if I signed up for that automatic bill pay they're always pushing me to use? "It's so easy" they say. "Never even have to look at your phone bill!" Well, then that extra fifty bucks would've flown right out of my bank account without me ever noticing. I've told several people about this, and I've found four or five other Verizon customers that have had the exact same experience. So- innocent mistake, or nefarious plot to squeeze even more money out of their customers? You decide.

[narrows eyes] Verizon. Hmpf.