Verizon employee apologizes after mammoth price increase is disclosed
Not too long ago, in December, Verizon raised the controversial Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge. Customers should now brace for another price hike.
According to an email sent by Verizon shared online by disgruntled customers, the carrier is reducing the discount available to those on myPlan, the customizable plan announced in May 2023.
Not all customers will be affected though. Verizon is only scaling back discounts for customers with 5 or more lines. From February 20, myPlan customers with 5 or more lines should prepare to pay $3 more for each line every month. That's an increase of at least $15 per month.
Front-line employees fear a backlash from customers, as it's typical of subscribers to vent anger at store employees instead of the higher-ups behind these decisions. That's sometimes because sales staff are the ones who compel customers to switch over, but, as one store manager points out, they only convinced customers to transfer because the multi-line discount was a genuinely good deal.
Regardless, it's important to remember that front-line employees are not to be blamed for these changes.
Of course, it's natural to be irritated when something like this happens, and Verizon isn't just angering myPlan customers. As Droid Life first reported, prices are also increasing for customers on the older New Verizon Plans of S, M, L, XL, and XXL sizes.
On its website, the company says that starting February 20, prices will increase due to rising operational costs. Every customer on a shared data plan single phone line account should brace for a $4/month access fee hike. Multi-line phone accounts will see a $15/month increase, and the data overage has been increased from $15 to $20 per GB.
Verizon decreased the AutoPay discounts for customers on old plans in October, so the new changes are bound to sting.
According to an email sent by Verizon shared online by disgruntled customers, the carrier is reducing the discount available to those on myPlan, the customizable plan announced in May 2023.
E-mail from Verizon today:
Thanks for being a loyal Verizon customer. We’re proud to provide you with the network that connects you to what matters most. In order to continue bringing you the best mobile experience, we’re adjusting our plan prices. No sooner than 2.20.25, our myPlan multi-line discount for accounts with 5 or more lines will be reduced. This means the price for the myPlan lines below will increase by $3/mo per line. pqratusa, Reddit user, January 2025
Not only were customers angry at the price change, but even employees were taken aback. Customers are livid because many of them migrated from other carriers for better prices.
Front-line employees fear a backlash from customers, as it's typical of subscribers to vent anger at store employees instead of the higher-ups behind these decisions. That's sometimes because sales staff are the ones who compel customers to switch over, but, as one store manager points out, they only convinced customers to transfer because the multi-line discount was a genuinely good deal.
I had ported three separate 5-person families over to Verizon. I quoted them all with the 5 line pricing for their respective plans, did everything right, gave them a fantastic first impression with Verizon, disclosed the activation fees and even pulled rank to waive some of them in-store…truly did my best to give them an excellent entry experience with us. All three of these families came to my mind today when Verizon sent me an email letting me know that my family’s cellphone plan was going up $3 per line. I knew the same was going to happen to them…so much for first impressions, am I right?
I’m sorry to all who are impacted by this, but I humbly ask you all: please don’t take out your frustration on store staff. We don’t control the prices, and we had no idea this was happening either.
bbear_r, Reddit user, January 2025
On its website, the company says that starting February 20, prices will increase due to rising operational costs. Every customer on a shared data plan single phone line account should brace for a $4/month access fee hike. Multi-line phone accounts will see a $15/month increase, and the data overage has been increased from $15 to $20 per GB.
Verizon also revealed that S, M, L, XL, and XXL plan sizes of 4G LTE or 5G data are no longer being offered.
These monthly plan sizes (S, M, L, XL, XXL) of premium, 4G LTE / 5G high-speed data are no longer available to add to your account.
Important: Due to rising operational costs, you'll see increased charges for this plan no sooner than 2/20/25:
Each shared data plan single phone line account will be charged an added $4/month line access fee.
Each shared data plan multi-phone line account will be charged an added $15/month line access fee.
The data overage fee is increased from $15 to $20 per GB.Verizon
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