Verizon, don't !@#$ with me, okay?

It's been a month.  I'm in for the long haul with a company I barely trust.  The positive about it is that they're not as bad as the new AT&T/SBC.  Almost two years ago when I got a refurbished mobile hotspot shipping from AT&T in Texas, I was charged for the three days it was in the mail.  Verizon isn't that bad.

Now, here is a huge tip.  If you change your plan because you want to not exceed the data allotment, make the change retroactive to the beginning of the current billing cycle so that it claims the whole amount for the whole month.  Do not let the change be immediate.

Why?  I got overages, even though I changed from 5 GB to 10 GB and only had 9 GB used.

When I made the change on the web site, instead of seeing 10 GB as the limit, they gave me 3.871 GB, even though I hadn't yet crossed 5 GB.  They divide the number of remaining days to calculate how much data you should receive, rather than just dumping the full amount into it and they use pro rata calculations for the price to you equally.

Therefore, at the point where I crossed the 4.86 or whatever + 3.871 GB, I was in overage land.

I'm still not sure what I'll be charged but I certainly have a headache about it now.  Then, there is part 2.

Sunday, after the overage message, I called customer service.  Someone friendly answered my question and explained how I was over.  She told me that I should switch to the 12 GB plan instead of the 10 GB plan and that would eliminate the overage.  Besides, it was only $70 instead of $80, so I would be saving money and getting a bigger allotment.

I had seen the "Share" plans and they all had a $20 fee for the line.  I asked precisely "are there any other charges, other than for the government?"  She said that there were no other charges and that an extra 2 GB of data would be $10 instead of the 1 GB per $10 with the current 10 GB plan.  I agreed.

Part 3 came today in an e-mail about the changes.  $70 + $20 = $90.  What?  That's not cheaper than $80.

I called customer service and tried to calmly explain the situation.  I'm back on the $80 plan with no $20 fee for the line.  It may be older but I don't have another Verizon device and it seems rather expensive if you have more than one.

I'm wondering now if the person got a commission for the switch to a new plan that would "help" me.  I had a similar experience with a cable company (Time-Warmer or BrightHouse Networks, which took over the area), and I called back and told them that they could rip out the changes or rip out their cable lines to my house because I wasn't paying extra.  Oops.  They liked to play games, though.

I can' imagine how this is going to look when I get the bill, but whatever.  It's difficult any time you start with a new contract.  It's just too bad I couldn't have bought the device outright and gone contract-less.

Besides all that, I sent the rebate form without the labels from the box.  Damn.