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10-22-2009, 04:30 PM
| #1 |
| Older Than Dirt   Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Posts: 7,309
| Look At Your Phone Bill Next time you get your phone bill, take a good look at some of the charges. Got mine in front of me. What is : Federal excise tax ? E-911 Tax ? Va Cost Recovery Surcharge ? Va Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge ? Va Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge for Long Distance ? Va Communications Sales Tax ? Federal Subscriber Line Charge ? Cable Right of Way Use Fee ? PEG Grant Fee ? State Sales Tax ? Va Communications Sales Tax ? Federal Universal Service Charge ? Regulatory Charge ? Administrative Charge ? Va Gross Receipts Surcharge ? The above fees total $17.70, and these are in addition to my normal telephone bill. I just wonder if any of this would stand up in court ???? Charles
__________________  I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either.... |
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10-22-2009, 04:31 PM
| #2 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New Jersey
Posts: 5,689
 | Which phone company do you use? I have Verizon ( I pay my own cellphone bill, darn dad!) and looked I didn't see any of that.. |
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10-22-2009, 04:31 PM
| #3 | |
| Older Than Dirt Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Posts: 7,309
| Quote:
Charles
__________________ I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either.... | |
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10-22-2009, 04:32 PM
| #4 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New Jersey
Posts: 5,689
| Huh....interesting. I wonder what they mean. All my dad knows, being a police officer, is that E-911 tax is a tax to enhance 911 operators equipment. Federal excise tax is just a source of revenue he said. This could be a help to understand it. Verizon | Billing Center Last edited by Gnomey; 10-22-2009 at 05:02 PM. |
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10-22-2009, 04:52 PM
| #5 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Phila, Pa
Posts: 3,446
| CC, dump the house phone and go buy a Verizon (or other) cell phone with 1000 minutes on it. The phone and minutes usually total $100. Then, when you run low on minutes, you just dump more money in to add them. If you don't spend much time calling people and are tired of telemarketers, it is the best way to handle the phone. |
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10-22-2009, 06:31 PM
| #6 | |
| Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: niagara falls
Posts: 5,588
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10-22-2009, 08:39 PM
| #7 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Appalachian Foothills in Virginia
Posts: 189
| How odd; I was just looking at my Embarq bill tonight and moaning about all these user fees and taxes. Mine add up to $14.24 and may be d/t things like the "PEG Grant Fee" or "Cable Right Of way Use Fee" not being on my bill. I wonder if that last one I listed means you are helping the cable companies pay for piggybacking on other utilities lines/poles? Small print mayhem that keeps their wallets fatter by having us foot the bill for infrastructure costs and taxes...at least thats what i think. Regards, Derek |
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10-22-2009, 09:14 PM
| #8 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hurst, Texas
Posts: 2,827
| One of those charges that I looked up awhile back (have since gotten rid of the home phone and gone strictly cell) is a fee that pays the salary of the switchboard operator. Literally, the ladies who sat at the board and moved plugs to connect people. We're still paying their salaries, even though they don't work at the phone company anymore and are no longer GETTING a paycheck. A very large portion of those "fees" goes into some fat-cat's pocket somewhere.
__________________  Pillage, then burn. Argue not with dragons, for thou art crunchy and go well on toast. |
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10-22-2009, 09:39 PM
| #9 | |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New Jersey
Posts: 5,689
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10-22-2009, 10:21 PM
| #10 | |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Jersey Shore
Posts: 3,233
| Quote:
That's the reason many folks are giving up their land lines (like some of our members have stated) and going with cell phones only. TO
__________________  “Let's get Enterprise and Hornet turned into the wind." | |
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10-22-2009, 11:18 PM
| #11 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Redding, California
Posts: 3,357
| They're also falling back to such terms as "surcharge", "fees" and "fund" to get around the word "tax"... I look on my bill, and I see "almost" looks like they're taxing a tax. Here's my AT&T residential breakdown: Surcharges and Other Fees Federal Subscriber Line Charge: $4.39 Rate Surcharge: .27¢ State Regulatory Fee: .04¢ Federal Universal Service Fee: .56¢ Total Surcharges and Other Fees: $5.26 Government Fees and Taxes CA High Cost Fund Surcharge - A: .03¢ CA High Cost Fund - B and Advanced Svc Fund: .10¢ California Teleconnect Fund Surcharge: .02¢ Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Surcharge: .023¢ CA Relay Service and Communications Devices Fund: .04¢ 9-1-1 Emergency System: .10¢ Federal: .74¢ Total Government Fees and Taxes: $1.26 My regular service is $19.50, and after you add the two subtotals, it comes out to $26.02 PLUS the fees I get levied on my internet service (which is about $8.00 worth of "fees" a month) for the same thing. My ISP is not affiliated with the phone service, it's a private company. It kinda looks like we're getting hosed, here.
__________________  "Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future." - Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome > I Support Doug Gillis < |
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10-23-2009, 09:12 AM
| #12 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Adelaide Sth. Aust.
Posts: 12,520
| Goddam fees and charges..... 
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10-23-2009, 10:19 AM
| #13 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Texas
Posts: 1,429
| One of the fees is to fund phone service in rual areas. This was added back in to 30's so the small towns could afford the cost of stringing the cable. Almost 80 years later and we are still paying for the cable. Each year when I renew my car tags, I have to pay $1.00 into a fund that provides bike helments for low income children's heads. WTF, who says the government is not out of control. DBII
__________________ ~ Ladies and gentleman, this is your stewardess speaking. We regret any inconvenience the sudden cabin movement might have caused. This is due to periodic air pockets we encountered. There's no reason to be alarmed and we hope you enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?~ |
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