Verizon Math

Verizon Math is a blog that one man started a few months ago. It seems that he purchased an EVDO aircard and plan from Verizon in the states and is in Canada quite a bit. He ran into a whole can of worms with how data cost is explained by Verizon. This is something you should all be aware of. I have used this as a sales tool. After all, if you are going to be charged roaming, don't you want to have a clue what you will be charged vs what you are billed?

Apparently one issue is that the rate they charge is confusing, but also that none of the reps in customer service have a solid understanding of how to explain it in an understandable way to customers.

He documents his experiences and Verizon's responses. This has become a wildly popular site simply because so many other people have the same experiences. This guy doesn't rant or get emotional. He puts his posts in a cut and dry way, which is much better in order to get things resolved.

His first post gives the background of the issue:

Here's the background:

I have a Verizon unlimited data plan in the U.S. and recently crossed the border to Canada. Prior to crossing the border I called customer service to find out what rates I'd be paying for voice and data. The data rate I was quoted was ".002 cents per kilobyte."

I was surprised at the rate so I confirmed it with the representative I spoke to, and she confirmed it "point zero zero two cents per kilobyte." I asked her to note that in my account.

I received my bill and was charged $.002/KB - which is dollars - "point zero zero 2 dollars per kilobyte". As it is translated to cents would be .2 cents or 2 tenths of a cent - which is a 100 times greater rate than I was quoted.

My bill for my data usage in Canada was therefore much greater than I had expected - using the quote I was provided before my usage.

I have tried to resolve this issue with customer service reps on the phone, but noone seems to see the difference between ".002 cents" and ".002 dollars".