The Catch in Verizon’s $84.99 Triple Play Deal
Verizon FiOS has been advertising a great package price online for Internet, telephone, and FiOS TV — just $84.99 a month for a year. That is less than most competitors, and many consumers rave about FiOS.
Here is their online animated ad (for which you need Adobe Flash player to view). Click the replay button if the animation has ended.
Did you catch that pop-up disclaimer at the end that was on the screen for less than two seconds? (You can hover over the “legal” button with your mouse to freeze it in place — something we guess most consumers probably wouldn’t know to do.)
*MOUSE PRINT:
$109.99/month for months 13-24, two-yr agrmt req’d plus taxes and fees.
We would venture to say that most consumers didn’t catch the fact that you must sign a two year contract to get this deal, and that the bargain $84.99 price only lasts for the first year. The price then jumps up $25 a month to regular price (apparently) for the second year.
Imagine the customers’ shock when they open their Verizon bill in month 13! And, if they want to cancel at that point, they are in for a second expensive surprise. Also not disclosed in the ad is Verizon’s new $360 early termination penalty (which is evenly pro-rated over the life of the contract).
Mouse Print* invited Verizon to comment on this story, but as of publication time, they had not yet done so. This post will be updated should they respond this week.
As we have repeatedly said, companies need to be more upfront about their pricing in their advertising, so their customers are not hit with unexpected charges.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: The editor of Mouse Print* is a compensated member of Verizon’s Consumer Advisory Board, which advises the company on policy and public issues.
That sucks, but I still wish they offered FIOS here. We only have one provider for high-speed internet, no competition sucks!
Comment by Elysia — February 8, 2010 @ 10:14 amIt gets worse than that. Many people have reported that Verizon also requires ripping out any existing cable wiring. ie if you want to switch back to cable then you have to pay for cable to be reinstalled! It doesn’t happen to everyone, but does happen often enough that you’ll see it mentioned on sites like DSLReports.
Edgar replies: Dave, I think you might be thinking of something similar, that in some cases Verizon removes the old copper wire lines, thus making it more difficult to reconnect to conventional telephone service.
Comment by Roger — February 8, 2010 @ 12:14 pmWhen ever I see a phrase which qualifies the promoted rate, such as “for the first year”, I automatically assume the second and subsequent years will be at a much higher rate. I haven’t missed yet.
Verizon should have stated that a 2 year contract was required in the body of the ad, not in the disclaimer. I would never sign a two year contract without being sure of what I am getting into. Do I want to commit myself to that service for that long of a time? Not with a new program which might not be what I expected.
Comment by John P — February 8, 2010 @ 4:44 pmWent to the FIOS site – it’s pretty clearly stated that the $84.99 is for year one and that year two is $109.99
I have not seen the ad, but the website is pretty upfront about it.
Comment by Rob of NYC — February 8, 2010 @ 11:19 pmIts still cheaper than Comcast. Our triple play is $154/mo. No HBO, Cinimax, ect or any other pay stations. We get basic plus. We have to
Comment by Sharon — February 10, 2010 @ 9:31 amrent digital cable boxes for an additional $1.99/mo per box after 2. The first 2 are free.
have received more than two dozen diff.ad. about verizon cost
Comment by jack — February 10, 2010 @ 4:14 pmwhat is the true value,very confusing
As much I dont like cablevision ,verizon has arrived in my building.(is about Time)
I want to know why so many diff. offers.
I will take the best offer good for my wallet.
AS far AS I know ,you do not have to ripped out cable vision wires inside the apt., it could be connected
was told by a few customer that have changed to FIOS.
I think Verizon is jacking up the second year price to 109.99 because they can’t even afford to have people on that service for two years at the LOW LOW LOW price of 84.99.
Comment by Richard — February 10, 2010 @ 4:34 pmThe legal pop-up disclaimer is indeed very fast, too fast to be able to read anything.
Comment by Mihai — February 12, 2010 @ 6:46 amBut, on the last image from the ad, it says very clearly: “$84,99/month for 1 year” and below that “A $300 savings!” (which is the diffence between $109.99/month regular fee and the promotioanal $84.99/month times 12 months).
The only sneaky thing would be in my opinion that the mandatory 2 years contract, with the 2nd year at regular fee isn’t specified in the ad.
Don’t forget the added $8 per HD box and $15 per HD DVR.
Comment by Joe the — February 13, 2010 @ 4:23 pmWe have ComCrap available here, but once their promo rates expire, their rates are much higher than this.
Comment by Ken — February 19, 2010 @ 8:10 amI would gladly pay $110 per month for that service.
To be honest, everyone by now, should be aware of the fact that NO telecom tells the truth when it comes to pricing their plans. Any time anyone deals with a telecom it is strictly a “buyer beware” situation.
Comment by Mark701 — March 8, 2010 @ 11:57 amComcast customers who get the $89.99 deal 2 year contract will pay $109.99 the 2nd year of the contract and HBO and STARZ is included. After that it goes to $154…the initial price is a promotional price so you get to have a very good service for less price for the first two years. With Comcast you can also get 2 other TVs set up for FREE with all the channels except premium movie channels. YOur best deals are from the customer service to the door folks.
Comment by Beth — October 27, 2011 @ 2:31 pm