The carriers are at it again: Verizon and AT&T are both notifying customers on older unlimited plans to expect a new fee on their bill soon. Customers on Verizon’s 5G Start and AT&T’s Unlimited Elite plans are affected, and the fees go into effect in August. It’s a classic move from the “wireless carrier shenanigans” playbook designed to push customers to newer, more profitable plans.
Verizon and AT&T are charging a new fee to customers on older unlimited plans
Verizon and AT&T are charging a new fee to customers on older unlimited plans
Verizon customers on Reddit and Twitter report that the company has just sent notice of a new monthly “Plan Rate Adjustment” charge of $3 per line. Older plans are affected, including 5G Start, which Verizon introduced as Start Unlimited four years ago and costs $70 per month for a single line. Verizon would very much like customers on that legacy plan to switch to its new Unlimited Welcome, which starts at $60 per month but doesn’t include mobile hotspot data like Start Unlimited — you’ll need to add that on for an extra $10 per month.
As spotted by CNET, AT&T’s rate adjustment hits customers on the older Unlimited Elite plan and will cost them an extra $2.50 per month. The legacy plan was previously AT&T’s top-tier unlimited plan and costs $85 per month for one line of service. It’s all detailed in a support page on AT&T’s website, which says that the fee is being applied so the company can “continue to deliver the great wireless service you expect.”
So that, my friends, is how they get you: they charge an extra fee to stay on your old plan without actually raising the rate of the old plan. It’s a shame we still don’t have that fourth wireless carrier to switch to — it would really come in handy right now.