I received my Verizon bill and there was a charge for Megabyte usage. None of us use the internet on our phones so I called and questioned this charge. I was told we had either downloaded music, games or ringtones - which we had not!!! So I balked and the rep decided to put a credit through for one of the charges (there were a total of 3)...anyways I told her to block the internet access. We don't use it (she didn't believe us) and I refuse to pay every month for the service. Now we can't send or receive photos - is this part of the megabyte thing? It was my understanding that we had unlimited text messaging that included the picture message as well. I'm really confused. The transition from Alltel has been extremely frustrating. Would appreciate the clarification on the picture messaging. Thanks!!!

The National Access block can only be removed/added by customer service. So you'll need to call them 800-922-0204. Good luck.

This is one of Verizon's most unethical practices - charging you for accessing the web when you in fact had no intention of using the web. And it is very intentional, Verizon arranges the phone buttons and makes blocking so difficult as to pretty much guarantee accidental usage that adds up to millions of dollars in revenue for Verizon. There was an expose of this in the New York Times this week at http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/verizon-how-much-do-you-charge-now/ With this very public exposure I would not be surprised if the State Attorney General comes knocking on Verizon's door over this bit of fraud.

Hi - I was charged $1.99 for Megabyte usage and the only thing I can think of was that I used the Mobil Web to check my airtime usage. I thought that Mobil Web for the purpose of checking airtime was "airtime free." Am I charged Megabyte usage for checking my airtime usage with Mobil Web? Thanks

Thanks for the clarification - I should have read more carefully. So far no complaints from my kids. I guess they haven't sent pictures or tried to receive them, since we blocked national access about 24 hours ago. But then again, I'm not going to raise their awareness . My guess is that I will have to re-enable national access sometime soon.

mlobell wrote:Thanks very much for the explanation. I had unlimited messaging on my kids phones, and many of the blocks in place on my kids account, and was getting these data charges. I just called customer service to complain and my kids were able to access the internet and a "dashboard", which we are now blocked along with National Access. Though they rep claimed that blocking national access won't block the unlimited texting ... we will see shortly... they only do about a 2500 texts a month! It's true that the National Access block will not block TEXT messages but it does block the ability to send and receive PICTURE messages.

Thanks very much for the explanation. I had unlimited messaging on my kids phones, and many of the blocks in place on my kids account, and was getting these data charges. I just called customer service to complain and my kids were able to access the internet and a "dashboard", which we are now blocked along with National Access. Though they rep claimed that blocking national access won't block the unlimited texting ... we will see shortly... they only do about a 2500 texts a month! Message Edited by mlobell on 08-10-2009 06:05 PMMessage Edited by mlobell on 08-10-2009 06:05 PM

Also, I wanted to post this since you were unblocking National Access. It's a reference guide to let you know what charges megabytes and what doesn't.Hope it helps to further clear things up.

Thankyou soooo much for your explanation. That really helps. I wish the representatives at Verizon could be so clear with their explanation!!! My next question - can I revise this National Block from my online account or do I have to go through a representative at Verizon?

Picture/Video messaging (MMS) does not charge you megabytes to send/receive messages, however it is a service that accesses Verizon's data network. You are currently unable to send/receive MMS because there is what's called a National Access Block on your account. This is a total block of all your data services on the phone, which is why it blocks your MMS. Megabyte usage isn't exclusive to the "web" and the term "web" can be very subjective. There are several ways your phones can access data that will charge you megabytes. Pulling up the Mobile Web application is what's truly considered browsing the "web". The Mobile Web can be accessed by a shortcut key on the keypad or thru the Media Center menu under News & Info. Also in the Media Center are several options for Pictures, Music, Games and Browse & Download. Each one of these menus will have a Get New selection (ex; get new applications or get new pictures) and when you click on it the Media Center catalog will load. Browsing the Media Center catalog will charge you megabytes even if you don't purchase anything. Browsing the Media Center catalog can also be referred to as "browsing the web" but in actuality it's not the internet as you and I know it. Also, some types of applications you might have will charge you megabytes for their usage. So you'll need to figure out which apps you have to see if an application such as a game or VCast Song ID is the culprit. Anytime you access the app and you see a little phone icon with arrows going back and forth then you're accessing the data network and getting charged for megabyte usage. There are several blocks that you can have on the account without it affecting your MMS: App Downloads, Ringback Tones, VCast Music, VCast Videos, Web Access, VCast Mobile TV and Premium SMS. With all these blocks in place the phone will still have access to the Media Center catalog (the Get New link) which as we know will charge you megabytes just for pulling it up and browsing. It may seem like a cat & mouse game and on Verizon's part it may seem a bit sneaky; but have a good discussion with the family, let them know what they can and cannot do and it's something that you can control. The megabytes will only show up if something is accessed, that's why it's a pay-as-you-go feature. If it isn't used then it isn't charged. Good luck.

Megabyte Usage

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On our basic plan, no charge for basic surfing.

Accidentally hit the NEWS AND INFO button last year to see where it went: went to local weather and MyVerizon (friends-family).

Could do more with it, but was no get new button on the News Info.

No charge for looking at local weather, which we were told when we called about it, was no charge with our 1400 min.plan.

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