Let’s look at a little word problem. Any 3rd grader could probably understand it, so don’t worry, it’s not hard.

Verizon Wireless offers data service on their phones with which you could access the Internet on your phone or you could connect it to your computer and use it to browse the Internet on your computer. Either way, the rate that they charge as quoted on their website and as quoted by their customer service representatives, is 0.02 cents per kilobyte (abbreviated as kb) for data usage in Canada. That is two tenths of one cent in U.S. Dollars per kb. How much would it cost you if you downloaded 100kb worth of data?

The answer is 2 cents. It’s simple math, right? Unfortunately, Verizon Wireless doesn’t think so. They’ll charge you a whole $2 for that usage. That’s 100 times greater than the rate they quote. Don’t believe me, then head on over to George Vaccaro’s site, VerizonMath. He was surprised to find his bill was 100 times greater than expected after he used his phone for data access in Canada.

What’s even more surprising is the problem wasn’t just with him and a few Verizon reps. There are others who have run into the same problem and Verizon reps and supervisors don’t see the difference. On George’s site, there’s a link to a 20+ minute recorded phone conversation in which he talks to 3 people (2 of them supervisors) who do not understand this simple math even after several clear explanations by George. If you listen to the entire thing, you’ll be ready to jump through your computer and bash these people’s heads into their desks. Frustrating is a gross understatement.
It’s inconceivable that a company like Verizon could make this big of a calculation error and then continue to make the mistake over and over again. Fortunately Mr. Vaccaro was vindicated and his charge was reversed, but how many others have been exploited by this miscalculation? Wireless providers have you by the balls (even if you don’t have them) and it becomes scary when things like this happen. I have T-mobile and have been happy with my plan, but then again, I don’t ever use data or even text messaging because it is too expensive.