Adventures in Dickdom.

So, I got this email today and it is a sparkling example of how we get f*cked in this country on a regular basis:

Effective August 14, 2006, Verizon Online will stop charging the FUSF (Federal Universal Service Fund) recovery fee. We will stop being assessed the fee by our DSL network suppliers. Therefore, we will no longer be recovering this fee from our customers. The impact of the FUSF fee is as follows: for customers of Verizon Online with service up to 768Kbps, the fee eliminated is $1.25 a month; for customers of Verizon Online with service up to 1.5 Mbps or 3Mbps, the fee eliminated is $2.83 a month (based on current FUSF surcharge amounts). On your bill that includes charges for August 14, 2006 you will see either a partial FUSF Recovery Fee or no FUSF line item at all, depending on your bill cycle.

Starting August 26, 2006, Verizon Online will begin charging a Supplier Surcharge for all new DSL customers, existing customers with a DSL monthly or bundle package, and existing DSL annual plan customers at the time their current annual plan expires. This surcharge is not a government imposed fee or a tax; however, it is intended to help offset costs we incur from our network supplier in providing Verizon Online DSL service. The Supplier Surcharge will initially be set at $1.20 a month for Verizon Online DSL customers with service up to 768Kbps and $2.70 per month for customers with DSL service at higher speeds.

Summarized, the government has stopped charging a tax but, Verizon feels rather than lowering your bill (even if it’s a little bit) you won’t miss the money anyway since you’ve been paying it and they’ll just tack a surcharge onto your bill to improve their bottom line. Does it mean they’ll invest in the infrastructure? Probably not but, again it’s not like you haven’t been paying it up until now so why not just let them stick their hand in your pocket and take the money for themselves. What a**holes!