Pet Peeves

[Sorus]

I have one of those pay-as-you-go phone plans - had it for about 10 years, and I usually use their website to add money to it. That action now rates a $6 'convenience fee'. It's a 10-second automated transaction. How much would they charge if it wasn't convenient?

[peter]

That's bull***t Sorus! Ditch that mutha and find another!

[Sorus]

Apparently it's actually this:

Beginning January 1, 2016, a prepaid mobile telephony services (MTS) surcharge is imposed on purchasers (consumers) of prepaid MTS as a percentage of the sales price of each retail transaction involving prepaid wireless cards/service in this state.

Which wasn't clarified on the purchase, they were just like, 'You can has surcharge'.

Still irked, but changing carriers wouldn't help.

[Savor Dam]

Nope. Still not sufficiently explained.

If you (Sorus) are paying a $6 'convenience fee' for prepaid transactions and being told that fee is based on "a percentage of the sales price of each retail transaction involving prepaid wireless cards/service", there are two possibilities if one assumes those claims truthful.

1. You buy huge blocks of prepaid service
2. The percentage charges on transactions is prohibitively steep

Let's consider a theoretical case where you paid a $6 convenience fee on a $600 transaction because the state surcharge was 1% of wireless transactions. Neither of the assumptions sound legit.

1. Are you likely to be making prepaid wireless purchases in increments so large as $600? I am assuming not.
2. Any state that levied a 1% surcharge on prepaid wireless transactions would almost certainly have been challenged on the regressive impacts of such a tax/fee. That does not sound like the state I understand you reside in.

This doesn't get better if you relax either assumption. We already know you paid a $6 fee. If this was on a transaction smaller than $600, the fee percentage must be higher than 1%. If the fee percentage is less than 1%, you must have bought more than $600 worth of service.

Far more likely is that the story has a low truth content. The state-mandated surcharge doesn't make sense...but numbers intimidate too many people and there are those who are willing to leverage that to con people. "Oh, it's a fee charged by the government? OK..."

Don't say "Baaa"; say "Bah!" Challenge this.

[I'm Murrin]

Looks like the rate is a minimum of 9.26%, with some counties charging as high as 23%. It's basically sales tax (with revenue going toward maintenance of mobile services specifically), right?

[Sorus]

When I attempt to buy a refill from a third party, their shopping cart breaks it down as:

Subtotal: $25.00
Prepaid MTS Surcharge PUC: $2.13
Prepaid MTS Surcharge 911: $0.19
Prepaid MTS Surcharge Local: $3.45
Order Total: $30.77

Which is explained here:

There are six CPUC ‐ mandated telecommunications all ‐ end ‐ user surcharges in addition to the 911 surcharge that support various public purpose programs in California. Telephone service providers remit these to either the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) or the Board of
Equalization (BOE). Consumers that are under contract with a wireless provider see these charges detailed as part of their monthly invoice.
However, consumers that use prepaid wireless devices have no contract
and no monthly invoices. The majority of these prepaid devices are sold by retailers that have no means to collect or remit user fees and
surcharges. The result is that the consumer bypasses the local UUT, but
the telephone service provider is still required to remit the surcharges and
user fees.

Interesting because I just Googled 'Prepaid MTS Surcharge PUC' and everything it pulled up seemed to apply to CA, so maybe it's just a CA thing. I still feel like such things should be included as part of the bill - or state taxes - that I already pay, but I don't think there's any way around it - though the keen-eyed observer will note that the third party itemized the fees, which came to $5.77, whereas AT&T neatly rounded it up to an even $6. Guessing that $.0.23 goes into the CEO's pocket - that must add up nicely over time.

[aliantha]

I've split off the DIY posts into their own thread.

[Avatar]

Thanks. Hmmm, a pet peeve of mine is when trucks overtake other trucks, even though the truck they are overtaking is only going like 1kmp/h slower than they are.

--A

[Sorus]

Instead of attempting to seek and destroy the source of the Mysterious Stench in the staff room, my coworkers opted to fight it with a cloud of Lysol that probably confused the National Weather Service into thinking El Nino had returned. And now we have Weaponized Mysterious Stench.

[Avatar]

I hate mysterious stenches.

--A

[I'm Murrin]

When a company manufactures a handheld device with a proprietary power socket, but doesn't include the cable in the box. (Looking at you, Nintendo.)

[Avatar]

Ooh, bastards.

--A

[peter]

WTF is it with the Olympics. Every frikkin paper in the country has pictures of it all over the front page and if I switch on the news I have to wait fifteen minutes before they actually start reporting what is happening in the world beyond Rio. It's sport - put it in the sports section! And message to the BBC - I pay my licence fee as well you know and maybe I don't want to see wall to wall coverage on every single channel you operate. How about a few non Olympics programmes for me to watch now and again. Sport is war without bloodshed and that's not a compliment!


And secondly - will people stop using that awful picture of Einstein with his tongue sticking out every time they mention his name or discuss his work on internet vids or on tv. Is that picture even real? If it is it seems to me that the guy was ready made for a second career in Porno if he felt the physics game was washed up. C'mon guys - the guy deserves better!

[peter]

Just read my post above and see that my failure to use emoticons makes me seem more grumpy than I intended and reduces the tongue in cheek element I intended to convey along side it. On that basis here's a few to throw in where you consider appropriate:-

[lorin]

Ok, I have a new one. I have been inundated with robo calls. I have 1500 blocked numbers!!!!! BUT that's not my peeve. I called Verizon to change my VOip number. They were kind enough to change it for only $20. I did it and almost immediately I start getting robo calls. AND my caller id is coming up to others as c. killicinsky. So I call Verizon and they say each provider has to update their system and I should have my friends call their companies and update their data bases. NO that's not my peeve. Then the worker says why don't you just put the number on nomorobo. THAT IS MY PET PEEVE. After changing my number with a gazillion accounts, sending out emails, dealing with the mysterious c. killicinsky, paying the 20 bucks THEN they tell me to sign up with nomorobo. I haven't gotten one single robo call since signing up. AND it's free. So I guess my peeve is Verizon Fios workers.....you know, the ones that are always on strike for higher wages.

Great site https://www.nomorobo.com

[lorin]

WTF is it with the Olympics.

Peter, you'll love this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y9z_8fBF5U

[StevieG]

People who whinge about the Olympics

[Avatar]

Oh, I just ignore them. The Olympics I mean. Don't really watch much TV, so I barely notice except for news articles which I refrain from clicking on.

--A

[lorin]

Oh, I just ignore them. The Olympics I mean. Don't really watch much TV, so I barely notice except for news articles which I refrain from clicking on.

--A

Never watch them. I think they are an embarrassment. Not whingeing though.

Speaking of TV I still don't get the concept in the UK of paying the government a fee. Does that mean all tv is government controlled? I know we have the FCC but there seems to be a huge number of stations here. Is it the same in the UK?

[peter]

Yes Lorin - this guy speaks my language

The BBC is a state operated broadcaster funded by licence fee and operating alongside the commercial networks like sky and virgin. It is supposed to be autonomous but is heavily influenced by its need to keep successive governments sweet (which it rarely achieves) in the face of continual threats to cut its budget, or even commercialise it altogether.