Verizon Not Sending Data Usage Text Alerts Anymore, Leading To Overage Charges, Customers Say

For Verizon customers, the text messages are almost part of a monthly routine.

"Verizon Msg: You've used about 75% of your data." "Verizon Msg: You've used about 90% of your data." "Verizon Msg: You've used all of the data in your plan. Extra data for this cycle will be $15 per 1GB."

While the texts can be a nuisance and usually bear bad news, some Verizon customers have said they now come less frequently or have stopped altogether. That means customers now get hit with overage bills — with no idea they were coming.

Patch surveyed some of our readers and found similar issues.

Kelly Otts in Pleasanton, California, told Patch on Facebook: "I just went over my data yesterday and they texted. But I used to get warning texts at 75%, 90% and 99%. This time it was just a 90% warning and then they told me I incurred a 15 dollar fee."

Todd Gardner in Livermore, California, told Patch: "I usually use under 1GB of my 3GB data. Last month, I was sent a warning only 15 days in that I was at 95% usage which is impossible. I added 1GB for $10 and then my bill said I went over my allotted usage and they charged me an overage. I never received any texts about going over until my bill arrived."

Ray Giberson Williams in Toms River, New Jersey, says: "Verizon wireless is doing it to me. And two other people I know."

A spokesperson for Verizon did not initially return a Patch request for comment Wednesday afternoon. After this article was published Thursday morning, Verizon spokesman Howie Waterman told Patch the story was "completely inaccurate."

Waterman said all Verizon customers get text alerts when they have used 90 percent of their data and again when they hit 100 percent, and customers can also opt in to 50 and 75 percent data usage alerts. Waterman said that feature has not been changed.

He noted that customers can view their data usage in Verizon's app and said the company's new wireless plans come with a "safety mode" that reduces data speeds after people have hit their data limits with no overage charges.

(Verizon recently agreed to purchase AOL, which has an ownership stake in Patch.)

The FCC did not return a Patch request for comment on the data usage texts.

Mystery Data Pings

The case of the disappearing texts is one part of a larger problem facing Verizon, which customers say has jacked up its fees and reported heavier data usage without much change in phone habits.

This trend has been thoroughly reported by cleveland.com's Teresa Dixon Murray, who noticed mysterious data pings appearing on her and her kids' bills late at night, when they were asleep or had their phone turned off.

She asked her readers if their alleged data usage was also skyrocketing while their habits weren't. The answer was a resounding yes.

"In the past week, I've heard from thousands of people, mostly Verizon customers, but quite a few AT&T customers, too," Murray wrote. "People from all over the nation. Most have iPhones. Some have Androids. All have seen their data use jump significantly — doubling or tripling since the spring in many cases, even though their cell phone habits haven't changed."

A $9,153 Bill?

In one extreme case, a Florida woman got a bill for $9,153.46 for supposedly using 569 GB of data. Verizon dropped the charge.

"We’re looking into these inquiries on a case by case basis," Waterman, the Verizon spokesman, told Patch. "We take each customer inquiry very seriously."

Murray also received a swath of complaints about the missing texts. A middle school teacher in Georgia told Murray she got a bill for $838, mostly overage fees she was never told about. The teacher said she was told the texts were being sent to her Verizon Jetpack — which she has no way to view or be notified about incoming text messages.

Verizon's website has an entire page dedicated to monitoring data usage, which states the alerts "are free and will automatically be sent to you by text message and email (if you provide a valid email address)."

Murray reported many of her readers stopped getting the messages about a month or two ago.

Data Tips

Here are some tips to keep your data usage down:

• Stay connected to Wi-Fi as much as possible.
• Disable cellular data for heavy apps such as Netflix and HBO Go.
• Turn off the "Wi-Fi Assist" feature, which can use some cell data when your Wi-Fi connection isn't that strong.
• To turn it off on iPhone, go to Settings, Cellular, then scroll all the way down to turn it off. On Android, go to Settings, Wi-Fi and find a switch called "Avoid Bad Wi-Fi," "Smart Network Switch" or something similar.

Image via Shutterstock