I'll never understand this. It costs them less to process my charge online in terms of manpower, and is at least as cheap if not cheaper on charges incurred for them upstream.
This is the truest definition of 'convenience charge' though, as they are, in fact, charging you for convenience. As a Verizon customer who has been considering dropping their cable service for some time (due to Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc.), I'm now giving thought to dropping them as an internet provider as well since we have a lot of good options in Maryland. I do love their internet service, but I hate bullshit charges that don't at least make sense.
Comcast in this area has exceptional customer service, and actually offers decent broadband speeds. It isn't the Fiber Optic internet that Verizon FiOS gives me, but it's certainly good.
This is the truest definition of 'convenience charge' though, as they are, in fact, charging you for convenience. As a Verizon customer who has been considering dropping their cable service for some time (due to Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc.), I'm now giving thought to dropping them as an internet provider as well since we have a lot of good options in Maryland. I do love their internet service, but I hate bullshit charges that don't at least make sense.