Calling Voice Mail uses up minutes
When you dial *86 to check voice mail, anytime minutes are decremented from that which is alloted based on your plan.
I used to be that calling your cell number would be considered a cell to cell call and you would not charged anytime minutes.
When did this change and how can VZW tout the service as FREE when it costs you everytime you use it?
I used to be that calling your cell number would be considered a cell to cell call and you would not charged anytime minutes.
When did this change and how can VZW tout the service as FREE when it costs you everytime you use it?
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This was pulled from the VZW site concerning voicemail:
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Basic Voice Mail...
Voice Mail takes a caller’s message when you can’t answer the phone. You will receive a message waiting indicator to let you know that a message has been left for you.
Not available in some areas.
Airtime applies to message retrievals from your wireless phone. Voice Mailboxes not initialized within 60 days (45 in some markets) of feature activation will be canceled. IN Calling does not apply to Voice Mail retrieval. Verizon Wireless is not liable for missed Voice Mail messages, or deletions of messages from your Voice Mailbox, even if you've saved them. Your Verizon Wireless Voice Mailbox is not password protected until you initialize it by followi
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Well I'll be. Guess I'm not being billed because my voicemail calls last less than 30 seconds. Doesn't really matter, though. No one really ever calls me...
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yes, you use anytime minutes checking your voicemail, unless it is nights and weekends, then it dont matter. You can check your VM from a land line free. And if you are married or have more then one line, you get a voice mail, well, use their phone to check your voicemail, and then it is M2M. But, if you are by yourself, and not by a land line, then you use airtime, unless it is N/W minutes...
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when you sign your contract to start, one of your services is a "voice mail access charge" it may say $0 next to it, but it means that when you dial *86, you get CHARGED minutes.
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nave462000 said:
when you sign your contract to start, one of your services is a "voice mail access charge" it may say $0 next to it, but it means that when you dial *86, you get CHARGED minutes.
That means you have access to voicemail, and they dont charge you for that feature.
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shadedpain4 said:nave462000 said:
when you sign your contract to start, one of your services is a "voice mail access charge" it may say $0 next to it, but it means that when you dial *86, you get CHARGED minutes.
That means you have access to voicemail, and they dont charge you for that feature.
Exactly....they dont charge you for voicemail- it uses up minutes i even said they charge you $0 for that feature.
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used to be that calling your cell number would be considered a cell to cell call and you would not charged anytime minutes.
When did this change and how can VZW tout the service as FREE when it costs you everytime you use it?
First off, if it's cell to cell, where's the other cell? It's just you calling yourself, so it's not cell to cell.
Second, the feature is free to have on your account. You used to just get basic voice mail that would save 3 messages for you. Now you get enhanced voice mail that will save up to 30 messages, still for free. Who cares if it uses your minutes. If you have a missed call, call them back. I've never listened to any message I've gotten longer than to hear thier name and press ...
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Also remember it does not use minutes when the person is leaving you a voice message. That is why you are charged minutes to check the VM. There is a phone call happening somewhere, so you do need to be billed mionutes for it, either on the receiving end or on the retreiving end. Six of one half a dozen of the other.
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instead of dialing *86 like they want you to switch the saved vm # to your own number and just call yourself its the same thing just without the deducted minutes (i think) thats what i do i havent actually checked my bill to see if thats correct but it seems like that would work since *86 is NOT a vzw # let me know hope this helps/works
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All this was recently standardized. It used to be that dialing your own number would in fact be billed as MTM in a few markets, and some other markets had a lot of customers on grandfathered voice mail plans that had free message retrieval.
But all of that has been phased out. Everyone who was affected got a bill insert informing them of the changes.
Calls are only mobile-to-mobile if you call another VZW cell phone. Dialing your own number will still be identified as a voice mail retrieval on your bill.
(And dialing 555-1212 will still be identified as a 411 call on your bill.)
Years ago, we had voice mail plans that were the other way around. Incoming calls that went to voice mail used airtime; message retrieval was free...
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But all of that has been phased out. Everyone who was affected got a bill insert informing them of the changes.
Calls are only mobile-to-mobile if you call another VZW cell phone. Dialing your own number will still be identified as a voice mail retrieval on your bill.
(And dialing 555-1212 will still be identified as a 411 call on your bill.)
Years ago, we had voice mail plans that were the other way around. Incoming calls that went to voice mail used airtime; message retrieval was free...
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bear-vzw-csr said:...
All this was recently standardized. It used to be that dialing your own number would in fact be billed as MTM in a few markets, and some other markets had a lot of customers on grandfathered voice mail plans that had free message retrieval.
But all of that has been phased out. Everyone who was affected got a bill insert informing them of the changes.
Calls are only mobile-to-mobile if you call another VZW cell phone. Dialing your own number will still be identified as a voice mail retrieval on your bill.
(And dialing 555-1212 will still be identified as a 411 call on your bill.)
Years ago, we had voice mail plans that were the other way around. Incoming calls that went to voice mail u
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trust me when I say it's not 😛 check your bill, you probably just don't notice because you probably don't get a detailed bill, most people don't. I'm familiar with both of our billing system types(i2k and VISION) and I can say with complete surety that both of them bill VM as airtime, no matter how you dial it, if you do it from your own phone. it's POSSIBLE that I'm wrong, especially if you're on some grandfathered plan or something, but I'm pretty sure it's a national policy
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You are probably misinterpreting your bill. The post below backs me up. Voice mail retrievals bill peak airtime, unless you are making the call during off-peak hours.
In your call detail, your own mobile number will appear on the bill for incoming calls, at least in markets that use the I2K billing system.
These calls may be identified as mobile-to-mobile calls. And they are indeed mobile-to-mobile if you took an incoming call from another VZW phone number.
But these are not calls where you are dialing your own number. If you dial your own number, it will appear on the bill as a voice mail retrieval.
Incoming calls are identified with your own mobile number simply because we do not identify the number of the calling party....
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In your call detail, your own mobile number will appear on the bill for incoming calls, at least in markets that use the I2K billing system.
These calls may be identified as mobile-to-mobile calls. And they are indeed mobile-to-mobile if you took an incoming call from another VZW phone number.
But these are not calls where you are dialing your own number. If you dial your own number, it will appear on the bill as a voice mail retrieval.
Incoming calls are identified with your own mobile number simply because we do not identify the number of the calling party....
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bear-vzw-csr said:
A voice mail box is not a cell phone. It is a digital recording system that resides on a server. When you retrieve your messages, you are not "calling your own cell phone." You are calling into the voice mail box. This is not a mobile-to-mobile call.
Bear
I just printed that one out for my cube. Golden. It'll come in handy the next time I need to explain this concept to a customer. My explanation never goes over very well.
You're a good man, and thorough.
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vzw_achiever said:
You're a good man, and thorough.
Bear is definatly good, but im not sure about the "man" part... 😉
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kms01 said:
When did this change and how can VZW tout the service as FREE when it costs you everytime you use it?
I do not work for verizon, but if they do not charge you a monthly fee for voicemail then it is a free feature. you can always use other means to call your VM or if you have n&w you can call it then. or by day call from a landline. Some carriers charge a monthly fee for VM more did many years back.
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