Verizon quietly plans move that threatens to drive away customers

After recently suffering a startling loss, Verizon (VZ) is quietly planning to pull a lever that customers have historically despised.

Currently, Verizon is battling a fleeing customer problem that hasn’t shown any recent signs of improvement.

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In its second-quarter earnings report for 2025, Verizon revealed that while it added about 300,000 new phone and internet customers during the quarter, its wireless postpaid phone churn (the number of customers who ended phone service) remained flat at 0.9%, compared to the previous quarter.

Related: Verizon hopes a new tactic will fix fleeing customer problem

Earlier this year, Verizon implemented a few price increases that have frustrated customers. In January, it raised the monthly rates for myPlan and New Verizon Plan accounts due to “rising operational costs.”

In March, it increased the monthly price of its Verizon Mobile Protect Multi-Device plan and Verizon Mobile Secure Multi-Device plan by a whopping $8.

During an earnings call on July 21, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg admitted that recent price increases contributed to customers cutting the cord on service.

“The wireless market remains competitive, and we continue to take a strategic approach,” said Vestberg. “As expected, postpaid churn remained elevated this quarter, reflecting the lingering effects of our pricing actions and ongoing pressure from federal government accounts.”

Verizon to soon reveal bad news to customers

As Verizon focuses on winning back customers through a “strategic approach,” it is reportedly planning to implement another round of price increases and even scale back discounts by next month.

According to a recent Reddit post, a redditor sounded the alarm on Verizon’s plan to increase its activation fees from $35 to $45 on Sept. 1. The phone carrier is also hiking the monthly price of its tablet plan by $5.

Verizon’s Administrative and Telco Recovery fee, which, according to the company’s website, helps to “defray and recover certain direct and indirect costs” its agents incur, will allegedly increase from $3.50 to $3.78 per line for voice customers. That monthly fee will spike from $1.60 to $3.97 per line for customers with data-only plans.

Related: T-Mobile launches a cheap new service amid customer struggles

In addition, Verizon is also removing a few $10 loyalty discounts, which won’t include autopay.

The post indicates that Verizon will be emailing customers who will be impacted by these changes over the next few weeks.

Verizon customers aren’t happy about paying more

In the comment section under the post, a few Reddit users, who claim to be Verizon employees, said they were recently briefed about these upcoming price increases. Some customers even claimed they had already been notified about some of these changes via email.

Many Verizon customers in the comment section expressed frustration with the upcoming changes, with some even threatening to cut ties with the company.

“They are tripping, need to fix the problems before they raise anything, nickle and dime us to death,” wrote one Verizon customer.

“Glad to know this before the new iPhones come out. 6 line family plan with all phones currently paid off or about to be. If they rip the loyalty discounts we are gone,” wrote another.

“I joined 3 months ago from T-Mobile.. I’m paying off my phone and going back to T-mobile next month,” read another comment.

Verizon recently made major changes to keep customers from leaving

The move from Verizon comes after it announced bold changes to win back customers after rolling out price hikes earlier this year.

In April, Verizon introduced a three-year price lock guarantee for new and existing myPlan and myHome customers.

More Telecom News:

• Verizon’s push to make switching harder for customers hits a snag
• T-Mobile announces generous offer for conflicted customers
• Amazon pulls the plug on a free service for customers

Last month, Verizon Consumer Group CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath even emailed customers stating that the company will be “raising the bar” on customer service, working hard to make it “faster, easier, smarter,” through changes such as 24/7 customer support hours and the use of artificial intelligence.

“You’re not a customer number or a case file,” said Sampath in the email. “You’re the reason we’re here.”

Verizon’s plan to increase prices comes as it faces heightened competition from cable companies, which are rapidly gaining new phone customers. Cable giants have recently been offering customers bundle options on TV, mobile, and internet, allowing them to save money on these services.

According to a recent report from MoffettNathanson, Spectrum, Comcast, and Altice USA added 886,000 new phone customers during the first three months of 2025, up from the 804,000 they added during the same time period last year.

Related: Spectrum suffers major loss as customers pull the plug on service