| |  | Category: Wireless
Buy New: $0.00
Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 1
Media: Wireless Plan Option
ASIN: B00020KCBK
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 what the heck is this product August 18, 2006
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
Pathetic heading they are asking me to review regulatory cost recovery fee if it has a zero star i would have given that. Think before you put something on the website and asking a customer something
 A Satisfied Customer August 18, 2006
2 out of 11 found this review helpful
Happy w/product! A True Pleasure Doing Business w/You! Thank You!
Regulatory Rip-Off Fee! July 11, 2006
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is just another way for corporations to squeeze the consumer. Regulatory Cost Recovery, my aching back!! This is merely another cost of doing business that is being passed on to users. What's going to be next, an Employee Salary Recovery Fee? This fee, while "only" $2.50 per month, almost made me reconsider signing up with Cingular (Verizon, my last service, didn't charge this fee.) Bogus!
 It's an honor being asked. June 29, 2006
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
When Amazon sent me an email asking me to review this product, I was both flattered and frightened. Sure, any writer is proud to be asked for his take, but how could I adequately review a regulatory cost recovery fee? I mean, nobody likes to pay fees. But this fee in particular is perhaps not as bad as the rest.
You see, I'm one of those rare people who thinks regulations are a good idea. Especially utility regulations. Anyone who lived in California while Enron was bleeding electrical customers dry probably agrees that regulation is ultimately best.
And this is the weird problem with cell phones: generally you aren't charged for long distance, hence the taxes usually charged for long distance can't be charged. The government was forced to put a fee on cell phone service.
Now I know many of you are against taxes; I don't like paying taxes either. But ultimately, taxes and fees pay for a lot of things we take for granted, like utility regulations that keep our phone companies from bleeding us dry (for now). Frankly, I wish that most taxes and fees (especially payroll taxes) in favor of a steep progressive income tax that primarily taxed the wealthy, along with an estate tax that forced every American to start on a level playing field. Now THAT would be equal opportunity.
But under our current tax system, this fee isn't so bad. Three stars out of five seems about right, although I hope the government starts regulating these insane text message rip-offs soon. Yahoo sends me a text message every day to "check out the world cup at fifa.com." Hey thanks!
Nobody likes to pay a fee, but if nobody paid them, I'm sure we'd get totally screwed. Look at Enron.
 this is fair taxation... June 27, 2006
Think of the Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee (RCRF) as a tax on phone users to cover the cost of government oversight and regulation. It does cost something. (Whether it costs as much as the RCRF funds collected or not, and regardless of whether you personally think the regulation of the telecom industry is properly managed). So, if the telecoms didn't pay for the FCC and other government regulation then such money would come out of the taxes /everyone/ pays. This would mean that folks without telephone lines, or without as many as the next person or business, would be subsidizing the folks who did have a lot of phone lines. That wouldn't be fair, would it?
Now, the question of whether the telecoms should call out this fact by placing a separate line item on the bill and being able to advertize their rate plans as being a little bit lower than they actually are -- that's a different issue. But, the basic question is who should pay for the regulation of the telcoms, and the RCRF seems to stick it to the appropriate people: the users of the telecoms services.
If we did the same thing with public roads and many government services, the true cost of infrastructure and services would be passed on to the users of such; the marketplace would be fairer.
For these reasons I give the RCRF 4 stars!
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