Lauren Goode and Ina Fried

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Verizon Kills Planned $2 Convenience Charge Following Uproar

After enduring 24 hours of criticism and threats of an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission, Verizon Wireless said on Friday that it would drop plans to charge some customers $2 a month for paying their bills online or by phone.

The company said the move was made in response to the uproar.

“At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers,” CEO Dan Mead said in a statement. “Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time.”

The announcement comes one day after Verizon said it would be adding the fee for customers who make a single bill payment by telephone, and for some who pay online via the Verizon Web site.

Earlier today, the Federal Communications Commission had said it was concerned about the carrier’s planned fee.

“On behalf of American consumers, we’re concerned about Verizon’s actions and are looking into the matter,” an FCC representative told AllThingsD.

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Another gadget you don’t really need. Will not work once you get it home. New model out in 4 weeks. Battery life is too short to be of any use.

— From the fact sheet for a fake product entitled Useless Plasticbox 1.2 (an actual empty plastic box) placed in L.A.-area Best Buy stores by an artist called Plastic Jesus