Well, it's true. Verizon has confirmed to us that it's adding the $2 convenience fee for paying your bill online or over the phone, and has posted a blurb in its News Center detailing the options available to someone who wants to avoid it. Obviously many customers use AutoPay, which avoids this hassle entirely, but we're sure there will be plenty of customers frustrated by the fee when it goes live on January 15th. What's unclear right now is if this constitutes a change in contract terms, which could potentially allow unsatisfied customers to hop off Verizon without a spendy ETF penalty. We've asked Verizon to clarify, and we also asked for some more details on exactly why online and robo-phone payments are more expensive to process than the "free" options they list — you know, the ones where you pay Verizon money, but don't pay for the privilege.

If you're looking to avoid the $2 charge going forward, here are Verizon's options for you: