Cell phone early termination fees

[yenta]

I got this link from Consumer Reports. If you want to send a letter protesting your early termination fees for cell phones holding us hostage until our contracts run out, jump on the bandwagon now.

 

Consumer Reports letter

[dgreco]

I got this link from Consumer Reports. If you want to send a letter protesting your early termination fees for cell phones holding us hostage until our contracts run out, jump on the bandwagon now.

 

Consumer Reports letter

 

Thank you! I am stuck with TMobile until 2010 because my phone was stolen and to get a new one for free I needed a new contract, screw them.

[Lefty]

I got this link from Consumer Reports. If you want to send a letter protesting your early termination fees for cell phones holding us hostage until our contracts run out, jump on the bandwagon now.

 

Consumer Reports letter

 

Thank you! I am stuck with TMobile until 2010 because my phone was stolen and to get a new one for free I needed a new contract, screw them.

So you couldn't just get a 20-50 dollar phone and stick with the current contract?

[Fish Tank Frenzy]

I got this link from Consumer Reports. If you want to send a letter protesting your early termination fees for cell phones holding us hostage until our contracts run out, jump on the bandwagon now.

 

Consumer Reports letter

 

Thank you! I am stuck with TMobile until 2010 because my phone was stolen and to get a new one for free I needed a new contract, screw them.

So you couldn't just get a 20-50 dollar phone and stick with the current contract?

Those dont exsists. $20-$50 phones are only when you sign up. AT&T's cheapest phone without a new contract is $200.

[Rabbethan]

I got this link from Consumer Reports. If you want to send a letter protesting your early termination fees for cell phones holding us hostage until our contracts run out, jump on the bandwagon now.

 

Consumer Reports letter

 

Thank you! I am stuck with TMobile until 2010 because my phone was stolen and to get a new one for free I needed a new contract, screw them.

So you couldn't just get a 20-50 dollar phone and stick with the current contract?

Those dont exsists. $20-$50 phones are only when you sign up. AT&T's cheapest phone without a new contract is $200.

Cheapest phones at Sprint are $90 if you don't want to mess with the contract..

[Lefty]

I got this link from Consumer Reports. If you want to send a letter protesting your early termination fees for cell phones holding us hostage until our contracts run out, jump on the bandwagon now.

 

Consumer Reports letter

 

Thank you! I am stuck with TMobile until 2010 because my phone was stolen and to get a new one for free I needed a new contract, screw them.

So you couldn't just get a 20-50 dollar phone and stick with the current contract?

Those dont exsists. $20-$50 phones are only when you sign up. AT&T's cheapest phone without a new contract is $200.

Oh, I guess it changed. A couple years ago I bought a phone within my contract for like 20.

[dgreco]

I got this link from Consumer Reports. If you want to send a letter protesting your early termination fees for cell phones holding us hostage until our contracts run out, jump on the bandwagon now.

 

Consumer Reports letter

 

Thank you! I am stuck with TMobile until 2010 because my phone was stolen and to get a new one for free I needed a new contract, screw them.

So you couldn't just get a 20-50 dollar phone and stick with the current contract?

Those dont exsists. $20-$50 phones are only when you sign up. AT&T's cheapest phone without a new contract is $200.

Oh, I guess it changed. A couple years ago I bought a phone within my contract for like 20.

TMobile only gives you a 50 dollar rebate when you aren't allowed to do a new contract. So I would of been looking at the cheapest phone as almost 120 dollars I think. I get a new contract the phone is only 30 dollars. It is a horrible system, but this is how they make the money.

[JonDigital]

Just had to go through this although I didn't have much of a problem.

 

Got my new iPhone for free from www.yourfreeiphone.com

 

Cancelled T-Mobile when I got my free phone and signed up with AT&T. Paid my 200 bucks cancellation fee with T-Mobile. Sold my T-Mobile Dash with 2GB MEM Card and car charger for $150.

 

The way I look at it, it only cost me 50 bucks to get out and got a free iphone out of it.

 

I'll take getting out of a contract and a free iphone total for 50 bucks.

 

 

But yeah, cancellation fees suck.

[dgreco]

Just had to go through this although I didn't have much of a problem.

 

Got my new iPhone for free from www.yourfreeiphone.com

 

Cancelled T-Mobile when I got my free phone and signed up with AT&T. Paid my 200 bucks cancellation fee with T-Mobile. Sold my T-Mobile Dash with 2GB MEM Card and car charger for $150.

 

The way I look at it, it only cost me 50 bucks to get out and got a free iphone out of it.

 

I'll take getting out of a contract and a free iphone total for 50 bucks.

 

 

But yeah, cancellation fees suck.

 

That worked out pretty well, how long for you to receive the free iphone?

[JonDigital]

Just had to go through this although I didn't have much of a problem.

 

Got my new iPhone for free from www.yourfreeiphone.com

 

Cancelled T-Mobile when I got my free phone and signed up with AT&T. Paid my 200 bucks cancellation fee with T-Mobile. Sold my T-Mobile Dash with 2GB MEM Card and car charger for $150.

 

The way I look at it, it only cost me 50 bucks to get out and got a free iphone out of it.

 

I'll take getting out of a contract and a free iphone total for 50 bucks.

 

 

But yeah, cancellation fees suck.

 

That worked out pretty well, how long for you to receive the free iphone?

The whole process took about a month. I spent about an hour everyday after work working on it. It tuned out by the time I was ready for the phone YourFreeiPhone.com (TRAINN) was having trouble getting phones b/c of the holiday. They wound up sending me $490 bucks paypal and I bought it myself.

 

You can read how I did it and how easy it was here: http://www.sportech.info/2007/12/31/the-iphone/ here: http://www.sportech.info/2007/12/05/update...at-free-iphone/ and here: http://www.sportech.info/2007/11/19/help-m...-a-free-iphone/

[Bradcore]

I don't see the problem with early termination fees. When you're signing a contract, you agreeing to stay with that company for a set period of time. As such, they give you a phone at a discounted rate instead of the retail cost. Most companies have a 30 period where if you don't like it for any reason, you can return the phone and cancel out without penalty. Also, must companies offer an insurance program in case something happens. You know what you're getting into when you sign up and if you don't, you shouldn't be siging on the dotted line.

 

And the no contract thing doesn't work. My competition (yes, I am a Sales Agent) does the no contract thing and it's a terrible program. With them, if you want to cancel before two years is up, you must return the equipment and everything with it in the same condition it was in when you bought it, otherwise, you need to pay the retail cost for the phone which is often more than your average termination fee.

[CapeFish]

A blog I read as alot on this topic: http://consumerist.com/tag/contracts/

[yenta]

I don't see the problem with early termination fees. When you're signing a contract, you agreeing to stay with that company for a set period of time. As such, they give you a phone at a discounted rate instead of the retail cost. Most companies have a 30 period where if you don't like it for any reason, you can return the phone and cancel out without penalty. Also, must companies offer an insurance program in case something happens. You know what you're getting into when you sign up and if you don't, you shouldn't be siging on the dotted line.

 

And the no contract thing doesn't work. My competition (yes, I am a Sales Agent) does the no contract thing and it's a terrible program. With them, if you want to cancel before two years is up, you must return the equipment and everything with it in the same condition it was in when you bought it, otherwise, you need to pay the retail cost for the phone which is often more than your average termination fee.

 

 

Ok- I knew when I signed up I was getting into the 2 year thing. But, the catch is (at least with both AT & T and now Sprint/Nextel), whenever you change your plan, add a line, add a service, the contract gets extended. And most times, they don't tell you. And about when you upgrade your phone? You're in the same 2 year contract - and I'm upgrading my phone - why can't I run out my contract? Obviously, I like the company and want to get a better phone but really, I can go anywhere to get a phone nowadays. It's not like at the beginning, when you could ONLY get a phone from the service provider without paying through the gazanga.

 

I've paid several people's salaries at both AT & T and Sprint/Nextel. I've been a good customer. But now, I want a different phone. One that they don't offer. Why am I being penalized? When you sign with Comcast Cable and you get a great deal, they don't penalize you went you want to stop service after a few months. It's a service they're providing. If they're concerned they're not getting their revenue back, then if I want to cancel my contract, I should have the option of either paying the early termination fees or giving up the phone. Simple as that.

[dgreco]

I don't see the problem with early termination fees. When you're signing a contract, you agreeing to stay with that company for a set period of time. As such, they give you a phone at a discounted rate instead of the retail cost. Most companies have a 30 period where if you don't like it for any reason, you can return the phone and cancel out without penalty. Also, must companies offer an insurance program in case something happens. You know what you're getting into when you sign up and if you don't, you shouldn't be siging on the dotted line.

 

And the no contract thing doesn't work. My competition (yes, I am a Sales Agent) does the no contract thing and it's a terrible program. With them, if you want to cancel before two years is up, you must return the equipment and everything with it in the same condition it was in when you bought it, otherwise, you need to pay the retail cost for the phone which is often more than your average termination fee.

 

 

Ok- I knew when I signed up I was getting into the 2 year thing. But, the catch is (at least with both AT & T and now Sprint/Nextel), whenever you change your plan, add a line, add a service, the contract gets extended. And most times, they don't tell you. And about when you upgrade your phone? You're in the same 2 year contract - and I'm upgrading my phone - why can't I run out my contract? Obviously, I like the company and want to get a better phone but really, I can go anywhere to get a phone nowadays. It's not like at the beginning, when you could ONLY get a phone from the service provider without paying through the gazanga.

 

I've paid several people's salaries at both AT & T and Sprint/Nextel. I've been a good customer. But now, I want a different phone. One that they don't offer. Why am I being penalized? When you sign with Comcast Cable and you get a great deal, they don't penalize you went you want to stop service after a few months. It's a service they're providing. If they're concerned they're not getting their revenue back, then if I want to cancel my contract, I should have the option of either paying the early termination fees or giving up the phone. Simple as that.

 

I feel the same way, I think if we pay for a 2 year contract I shouldn't have to extend it or anything else If I want to add other people or get a new phone. I rather pay 150 for the phone and keep my normal contract, and I am bringing them more business to do family lines but I have to be extended. IDK!!!

 

On another note JonDigital, Thanks for the info I setup my account and see if this works out for me. I did the Liverelease 6 months back and never got any of the things I ordered so I get skeptical.

[Bradcore]

Ok- I knew when I signed up I was getting into the 2 year thing. But, the catch is (at least with both AT & T and now Sprint/Nextel), whenever you change your plan, add a line, add a service, the contract gets extended. And most times, they don't tell you. And about when you upgrade your phone? You're in the same 2 year contract - and I'm upgrading my phone - why can't I run out my contract? Obviously, I like the company and want to get a better phone but really, I can go anywhere to get a phone nowadays. It's not like at the beginning, when you could ONLY get a phone from the service provider without paying through the gazanga.

 

I've paid several people's salaries at both AT & T and Sprint/Nextel. I've been a good customer. But now, I want a different phone. One that they don't offer. Why am I being penalized? When you sign with Comcast Cable and you get a great deal, they don't penalize you went you want to stop service after a few months. It's a service they're providing. If they're concerned they're not getting their revenue back, then if I want to cancel my contract, I should have the option of either paying the early termination fees or giving up the phone. Simple as that.

 

I can't vouch for AT&T or really any company other than my own for that matter, but with us (US Cellular), you can change your plan whenever you want without it extending your contract. In fact, you can pretty much change whatever you want when ever you want without extending your contract. Adding another line is a new two year contract, but only for that line. The other lines continue with whatever contract time was left with no new time added.

 

For phone pricing, I can't really say a whole lot on company owned stores, because I work for a privately owned agency. But as an agent, we have to buy all of our phones at retail cost. So for example, the RAZR V3M is $300 at retail, which is what we pay for each of them. When you come in and sign a two year contract at $49.99 or higher, we sell you the phone at $90. The reason being is because US Cellular will reimburse us the $210 difference. So if you wanted to get a new phone, and you weren't yet eligable to renew the contract yet, we would have to charge the $300 for the RAZR because if we charged the $90, we would be out $210.

 

As for ones they don't offer, I would not recommend getting an unlocked phone from some other company. More often than not, the unlocked phones still retain some of the original companies software somewhere in the phone. Then, what often happens is, the customer activates that unlocked phone and when they roam on the original companies tower, it automatically downloads the newest version of that companies software, usually making the phone unusable until it gets reprogrammed. Often also redownloading the lock codes making it completely unusable as you won't be able to get it reprogrammed unless taken back to the original company. Since different companies use different data systems, programs, and software, I actually like the fact that phones are locked. It saves a lot of headaches down the road.

 

 

Ok, I've rambled on enough may have possibly gotten off the main subject.

[yenta]

I've been intrigued with the Helio Ocean ever since my daughter got one. I'm actually paying more for my Blackberry with the data plan and the Mapquest Navigator than I would with them. Plus, they have unlimited text messaging.

 

Unless some miracle occurs between now and December 2008, I'm stuck with Nextel.

 

And yes, each time I changed the plan, and even something simple like switching phone numbers from my phone to my husband's, it re-opted us for another two years. I'm glad you're with a company that seems customer friendly.

[Bradcore]

I've been intrigued with the Helio Ocean ever since my daughter got one. I'm actually paying more for my Blackberry with the data plan and the Mapquest Navigator than I would with them. Plus, they have unlimited text messaging.

 

Unless some miracle occurs between now and December 2008, I'm stuck with Nextel.

 

And yes, each time I changed the plan, and even something simple like switching phone numbers from my phone to my husband's, it re-opted us for another two years. I'm glad you're with a company that seems customer friendly.

 

Last time I checked, US Cellular was No. 1 in the country (despite being a small company) for customer service. The four locations I work at (I jump around between stores) were rated Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 in New England out of all of US Cellulars stores in said area. Jack Rooney, the owner of US Cellular has said he knows we'll probably never be a big as Verizon or AT&T and as such, his goal is to offer the absolute best in customer service.

 

Heh, a few months back, one of the top guys in the company was in the area and just showed up unannounced. What suprised us was he told us if we need anything done and we can't get it done to basically just f*** the whole chain of command and give him a call directly. I've never called him. I'd feel very wierd about doing that. But it's kind of nice to know that if I absolutely have to, I can just call one of the top guys in the whole company direct.

[dgreco]

I've been intrigued with the Helio Ocean ever since my daughter got one. I'm actually paying more for my Blackberry with the data plan and the Mapquest Navigator than I would with them. Plus, they have unlimited text messaging.

 

Unless some miracle occurs between now and December 2008, I'm stuck with Nextel.

 

And yes, each time I changed the plan, and even something simple like switching phone numbers from my phone to my husband's, it re-opted us for another two years. I'm glad you're with a company that seems customer friendly.

 

Last time I checked, US Cellular was No. 1 in the country (despite being a small company) for customer service. The four locations I work at (I jump around between stores) were rated Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 in New England out of all of US Cellulars stores in said area. Jack Rooney, the owner of US Cellular has said he knows we'll probably never be a big as Verizon or AT&T and as such, his goal is to offer the absolute best in customer service.

 

Heh, a few months back, one of the top guys in the company was in the area and just showed up unannounced. What suprised us was he told us if we need anything done and we can't get it done to basically just f*** the whole chain of command and give him a call directly. I've never called him. I'd feel very wierd about doing that. But it's kind of nice to know that if I absolutely have to, I can just call one of the top guys in the whole company direct.

 

Where is US Cellular located in NE. I am always looking to look into new places.

[Bradcore]

Maine, Vermont, and most of New Hampshire (does not encompass the Portsmith area).