Can I cross out "Sprint" and write "T-Mobile"?

I wonder if I can use this to negotiate even cheaper service than SERO.

I called them last night to try and re-negotiate a little for a new phone. There were very uninterested in negotiaing. I may cancel when Jan. 1 comes around, and I'm on SERO.

Further, as I interpret the change, it is material because it is adding wholly new fee's that were not in the previous contract. The monetary affect is of little consequence.

am i missing something? it looks like the charges will be about $1 less so how could you use that to get out of your contract?

Would you call them and ask how dare they charge you slightly less of the same old same old under a new name?

@parad0x360:

I thought the standard was it just had to be a change...with no specification that it be in the phone company's favor?

@parad0x360:
The fact is it is a material change to the contract. They are adding entirely new fee's that you did not originally agree to pay. These fee's are not government mandated, and regardless of whether it increases or decreases the bill in it's entirety is irrelevant. The changes should be looked at independently and not as a whole. Independently, new fee's are being added. While as a whole the bill goes down, that is of no consequence. The change is material, they can't make it without the customers assent. WIthout your assent, you can repudiate the contract and not have to pay the ETF. Simple contract law.

@parad0x360: It's a contract -- a "meeting of the minds" between two parties. Allowing unilateral changes of any kind is contrary to good public policy on its face.

Unless the consumer accepts the change or the company is willing to allow a customer to opt out of the changes and continue under the old terms (and if the changes are indeed in the consumer's favor, why wouldn't the company allow that?), there's a strong argument to void the contract regardless.

That said, IANAL, and the truth of anything I just said depends on your jurisdiction and what the judge hearing your case ate for breakfast that morning. (Hopefully your arbitration clause allows for small claims in place of binding arbitration; Cingular's, at least, does).

Cool. I just signed up for 2 new contracts for our phones and they gave me a $115.00 credit. I can now cancel my contract, and re-negotiate it for new phones or whatever...

Thanks Sprint!

According to the people who have posted on the forum, by paying your bill you may be tacitly agreeing to the changes and forfeit the chance to get out of contract. I'd recommend reading the forum posts and contacting Sprint before paying the January bill.

I just got off the phone with a CSR who informed me that they would let me out of my contract after January 1st, not because the monetary amount would be adverse, but because other terms and conditions are changing as well.

This change cannot be easily defined as adverse or negligible, thus she said, it has been told to all CSR's that customers are allowed to discontinue with out an ETF if the changes appear on your bill after Jan. 1. (These changes are set to take place for all Sprint customers excluding corporate and Nextel)

If you pay your bill after that, than by that action you agree to the changes.

Actually, according to both old and new contract, the customer implicitly agrees to contract changes by either paying the bill OR USING THE SERVICE after the contract goes into affect, IIRC. Be careful.

(And yes, it is a material change to the contract because the customer would be agreeing to an totally new set of charges, subject to being changed at the whim of the company and without limits. Even if the charges are only $.40 now, they could be $20 next month, and you've already agreed to let them do that by accepting the contract.)

I really don't want to discontinue Sprint service, but at the same time I don't want to "agree" to that sort of wide-open blank check in the contract. (I'd be happy to just go out-of-contract, but retain service from Sprint.)

Tomas

@JABBRASS

Sounds like we have a small window to exit our contracts if we want.

I was looking at the "PCS Terms and Condtions" and came across this. You can find the rest of the agreement at

[www.sprintpcs.com]

Below, sprint outlines what you cannot escape your contract with including "government fees and surcharges"

The following, without limitation, will generally not be considered changes to the Agreement as contemplated in this provision and will not result in the waiver of applicable Early Termination Fees: (a) changes to our Policies; (b) changes to rates or charges that are not a core part of the rate plan package for which you contracted - for example, incidental, occasional or casual use charges and other options that do not require a Term Commitment; (b) changes to Taxes & Government Fees; or (c) changes to Surcharges, including assessing new Surcharges

Here's a question: If I want to switch cellular providers and keep my number, but taking advantage of this so I can do it without ETFs... how do I do that? My understanding is that by transferring the number, the old service is cancelled when the transfer is done - but if I need to talk to Sprint and cancel over the phone to make sure I don't get charged, then I won't have the number to transfer, right?

Can I used this to re-negotiate for a new phone? I really want Htc mogul

When I received that Postcard I threw it in the trash. I'm tired of switching and will stay with sprint unless they do something stupid to me.

As one of possibly 5 nationwide consumers who have had overall decent experience with Sprint (with two lines), I found it pretty interesting to see how eager they were to retain me when I went in for replacement phones recently. Both phones on our account were over two years old, and my wife's phone was pretty trashed up.

First, the store gave me the rebate discount in store for one of the two phones (a Katana II, they said the Mogul was selling too quick they couldn't do in store for it). Then they gave me the rebate form and told me that I should request the rebate on both phones -- "even though we gave it to you, get it again". Then while he was on the phone setting up the account, they offered me a $50/line discount on my next bill for renewing my contract as a "valued customer". And I got phone switch charges waived.

Basically, adding it all up, I got two mid-level phones for free, and kept discounts I had in place from several months ago on texting services and usage.

Made me feel warm and fuzzy.

My Sprint bill mysteriously decreased by $5 about 3 months ago. When I tried to login to Sprint.com, it was only showing me my old Nextel account and saying I'm not allowed to make any changes. The service still works and the $5 decline is still in effect so I'll see what happens come January 1. Otherwise I'm loving my SERO service... :)

so what if i don't want to switch companies? can i keep everything the same and still get out of my contract? or if i do get our of my contract that means i will need to find a phone elswhere?

@Pylon83: I believe the letter I received said something to the effect of "This is a fee to offset the costs of government regulation, which we are not required to charge to our customers".

If life slows down a bit, I might see if I might not be required to pay it then, but given that they've finally resolved some 14 month old billing issues, perhaps it's best if I just leave them alone...

For those of you on the SERO plan (and I'm one), how can you negotiate down from that? It's a crazy good deal. Trying to beat them up further is just greed. Those are probably the exact people that Sprint is cutting loose.

now if they only did something about their phone selection. Seems like Verizon (another CDMA provider) is just passing them by...

I've had sprint for more than 7 years, and I saw that card and it did make me wonder if I could end my latest agreement early (has a year to go).

I haven't had that bad a time with sprint,they are pretty good other than when you have to get new phones or update your plan, but even then I've always been able to resolve things.

I just have been wondering if there is a better plan with another provider, but what I have is pretty competitive

i just tried to get out of my contract. for all the rest of you who haven't tried yet.....good luck. they just told me that they would keep my contract the same, (and won't make the changes they mailed me the postcard about) to avoid me getting out of my contract.

Sprint is holding off introducing a number of new phones pending their rollout of the new QChat system (replacing Nextel DirectConnect) sometime early next year. Stay tuned....

@tomok97: Agree totally. $30 for 500 A/T minutes or $50 for 1000 A/T minutes, with unlimited in network calling, unlimited text and data? Some people are never satisfied, and I'd agree that Sprint would be better off without anyone unsatisfied with a deal like SERO>

i've had sprint for something like 6 or 7 years, and have experiences similar to GIRLY and MIKE1731. to sum up: their telephone agents are often totally unhelpful a-holes when it comes to customer service, but when i go in person to a sprint store, i usually get what i want, and a good deal too. in-store agents are consistently *much* more helpful and willing to work with me (even along the lines of what MIKE1731 reported). and, as GIRLY notes, i too now have a pretty competitive plan. sigh. basically, i just try to interact with sprint telephone representatives as seldom as possible, bcs they are freaking minions of the devil.

I called Sprint and I was able to get out of my contract. Your bill will go up if your on a family plan. The new fees are charged per line and I believe the old fees were charged for the total bill. Make sure you point this out to them when you call

@num1skeptic:
I was able to get out of my contract. The new fees are charged per line. The old fees were charged per bill

how do you get the sero deal? i've been a customer for 8years. never heard of it till today. please help me! i'm paying through the nose as it is.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I was successful in getting my ETF down to $0 should I decide to port my number to another carrier because of the change in fees in their new Terms & Conditions. I was very polite when calling the Corporate Service number that Consumerist and earlier supplied in a previous post.

When I first spoke with her we haggled for a short period and she then gave me a case number and that she would call me back in less than 72 hours. It actually took less than 3. She told me she was not aware of these changes and wanted to do some of her own research. She then called me back and offered me the $0 ETF and that I could now port my number to another carrier at any time.

I tried to use the text message rate increase from a few months ago to get out of my contract with Sprint. It wasn't uncommon for me to pay over $200 per month for two cell phones, especially since most of the charges were bogus. I even took the bills into a Sprint store, they also told me they thought the charges were insane, BUT Sprint stores can do nothing about bills, unless you would like to pay for the bill there. In the end, I argued with three people and didn't get out of my contract. I did, however, get some pretty nice retention deals, nice enough to make it worth my while to stay with Sprint and not consider getting out of my contract. At least until my contract is up.

SO... the moral is: even if this wouldn't allow you to get out of your contract, chances are it will allow you to get some good deals. Argue, argue, argue, and be firm with them that you want out until the very, very end.

Well, I tried calling and being polite and they said that they have an internal memo going around saying they will not waive ETF's since the orignal fee's are not listed in the contract. Any ideas? I've had nothing but headaches with sprint from day one and still have a year of hell with them.

@crazyjeeper:
Be more persistent. Point out that the addition of entirely new fee's is a material, unilateral change to the contract to which you do not consent. That in mind, you wish to terminate your contract without incurring the ETF.

Worked for me. Just keep pointing out that it is a material breach, and there is nothing they can do. Try to be polite, and be persistent. It also helps to talk immediatly to retention.

One good way to get out of your cell phone contract without paying the fat penalty is to wait for them to change your contract terms. I believe by law if they change your contract, you can either accept or cancel within 30 days without any fees.

I have 4 phones with sprint, 1400 shared minutes, free nights and weekends, and free sprint to sprint for $100 (tax included). With the free sprint to sprint, I never go over.

I'd love to use mobile internet, picture mail/email, or text messaging, but I almost never do because they charge A LOT for that!

That sero deal sounds a bit better than what I have, but I don't know how I could switch.

@coyontita: You'd think I'd know to go into the store, but last time I forgot, ordered by phone (they wouldn't let me do online), got double-charged on one phone, and found out I didn't even like the phones.

So I went through a very grueling process of calling customer service and explaining things (probably 3 1 to 2 hour phone calls) and eventually got them to send me enough return kits and credit me. Then I went to the store to get different phones, and was in & out in 20 minutes.

I have 3 phones and after another $188 bill I thought I would give it a try. After being transferred I was told I may or may not be affected by this change and I would receive a postcard if and when I would be charged these fees. Then I could call back. :o( Guess I'll have to wait and see.

So I emailed customer care yesterday evening and here is the latest response from them:

Dear Mr. Yxxxxx,

Thank you for replying back to me.

As you wish to cancel the services due to this increase, I have forwarded the concern to the appropriate department and one of our specialists will get in touch with you within next 48 to 72 hours.

Our specialist will take the required information and will perform the necessary steps to resolve the concern to your satisfaction. Please be assured that the account will not be charged for the Early Termination Fee for this.

If you have any further concerns, please write back to me and I will be glad to assist you in the best possible way.

It was a pleasure assisting you and I look forward to more opportunities to serve you in future. Have a great day!

Austin G.

Business E-Care
Sprint
"Where our customers come first!"
--------------------------------------------------

So, does this mean i'm out? I guess I have written proof?

I tried...went through 4 csr's, 2 claimed they had no idea what I was talking about, one just flat out said no, and kept insisting these were "taxes"...even after I read, verbatim off the card, "These are not taxes"...she said the card was wrong, and that I am legally bound to these "taxes"
The last said I have to wait till January 29th, and after I pay the bill "so you know what the new charges are"...where the hell do they find these people??

I called the "Consumerist-special" hot line and left a message...we'll see what happens

1.5 hours, 2 CSRs, and a Manager later I left a message on the Consumerist hotline as well. I'm willing to bet these call center guys are just minions and hopefully the guys in Reston can get something done.

I heard back from exec this morning. The rep was extremely polite, and apologized for my experience with the csr's. She told me that my contract will be nullified on Jan 27th, and the ETF waived (I'm paid up until then), gave me her first and last name, as well as a case number. If the Sprint bigwigs do follow the threads here on Consumerist, a public thank you to Ms. Jones is in order :)

I calculate a charge more on my bill of 1.20 per month. I have been emailing ecare back and forth and they are going to help me. hope this works

they told me to call back in January. I will be calling at 12:01 AM Jan 1st.

They cancelled mine today. Thank god.

Hey Consumerist -- why no "SPRINT" tag on the story? (hey, at least ONE of us uses the the tags!!!!!)

OK me again, this time with a question.... even though I prefer to handle things over the phone (Sprint Consumerist hotline included, though I've not tried it) -- I was wondering: is there also a Sprint/Consumerist "email hotline"? It seems like the whole paper trail / get it in writing policy might be best here.

Anyone?

Gotta say that this site is great first off.

I have a question too, although I wish I knew about this stuff to be able to help out the rest of the people here. I'm interested in canceling with this, but I want to be able to port my number over to AT&T. I talked to a rep on Friday who said that I would have to wait until after 1/1/07 to be able to officially cancel, since it's when the charges take effect, and that I should port my number over before.

My question is whether this would be the actual method to go about things. Am I screwing myself if I port my number while still in contract without having gotten out of my contract (minus ETF)? How are other people getting out of their contracts with their phone numbers intact?