fyi, that link doesn't work if you don't include the www. lameness.

THIS is the correct URL:

[www.sprintetfsettlement.com]

I just canceled my contract tonight, before I saw this. Same two phones since Oct. 2006 but because of a plan change I had to wait till Jan 09 to cancel. It's like a bad relationship you can't get out of...

@Alan Graves: My bad, 2005... typo.

My folks cancelled their contract of 12 years (since 1997) with Nextel. Sprint won't be lasting long at this rate.

I got charged an ETF when I bought my first iPhone at full price. Then the price dropped a month later and apple gave me 100 bucks. This kinda makes up for the loss almost two years ago.

This is actually apparently *per line* on your account.

Does this apply for CA residents as well?

Would Sprint keep a record of your participation in the class action if you're a current customer? That would severly impact contract time bargaining if they did.

Wow, I must be doing something wrong. I can't get the "File a Claim" button to do anything. Class III.C for me - four lines worth.

Does this also apply to Nextel consumers since Spring now owns them?

@dewsipper: Same here. I'm stuck using IE6 'cause I'm at work, I wonder if that has something to do with it. Not that that's really an excuse, more of an explanation . . .

$35 if you didn't cancel sprint for fear of ETF? how can anyone prove that? I would assume that every current Sprint customer can file a claim and get a free $35 whether they wanted to cancel or not.

@bravo369: I have dates and times of every time I called Sprint complaining that there was no service where I moved, and that the ETF should be waived. They should have records of every day after that where they supposedly sent technicians to my location to "verify reception", although I never saw a service vehicle of any sort during the times they supposedly checked.

@bravo369:

I don't think there is a way to prove it. I just filled out the questionnaire, and it just asked you if you if there was a time where you would have canceled, except for the ETF. There have been plenty of times I've *thought* about cancelling, but didn't...so I just said yes, and hopefully should get my $35.

Ha, I guess I must have been the only one to find the Sprint cancellation # and get my contract cancelled early (I was leaving the states to Canada, they were very understanding) and not be charged any ETF.

@bravo369: Ditto. A few times, I've thought about switching to AT&T or Verizon, but decided not to because I thought Sprint would hit me with an ETF.

Filed my claim on two lines that I wanted to cancel but didn't back in the early '00s, partly because I didn't want to pay the ETF. Looking forward to that sweet $70 of class-action manna from heaven.

@dewsipper:
I can't pull it up at work either (IE6) but I can I my iPhone.

So how can they loose a case about charging ETFs and still charge ETFs?

Sprint is all of a sudden looking more attractive with the Palm Pre exclusive.... plus their rates are better than VZW/ATT - for example $99/mo for unlimited voice+data, compared to $99/mo for unlimited voice only. Don't know much about their coverage quality though.

This isn't related to the California State Supreme Court ruling, is it? I mean, $90 doesn't cut it for me, I want the ENTIRE thing wiped as it's been declared legally invalid.

How the hell are they going to refund only "a part" of a charge that was legally declared invalid in the first place (at least in CA)?

Why do people bitch about something they knew was part of the contract they signed? You agreed to the ETF when you signed it, its your problem. If you didn't like it you could go somewhere else. Sure if you ask and they decide to let you out of it without ETFs - great but a class action is just ridiculous. This is exactly what is wrong with America in general.

Damn, unfortunetly I don't have proof. That was back in the days where I kept no records.

I could collect some money on this but have NO idea what my phone number was in 2002 when I canceled my account in disgust...any suggestions on how I might find it. I doubt I could call Sprint and they just hand it over.

@LiquidGravity: This is the problem though - you didn't have a choice. No one could sign up for a contract with out an EFT, so you were forced into it if you signed up for cell service

Last time I got settlement money, the forms were so complicated that I had to hire a CPA do do my taxes. I think I'll pass and save myself the $140 CPA fee.

@dewsipper: There is something weird about it. The fonts look the same color as the background and the window has huge scrolling bars. You have to go all the way to the right to see anything.

@Mark Sansone: Nobody forced you to get a cell phone. If you didn't like the agreements you didn't have to get one at all.

@Andrew Dorsett: If you get an answer to that question please pass it along. I just called them and was told that I would still have to pay the full etf if I cancel.

@Andrew Dorsett: well, for one, this is a national settlement, not the result of any penalties which may or may not have been assessed in the California-only case. Settlements include huge disclaimers and denials of all wrongdoing.

For two, ETF's are still perfectly fine for all companies.... just not flat-rate ETF's. They can still charge an arm and a leg as long as it is pro-rated in some fashion, so if you don't want to be assessed a penalty, don't break your contract.

or at least only break it if the benefits outweigh the consequences. in many cases, i'd be willing to pay a hefty sum to never deal with certain companies again.

@LiquidGravity: True.

Problem 1 with that argument, many people were renewed in their contracts without sufficient notice. Then, if you go to cancel service, thinking your contract is up, you get charged. Again, without notice.

Problem 2 is that the reason for canceling is not always the consumer's failure. I know from personal experience that if you cancel your service because the phone ordered has not been delivered after 6 months and eight "tries" to various addresses, the ETF is still charged. Even though the promised service (and phone) were never received or used.

As one who has happily been in many a contract since, I think that the policy needed a heavy rework, and I'm glad to see it got one. The companies will benefit far more than they suffer from making this gesture to the consumer base.

They do look more appealing then VZW or ATT but they are the network for most dropped calls and they do not have coverage like Verizon. I know for I have Verizon service and I worked in the Sprint Retention Department. I had Verizon service for Sprint service is not the greatest. If price is a problem, Metro PCS is best choice if you are stationary keeping in mind that they are building thier network quickly now with the economy and getting more and more subscribers because they want to save money. Otherwise, if it is the great coverage you want, Verizon would be the number one choice. @cc82:

They would be able to locate you by Social Security Number. The only problem to this is that if you had Sprint Service, you would have been in the old billing system which is Premier and P2K which they have since gotten rid of. It would now depend if they transfered that old acct to the new Unified Billing System. If you had Nextel service, they will be able to locate your acct in a Jiffy for all Nextel customers are in UBP system. @yajjo: