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Posts Tagged “

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early termination fees

How To Cancel T-Mobile Without ETF

Want to get out of your T-mobile cellphone contract without paying a $200 early termination fee? Now you can. T-mobile is raising its text message rates August 29th to 20 cents per message. This counts as what is known as a "materially adverse change of contract." Under standard contract law, if one party changes the terms of the agreement in a way that financially harms the other party, then the contract is void. If the contract is void, so is any stipulation that you be charged a fee for breaking it (especially as technically they broke it first). You will have much better success arguing its a materially adverse change of contract if you are not currently in an unlimited text message plan. You don't have to wait until August to escape, members of the Slickdeals forums are already reporting success escaping without penalty. Stay tuned to The Consumerist for more information and tips on using this money-saving tactic.

SMS rates going up! [TmoNews] (Thanks to Arnaldo!)

(Photo: scentzilla)

12:25 PM on Thu Jun 26 2008
By Ben Popken
10,018 views, 60 comments

Latest by n/a: wow im really amazed that i stumbled across this right now. Here it goes. I am under a family plan with 4 other lines. I am looking to get the new iphone and switch to AT&T. Using this method of canceling more »

changes

Kinko's Is Dead, Long Live "FedEx Office"


FedEx announced yesterday that they would be renaming Kinko's "FedEx Office" More »
changes

Are Starbucks Baristas Forgetting To Give You Your Free Refills?

The Starbucks card has some spiffy new benefits (including free refills on brewed coffee), but it seems that some employees didn't get the message. More »

10:29 AM on Fri Apr 11 2008
By Meg Marco
12,828 views, 43 comments

changes

What Complaining About Starbucks Hath Wrought: Punch Cards?

We decided to check back in with Starbucks' social "idea" site to see what ideas they were thinking of implementing. More »

12:20 PM on Fri Apr 4 2008
By Meg Marco
9,063 views, 78 comments

changes

Starbucks To Buy Fancy Coffee Machine Maker, Add Reward Program

Things are still changing at Starbucks. First off, they're going to buy the maker of "Clover" the crazy $11,000 coffee machine that makes one cup at a time.
Starbucks, the world's largest chain of coffee shops, also said today it would acquire Coffee Equipment Co., the maker of the $11,000 Clover machines that brew one cup of coffee at a time. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
More »

5:12 PM on Wed Mar 19 2008
By Meg Marco
5,242 views, 70 comments

changes

An Interview With Sprint CEO Dan Hesse About Customer Service At Sprint

The author of the BuisnessWeek article "Sprint's Wake-Up Call", Spencer Ante, has posted his entire interview with Sprint's new CEO, Dan "At Least I'm Not Gary Forsee" Hesse. More »

1:34 PM on Tue Feb 26 2008
By Meg Marco
4,745 views, 34 comments

credit reports

Woman's Credit History Goes Missing, Giving Her A Credit Score Of Zero

When Cindy X pulled her credit report from TransUnion recently, it was blank. "I am 48, have an active credit history, and my other credit reports were accurate," she writes in to Kiplinger. TransUnion, however, told her that she was on her own to fix the problem and would have to contact her creditors individually. More »

3:03 PM on Tue Jan 29 2008
By Chris Walters
7,517 views, 24 comments

telephony

AT&T Is Exiting The Pay Phone Business After 129 Years

AT&T announced today that they are exiting the pay phone business, and will be phasing out 65,000 pay phones in 13 states, according to Bloomberg. More »

11:53 AM on Mon Dec 3 2007
By Meg Marco
2,540 views, 25 comments

changes

Sprint Joins The "Prorated ETFs, No Contract Extension For Rate Plan Changes" Pool Party

Sprint decided yesterday that the water was fine at the "prorated ETF/ no contract extensions for rate plan changes" pool party and has jumped right in. You can change your rate plan starting Monday, but will have to wait until sometime next year for the prorated ETFs. More »

2:25 PM on Thu Nov 8 2007
By Meg Marco
2,440 views, 16 comments

changes

Not Everyone Loves Vista, XP To Remain Available Until June, 2008

It seems people aren't taking to Vista as quickly as Microsoft would have liked. The result? XP will remain available through June 30, 2008. More »

9:21 PM on Fri Sep 28 2007
By Meg Marco
3,110 views, 54 comments

what happened to one number for life?

GrandCentral Changes Your Telephone Number Without Consent

GrandCentral is informing select customers that their phone number will change on August 25. The feature-rich service recently acquired by Google bills itself as "one number for life," which is then linked to your existing phone numbers - unless you are one of the unlucky few who: "have been assigned numbers that are not performing to our quality standards and are being replaced with higher quality services." GrandCentral's full email, inside. More »

9:24 AM on Sat Aug 18 2007
By Carey
3,776 views, 16 comments

readers

Make "Materially Adverse Changes" Your Mantra And Cancel Cellphone Service Without Early Termination Fee

Russ writes and reminds us how pounding irrefutable legal truth into a customer service rep's ear is the key to escaping your cellphone contract without early termination fee... More »

2:42 PM on Tue Jul 17 2007
By Ben Popken
10,790 views, 18 comments

materially adverse changes to contract

Trying And Failing To Cancel US Cellular Over Text Message Rate Increase

"Did you hear any success stories from readers who tried to cancel their US Cellular contracts over the 5 cent increase on text messages? I forwarded the notice to my mother (who is usually quite talented at dealing with customer service) and she attempted to cancel three US Cellular contracts held by our family, but was met with a definitive "no" in two different attempts...." More »

2:07 PM on Thu Jun 28 2007
By Ben Popken
5,040 views, 13 comments

materially adverse changes to contract

Cancel U.S. Cellular Over Text Message Rate Change Without Early Termination Fee?

US Cellular is changing its pay-as-you-go text message rates from $.15-$.20 July 1st, potentially giving customers a chance to exit contract without early termination fee. More »

10:15 AM on Fri Jun 22 2007
By Ben Popken
3,920 views, 11 comments

early termination fees

Why Corporate Lawyers Get "Confused" When You Try To Escape Contract Over Material Adverse Changes

Now we know why cellphone companies have been giving customers such a hassle when they try to cancel over material changes to the contract: there's two possible definitions. Ken Adams, an experienced corporate lawyer who drafts a lot of contracts, says: More »

1:34 PM on Wed May 9 2007
By Ben Popken
3,605 views, 16 comments

tiny changes

Save Small, Save Often

Ramit drew up a clever graph to explain why you can't keep your long-term savings goals. More »

2:27 PM on Mon Jan 22 2007
By Ben Popken
1,645 views, 10 comments

cars

Red-i-Lube is 'The Smoking Engine'

Melissa writes in a a comedy of car errors, a spiral of compounding auto troubles and escalating costs. A simple oil change ends up as an engine getting replaced and several hundred dollars. Now she wants to know if she should take Red-i-Lube to small claims court. You be the judge, after the jump. More »

12:40 PM on Tue Mar 14 2006
By popkin
188 views, 2 comments