early-termination-fees

Reader Y0himba was a loyal and happy customer of AT&T Wireless. But then the iPhone 3Gs became cheaper and proliferated, and he told both Consumerist and AT&T that his family's phones became completely non-functional. But this is not a complaint--it is a tale of victory.   More »

Are you looking to get a smartphone on the Verizon network anytime soon? Make sure that you like it before you sign a contract, since starting November 15th, Verizon will be imposing a higher early termination fee—up to $350—on contracts for "advanced" devices. That means smartphones.  More »

In this video, a blonde dame in glasses shows you how to escape your cellphone contract for free with several tried and true tips for defeating those $175 early termination fees.  More »

Tmobile will be raising overage rates September 1st, and customers can use it to cancel without early termination fee.   More »

A California Superior Court judge has just been given the go ahead to a class action lawsuit against DirecTV over their practice of charging early termination fees.  More »

Arnie and his wife have a fever, and the only cure is more iPhones. A shiny new iPhone 3G S to replace the clunky old 3G iPhones they've been forced to use, to be precise. Frustrated that the cell phone business insists on subsidizing the gadgets by only offering a sane price to new customers, or customers willing to upgrade, Arnie called AT&T. That's when he stumbled on a solution that's almost hilarious in its simplicity.   More »

Comcast agreed to lower reader O.'s monthly cable bill to $40, but they didn't warn him that the new, lower price would come with a hefty $150 early termination fee. O. could barely afford Comcast's service before, and wouldn't have agreed to the lower fee if he knew about the surprise fee. Comcast is telling him that he has no choice but to pay, and won't even let him return to his previous plan.  More »

Debbie Eckert cleaned out her son's apartment after he died in a February fight, but the landlord, CCRT Properties of Brookfield Wisconsin, thinks she should pay several months rent and an early termination fee. The Wisconsin Department of Consumer Protection says that CCRT can pursue the 24-year-old teacher's estate, but that they have no right to heartlessly badger his mother.  More »

DirecTV agreed to let Anthony cancel his service without an early termination fee because his signal would randomly fade away without explanation. What DirecTV really meant though was that they would let Anthony cancel if he paid a final bill of $446.69. After speaking with two agents who agreed that the fee should have been waived, DirecTV reduced Anthony's bill to $445.42. A third agent told Anthony that he would need to negotiate any further deductions in writing with the dispute department...  More »

Want to break your Sprint cellphone contract without paying an early termination fee? On January 1, 2009, Sprint will increase the Administrative fee to $.99 per line. Because this is what is known as a "materially adverse change of contract," and because of the basic contractual principle that you can't change someone's contract without their explicit permission (not the tacit, "opt-out" kind), you can use it to argue that the fee renders your contract void and you can end service without a termination fee. You do have to be willing to argue without giving up with a number of different Sprint employees first, like Matt did...  More »

The attorney who won a verdict against Sprint in California has filed a $1.2 billion class action lawsuit, claiming that early termination fees are not legal. [Information Week]  More »

More details have emerged about Sprint's new decreasing-monthly ETF, thanks to a page from the Sprint customer service manual that fell into NeoWin's hands. Basically the ETF on a 2-year contract is $200 after the first 30 days and until month 20, then it starts decreasing by $10 at month 19, until it gets to month 5 where it holds at $50. However, they say it's their policy to waive it if there's less than 30 days left. Once again, the decreasing-ETF will only apply to new contracts signed after November 2, 2008. Full scan of the internal document, inside...  More »

Sprint is expected to soon start making the early termination fee (ETF) decline every month, possibly as early as November 2nd. Previously, whether you canceled service 1 day into or one day before the end of your service contract, you would get a $200 fee. That fee is supposed to reimburse the company for the cost of providing you a cellphone at reduced cost. The change is expected to be only good for new subscribers and is not retroactive, so, sorry Charlie if you were hoping to go get an iPhone.  More »

Meet Brandon. He canceled DirecTV after less than 24 hours (the agreed upon time limit to avoid a fee, apparently), only to see that DirecTV debited $446.60 from his checking account.  More »

Facing increased pressure from consumers and lawmakers alike, Verizon has announced that they will begin offering monthly cellphone plans with no early termination fees. Consumers wishing to take advantage of the plans will be required to pay full price for a phone, or provide their own phone, as Verizon will not be subsidizing the cost of handsets.   More »

If the website Boy Genius Report is correct, next week Verizon Wireless will start offering contract-free, month-to-month service. Pretty much everyone will be eligible for it, but of course you'll have to pay full price for a phone or bring your own, there'll be an activation fee that can't be waived, and if you take advantage of any special offers that require a contract, you'll have to switch over to a contract agreement. It's supposed to start on September 21st.   More »