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early-termination-fees
early-termination-fees
Have You Tried Swapping Your Wireless Plan With Someone Else? We Want To Hear From You
By Chris Morran on January 30, 2012 11:15 AM
56 Comments
We're constantly being asked for advice on how people can get out of cell phone contracts early without being knocked upside the noggin with a brass-knuckled early termination fee. More »
Returned iPhone Within 30 Days, Still Charged $350 ETF
By Laura Northrup on October 28, 2011 1:30 PM
77 Comments
Justin's and his wife live in a major metropolitan area, and therefore their phone service with AT&T Wireless is crappy. His wife upgraded to an iPhone 4, found it even more unusable than her previous phone, and returned it within the 30-day return period. This means that they shouldn't have to pay an early termination fee on her contract. Yet she did, and now AT&T won't refund the fee. More »
Sprint Changes Contract, Still Won't Let Me Out
By Laura Northrup on September 22, 2011 11:00 AM
62 Comments
Mobile phone companies have to let you out of your contract if they make a materially adverse charge to your contract. That is, if they raise a fee, impose a charge, or change a rule that applies to the contract you are under right now, they have to let you out of your contract without an early termination fee. (Changing the contracts for new customers going forward doesn't count.) If you want out, this is traditionally your chance, even if companies try to put up a fight.. Unless you're reader Mark, a Sprint customer, who Sprint won't set free. But Mark is no ordinary, naive Sprint customer. He not only reads Consumerist, but he worked for Sprint just a few short years ago. He knows how this is supposed to work. More »
(tellumo)
Canceling Verizon Without ETF Over Fee Increase Is Hard But Doable
By Ben Popken on June 29, 2011 2:00 PM
134 Comments
Some readers have tried out the info from yesterday about using an increased regulatory fee Verizon is charging to get out of contract without paying an early termination fee (ETF). The most successful so far was commenter doogz, who got his ETF cut in half. Here is his story: More »
New Fee Is Your Chance To Break Verizon Contract Without Paying Early Termination Fee
By Ben Popken on June 28, 2011 4:00 PM
128 Comments
It's possible to break out of your Verizon Wireless contract in the next 60 days without paying an early termination fee because they're increasing the "regulatory fee" they charge customers from $.13 to $.16. This is what is known as a "materially adverse change of contract" and by standard contract law, it renders the contract void if one of the parties doesn't like the change. More »
Get Cash In LA Fitness Class Action Settlement
By Ben Popken on June 9, 2011 10:00 AM
11 Comments
Gyms are notorious for not letting people get out of their membership contract and making it difficult to cancel. Now a settlement has been proposed in the class action lawsuit against LA Fitness for making customers pay a fee to end their contracts before the contract term was up. More »
Despite No Service, AT&T Refuses To Waive ETF
By Ben Popken on May 17, 2011 11:00 AM
53 Comments
Last week we brought you the story of Ross who had no AT&T service after the nearby cellphone tower went down and the other towers weren't working. Even still, AT&T wouldn't let him leave service without paying an early termination fee, despite the fact that it could be 4 months before the towers were repaired. That means 4 months more without service while still getting a monthly bill. I counseled Ross on how he might fight the power by going through the retentions department, and he wrote back with an update on his progress. More »
(Ninja M.)
I Have No Bars But AT&T Won't Let Me Leave
By Ben Popken on May 10, 2011 11:00 AM
83 Comments
Ross and his neighbors have had to drive a few miles down the road to get any bars on their cellphone after a nearby AT&T tower went down and the other two nearby weren't working well either. Despite the fact that he has no service and there is no fix in sight for several months, AT&T won't let him leave his contract. More »
Leaving AT&T For A Verizon iPhone Ain't Cheap
By Ben Popken on January 11, 2011 11:42 AM
112 Comments
iPhone users sick of AT&T's network and hoping that Verizon's will be better will have to pay a hefty price if they want to try and switch. More »
(SL_SD)
Got Until 9/27 To Cancel Sprint Without Fee
By Ben Popken on September 23, 2010 1:00 PM
23 Comments
You have until September 27th to cancel your Sprint contract without early termination fee. Sprint recently made it so employer discounts don't apply beyond the first two lines on the account. Because this is a material change in the service contract, you can cancel the contract without penalty. More »
AT&T Thinks 0 Kbps Counts As DSL Service
By Ben Popken on September 8, 2010 2:00 PM
47 Comments
AT&T wants to charge Derek a $100 early termination fee even though the DSL they're giving barely even works. His downtime is almost 12 hours a day, and on the rare occasions it does work, it's only 100kbps. It's like watching taffy grill on a Georgia sidewalk. AT&T says they've lived up to their part of the bargain, with one customer service rep telling him, "If AT&T were to provide a constant speed of 0 Kbps this still qualifies as service within our contract," and so now he must pay his contractually stipulated ETF. Also, he must have imagined that a technician came and visited his house. More »
Pay Your Early Termination Fee Or Get A Black Mark On Your Credit Report
By Phil Villarreal on September 7, 2010 3:30 PM
74 Comments
A cell phone provider's early termination fees isn't a polite suggestion — it's a contractual payment you've agreed to give to the company for failing to stick with its unsatisfying service. Whether or not the agreements are ethically valid, you'll have to pay them or face collections and a likely scar on your credit report. More »
(robwest)
Get Sprint To Credit You For The Discount They're Taking Away
By Ben Popken on August 9, 2010 4:00 PM
5 Comments
By calling up Sprint and insinuating he might cancel because they're taking away his discount, one of our readers was able to get Sprint to credit his account for the same amount they're taking away from him. More »
Sprint Hikes Prices By Dumping Discounts
By Ben Popken on August 9, 2010 11:00 AM
19 Comments
If you're proud of how much money you're saving on your Sprint family or share plan because of all the mad discounts you're getting, get ready for a price hike. After August 27th, Sprint is getting rid of all add-a-phone discounts. More »
Verizon Stuck Me With Early Termination Fee Because I Moved
By Phil Villarreal on July 28, 2010 1:30 PM
182 Comments
Robert wanted out of his Verizon FIOS contract when he made a move and made sure his new home was not in the coverage area. Despite his reasonable assumption that he would avoid an early termination fee, Verizon stuck him with an ETF specifically because he's moving to a non-Verizon area. More »
DirecTV Promised Me It Wouldn't Charge Early Termination Fee, Then Guess What Happened
By Phil Villarreal on June 30, 2010 3:30 PM
32 Comments
Rich had to part ways with DirecTV because he was moving, and was careful to verify he wouldn't owe an early termination fee. Sure enough, his next bank statement showed an unexpected $180 charge from the satellite provider. The company quickly admitted the error, but Rich says it's been three weeks and DirecTV has yet to cough up the cash. Even worse, DirecTV tells him it will be another 6 to 8 weeks before he can hope for his long-lost money to return to him. More »
(CBS)
Verizon Retreats From Charging Marine Widow $350 Early Termination Fee
By Ben Popken on June 30, 2010 12:00 PM
109 Comments
After achieving "clarity," Verizon has decided to not charge the widow of a Marine who died in Afghanistan a $350 early termination fee. The woman had moved back home following her husband's death so as to be closer to family, and in the new area she had no cellphone reception. In announcing the situation's resolution, Verizon Wireless also took the opportunity to take a jab at the media for sensationalizing their incompetence. More »
Verizon: Die Fighting In Afghanistan, Pay $350 Early Termination Fee
By Ben Popken on June 25, 2010 3:00 PM
120 Comments
After a woman's husband died in Afghanistan, a marine felled by an IED, she moved back to her home town to be closer to her family and grieve. In the smaller town, she couldn't get any reception from Verizon, so she called them up to cancel. Despite being a widow and Verizon not living up to its contractual obligations to provide actual cellphone coverage, they slapped her with a $350 early termination fee. UPDATE: Verizon Retreats From Charging Marine Widow $350 Early Termination Fee More »
AT&T Raising iPhone Early Termination Fee To $325
By Ben Popken on May 21, 2010 5:02 PM
89 Comments
Having cold feet with your iPhone will cost you $325 starting June 1. AT&T is increasing the fee for breaking early two-year smartphone contracts from $199. The carrier is also decreasing the early termination fee for "dumb" phones by $25 to $150. [AP] (Thanks to Jim!) More »
T-Mobile Slapped Me With $800 ETF Even Though I Wasn't Under Contract
By Phil Villarreal on April 21, 2010 8:03 AM
77 Comments
Jenny signed her family up for non-contract T-Mobile plans, only to have the provider stick her with an $800 early termination fee when she tried to move to AT&T. More »
