Consumerist
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lawsuits
Judge Greenlights Class Action Against DirecTV
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 » -
iphone mania
AT&T Rep Tells iPhone-Crazed Customers To Cancel AT&T Contract
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 » -
smartphones
Alltel Requires Data Plan For Blackberry Owners Who Don't Use Any Data
Dan likes the interface and ease of texting on his Blackberry, but doesn't need mobile Internet or e-mail. He asked his service provider, Alltel, to switch his service to a Blackberry he already owned, but without a data plan. An employee said that was possible and set it up for him, and Dan texted away happily...until he received his bill, which now contains a hefty data plan charge. Alltel now insists that Dan can't have a Blackberry on their network without a data plan. More » -
iphone
iPhone To Be Sold Contract Free, But Costs A Fortune And Still Ties You To AT&T
AT&T has announced that starting next week, it will sell the iPhone 3G to current AT&T customers sans 2-year contract, possibly in an attempt to move inventory. Unfortunately, the conditions of the sale are such that it's not worth it unless you're determined to own a brand new, out-of-warranty (i.e. jailbroken) iPhone 3G that you intend to use on another network. (Note: our readers point out that even that route is far cheaper if you buy with contract and pay the ETF.) Otherwise, you'll still be locked to AT&T and you'll still have to buy the more expensive smartphone data plan, which doesn't include text messaging. For no-contract bragging rights, you'll have to pay $600 or $700 depending on the model.
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att
AT&T Employee Misleads Customer, And Now He's Trapped In A 2-Year Contract
A little over a month ago, Mark gave up on his GoPhone SIM, went into an AT&T store with his iPhone 2G in hand, and signed up for a new two year, post-paid plan. The sales rep promised Mark that his corporate discount would apply, and instead of a contract presented just a receipt. Now AT&T is saying there's no corporate discount on an iPhone purchase—even though he didn't buy an iPhone, just the service plan—and that he can't cancel now without paying an ETF because it's past the 30 day mark. More » -
happy endings
Sprint Helps You Deal With Your Deadbeat Brother
Reader B. probably shouldn't have used her credit to help her less-than-creditworthy brother get a cellphone, but this story has a happy ending thanks to some helpful customer service from Sprint. More » -
no etf
Reader Escapes Sprint With No ETF Thanks To Admin Fee Increase
Reader Kenneth says he escaped Sprint without paying an ETF because of our post "Escape Sprint ETF-Free Over Administrative Fee Increase." He sent us the transcript of his chat with Sprint so you can see how he did it. 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]
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etf
Verizon Announces Monthly Plans With No Early Termination Fees
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 » -
get out of your cellphone contract
Want The New iPhone? Here's How To Escape Your Current Cellphone Contract ETF-Free
As the second coming of the Jesusphone 3G draws near, we wanted to remind customers of other wireless carriers that there are ways to escape your existing cellphone contract free of early termination fees, and trade your piddling Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile bills for hundreds of pages of gloriously itemized AT&T charges. Or just switch carriers. More » -
early termination fees
Graph: Which Cellphone Company Has The Best Early Termination Fee Policy?
Discounting or pro-rating the early termination fees that cellphone companies love to tack on to their contracts is becoming more common, so we thought we'd make some graphs that show the strengths and weaknesses of the different policies. As you can see, T-Mobile 2-year ETF doesn't make any discounts until fairly late in the contract period — and their ETF of $200 is higher than either of the other two companies that offer discounts. (Sprint does not pro-rate or discount its ETF.) T-Mobile's ETF does, however, reach a point where their discounts are steeper than Verizon and AT&T's pro-rating. More »
3:05 PM on Fri Jun 27 2008
By Meg Marco
20,145 views, 44 commentsMost discussed othersomethings: I just spoke with an AT&T rep two weeks ago, and was told that their ETF was $150 per phone more »
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incompetence
AT&T Loses Your Phone Number While You're Serving In Iraq, Says No Upgrade For You
Reader Nicholas is in the military, and while he was serving in Iraq, AT&T decided to give his phone number to another customer. When he returned, he asked for the number back, but was refused. The rep then convinced him that he needed to sign a new 2 year contract in order to reactivate his number. Naturally, right after he did this, his phone broke, and now AT&T is telling him that he'll have to wait until 2009 to get a decent upgrade.
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activation fees
AT&T Says They'll Charge $25 "Activation Fee" To Move SIM From A Broken Phone To A GoPhone
Does AT&T really charge a $25 "activation fee" when you move your SIM card to a GoPhone? A father had to replace his child's broken cellphone over the weekend, and the rep at the AT&T store told him the only way to avoid an ETF or plan extension was to buy a GoPhone and pay an activation fee, even though the SIM card was the same. Online, you can buy a new GoPhone and have the activation fee waved. Way to treat your current customers, AT&T. More » -
contracts
DirecTV: New 2-Year Contract With $480 Cancellation Fee For Switching DVRs
I've had DirecTV for 8 years and was happy until 2 weeks ago. I purchased a new HD receiver at Best Buy on a whim to upgrade my sturdy old DirecTivo. I got home and called DirecTV to tell them of the switch. The Rep (Mone ID#413435) took the numbers on the new box and TV and told me that my new HD receiver should start working in a few minutes. That's all she said. More » -
materially adverse
Another Customer Escapes Verizon Contract For Free
Reader Bret writes in to let us know that he was able to escape the chains of his Verizon contract with no ETF thanks to a txt message increase: More » -
freedom
Cell Service For The Commitment Phobic: AT&T Offers SIM Card Without 2 Year Contract
After reports started surfacing that AT&T was offering a SIM-card only option that was tied to a 2 year contract, we contacted AT&T for more information. As far as we knew, AT&T allowed new customers to bring their own compatible equipment and did not require a 2 year contract. More » -
contracts
Cancel T-Mobile With No ETF By Complaining To The FCC
Reader Jeffrey didn't have service on his phone with T-Mobile, so he wanted to switch to another carrier. The trouble is, T-Mobile refused to let him out of his contract without an ETF: More » -
text messaging
After Twitter Snafu, T-Mobile Reminds Customers Who's Boss
Last weekend, T-Mobile users who sent SMS updates to their Twitter feeds found that their messages were being blocked. Naturally, tempers flared. Many customers contacted T-Mobile to complain about the problem, but T-Mobile had no answer for the sudden blockage. (It turns out it was a technical glitch on Twitter's end.) What's interesting is that T-Mobile's Executive Customer Relations rep responded to one user's complaints with a hardcore reminder that when it comes to customer rights, his pretty much begin and end with being required to pay his bill on time. Nice PR work there, T-Mobile.My name is Marianne Maestas and I am with the Executive Customer Relations department of T-Mobile. I am contacting you on behalf of Mr. Robert Dotson in regards to the email that you sent him yesterday evening.
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etf
New York, 10:47 PM
Wed Nov 11
19 posts in the last 24 hours
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