One way to escape your contract is to call up your carrier and argue that they have made a materially adverse change to your service agreement. Most cellphone contracts contain a clause allowing customers to escape their contracts if a materially adverse change is made, usually in the form of a rate increase. Here's an example clause from a Verizon contract:

Your service is subject to our business policies, practices, and procedures, which we can change without notice. UNLESS OTHERWISE PROHIBITED BY LAW, WE CAN ALSO CHANGE PRICES AND ANY OTHER CONDITIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT AT ANY TIME BY SENDING YOU WRITTEN NOTICE PRIOR TO THE BILLING PERIOD IN WHICH THE CHANGES WOULD GO INTO EFFECT. IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE YOUR SERVICE AFTER THAT POINT, YOU'RE ACCEPTING THE CHANGES. IF THE CHANGES HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON YOU, HOWEVER, YOU CAN END THE AFFECTED SERVICE, WITHOUT ANY EARLY TERMINATION FEE, JUST BY CALLING US WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER WE SEND NOTICE OF THE CHANGE.

Below are some recent rate increases by the major providers. Some of these might have occurred far enough back that they are outside the window to call and complain, but we've also heard from readers who didn't get any notice, or who got late notice, thus keeping them within the required period to contest the change.
T-Mobile
We posted about this a couple weeks ago, but just to reiterate: T-Mobile is raising its text message rates on August 29th. That's a materially adverse change to your contract. Run while you can.
Verizon
Although Verizon likes to play dumb about what constitutes a materially adverse change to your contract, a Verizon fee increase was the impetus for this article: A reader writes in that he used Verizon's recent Federal Universal Service Charge increase to escape without an ETF. Here is Verizon's increase notification:

The Federal Universal Service Charge (FUSC) is a Verizon Wireless charge that is subject to change each calendar quarter based on contribution rates prescribed by the FCC. On July 1, the FUSC changed to 2.42 percent of assessable wireless charges, other than separately billed interstate and international long distance charges. The FUSC on these charges changed to 11.4 percent.

Sprint Nextel
There are conflicting reports that, as of July 13, Sprint will be eliminating its SERO plan altogether, or making existing customers switch to unlimited data "everything" plans, or just forcing that on new PDA customers. Barring that, a text message increase probably isn't too far away.
Other Techniques
We offered advice on escaping your contract last year when the iPhone first came out. Besides complaining about materially adverse changes, you can sell your contract, complain that service is substandard, move to an area out of your network, join the military, or die.

PREVIOUSLY: 6 Ways to Cancel Any Cellphone So You Can Get an iPhone
"Material Adverse" Clauses in Cell Phone Contracts [United Consumer Action Network]
(Photo: Getty)

As far as the other policies go: AT&T and Verizon have similar pro-rating plans, (for each month that goes by they deduct $5 from the ETF) but Verizon starts discounting earlier than AT&T, according to Consumer Reports.

When you look at 1 year contracts, T-Mobile's plan looks a lot better. Their discounts beat both AT&T and Verizon after 6 months. Also, if you cancel T-Mobile in the final month of either a 2 year or a 1 year contract, you'll have to pay either $50 or your monthly fee — whichever is less.

Something to watch out for: T-Mobile's trial period is only 20 days, while AT&T and Verizon both give you 30 days.

T-Mobile announces pro-rating of termination fees [Consumer Reports]

Days left | fee

180: $200
180-91: $100
90-30: $50
29-1: $50 or monthly rate, whichever is less.

Glad to see another carrier joining in with declining ETFs. It's that much closer to doing away with them entirely. No word yet on whether this will only apply to new customers.

Here's the text of Tmobile's email announcement.

Beginning on June 28, 2008, the ETF for customers who choose a one-year or two-year service agreement with T-Mobile will decline during the course their contract. The ETF decreases from $200 to $100 if customers terminate service with 91 to 180 days remaining on their agreement; and decreases again to $50 with fewer than 91 days remaining. If customers terminate in the last 30 days of their term, the ETF is $50 or their standard monthly charge, whichever is less.

T-Mobile Eases Early Termination Fees [Washington Post]

(Thanks to Spencer!)

(Photo: shlomp-a-plompa)

Anyone who signed up for the HotSpot @Home feature that allows you to make cell phone calls over your wifi network should go online and switch to the identical service that was 're-rolled out' and called 'HotSpot @Home Talk Forever Mobile'.

They are exactly the same service except that the old version was $19.99 and the new version is $9.99. So basically I will be saving $120 a year without any contract extensions or change in service.

If you are still being billed for the old version, T-mobile will not switch you over to the cheaper, identical service until you do it yourself.

Kapil's brand new Blackberry arrived with a battery that won't charge. He wants T-Mobile to exchange it, but he says T-Mobile wants to replace it with a refurbished Blackberry instead of a new model. Kapil is fighting back, but even at the executive support level all he's found are rude, uncooperative T-Mobile employees who keep saying there's a process, and that someone will call him back—which never happens. Kapil refused to hang up on the fourth day and demanded to know what happens next after nobody calls back, which seemed to confuse and anger the T-Mobile rep he was speaking with. And for those of you who can't listen in, we've transcribed some of the juiciest parts.

powered by ODEO

After a few minutes, the rep grows audibly annoyed with Kapil and tries to get him off the phone:

Your other option is to call customer care.

The reason I'm calling your executive office is because customer service has failed me and they are not helping me, and now you're telling me that my only recourse is to continue leaving messages but no one is calling me back. I have called every day—

[cutting in] Sir, sir, we took a message this morning. He has 24 hours to give you a call back.

I understand there was a message left this morning—

[talking over him] Okay, so— but—

—but there was also a message left on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week and no one has called me back.

Uh, uh, from the notations in the account I don't—

So you're telling me the notes are more accurate than me? Because on this conversation there's only one person that was part of that initial conversation and... it's not you. I'm telling you that I've called all this week—

[cutting in] I'm telling you nobody from my team, nobody from my team, uh, went into your account.

What if they forgot to leave a note to that effect? Is that my problem?

It doesn't matter, that's not how our system works sir. Even if they were in the account and, and, and didn't leave a note, it still shows there in the account.

So what if I—

[cutting in] At, at this point sir, I'm not going to argue with you. I can give you a phone number. If you need immediate assistance you have customer service to call. Okay?

I have tried—

[overlapping] Do you have any other questions or concerns for me?

I have tried customer service and they have refused to help me, so I called your executive office—

[cutting him off] Well sir, this is your option at this point, sir.

May I speak to a supervisor in your department?

No sir, you're not calling customer service, you're calling our executive offices.

This goes on and on like a Beckett play for a while. Eventually Kapil tries a different tactic, and discovers that just because he's been led to believe he's speaking to executive customer service, he may have actually been rerouted to regular customer service on his previous calls:

You're evading my question here. I understand your process, that someone will call me back in 24 hours. I'm asking, if that does not happen, what's happens next?

Somebody will call you back within 24 hours sir.

(Laughing) Are you a South Park fan at all? The TV show? [silence] Ever seen that TV show?

(Pause) ...No.

There's an episode of South Park where... imagine you're a character called the Underpants Gnome. And these Underpants Gnomes are stealing everyone's underpants, and when asked why they're doing that they put up a sign that says Step #1, collect underpants, Step #2, a bunch of question marks, and Step #3, profit. When you ask them what step #2 is, nobody knows. You're kind of doing that to me, I'm asking you if this doesn't happen, if your process doesn't work the way that it's supposed to, which it hasn't for me all week, what is the next step in the process. Like, how do I get past this?

Okay, again I'm telling you, you may have called the corporate office, but more than likely, it looks like from what I can see that you may have gotten transferred back to customer service, okay? As far as our team receiving the call, the first call that was received by our team this week was this morning, okay? So, from that point we have 24 hours to call you back.

But I have somebody on the phone. You're in the same department.

I'm trying to explain our process sir. Do you understand it or do I have to explain it again?

Twelve minutes in, we find out that the mysterious Pancho—he's the Godot-like character who's supposed to call Kapil back—isn't even someone Kapil has spoken to before, although Jason doesn't seem to understand or believe that. And at about the 13:30 mark, Jason finally gets upset enough that he reveals that he does have a record that Kapil has called several times before—something he has kept denying knowledge of throughout the call.

It's really a masterclass in how to pretend to offer customer service while stonewalling a customer. We like to imagine there are posters up around the T-Mobile offices that display our favorite line from Jason: "It's not a refusal, sir, it's how our process works."

(Photo: Getty Images)

T-Mobile's heart is in the right place. What they need is another feature, one that lets you disable their annoyingly useless text message reminders.

Deutsche Telekom / T-Mobile demands Engadget Mobile discontinue using the color magenta [Engadget] (Thanks to Tristan!)

"Carrier ETF plans targeted" [RCRWireless News]
(Photo: Getty)

Fortunately, Jason was able to resolve the issue. He wrote a detailed, very civil email to T-Mobile's executive support department—

I received a call this morning from Timothy in the Executive Response dept - they are going to issue a full refund as a "one time courtesy". :)

He admitted that the 2-3 day number that they give for batteries is a very over-the-top estimate. "The manufacturers charge the phones, and leave them on a desk until they die. There is zero usage during that time. Phones like the Sidekick are very well known for having only about 24 hours of battery life, because they are constantly sending/receiving data - whether you are actively using them or not."

Howard Forums is a great place to look for this information if you can't find it on an official carrier's website—here's T-Mobile's policy, for example. You should still verify the policy with the carrier at the time of purchase (from a printed document or a CSR, not a salesperson), so you're certain to have the most up to date information.

RELATED
"Buyer's Remorse AKA Trial Period for T-Mobile"
(Photo: Gizmodo)

Sprint has lost more than 60 percent of its value since June 2007. We're not like analysts or anything, but wouldn't T-Mobile have to be under a lot of pressure (or be able to get a great deal) to bother buying Sprint and its incompatible network when it might be able to sit back, do nothing, and wait as the company's few remaining customers defect? Wouldn't a CDMA-network based company make more sense? [NYT]

I just wanted to thank "The Consumerist" for the EXCEPTIONAL information! EECB was instrumental in helping me resolve my billing dispute with T-Mobile. Here is a copy of e-mail I sent off to the e-mail of Robert Dotson, CEO of T-Mobile and the correspondence that followed. I have to say that T-Mobile's Executive Customer Relations department was phenomenal to deal with. In the letter they write back to me, they essentially say I was wrong, but they are reimbursing me anyways.

Thanks Again

-=Rob=-

Rob writes to T-Mobile's CEO:

2/25/08

Dear Sir,

When I received my February bill, I was surprised to see my bill that is usually under $100.00 had skyrocketed over $275.00.

I briefly had the opportunity to discuss this with a customer representative when I received my bill. She was exceedingly helpful and professional. She kindly informed me that the billing charges were the result of a huge text messaging overage caused by instant messaging. I stated that I had the Unlimited T-Zones on my plan, and that I was told by a store representative that Instant messaging was free with t-zones. She informed me that this is true, but only when used from T-Mobile's WAP site, and not through the client installed on the phone. I did not have time to go further into the matter that night due to family obligations, but asked the representative to change my plan at that time to include unlimited text messages to put a stop to the overages for the time being.

Yesterday evening I spoke with a T-Mobile customer service representative, and eventually his supervisor, to continue my dialogue and try to resolve the matter of the service charges on my bill. I have always praised T-Mobile's customer service, but for the first time in my 5 years as a customer in good standing, I am exceedingly disappointed with T-Mobile's customer service.

I purchased my new Shadow phone on December the 6th. While browsing through the features on this new phone at checkout, I noticed that AOL instant messenger was included on the phone and asked the sales representative about this particular feature. He stated that since I was a T-Zones customer at the time, instant messaging would be free. When I called to discuss this with customer service representatives yesterday evening, I was told to:

"Go find the store rep that made the error"

and that I could not be credited or helped further without

"Proper Documentation".

When I asked what proper documentation was, neither the customer representative nor his supervisor could give me any answer at all other than to repeat that they need proper documentation. I was repeatedly instructed to try and find that specific store representative and resolve the matter with him. When I informed the phone representative that most stores will not give out employee scheduling information as this is a personal security risk, I was also not given a reply, and was only met by dead silence on the phone.

This incredible lapse in customer care leads me to rethink T-Mobile's service when my contract comes to completion. Working for a customer-centric electric utility company, I understand dedication to customer service and satisfaction, as we are reminded everyday that no company can work and grow without it's customers.

Sincerely,

Robert

Mr. XXXXXXXXX,

Thank you for your reply. As stated in your email to Mr. Dotson, you are aware that when using the instant messaging feature embedded in the menu of your device, you are billed at a per message rate of $.15 a message, unless you have a messaging bundle added to your monthly services.

T-Mobile records indicate that you used a total of 1312 text messages during your December 28, 2007, to January 27, 2008, billing cycle. As such, it is T-Mobile's position that the text messaging charges are valid and owed.

Nevertheless, as a gesture of good faith to you, and in an effort to amicably resolve the issue, T-Mobile has rerated your January 2008 billing statement as if you were on the $14.99 Unlimited Messaging Value Bundle. As such, we have placed a one time credit on your account in the amount of $197.39, for the text messaging charges less the cost of the Unlimited Messaging Bundle.

You currently have a credit balance on your account in the amount of $197.39; you can verify this by dialing #646# on your T-Mobile phone, or by calling Customer Care at 800-937-8997. If you wish to have this amount refunded to you, please reply to this email and we will do so in three to five business days. T-Mobile regrets any inconvenience to you.

Sincerely,

Brian Watson
Executive Customer Relations
Office of the President

(Photo:Crawfishpie)

Mr. Dotson,

Although I'm sure you get many e-mails on a daily basis from customers that are less than pleased with the service that your company provides I'd like to give you some idea of my recent dealings with t-mobile customer care.

I am a SmartAccess customer with a 1000 minutes family plan for two lines. On January 22nd I paid my balance in full of $220.00 online. This balance included several dollars in overages related to txt messages in excess of my plan. After paying my balance I attempted to change my text messaging bundle on the t-mobile website. It stated that "due to the status of my account" I couldn't make any changes. Not wanting to incur more charges in the future I contacted customer support by dialing 611 on my blackberry and asking customer care to make the changes to my account.

Two days ago I received a text from t-mobile stating that I was nearing my spending limit. A bit taken aback that I'd be anywhere near the limit I logged in and checked my balance. There were in excess of $75 in text messaging fees on my account. I e-mailed customer support online to get the issue cleared up.

Tonight at 11pm EST a telephone call that I was on got disconnected and my service suspended. Not having received any reply from t-mobile support by e-mail I attempted to call customer care to get the issue resolved.

Apparently (and this isn't the first time I've encountered this) the call center agent that I spoke with on the 22nd not only didn't make the changes to my account, didn't place any notes on my account but also failed to even pull my account up to look at it. I can only assume that he takes the responsibilities of his job about as seriously as a cat with a ball of yarn.

Due to your customer call agent's pure incompetence my account is suspended. Had your employee done his job I wouldn't have incurred the over $75 in text messaging charges that put my account over it's limit. I find that unacceptable.

I'll be the first to admit that I got a bit short with your call agents tonight. That might have something to do with their absolutely infuriating habit of cutting a customer off in midsentence and interrupting at every possible opportunity. You customer call agents are not only incompetent, they're immensely rude. I don't like being told that nothing can be done to remedy an error on the part of your company. According to your agents my only option is paying off these charges. The sheer idea of offering me "bonus text messages" as a remedy for my "inconvenience" is nothing more than an insult.

Although I may be a SmartAccess customer I'm also a governmental customer and a customer with a long standing clean record with your company. As such I expect, no I demand, that something be done about your company's complete lack of customer service. The whole point in having customer care and billing agents is to provide your customers with resolution to service problems. The fact that your call agents have no way to bring remedy to a situation is absolutely assinine, what is it exactly you pay them for?

Cordially,

Ric

(Photo: gumuz)

...just wanted you to know that I am one of the many people who can't seem to get T-Mobile service even though I live in New York City, a major market. All my calls to the regular customer service line got me no where and they did the standard runaround: $5 credit, work with their tech team to isolate the problem, etc. I read a user comment on one of the many T-Mobile threads on the Consumerist which said to file a complaint with the FCC and, by doing so, T-Mobile will have to address the problem and report back to the FCC a resolution. So I did. (There's an online form so it's easy.)

About a month later I got a call from one of T-Mobile's Executive Customer Service Representatives. I was ready to argue, I'm pretty tired of the whole situation and deal with them, but he was very pleasant and got me out of the contract without an ETF without much complaint.

Just wanted to thank you for all your help! I probably would've eaten the fee if it wasn't for your site!

(Photo:cmorran123)

LTE is what you expect from a next generation of communications protocols: it can fit more information into less bandwidth than its predecessors. It is meant to reduce the complexity of wireless communication by converting both voice and data communications into packets using Internet Protocol. Loosely speaking, it competes with the WiMax standard being promoted by Sprint and Clearwire, a startup founded by Craig O. McCaw, the cellphone entrepreneur.

They key fact isn't anything technical here. LTE is the format that has been endorsed by the GSM Association, which coordinates the wireless standard used in most countries. And it has been endorsed by AT&T. What it means is that in a few years, you will be able to buy phones and switch them between the two largest wireless networks in the United States—Verizon and AT&T—as well as carriers in most of the world.

It could just be us, but Verizon seems a little less evil lately. The decision to open their network coupled with the move to GSM will undeniably benefit consumers - unless, of course, Verizon lets their usual profit motive mangle their seemingly good intentions.

Verizon's Real Move to Openness [NYT]
PREVIOUSLY: Verizon To Open Its Network To Any Compatible Device
(Photo: Maulleigh)

• 1. You plan on keeping or starting a T-Mobile HotSpot plan for 2008
• 2. You were going to donate at least $199 to a charity anyway.

That's really it—if you meet those two conditions, then the laptop is gravy, because the real deal is with T-Mobile. You can give your XO laptop away, gift it to a kid in your family, try to get Doom to play on it, whatever. It doesn't matter.

Here's how we figure it: that $400 fee is really a combination of two expenses: a tax-deductible donation of $199 and a purchase price of $201. If you were already planning on donating $199 to a charity before the end of 2007, then by donating it to OLPC, you get to spend that extra $201 for your own XO laptop plus the T-Mobile HotSpot account. On its own, a year of pre-paid T-Mobile HotSpot (the cheapest option) is $359.88. For your additional $201, you're getting that plus a weird little Kermit-and-marshmallow laptop/tablet!

This is sort of a "splitting hairs" way of looking at it, but it's applicable to those people who are looking to donate $199 to charity anyway. For the rest of us, this deal effectively costs $400 because the donation is forced, and you wouldn't have otherwise spent it. It's still a great deal (like buying a year of T-Mobile and getting an XO laptop for about $60 including shipping), but not as attractive as it is to those who, for whatever reason, were going to be donating the $199 anyway.

"Give One Get One" [One Laptop Per Child]
(Image: OLPC)

I moved from NY to SC, and had a t-mobile phone. and because there is no t-mobile here in sc, i called to cancel it, because the service here is very poor for t-mobile. On August 17 I paid my bill for July and August in full, and called t-mobile to cancel the phone, she said ok that she will cancel the service without the cancellation fee because of no service in sc, but told me to fax her a letter stating that I want to cancel the service, I got off the phone and faxed her the letter. Couple days latter I logged onto my account online and saw that my service was still not canceled. I called them to see what was going on, the guy told me that they see that I called on August 17th, but that they lost the letter, and told me that I have to send the fax again, so this time I told him to stay on the phone while I send the fax, I sent him the fax while he was on the phone, and he told me that he was holding the letter in his hand and that he will take care of it.

After I while I started getting calls from t-mobile telling me I had to pay my bill, so I called them again and the guy told me that my account was still not canceled and that I was being charged for some reinstatement fee for September and some unpaid dues from before, and some fees for October, even tho I have the bills from t-mobile stating that I paid my bills in full for all the months and the bill for July and August, and that I have no minutes used for September and October, actually my phone wasn't even working during September and October because someone stepped on it in my car and broke the screen, and I had already gotten a new service with verizon. The guy told me that it wasn't right and that he will take care of it. So I thought that he will, but after couple days I again got a call from t-mobile saying that I have to pay my bills or it will be passed on to collection agencie. So I called again on Wednesday October 31st, and told the guy everything, and he told me that he can see that I called on August 17th to cancel the account, that he doesn't have the letter, and that he will review my account and call me back Sunday November 4th to tell me whats going on before he does anything. I didn't get any call from anyone on Sunday, So I called Monday. again the representative said she could not do anything about it, and this time said that it was already passed on to collection agencies, so I told her to let me talk to someone else, she let me talk to some guy from support something. The guy from support Michael told me he couldn't do anything that it was passed on already to collection agencie. When I told him everything that happened he was like yea I do see all that but I cant do anything about it, and that I would have to deal with collection agencie now, when I asked him to give me the number to collection aggencie, he told me to wait that he came back and told me that they filled it on Nov 4th and that it takes 3 days for the collection agencies information to come back and that he couldn't give me their phone number. So I asked his name he told me it was Michael, I told him Michael I was recording this call is that ok with you, right away he was like actually sir you can't do that, I told him thanks and bye.

I wasn't actually recording him, but he did seem scared after I told him.

Is there anything I can do to find some answers????

(Photo: medalian1)

Industry scores dropped 12 points on 1,000 point scale. Verizon has the highest ratings at 726. Sprint scored the lowest with 679. The average is 709. According to the survey, the four most important factors driving customer satisfaction are sales staff (51%); store display (17%); store facility (16%); and price/promotion (16%).

The study's authors claim in the press release that the biggest thumb on customer satisfaction scores are employees in big box retail stores who using high-pressure sales tactics and not accurately conveying product and
service information. Gee, I wonder who that could be...

2007 Wireless Retail Sales Satisfaction StudySM-Volume 2 [J.D. Power and Associates]

Sprint phones will only work on the CDMA networks used by Verizon and Alltel, not the GSM networks run by AT&T and T-Mobile.

The settlement covers all customers who bought Sprint phones between Aug. 28, 1999, and July 16, 2007. It should allow those phones to be switched to competitors whose networks are compatible with Sprint's, such as Verizon Wireless and Alltel Corp.

Sprint, whose operational headquarters is in Overland Park, has denied wrongdoing but said it agreed to settle the cases to avoid the uncertainties and expense of litigation.

"We think this is a fair and reasonable settlement," said Matt Sullivan, a spokesman for Sprint.

Sprint Nextel will provide code to unlock cell-phone software [Kansas City Star]
(Photo: Maulleigh)

T-Mobile has only given me a partial amount of the credit they promised me in the BBB response. I've only gotten $454 back out of the $1,766. Their new response on the BBB website states that my October bill will reflect the full reimbursement of my credit. Unfortunately, the October bill is still $1,100+ and it shows that the second fraudulent line is still active.

Because I've refused to pay the incorrect bill, T-Mobile once again suspended my cell service on Friday. As a result, I have been unable to port my number over to Sprint due to the suspension. Once again, I am out of cell service as a result of T-Mobile's negligence. I am honestly baffled by this. T-Mobile has already expressly stated in writing that there was fraud on my account, that the fraudulent line has been suspended after an investigation, and that I was to receive a credit of $1,766. Absolutely none of that has been done. Now my cell number is being held hostage until I pay up a $1,100 bill that T-Mobile knows and admits was fraudulent. I don't understand what I have to do to get these people to fix something. It seems like nothing short of a lawsuit will get things done at this point. If you have any suggestions, please let me know, I'd greatly appreciate it.

This is the newest BBB response, they're asking this complaint be closed despite not having done anything to fix this problem:

October 17, 2007
Re: Motoko Your Case No. 22xxxxxx
T-Mobile Account No. xxxxxxxxx

To Whom It May Concern:

T-Mobile USA, Inc. ( '' T-Mobile '' ) is in receipt of your letter, dated October 5, 2007, regarding Motoko' s above-referenced account. As stated in previous correspondence dated September 21, 2007, T-Mobile placed credits on Motoko' s account totaling $1,766.10. The credits will be reflected on the October 2007 billing statement. On September 25, 2007, T-Mobile refunded the revised credit balance of $454.45 by check as requested by Motoko. T-Mobile regrets any inconveniences this matter may have caused Motoko. Based upon the foregoing, we respectfully request that this complaint against T-Mobile be closed. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the address listed below or at 877-290-6323, extension 8043.

Very truly yours,

T-MOBILE USA, INC.
Jason Cook Executive Customer Relations
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
PO Box 37380
Albuquerque, NM 87176

(Photo: NYCviaRachel)

Which is why they're hiring 150 additional customer service employees. It won't solve their problems, but it's certainly a great place to start. Maybe they can people from the Sprint Consumerist Hotline to train them. Those guys are awesome!

(Photo: sun dazed)

Entirely by coincidence, the announcement comes the same week that the Senate Commerce Committee is holding hearings on consumer wireless plans. A guy in a monkey suit at JD Power & Associates explains, "Carriers want to be able to show they can self-regulate and not have to have regulations imposed on them."

This is like that scene in "Return of the Jedi" when Darth Vader's helmet is removed: he's doesn't exactly become less evil, but we see a more human face.

"AT&T changes fee policy for customer contracts" [Reuters]
"AT&T Eases Plan Switching Penalties as Congress Mulls Action" [CRM Buyer]

If you're an avid text-message user, it can make sense to sign up for one, but you should make sure you're not buying unnecessary minutes. Check your billing and use history to see whether the number of texts you send and receive would actually make it cheaper to go for a text-messaging plan, or just pay the standard rate. Before making any changes, be sure to ask whether doing so will extend your contract, so you don't accidentally get locked in for another two years.

Green thumbs: Texting costs up [Florida Times-Union]

In June, the state appeals court said T-Mobile's contractual prohibition of class-action lawsuits was "unconscionable," which "rendered the arbitration provision unenforceable."

If the plaintiffs win, "the outcome could require cell phone carriers, at least in California, to unlock cell phones upon a customer's request." It could also have an impact on two class-action lawsuits that were filed last week in California against Apple and AT&T over their practice of locking the iPhone to a single network, and of possibly bricking rogue phones deliberately.

"Court Clears Way for Mobile-Phone-Unlocking Lawsuit Against T-Mobile" [Wired]
(Photo: Getty)

T-Mobile ended up cutting my line for nonpayment. They simply refused to investigate the matter or to call me back.

I was left with no choice but to file a BBB complaint. I guess that was the only way to get them to take me seriously. After another few days they finally admitted that there was fraud on my account. Their calculations showed that they owed me ~$500 but the BBB complaint response from T-Mobile shows about $1,766 in credit. Frankly I'm ashamed that I never bothered to check my online account more closely. I should have known better than to trust them. They refuse to tell me how the fraud was committed on my account or how the perpetrator had access to my account. They also refuse to show me detailed calculations of how they arrived at the credit sum. They initially told me they owed me about $80, then a few days later, $500, now I'm hearing $1,766 according to their BBB response. I really want to double check through their calculations, apparently the fraudulent number has been active since November of last year.

They said last week I would receive a check by this week but it's already Thursday and still no check, instead I got another bill from T-Mobile even though they owe me $1,766 in credit! I'm not wasting any more of my time communicating with them. If they cut my line again I'll just file another complaint and ask for more compensation. I finally got another line set up so it won't be as devastating this time. It's almost hilarious how they commit one ridiculous blunder after another..

They didn't offer me any compensation until I specifically asked for it, and they only gave me $60 and a contract opt out without ETF. Frankly I don't want to deal with this crap anymore. I'll be switching as soon as I can pick out a new phone from Sprint.

An interesting note is that they did specifically mention they read the article on The Consumerist. They even had a T-Mobile rep respond with a comment and explanation (which was total bullshit since it did turn out to be fraud and that they screwed up majorly). I'm sure you already know that but I found it really cool that the major cell phone companies are keeping a close eye on The Consumerist. It just sucks that it takes nothing short of bad publicity to make them do the right thing. I can't thank you enough for your help and for running such a successful site. It's pretty cool how major corporations will finally listen to us through your site. Below is their response to the BBB in case you're interested:

On September 21, 2007, the business provided the following information:
To Whom It May Concern: T-Mobile USA, Inc. ( '' T-Mobile '' ) is in receipt of your letter, dated September 13, 2007, regarding Motoko's above-referenced account. T-Mobile has investigated the account and determined that fraud was substantiated. As such, T- Mobile has cancelled mobile number 401-XXX-XXXX and credited all fees associated with 401-XXX- XXXX. T-Mobile has placed a total credit of $1,766.10 which includes monthly access, usage and applicable taxes and one month access for the inconvenience. In addition, T-Mobile has removed the contractual obligation from Ms. Ishii account. This will allow Ms. Ishii to cancel her T-Mobile account without incurring a $200.00 early termination fee. Based upon the foregoing, we respectfully request that this complaint against T-Mobile be closed. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

We'll be happy to update this post once Motoko has her check for $1,766.10.

PREVIOUSLY: Your Bill Looks Fraudulent. Pay It Anyway
(Photo: 22n)

Helio: 427
T-Mobile: 745
Alltel: 3,500
Verizon: 20,000
AT&T: 22,500
Sprint: 31,000

Note that these results bear no discernible relation to the same companies tested against "___ is the coolest," thereby underscoring this experiment's utter frivolousness.

(Photo: Meghann Marco)

Alltel: 1
T-Mobile: 4
AT&T: 5
Sprint: 7
***WINNER*** ~ Verizon: 8 ~***IS COOL***
UPDATE: Oh yeah, and Helio. They got 8 too! It's a tie!

We propose that henceforth, all companies interested in gauging their market penetration should subject themselves to the "is cool" test.

By way of comparison, "Apple is cool" returns 11,700 results, beating "Jesus is cool" at 10,700. Ergo, Apple is cooler than Jesus. But Apple is not cooler than cats. Cats win, at 20,200. We, however, are not cool at all. "Consumerist.com is cool" did not match any documents.

(Photo: Maulleigh)

In light of the 1.1.1. firmware update, they may want to rename the kiosk: The Brick Factory.

Reader Motoko was shocked to find $1,000 worth of charges from an unknown phone number on her latest T-Mobile bill. T-Mobile refused to vacate the charges, even after admitting that the number that somehow latched onto her account was already under investigation for suspicious activity. One thoughtless rep suggested that Motoko merely lost track of time while racking up the mysterious charges, and offered to bump her up to a more expensive plan. Motoko writes:

I checked my T-Mobile bill this month and saw that I was billed $1,169.84. A lot of the calls and text messages were made from 401 XXX-XXXX, a mysterious phone number attached to my account that I have never seen before.

I called T Mobile and spoke with Cindy, who said the number is under investigation but the charges are valid even though the vast majority of it was from a phone number that does not belong to me. Cindy then said she will call me back 2 days from now on Friday and that the new number will be suspended. Not happy with the outcome I called again and spoke with Gabriel (#0458150) who kept denying for 15 minutes that any phone calls were made from the 401 number and that I had made those calls to cities I've never heard of under my number, and maybe I "forgot" and "lost track of time" when making these calls. I finally showed her the online billing statement that clearly showed TEN pages of phone calls from the 401 number to numbers and cities I have never seen before. She promptly says "Oh...", puts me on hold for 10 minutes, comes back and tells me that the charges are valid because they were made from the same phone! Then she asks if I want to change my plan to one with more minutes so I won't have to pay $1,000 next month, thanks Gabby!

T-Mobile is basically insinuating that I purchased two numbers/SIM cards on the same account, then swapped them in and out of the phone at various times (often making calls from both numbers at the same time on the same phone!), racked up a bill of $1,169 after two months and am now trying to weasel my way out of this monstrous bill by lying.

Gabriel was kind enough to tell me that perhaps I should figure out who's number it is and that I should call it. Realizing that T Mobile obviously doesn't give a crap, I called the 401 number and got a message "By subscriber's request this phone number does not accept incoming calls". I asked Gabriel if she'll forward me to her supervisor, she says yes but he's busy so he'll call me back tomorrow. After much cajoling she puts me on the line with the supervisor who promptly tells me the charges are valid and that he'll have someone else call me back in 10 minutes. Take a wild guess if he called me back or not? Yup. This is why I'm not even going to bother anymore with their awful customer service.

I'm not going to pay $1,169.84 worth of phone calls that I did not make, T-Mobile will probably cancel my phone line next month for non payment and I'll be without a phone for a while, this is going to suck majorly. They also billed me $466.12 last month and that was auto paid. I'm guessing they're not going to just give that back unless I take them to court. I've been a customer of T-Mobile's for many years, have always paid my bills on time, never disputed anything because I travel a lot and have set everything on auto pay, but this is just ridiculous. I can't believe they're ignoring me as if I'm some lying irresponsible 14 year old girl who just got her first cell phone. All the evidence points to someone hijacking my account. Why won't T-Mobile take scams like this seriously?

T-Mobile should take the scam more seriously, but like a drunken frat boy, they are after only one thing: your money.

(Photo: 22n)

...the representative on the phone told her the only way the phone could have those images was if she took the photos herself or if the pictures were sent to her in a text message.

New phone comes with porn? [12 News via Blorge.com]
(Photo: JD Pavkovich)

(Photo: FastFords)

SPRINT/NEXTEL
When You Don't Have To Pay An Early Termination Fee
You aren't responsible for paying an Early Termination Fee when terminating Services: (a) provided on a month-to-month basis; (b) consistent with our published trial period return policy; or (c) in response to a materially adverse change we make to the Agreement as described directly below.

Our Right To Change The Agreement & Your Related Rights
We may change any part of the Agreement at any time including, but not limited to, rates, charges, how we calculate charges, or your terms of Service. We will provide you notice of changes that may impact you in a manner consistent with this Agreement (see "Providing Notice Under This Agreement" paragraph). Except as provided below, if a change we make to the Agreement is material and has a material adverse affect on you, you may terminate each line of Service materially affected without incurring an Early Termination Fee only if you: (a) call us within 30 days after the effective date of the change; and (b) specifically advise us that you wish to cancel Services because of a material change to the Agreement that we have made. If you do not cancel Service within 30 days of the change, an Early Termination Fee will apply if you terminate Services before the end of any applicable

Term Commitment.
The following, without limitation, will generally not be considered changes to the Agreement as contemplated in this provision and will not result in the waiver of applicable Early Termination Fees: (a) changes to our Policies; (b) changes to rates or charges that are not a core part of the rate plan package for which you contracted - for example, incidental, occasional or casual use charges and other options that do not require a Term Commitment; (b) changes to Taxes & Government Fees; or (c) changes to Surcharges, including assessing new Surcharges.

Our Right To Suspend Or Terminate Services
We can, without notice, suspend or terminate any Service at any time for any reason, including, but not limited to: (a) late payment; (b) exceeding an Account Spending Limit ("ASL"); (c) harassing/threatening our employees or agents; (d) providing false information; (e) interfering with our operations; (f) using/suspicion of using Services in any manner restricted by or inconsistent with the Agreement; (g) breaching the Agreement, including our Policies; (h) providing false, inaccurate, dated or unverifiable identification or credit information, or becoming insolvent or bankrupt; (i) modifying a Device from its manufacturer specifications; or (j) if we believe the action protects our interests, any customer's interests or our network.

T-MOBILE
Changes to the Agreement or Charges. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, IF WE: (A) INCREASE THE CHARGES INCLUDED IN YOUR MONTHLY RECURRING ACCESS RATE PLAN, OR (B) MODIFY A MATERIAL TERM OF OUR AGREEMENT WITH YOU AND THE MODIFICATION WOULD BE MATERIALLY ADVERSE TO YOU, WE WILL NOTIFY YOU OF THE INCREASE OR MODIFICATION AND YOU CAN CANCEL THAT SERVICE WITHOUT PAYING A CANCELLATION FEE (WHICH IS YOUR ONLY REMEDY) BY FOLLOWING THE CANCELLATION INSTRUCTIONS IN THE NOTICE. IF YOU DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SERVICE BY FOLLOWING THOSE INSTRUCTIONS, OR YOU OTHERWISE ACCEPT THE CHANGE, THEN YOU AGREE TO THE INCREASE OR MODIFICATION, EVEN IF YOU PAID FOR SERVICE IN ADVANCE. IF THE NOTICE DOES NOT SAY HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO CANCEL, THEN IT IS WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE NOTICE, UNLESS A LONGER PERIOD IS REQUIRED BY LAW. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, CHARGES FOR PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OPTIONAL SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER CHARGES THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR MONTHLY RECURRING ACCESS RATE PLAN (SUCH AS DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE, ROAMING, DOWNLOADS, AND THIRD-PARTY CONTENT) ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO USE THOSE SERVICES, OR YOU OTHERWISE AGREE TO THE CHANGES, THEN YOU AGREE TO THE NEW CHARGES. VISIT OUR WEB SITE, RETAIL LOCATIONS, OR CALL CUSTOMER CARE FOR CURRENT CHARGES.

VERIZON
Our Rights To Make Changes
Your service is subject to our business policies, practices, and procedures, which we can change without notice. UNLESS OTHERWISE PROHIBITED BY LAW, WE CAN ALSO CHANGE PRICES AND ANY OTHER CONDITIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT AT ANY TIME BY SENDING YOU WRITTEN NOTICE PRIOR TO THE BILLING PERIOD IN WHICH THE CHANGES WOULD GO INTO EFFECT. IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE YOUR SERVICE AFTER THAT POINT, YOU'RE ACCEPTING THE CHANGES. IF THE CHANGES HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON YOU, HOWEVER, YOU CAN END THE AFFECTED SERVICE, WITHOUT ANY EARLY TERMINATION FEE, JUST BY CALLING US WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER WE SEND NOTICE OF THE CHANGE.

CINGULAR (this one probably won't help you at all)
Changes to the terms and conditions: These terms and conditions may be changed from time-to-time. Cingular will post the most current version of these terms and conditions on the MEdia Net web site (www.cingular.com/medianet) or other appropriate location. Please check these regularly to inform yourself about changes to the terms and conditions, policies, news, etc.

CTIA CONSUMER CODE
Provide Customers the Right to Terminate Service for Changes to Contract Terms
Carriers will not modify the material terms of their subscribers' contracts in a manner that is materially adverse to subscribers without providing a reasonable advance notice of a proposed modification and allowing subscribers a time period of not less than 14 days to cancel their contracts with no early termination fee.

"Material Adverse" Clauses in Cell Phone Contracts [UCAN]

"Customers may terminate their contract without incurring an ETF soon after receiving their notification of the pricing change," T-Mobile spokesbot Peter Dobrow told RCR Wireless News.

It ain't some sort of sneaky consumer scam, it's actual contract law. Materially adverse changes to contract terms mean the contract can be canceled. Now don't all run out and get the iPhone at once. — BEN POPKEN

ETF can be waived over increased texting fee [RCR Wireless] (Thanks to Christopher!)
(Photo: jurvetson)

Now she's getting her rebate.

Check out the correspondence, inside...

Click to enlarge.

From: Executive Response (ECR)
To: Kathlene
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 1:05:16 PM
Subject: RE: T-Mobile Rebate Dispute; Request for Resolution

Ms. Kathlene,
In an effort to amicably resolve this matter, T-Mobile will be happy to apply a credit of $30.00 towards the pre-paid account which would total 300 minutes for the mail in rebate. Please let me know should you wish to accept this offer.

Please let me know should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this matter.

Thank you,

Brenda Shaw
Executive Customer Relations Specialist,
Office of the CEO.
T-MOBILE USA, INC.

—-—-—-

From: kit
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 10:32 AM
To: Executive Response (ECR)
Subject: Re: T-Mobile Rebate Dispute; Request for Resolution

Brenda,

I'm sorry, but a $30 credit is not an acceptable resolution. I have satisfied all terms of the rebate contract, and I expect T-mobile to satisfy their obligations as well. Therefore, the only satisfactory resolution I would accept is a $30 rebate check, per the terms of T-mobile's rebate contract.

Regards,
Kathlene

—-—-—-—

From: Executive Response (ECR)
To: kit
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2007 3:18:46 PM
Subject: RE: T-Mobile Rebate Dispute; Request for Resolution

Ms. Kathlene,

Please provide the address to have the refund check sent to.

Thank you,
Brenda

—-—--

Nice one, Kathlene, that's the way you work it. — BEN POPKEN

1. Pay Attention to overages

If you notice any overages thus far (#646# then send for mins, #674# then send for text) and your bill cycle isn't over yet, call customer care, ask them to upgrade your minutes/text plan/etc. Tell them to backdate it, if you don't need the large amount next month (we all have those off, busy months) then downgrade again....

(Photo: medalian1)

2. Make the reps notate EVERYTHING

First rule with this is going to have to be, make sure they notate EVERYTHING, if you have to, have them read back what they have, especially if you have been offered any sort of deal, supervisors will honor any notated offer when the rep goes to ask (like they will when they realize they cant do it), I've seen a lot of crazy deals happen with free phones, offers that didn't exist, etc, just because reps have messed up and put "offered free blackberry pearl" or something relevant in notes. I've also seen reps not backdate text/rateplans properly but because they notated it, I've been able to credit the overages.

3. The real retention department kicks in after you're a customer for 10 months

Once you've gone over 10 months of being with t-mobile, you're eligible to go to the real retention dept, any time before 10 months, you deal with customer care. Again, I've seen some crazy deals come from retention, special rate plans, phone deals, etc. (all of which WILL renew your contract, but some of the deals are quite worth it)

4. Don't call angry

We all get upset at incorrect charges, etc. but chances are if you come on the phone angry or yelling at the rep, you wont get what you want, there have been times I've told customers that due to them demanding things from me, and being rude, I wouldn't waive charges. Honesty helps your case sometimes as well. I was always more willing to help someone who recently changed plans and got overages than someone who repeatedly denied using the minutes calculated or say they never sent a text in their life, when in reality their children used AIM on their phone for a day.

5. 2-Year contracts are for suckers

Quite similar to the Verizon rep's comments, don't get 2 year contracts, usually its just a 50$ discount, with t-mobile every 11 months of active service, you get a full discount again. TRUST ME your nokia 6103 will NOT last 2 years. Pay the extra $50 and then you can upgrade in 11 months as opposed to 22. The sales rep will try to talk you out of this, because they get an extra payout for it, but it is not worth it.

6. Call the second you think your phone is lost

For the love of god, call in the second you notice its missing, even if it may be in the car. Why is this? Because you are responsible for all charges up until you called in to suspend it, meaning if someone made 10 calls to Guatemala then you called in, you would have to pay those 10, however if from the time the suspend button is hit and the line fully suspends, you're in the clear.

7. Upgrades

If you upgrade your phone in store and decide to return it within the 14 day trial period, make sure that sales rep memoes your account noting the price you paid, when it was returned, and make sure they call Customer Care to undo the contract extension. If you don't ask, they won't do it. It's that simple. Then, if you decide to upgrade later, and the sales rep hasn't done this, you're f'd as there is no paper trail to prove you returned your phone and undid the extension. You'll end up getting hosed on your next upgrade.

8. If you're looking to activate new service, do it at the end of the month and do it at a slower location.

Sales quotas with T-Mobile are a real bitch, and they have a new focus on "accountability," meaning if sales reps aren't meeting their quotas, they can now be fired (one of many reasons why I quit). If you buy your phone towards the end of the month and have a rep who's desperate for sales, he'll cut whatever deal he can to close the sale.

9. If the bill payment kiosk in your store is closed, it's because the sales manager in that store wants reps to offer you a new line of service when you come to pay your bill in person.

Avoid the hard sell and pay your bill online or in a store with a working kiosk.

10. Features are EVERYTHING to a sales rep at T-Mobile.

You are in a much better bargaining position for phone pricing if you're willing to add on a few features to your account. Then, just go to the website and cancel them.

11.Not happy with your rate plan, and are out of your contract?

Talk to customer care about "preferred" rate plans. They're a little known secret, and will not be proactively offered to you unless you ask.

12. T-Mobile sales reps are forbidden from saying anything disparaging about any handset in the store.

Do your homework before you go in. Reps know the specs of their phones, but they will not tell you that the RAZR is a hunk of crap, or that the DASH needs to be reset every two months or so.

13. MyFaves is a joke if you have a lot of friends who use T-Mobile.

All reps are aggressively selling MyFaves plans, and most people don't need them. If you have a lot of friends and family who use T-Mobile, just add the unlimited Mobile-to-Mobile for $6.99 and save yourself some money.

14. Even if you have T-Mobile Web or Unlimited Data service, Instant Messaging programs still use your SMS bucket, and are not part of your unlimited data plan.

15. You are ALWAYS eligible for a mail-in rebate.

Even if the rep discounts your phone down to $0, if there is a mail-in rebate for it, you just have to go to tmobilerebates.com and download the rebate form and send it in.

16. Phone insurance is a total scam.

You pay a $40, $70 or $110 deductible (depending on the model) for replacements, and they won't replace it in the store. You need to talk to Asurion (the insurance company) and not T-Mobile to get a replacement shipped to you. Once your shipment is confirmed, you'll need to get a replacement SIM card in the store, and if you're lucky, they might have a loaner phone for you, but that is extremely unlikely.

17. T-Mobile's security precautions are a joke.

Put a password on your account that only you know, and make sure C