If anyone is looking for a cheap way to escape their Sprint cellphone contract, you can use their raising of the pay-as-you-go text message rates from 15 cents to 20 cents as an excuse. Here’s the step by step procedure to follow…

1. Your plan must not include a text message package. (actually, it applies to both plans AND pay-as-you go)
2. You must call within 30 days of the rate change.
3. You must specifically cite the text message rate change being a material adverse change of contract as the reason for cancellation.
4. You must not pay your bill that reflects the new rates until AFTER requesting cancellation
5. If they offer you a grandfathered text rate or free text messages attached to your plan, you must refuse.
6. If the rep is poorly trained and wants to hot-potato you to a supervisor rather than transfer you to account services, you must insist that you want to cancel service despite any potential fees so the rep gets you to the group that actually knows the correct procedures.

Materially adverse changes to contract are when one party changes one of the basic terms, like price, in a way that harms the other party. It’s a basic tenet of contract law that this nulls the contract but cellphone companies do it all the time anyway. Lucky for you it means, if you insist, insist, insist, that you can escape your cellphone contract without paying the usual ~$200 early termination fee.

(Thanks to Nick!)

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