[toxxin99a]

Another way to get out of a cell phone contract is to cancel within 30 of a price change. I know with Sprint there is a clause that state something like "customer has 30 day to cancel service after notice of price change is giving" (something to that effect). By the company raising rate it voids the contract. By not cancelling you are now agreeing to the new terms. I know for a fact that this is true b/c I just got a letter from Sprint informing me of a price change and in the letter it stated I have 30 days to leave without paying a ETF

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Pshhh, I wished Sprint would send me a letter and GIVE me a opportunity to walk out on their crappy customer service. I'd take it and wouldn't think twice. I had Cingular in high school and never again in my life. Verizon was next and their service was terrible in my area. Started out with Nextel and the service is fading fast with them as well, so switched to Sprint so I wouldn't break my contract. I have 2 lines of service and the internet also, so it would be quite expensive to pay all those ETF's.

[Duvi]

so WF you are saying that these companies shouldn't make a profit? well not at the consumers expense right? but isn't all profit at our expense since we are paying for said items? i would like to know... what is it that you do? and would you be willing to sell products at cost to be a good guy?

lol...

I'm sorry, but I was seriously "rofl" at this... too funny. I was think

Exactly what I wanted to say... Not only is this cost to make up for the phone discount, but companies need to make a profit, pay employees, research new tech & feed their grandkids. Look at sprint... they give everything for free and are going to be the 4th largest carrier if they continue the trend (rather than 3rd)


WirelessForever: BTW, there are carriers that sell non-prepaid service without contracts. I could research, but this wouldn't prove anything...

[Duvi]

I recently have as I am moving away from the Lincoln-Omaha metro back to the hick and stick place in Nebraska because of family issues back home. Do you rightly think AT&T was concerned about me? **** no!! They told me flat out after speaking with not 1 or 2 of there lame CSR's but 6 and 3 supervisors that I was locked into my contract and would have to pay an ETF for leaving. What kind of horse hockey is this? We live in a country where freedom of choice matters. I believe that when WF says we are being screwed over with the broom handle up the anus by these companies, I right say yes. Does this change the fact that I'm not going to move because my cell phone carrier won't let me cancel my contract? NO!! But best believe me when I say that I am going to do EVERYTHING in my power just short of getting a lawyer to get out of this ETF thing.

Do me a favor, send me an email (in sig) with your phone # (and callback #) and I will either have one of my reps look into it or myself if I get a chance.

[tp_cracker]

I recently have as I am moving away from the Lincoln-Omaha metro back to the hick and stick place in Nebraska because of family issues back home. Do you rightly think AT&T was concerned about me? **** no!! They told me flat out after speaking with not 1 or 2 of there lame CSR's but 6 and 3 supervisors that I was locked into my contract and would have to pay an ETF for leaving. What kind of horse hockey is this? We live in a country where freedom of choice matters. I believe that when WF says we are being screwed over with the broom handle up the anus by these companies, I right say yes. Does this change the fact that I'm not going to move because my cell phone carrier won't let me cancel my contract? NO!! But best believe me when I say that I am going to do EVERYTHING in my power just short of getting a lawyer to get out of this ETF thing.

This is assuming you have unlimited long distance:

Why would you drop AT&T if you won't be paying any difference in what you pay now? After a few months of nothing but long distance calls and roaming calls (which I assume you are not getting charged for) you may get a different response from AT&T.

If you don't get free long distance and you paying roaming fees, nevermind, I would agree your screwed.

[Stewie_23]

Thanks for the help guys, but bottom line, I just want out. I've been with AT&T for a long time, but I need a service that has better coverage across my state as I do travel a lot in this waste of place anyway. However, with AT&T's "promised" coverage areas, I find I lose more calls than I actually get or even make. The place at which I am currently living in, until I move, forces me to make calls in my garage and I'm supposed to have complete coverage in Lincoln? Um, I call these dead spots and they are all over this dang town. So hands down, it's not a matter of making nothing but long distance calls, with my dad being as sick as he is, I need a more reliable service and sorry, I don't believe AT&T has it.

[tp_cracker]

I understand your point now, that is a good excuse to want to change. Good luck!!

[wirelessforever]

Not only is this cost to make up for the phone discount, but companies need to make a profit, pay employees, research new tech & feed their grandkids.

You continue to ignore each and every point and return with the same tired old pap.

In Germany during World War II, they had a name for this. It was called propaganda.

1.) You aren't losing money on the phones. You're simply not selling them for retail. And even if people are willing to pay "full retail" for their phones, you STILL hold a gun to their head and force them to agree to your extortion terms to get a basic service most people need to use in their lives.

2.) You are operating your company using public airwaves and therefore are a public trust. Operating as a public trust, you should not be able to secretly collude as a cartel and extort the public. You and 3 other companies are a cartel. We created anti-trust laws decades ago to control cartel operators in the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice is long overdue in investigating the 4 cartel operators operating cell-phone service in this country.

3.) You can bring your own phone to your comapny and are STILL required to agree to your extortion to get service. This is OUTRAGEOUS.

4.) You continue to claim that without your ETF scam, you'll go bankrupt and your families will starve. This is so stupid it defies common sense. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint are BILLION-DOLLAR COMPANIES. If scamming people for $200 (whom for the most part you've failed to service properly and pissed off to the point that they need to go to one of your other cartel companies to get service) is the only way you can survice, I would say that's pathetic.

I could research, but this wouldn't prove anything...

PLEASE provide us some research. All you've provided so far is your bluster and bu ... err, you know what I mean.

LOL. "Research." That'll be the day.

[CappinHoff]

Wow a lot of none sense and jibberish. Just because your not aware of your ETF doesn't mean there's not one. A lot of cable and internet providers have them. Actually a lot of places have them. why make it illegal, when its the ***** consumer that doesn't pay attention to what there signing. This is a fact. Everytime I add a new plan to someones phone I ask them are they sure and have they looked at the details of it. Most, 9 out of 10 say no, but still add it. These same idiots will call back in a few months with questions. People need to be more responsable and learn to read. Getting mad at the carriers is nonsense and its makes you sound like an old lady yelling at kids. Also you get what you pay for. This goes back to paying attention and reading the fine print. If you fully read most contracts none of the carriers and I mean none of the carriers guarantee that there service will work and stay working. If don't believe me read the fine print.

Oh well though you can't tell people what they don't want to hear, the truth.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[flairbrtndr3]

Yeah, but does McDonalds discount your meal to buy from the montly?

Does your dentist give you a discount on the deductibles to stay with them?

Does your water company give you a discount on your water bill to stay with them for two years.

Does your power company give you a discount on you power bill to stay with them for two years.

Does your landline company give you a discount on cordless phones?


Your able to bring your own $600 dollar device and start up service with at&t. Prepaid son!

Wireless carriers aren't ripping you off when they give you a razr for free and you sign the dotted line, but when another carrier has what you want, its a rip off. I bet if the made all their non-prepid plans contract free and charged you $400-$800 for a phone, you would still call it a rip off. Its called subsidy man.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

this is everything i would have said but it was put better than i would have lol

[wirelessforever]

Just because your not aware of your ETF doesn't mean there's not one.

I am not aware of a single contributor to this thread who has claimed to "not be aware" of ETFs. Reading your comment makes one wonder if you've actually even read the previous posts in this thread.

why make it illegal

Again, this is stuff already covered but again apparently you've really not believed it was necessary to read this thread before you jump in with your "opinions" and views.

Actually your ETFs are technically illegal already. It's called price fixing. And it's a violation of U.S. Sherman Anti-Trust Act ... Sherman Antitrust Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You and the three other operators in the cell phone business in the United States constitute a ... cartel ... Cartel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia or an oligopoly ... Oligopoly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Your cartel has colluded to abuse the public with predatory pricing. As noted, it's already technically illegal. If the U.S. Justice Department moved against your cartel, you'd be in trouble.

Everytime I add a new plan to someones phone I ask them are they sure and have they looked at the details of it.

Irrelevant. This is not 1961 where only billionaires had radio car phones. This is 2008 where your 12-year-old son has a cell phone. Cell phones are no longer a luxury. They are a basic tool that most people, like it or not, need to have. It is an essential of every day life. Yet people cannot get this basic service without you holding a gun to their head and FORCING them to agree to your terms. It is hardly fair or reasonable to demand that people agree to your unreasonable terms to get a basic utility almost everyone has. You and your other 3 cartel members are not some "Mom and Pop" operation. You are all BILLION DOLLAR multinationals. The concept that you must have ETFs to stay in business is just idiotic. You have ETFs to please your accountants and your bankers and your Wall Street analysts. But this was all previously covered. You just didn't feel the need to read it before or offer any intelligent debate on it.

These same idiots

Note the corporate culture of your cartel where service employees feel totally comfortable calling their customers "idiots" in open public forums. The arrogance is breathtaking.

If you fully read most contracts none of the carriers and I mean none of the carriers guarantee that there service will work and stay working.

While you can get lawyers to write anything, the real world doesn't really work that way. In the real world, no judge (and I mean none) would endorse the idea that your cartel gets to provide no service and still charge their customers. The clause you refer to covers temporary service glitches, not wholesale service failures.

By the way, does your manager have ANY idea you are representing your company in this fashion here? The arrogance here is even more unusual than your cartel's normal contempt for their customers.

Oh well though you can't tell people what they don't want to hear, the truth

The sheer irony.

[wirelessforever]

lol

He who laughs last ...

Does your dentist give you a discount on the deductibles to stay with them?

No but then no mobile carrier gives you a discount on their service either.

Does your water company give you a discount on your water bill to stay with them for two years.

Again, no carrier offers you a discount on your bill to stay with them either. To get their service, you must agree to extortion. There is no discount. Just extortion.

Does your power company give you a discount on you power bill to stay with them for two years.

Is there an echo in here? See above.

Does your landline company give you a discount on cordless phones?

Actually yes. When I had a landline phone, my landline carrier sent me a FREE cordless phone in gratitude for being a customer. Plus mobile carriers still require that you agree to their extortion whether or not you agree to use their so-called discounted phones. In other words, even IF you bring your own mobile phone, carriers still require you to agree to their extortion terms so your argument is feckless.

[Duvi]

He who laughs last ...

Does your dentist give you a discount on the deductibles to stay with them?

No but then no mobile carrier gives you a discount on their service either.

Does your water company give you a discount on your water bill to stay with them for two years.

Again, no carrier offers you a discount on your bill to stay with them either. To get their service, you must agree to extortion. There is no discount. Just extortion.

I see the problem... You are with t-mobile. I get a discount with AT&T. Since T-mobile discounts your service with ($10 less BIS service, Less for more minutes), you haven't experienced it. The only discounting I have confirmed that t-mobile does is with the Armed forces and the government. Other groups may be included, but I have not confirmed.

I get 19% off my invoice off the MSC, BB Plan & unlimited messaging package. Sprint does the same as well as Verizon. Certain employers have contracts with AT&T/Sprint/Verizon that give End-users discounts on their invoices.

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it." -Samuel Johnson

Since the first does not apply to you, use Google and find the information.

[wirelessforever]

I see the problem... You are with t-mobile. I get a discount with AT&T.

Breathtaking.

You are an employee of the wireless cartel. Of course you get a discount. However, for the 99.999 percent of the rest of the nation who don't work for your wireless cartel, we cannot get normal service without agreeing to your terms of extortion.

That has always been the point. It's hard to believe your answer to this is basically to say .... "HAHAHAA, I get a discount."

Again, simply breathtaking.

[manderly]

Sooooo, I just realized my bill from this month has MAGICALLY changed from last month, to the tune of $150+ with Sprint.

Old bill $110 1500 Share Family Plan 2 phones
Current bill $248 1500 Share Family Plan PLUS Unltd Text/Talk/Message/Connect MRC on one phone and Unltd Text/Talk/Message/Connect MRC on the second phone. Fascinating, I can't recall calling Sprint to tell them to please change my plan so I can pay them a whole bunch more money.

At first I called in thinking it was just a booboo and wanted one of their people to just fix the bill. After about an hour on the phone where he couldn't understand why I would be upset I finally thought I got it resolved, though I was annoyed and asked him how much to cancel. He sent an email telling me he's knocking $62 off my current bill and fixing it for the future. WTF?

I called back. After looking more closely at the paper bills, I decided they changed my plan without my authorization and breached my contract. I want out. I got hung up on, and now the office is closed. Yet another WTF.

Do I have a chance here? Got a valid beef?





And all this after saying Sprint has been pretty ok with me. Guess I'll be staying with Tmobile after all. I called them today to get pricing on a family plan (WONDERFUL rates), complimented the guy on how nice he was and he gave me an extra 100 minutes for complimenting him. The guy from Sprint barely spoke english.

[daylove22]

just change your address to an area where the provider has not signal and by contract you can get out without paying the termination fee. If you are on East Coast the state of West Virginia has no signal on most areas.

[luvitlo]

I played it smart several years back I swapped and had 6 months left before I could terminate without penalty so I just suspended the phone you pay like 12 bucks a month and just don't use it, I tossed it up in a closet and got my new phone from Cellular South once the 6 months was up I called and cancelled service. And I was on a job where I constantly roamed and Cingular never dropped my service infact when I called to cancel they offered me any phone I wanted for free and two months service for free, I refused then they asked what it would take to keep me even offered free incoming calls, and yes they can do it I have a friend who was offered the same options to stay with Cingular and he took the offer and he still gets free incoming calls with Cingular. Companies hate losing good customers whom pay ontime and never complain, but I had my new phone and was happy with cell south coverage.

[sposey]

I got out of my contract when Sprint changed some fees they were charging. A lot easier than calling three times a day and going to areas out of service.

I tried this in 2004 and got nowhere - CSR's kept telling me that in their opinion the change in fees was not significant and I would have to pay ETF. I kept notes while on each call and kept escalating.

Finally, I sent a letter to the director of regulatory compliance with a copy to the FCC explaining the process I had gone through, why I wanted to cancel, why I was entitled to cancel with no ETF and asking for them to comply with the terms of the contract. I got a call from the regulatory compliance department and they told me they would cancel the contract and provide 30 days of free service for me to transfer to another carrier.

While the CSR's will do everything they can to keep you in the contract, persistence will get you out of the contract. A good attitude and being nice doesn't hurt.

[midwest_kc]

Whether or not ETFs are "legal" or not isn't for me to decide. However, acting like other companies don't charge them (except "conmen" gyms and tanning salons) is rediculous. For example - have you ever had directv? They make you sign a contract as well. Their ETF is $300. Makes cell carriers sound like a steal, especially since then you have a phone to show for everything. Dtv makes you return the box that I paid $150 for!

The bottom line is that you CAN get service without a contract. It happens all the time, but don't sign something that you don't want to live up to.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[luvitlo]

If you don't like contracts then buy the phone outright or get one off eBay then have service activated with no contract then you can terminate with no ETF.
A contract is binding I totaled my motorcycle 3 months after I bought it and I'm still paying on it, Liability insurance isn't always a good choice. I had a Truck 5 years ago that I wrecked 6 months after I bought it and I paid it off. If you go around trying to get out of agreements then eventually it will catch up with you and it may be when you really need a promise to pay agreement that your past bites you.

[strhessed]

LMAO !! The comparisons are hilarious !