Comments on: Ditching Your Cell Phone Contract

By: Simon Mackie

Simon Mackie — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:21:38 +0000

Babs – sounds like you were missold. I would take it up with a lawyer.

By: BABS

BABS — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:19:06 +0000

I recently purchased a Samsung Delve, and signed a two year contract. I was leaving for winter vacation and was asuured I could get on line, check emails, financials the same as my desk at home. They did tell me we would not be able to use mobile to mobile, because they do not have a tower. I was considering a new phone or a laptop.
What they did not tell me was I would not be able to attain DATA because they have no tower. I was gone two months with no way to check bank statements, financial statements.
What advice to you have for me to apporach the phone company. I have been with them for a number of years and I have been pleased with their service, they have helped me by making changes in my service to meet my changing needs due hospital and nursing home confinements.
We are early 80′s and watching our 40l K become a 101 K this expenditure did not meet my needs.
babs

By: brody

brody — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:45:56 +0000

I think I’m going to try the method that Sinistar mentions above. I can see there being some fine print, but it’s worth a try, and definitely better than the brute force approach of calling a bunch of customer service reps in hopes of finding that needle in the haystack that will help you out. Thanks for all the tips.

By: Barbara Saunders

Barbara Saunders — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:27:10 +0000

I would have had no problem paying Verizon, say, a fee to switch to AT&T for the iPhone. My recent experience with AT&T leaves me steaming, though.

The Blackberry I’d had for a year and a half broke. I thought it might be a good time to try out the iPhone. No go, since I was not yet eligible for a phone upgrade, I would have to pay an additional $200 for the iPhone.

They also could not replace the Blackberry because the warranty on the device was only 1 year, though the contract was 2 years. So, I had to pay a “exception” upgrade price to buy the Blackberry – less than retail but more than I paid at initiation.

To add to that, I had already had to replace the battery once on the Blackberry. At that time, the sales person had told me the BATTERY was not warranteed and charged me $50!

If Apple finds another carrier in the next year or so, I will GLEEFULLY pay AT&T $200 to break the new contract I was required to sign to get a new Blackberry.

By: C G

C G — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:10:04 +0000

I bought cingular service with an expensive phone but I had to sign a two year contract. Not too long after I bought cingular AT&T bought cingular. I moved to an area where my calls are dropped all the time and my voice mail isn’t delivered for days. When I tried to get out of the contract they charged me the full $175 — even though I only have 6 months left on it.

When I pointed out the above, AT&T supervisor wanted to sell me an updated chip and some other accessories, even though i explained that there is no way to get service in this area. Wanted me to spend MORE money for crappy phone service I don’t want any more.

By the way, Verizon works fine in this area, so I’ve had two cell phones to ensure adequate coverage. Also explained this to them.

I say if you can figure out a way to get out of it, go for it. These guys will screw you seven ways to Sunday and not even blink an eye.

By: Andre Kibbe

Andre Kibbe — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:44:13 +0000

The deal combines a subsidized phone for a long contract with an ETF: it’s a loan for the device.

The assumption that 2-year contracts are designed to subsidize phones is patently false. If you activate a line bringing your own phone, and cancel the line early, you still have to pay the ETF. So where’s the subsidy? Where’s the loan?

And unlike, AT&T, T-Mo and Verizon, Sprint’s ETF isn’t prorated over the length of the contract– Sprint has no plans to prorate charges until next year. So if you want to terminate your line 14 months into your contract, you still have to pay $200. Again, this is not how loans work; if it were a loan, you would owe the balance due.

By: Matthew Quinlan

Matthew Quinlan — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:09:00 +0000

No need to do anything illegal or even unethical to get out of your contract. I recently sold my phone and my remaining service contract on Ebay. If you find someone to take over your contract the mobile carriers typically have no problem letting you out of your contract.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:33:06 +0000

This advice is so very unethical, and quite damaging to the reputation of this blog.

The deal combines a subsidized phone for a long contract with an ETF: it’s a loan for the device. Yes, it would be better for some if people paid the full price for the phone – but churn costs both the telco and yourself.

By: Just Wondering

Just Wondering — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:20:28 +0000

I find the notion that cell phones are subsidized amusing. I recently wanted to buy a blackberry 7130e and while this phone is very old from a technology standpoint, the ‘retail’ price is largely unchanged.

How is that possible? Every other consumer electronics product cycle starts off high, and eventually becomes cheap.

How come I can buy a new lap top for less than a new, ‘old’ cell phone?

When wireless providers start treating consumers like adults, then they can start expecting us to behaving like adults.

By: arn02

arn02 — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:17:01 +0000

I am a longtime Tmobi customer (>2 yrs), however my kids upgraded their Blackberries last Noveember and May respectively.
Q: Is the ETF in addition to the subsidy on the phone?
Q: If I can avoid the ETF, would I still have to pay the subsidy on the phone?