Cell Phone Termination Fees

you could always call now and say unless they want another person on the class action lawsuit, they'll let you out NOW. Worth a shot at least!

Awesome! I agree that the termination fees for canceling a contract are ridiculous. I had had Sprint for 4 years and the last time I renewed for another 2 years, shortly after, my phone was hacked by a hacker in Russia, and they used my SIM card information to connect to and play online video games for 15 days straight, running up my bill over $500. It was an absolute nightmare dealing with Sprint, because they said that even though they realized my account information had been stolen, I was STILL responsible for footing the bill. I wanted to know what kind of protection against fraud that was for their customers. The fight over that issue lasted over a month, and Sprint didn't budge on the issue until I threatened to call Fox News, Geraldo, and Oprah ( seriously! I had tried every other threat. Threatening to run a smear campaign against their company on daytime talk tv was the only thing they responded to ). Afterwards, I wanted immediate cancellation of my Sprint account because I was so furious over their poor customer service- "ohhh...that'll be $250," they smiled.....

Got myself a Blackberry and switched to AT&T. So far, much happier.

/rant

Anyway, glad to hear that the termination fee issue is being taken seriously and being looked into.

I hope this ruling stays but nobody celebrate just yet because these cell phone companies has lots of money for lawyers and they will appeal it.

Yeah it will take a while for it to stick assuming it ever does. I do understand why the cell companies operate in this manner though. They do it because they give out the hardware for very cheap or free. For example a new phone might cost $200 bucks but with a 2 yr contract it might only cost $50 or even be free. If it does stick then it will either change they way the contracts are written or the prices of phones will not be as cheap.

I used to not ever sign a contract with them but when I added additional lines for my family members my wife order some new phones which started the 2 year time period since you got a discount. Technically no contract was signed since I have had my own phone line from 2000 but they extended a contract time period some how. If I did cancel they would bill me and then I would be stuck fighting some facless corporate entity over bad remarks on my CR with the argument that I never signed a contract but did get new phones. It would just be another big hassle that I don't really want to deal with.

Dollars~ You're right. It will just be a trade off. The cancellation fees will go away. But then you will be paying full retail price for your cell phone.

My sister really wants the new LG shine. With the plan it's $50. Without the plan it was $349. Now mind you. I'm 24 and have a pretty reasonable phone. Cost me $0 with my plan.

She is 13 and wants a cell phone that costs a fortune. My parents won't get a plan with a contract, so they have pay as you go. My sister, or more precisely, my parents, would have to pay $349 for the phone without the 2 year contract.

So it's just a big trade off. If the law gets passed banning termination fees, expect to pay $300+ for a cell phone.

:?: