Homotron How-To: Getting Out Of Early Term Fees
When it comes to cell phone carriers and their Early Termination Fees, there is a lot of heated debate going around. The cell companies claim that they need the fees to recuperate the subsidy costs on the phones you buy from them, while consumers are crying anti-competitive and anti-consumer behavior. I tend to agree with the consumers here. ETF (early termination fees) are unjustly enforced by a service provider to suck money out of their customers. Want to leave because you don't like our service? Sure! That'll be $200 or you just finish out your contract… Anyway, I think I've beat that dead horse before.
Unless you happen to live in California (man, California gets everything before we do!), you probably aren't lucky enough to cancel your service with your carrier easily and/or without prohibitive costs. There are ways to get out of the contracts though, you kinda just have to learn the system, as Ely Rosentock of Crastinate points out in this video. It's all a matter of knowing your contract and knowing the arguments the carrier will use and their affective counter-arguments. Check out the video above for some good information. This is directed to Verizon customers, but can probably be applied to the other carriers in a similar manner.
As someone that just quit Verizon, I kinda wish I would have seen this before. More to the point, I wish I had just claimed I was moving to Uganda… then they couldn't argue about anything! As a side note, if you're just looking to get a month or two of free service, you can call to cancel your contract and they will try to persuade you to stay with a free month of service… or two if you hold out. Not that I'm saying those of you happy with Verizon should take advantage of the system or anything… but a free month of service is nice!
Jesse James
Posted to In Your Pocket, Videos on 4 August 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: contracts, early termination fees, Fees, Verizon, video
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AMAZING. I really wish I knew! I still havent paid my ETF from verizon.
if I could afford to go to a new carrier, I'd totally try this. but I gotta put up with verizon's crappy coverage in my town.
I have to sit in a very specific spot in my bedroom or else the call will drop.
but alas, for I have to save up money for a new car so that when I finally get around to getting into college, I`ll have a car that'll get me there.