Gizmodo: early termination fees

Senator Introduces Bill to Smack Down Early Termination Fees

Dan Nosowitz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:40:00 EST

Amy Klobuchar, True America Hero and Senator of Minnesota, introduced a bill in Congress today in response to Verizon's doubled early termination fees, aiming to limit them.

Verizon's response:

A broad array of Americans who might not otherwise be able to afford broadband connections to the Internet with a home PC, or by paying full price for a smartphone, have an affordable way of participating in the online world when they choose a subsidized option.

Also noted is the fact that smartphones are available at full, unsubsidized price, although it's not mentioned that the monthly fee doesn't change with an unsubsidized phone and that said unsubsidized phones are incredibly expensive. Hey Verizon, haven't you heard that this is a recession? Have some consideration. [The Hill]

Jump Ship On Sprint ETF-Free Through March 15th

Sean Fallon — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:40:00 EST

The period that Sprint customers can escape from their contracts without paying early termination fees has been extended to March 15th. Although, you might want to hold tight with the Palm Pre on its way. [BGR]

Get Up to $90 Back in Sprint Early Termination Fee Class Action Settlement

Sean Fallon — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:40:00 EST

Money from a proposed settlement in the Sprint ETF class action lawsuit is up for grabs for just about anyone who entered into a wireless contract with Sprint between July 1999 and December 2008.

Specifically, anyone with a time based clause in their contract with an ETF during that time is eligible. If you were charged an ETF and can provide proof, you stand to gain $90. If you did not cancel a contract during that time in order to avoid and ETF, you could gain an extra $35. Like all legal situations, there is a bit of a run around to go thorough—but a detailed explanation and information on how to file is available on the Sprint settlement website. [sprintetfsettlement via Consumerist]

Sprint Finally Pro-Rating Early Termination Fees

Sean Fallon — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:26:00 EDT

The specifics have not been announced, but Sprint will finally join Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T in pro-rating their early termination fees starting as early as December. That means the fee drops each month you spend with the service instead of paying a flat $200. [Physorg]

Judge Rules Early Termination Fees Are Illegal and Violate California Law

Jason Chen — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT

A California County Superior Court judge has just ruled that early termination fees from cellphone companies violates California state law and are illegal. What's this mean to you? Sprint Nextel has been ordered to pay $18.2 million in reimbursements to customers who already paid their ETF, and to stop trying to collect $54.7 million from customers who canceled and refused to pay. But if ETF fees are illegal, does that mean 2-year contracts—which in turn give you subsidized price on your cellphones—will be a thing of the past? Tough to say, but we're headed towards some change. [Mercury News via Yahoo]

AT&T Lawyer Says Early Termination Fees Are Good For Consumers

Jason Chen — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:00:00 EDT

According to Ars, one AT&T attorney told the FCC yesterday that early termination fees we pay for leaving our contracts before the designated time are actually a great deal for us. His reasoning was that "ETF-backed term contracts give consumers the ability to lower their monthly charges and upfront handset costs in exchange for their promise to pay monthly charges for the life of the contracts or alternatively to pay the ETF in lieu of the remaining charges." On the one hand, that's a punch in the nuts. On the other hand, he kinda has a point.

By taking a subsidy on your phone up front (such as on the iPhone 3G), you're paying less in exchange basically telling AT&T that you're going to stick with them for 2 years. If you want to leave, you can pay that $175 and get out of your contract. In this case, with the iPhone 3G, it basically lets you walk away with a iPhone 3G that you can use on T-Mobile for $374. That's not too shabby.

But a recent AP report said that Sprint waived all ETFs to a government agency that was signed up with it, essentially because "the government will never, never accept such penalty amounts." [Ars Technica]

AT&T Starts Reducing Early Termination Fees

Jason Chen — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:48:19 EDT

AT&T doesn't have to wait for the FCC to tell it to pro-rate early termination fees, they're starting to do something similar already. Now, instead of paying the maximum fee of $175 no matter when you quit, you'll get $5 off for every month you're with the company over the course of your contract. If you end your stay in the 23rd month, you'll pay $60. If this were truly pro-rating they'd be cutting your rate down by $7.30 each month, which would be all that's left to pay if you quit at month 23. [Broadband Reports via Consumerist]

FCC May Regulate Cellphone Early Termination Fees

Jason Chen — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:10:00 EDT

The FCC might be getting up in cellphone providers' collective grill, telling them what they can and cannot charge to customers who quit their service early. A proposal to them outlines some changes consumers want enacted, including free termination up to 30 days after signing a contract or 10 days after the first bill and pro-rating the $175+ fee depending on how many months you've been with the service (some do already). What's the upside for cellphone companies? They get let off the hook in state courts "where they are being sued for billions of dollars by angry customers." [CNN]