Gizmodo: etf fees

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]

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 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]