Feb 21, 2007 5:35 pm US/Eastern
Tips To Avoid Early Termination Cell Phone Fees
(KDKA)
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cell phone, long distance calling, future phone
CBS
Breaking up is hard to do especially if it involves you and your cell phone provider.
KDKA Consumer Editor Yvonne Zanos reports that when you sign a contract for a cell-phone, you're usually signing away your rights to get out of the contract early.
In the fine print, there's typically an early termination fee that could set you back.
However, there are some tricks of the trade to get out of your contract without those huge fees.
"The first loophole is basically… it's in your contract," said Aleksandra Todorova of SmartMoney.com. "It allows you to get out if the phone company changes anything in your contract."
For example, if you get an increase in fees for text messages, equipment replacement, or unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls you may have an out.
"As soon as you get that letter, call them and ask them that you want to leave," said Todorova. "Tell them you know that by the terms of your contract that is your legal right."
You usually only have a 30 day window to notify your provider, so pay close attention to cell phone notices.
Many providers allow you to swap out of your contract -- have someone assume it for you.
A growing number of web sites help customers get rid of their cell phone contracts for a small fee.
You can dump plans and phones and the person who takes over gets a shorter contract.
"They allow you to just post something like a classified ad, where you will say this is the phone that I have, this is the provider, this is what's left on my cell phone contract," said Todorova.
These loopholes take some customer effort, but may be the only option when you're desperate to ditch your plan.
Verizon recently introduced a new type of early termination fee structure where the longer you've been a customer, the lower your termination fee will be.
Industry analysts hope other carriers will follow.
A growing number of websites help customers get rid of their cellphone plans and phones for a small fee by posting information online. The seller and buyer deal then directly with the cellphone carriers. Some of these sites include:
CelltradeUSA.com Resellular.com CellSwapper.com
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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