Hello Text Message Fee, So Long Early Termination Fee

Monday, December 11, 2006

Here we go again. As two other cell phone companies announced earlier this year, Cingular will increase its text message fee by 50%, to 15 cents. What does this mean for Cingular customers? The same thing it meant for Sprint customers this fall, and T-Mobile users this past January: the company is no longer following the terms of the contract you agreed to, and as a result you have the right to cancel the contract without paying an Early Termination Fee. Cingular’s terms and conditions state clearly that:

If we increase the price of any of the services to which you subscribe…you may terminate this agreement without paying an early termination fee…provided your notice of termination is delivered to us within thirty (30) days after the first bill reflecting the change.

Subscribers may have to press the point with customer service to get the Early Termination Fee waived. You may need to call back several times and go up the call center chain of command until you find a representative willing to accommodate you. If the customer service personnel resist, direct them to page 6 of Cingular’s terms and conditions (from the Cingular website, click on the orange “Support” bar, then click “Terms of Service” on the right-hand side). If your plan calls for unlimited text messages you may not be eligible. Also, if you have not yet received your bill disclosing the change, you may have to wait for the next bill until you are eligible to cancel. If you get the run-around, filing a complaint with the FCC and your state Public Utilities Commission will improve your chances of success.

If you cancel before setting up service with a new carrier, you may lose your current phone number. Some subscribers have reported that, in the interest of maintaining your phone number, it’s best to get customer service to place a note in your file indicating that you can cancel without paying an ETF, then port the number once you’ve established new service with another provider.

Another way to minimize the sting of an Early Termination Fee is to sell your contract through websites like celltradeUSA.com, resellular.com, or cellswapper.com. Verizon last week announced that it will pro-rate its ETF.

There are numerous pending lawsuits and legislative proposals against the use of these penalties that may one day drive a stake through the heart of the Early Termination Fee. But for now, keeping an eye on the fine print can be the consumer’s best defense.

What is your Fee of the Week? E-mail us at the Hotline.