Sprint 20¢ Text Message Fee

Friday, August 17, 2007

Sprint is sending cell phone subscribers a notice that its per-message rate for pay-as-you-go text messages will rise to 20¢ on Oct. 1. This is the second hike in less than a year. In late 2006 they cost 10¢—we doubt Sprint's cost to handle texts has doubled in that time.

Consumers should be aware that:

1. Sprint is no longer honoring the terms of your original agreement and
2. According to Sprint’s own terms and conditions, this gives you the right to end your contract without paying an Early Termination Fee (ETF).

This gives Sprint customers a rare opportunity to terminate their contracts without paying a $200 ETF. Customers who want to take this opportunity may encourter resistance from customer service. Be persistent and state that you wish to cancel without being subject to any fees as your agreement provides.

If customer service says no, then read them chapter and verse of “Sections 1-2” of your agreement and escalate up the call center chain of command until you find someone at the company who will play by the rules. The rules say:

If a change we make to the Agreement is material and has a material adverse effect on you, you may terminate each line of Service materially affected without incurring an Early Termination Fee only if you: (a) call us within 30 days after the effective date of the change; and (b) specifically advise us that you wish to cancel Services because of a material change to the Agreement that we have made.

Did your texting rates change? That’s a “material change” to your agreement. Did the rates go up? That’s “materially adverse.”

Consumers who are stymied by customer service and by the “account services” department should file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commisson (FCC) and their state’s public utilities commission (find yours at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners website at www.naruc.org). Wireless companies may go the extra mile for you to avoid scrutiny from regulators.

If your bid to cancel without an ETF is successful, don’t cancel the service right away, or you might lose your current phone number. Have Sprint place a note in your file saying you’re allowed to cancel without an ETF, then take (port) your number to another company.

The most common justification for ETFs offered up by the wireless industry is that they subsidize the cheap or free phones subscribers get at the start of their plan. If so, then why do cell companies routinely demand new two-year commitments when existing customers merely ask to change plans and the company doesn’t provide the consumer with any new hardware?

Also, we now see AT&T (the monopoly network for the iPhone) imposing a $175 ETF for subscribers with iPhones who leave within the first two years, even though the price of the iPhone is not subsidized at all.

So ETFs are at least as much about restricting consumer choice.

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