Sprint ETF Settlement: Stuck with Sprint to avoid fees? Read on…
September 2nd, 2009. By AbiK
The pending Final Approval Hearing for the Sprint Nextel Early Termination Fees (ETF) Settlement on October 21, 2009 should have folks racing to submit their claims for either a cash payout or a credit for future minutes. But many current Sprint customers probably aren’t submitting claims, simply because they haven’t paid any early termination fees—as of yet.
If that sounds like you, then you might want to go ahead and submit a claim anyway. Why? According to the explanation provided by the settlement administrators, the affected class may include individuals who stayed on with Sprint—for fear they would have to cough up the ETF if they quit their contract. The explanation of who is included in the class states the following:
The Settlement Class includes Persons who were subject to an ETF, whether or not they paid any portion of the ETF either to Sprint, Nextel and/or Sprint Nextel or to any outside collection agency or at all, and includes persons who are prosecuting excluded claims to the extent such persons have claims other than those expressly excluded.
So when you submit your claim, you’ll be asked for your name, address, phone number, cell phone number, and if you have it, the date in which your contract started and your account number. You will also be asked whether you kept your Sprint/Nextel contract specifically to avoid paying any early termination fees.
In addition, you have the opportunity to include any additional cell phone numbers you may currently have or have had during the period for which the settlement covers: July 1, 1999 and December 31, 2008.
Take note, key dates for the Sprint Nextel ETF Settlement are as follows:
Deadline to file a Request for Exclusion: October 7, 2009
Deadline to file an Objection: October 7, 2009
Deadline for objections or opposition solely to the fee applications: October 19, 2009
Final Approval Hearing: October 21, 2009
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I would like to receive specific information on how to file a claim. I have four Sprint (Nextel)phones w/ direct connect on my account. THE ONLY reason I stay with Sprint (Nextel)is to avoid ETF's. They are THE MOST expensive network out there!!! Here's my other issue with them…..Until recently, my Sprint (Nextel) bills were being mailed to my online bill paying service located in South Dakota. YET, my phisical address is NH, A STATE WHICH IS TAX FREE!! Sprint (Nextel) has charged me State tax based on my "mailing address" instead of my PHYSICAL address in NH!!! I have made numerous attempts to request the State Tax reimbursement—-to no avail!! I AM EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED WITH THIS CARRIER!!!! and hope you have some advice! thank you.
Hi Dawn,
I feel your pain! and frustration. For your Sprint/Nextel phones that you've kept with Sprint to avoid paying early termination fees, all you have to do is either visit the settlement administration site at sprintetfsettlement.com or call them at 1-800-916-6940. If you go to the site, you'll see a link to "File a Claim" in the upper left column. Simply click through the screens and you'll be able to submit your claim for each phone number you have. That was the easy part. For the other part of your question, I'm guessing you've kept a log of all your exchanges with the Sprint customer service team. If so, I'd start climbing up the ladder w/customer service supervisors/managers. If you've already been there, you may wish to address your issue to Bob Johnson at Sprint. He's Chief Service Officer and a member of the executive team there–and as such, is in charge of "overseeing all aspects of customer management, including customer experience, customer care, and service and repair". If you still don't feel your issue has been resolved, it may then be time to seek out professional help. Let us know how you make out–with both the settlement, and your state tax reimbursement issue. Good luck!
Hi, I was one of the class objectors who have de-railed your fantasy land dreams of getting out of a contract lickety split. It's not gonna happen. And your attorneys aren't going to get rich. If you're so hard up for cash, why not sell your big screen TV's? Idiots.
Hi Dan, Thanks for your comment. And thank you for participating in the legal process that allows you to file your objection to the settlement–it’s great that a bunch of attorney-types work to ensure such a process remains intact and allows for such inclusivity, no? You mention that you object, but you fail to express your reasons for a) thinking I or anyone else have “fantasy land” dreams; b) implying that consumers should not be able to end their contracts with a cell phone carrier sans a hefty ETF; c) implying that “my” attorneys (for the record, I don’t “have” an attorney) thought they were getting rich; d) thinking I’m hard up for cash; and e) thinking that I own a big-screen tv. That type of opinion statement is as good as me saying that, hypothetically, a guy whose entire political career is heading up his college engineering society should give up any hope of obtaining a seat in his state’s House of Representatives, right? See, that opinion I just–hypothetically of course–stated isn’t really grounded in much is it? Or…is it? Who knows. Regardless, next time share what your opinion is based on or I may be left with the feeling that you just have some buddies over at Sprint. – Abi
I have no intention of winning the State House. My intention is to show that through name recognition that I can obtain many more votes per dollar than the Liberal Communist Party and the Conservative Fascist Party.
You signed a contract without reading it. You can get out of a contract, there are clauses for that, that you SIGNED for!
Yes, someone with a paltry college honors society political career will vacuum votes away from the establishment parties with minimal funds. I’m satisfied. The question is…are you? Have fun with your ETF.
And guess what, if I had a single connection to Sprint, reporters would be knocking down my mobile home door. The boys at Sprint are tickled pink at my reason for objection, I know, but the fact of the matter is my one and only connection to them is faithfully paying bills every single month.
Lastly a triple post. As a fourth generation red blooded American, I’ll tell you directly attorneys don’t open up the opportunity for citizens to participate, the Constitution does.
Hi Dan,
First off, thanks for taking the bait and stepping up to the plate. To reply, re: Sprint, the issue isn't whether someone signed the contract or not; the issue is whether elements of the contract should be there in the first place. I am happy that you pay your Sprint bills each month–that part of the contract is not in question. Re: attorneys, there's a little teeny tiny area of the legal profession that happens to deal with…drumroll please…Constitutional Law. Now, yes, you can argue that there were some non-attorneys as well as attorneys who actually crafted the document many moons ago (note, roughly 65% of its originators were either lawyers by trade or had legal training–say it isn't so!!), but safe to say there are attorneys upholding the protections the Constitution provides. Finally, I certainly wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of votes in next year's election. And, yes, I am satisfied. -Abi
You are woefully ignorant of the history of the legal profession. Law school really didn't exist before the end of the 19th century in America. The "legal professionals" you speak of became attorneys by reading in law offices in apprenticeships. Lawyers were literally just anybody who spent the time reading the laws.
I'll state again differently, all citizens are entitled, not privileged to participate in the law on their own behalf. We don't need to ask two-bit "constitutional law" attorneys like Mr. Obama for permission to read a constitutional document and understand what it says. The comprehension of language and especially constitutional law is not something to be reserved for just lawyers. If only lawyers comprehended constitutional law, then we would be a ridiculous joke of crony capitalism that India is today.
Hi Dan, Great to hear from you again! And I'm lovin the fire you certainly have in that belly of yours. Yes, no one would debate when law schools, as we know them today, came into being–my point, which I think was clear, is that there were many who practiced law–based on the legal training that was available and accepted at that time–who worked on penning the Constitution. Safe to say, you can argue–in the very manner you do–that many professions that existed at that time now require much more education and credentials vs merely "reading" and/or completing an apprenticeship. It's all relative. But I respect your position on the matter.
Furthermore, I agree with you that all citizens are entitled to participate in the law. Amen to that. (oh dear, did I just blur church and state there–whoops!). However, someone with professional legal training needs to actually guide or consolidate the collective participation into something actionable–otherwise it's akin to us all participating in the management of our health; sure I participate, but damn sure I want a trained surgeon operating on me. As for your comments regarding what level of lawyer President Obama is or the current state of India, I'll leave that for you to rant about–my only concern is that we have a participatory process right here on our own soil. Your candidacy is proof that we do.
Oh, and fwiw, you mentioned last time that you're a "4th generation red-blooded American"; just so you have some perspective from my end, I'm 12th generation and damn proud of it. -Abi
Anyone have an update on the result of the hearing?
Thanks for your comment; I’d like to say we have some updated information to provide you with, but not just yet. I have a couple of emails out to some sources of mine…and as soon as I hear back w/some info I can share, I’ll let you know! -Abi
Hi n/a…As promised, here's the update from the claims administrator on the Sprint settlement; sounds like a wait and see…"At the Final Approval Hearing on March 12, 2009, the Settlement was not approved. The Court ordered a more extensive notification process and a new Hearing was scheduled for October 21, 2009. We are still waiting for a ruling. We unfortunately have no estimation regarding when distribution might be. Please continue to check back for updates." We'll keep tracking it…
any new word on disbursment on settlement?
Hi Dean, I would love to give you more information, but as of this morning, the direct line from the claims administrator is still this:
At the Final Approval Hearing on March 12, 2009, the Settlement was not approved. The Court ordered a more extensive notification process and a new Hearing was scheduled for October 21, 2009. We are still waiting for a ruling. We unfortunately have no estimation regarding when distribution might be. Please continue to check back for updates.
And so we will…
Stay tuned…