More and more people are reporting that, despite receiving poor service (if any service at all) from their cell phones, they have had to pay outrageous cancellation fees, even though their cell phone carriers have done nothing to resolve their service problems.
In fact, the Better Business Bureau released its numbers of the top complaint categories for 2005 with cell phone companies at the top of the list. The category "Cellular Telephone Service & Supplies" received a total of 31,671 complaints, a full 8,099 complaints more than the second category, "Auto Dealers - New Cars."
One reason for the complaints against cell phone companies is the early termination fee, which is often charged even if the customer has endured unsatisfactory service from her cellular phone.
Termination fees can be as high as $200, expensive enough on their own, but for people who have family plans, that fee can be charged per phone. Early cancellation of a four-phone family plan can cost up to $800.
However, Smart Money reports that under the right circumstances, you may be able to cancel your cell phone without paying ridiculous fees. If your cell phone carrier makes a change in its prices that affects your plan, you can cancel your plan.
For example, if your carrier increased a monthly fee that then resulted in an increase in your bill you could cancel your plan and not pay a cancellation fee. Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and Cingular all have clauses in their contracts that allow customers to cancel their cell phones if a change in the customer agreement results in an increase in their cell phone bill. Be aware that there is a very limited time in which to take advantage of this. From the day the change goes into effect Verizon customers have 60 days to cancel, Sprint and Cingular customers have 30 days, and T-Mobile customers have only two weeks.
Unfortunately, many people either do not know about this loophole, or do not use it to get out of their contract. The loophole, while useful, also means that you have to put up with poor service until your cell phone company announces a rate change that affects you, and not all of them will.
If you have had problems with cell phone service that your cell carrier is unable to resolve, you should be able to cancel your cell phone without paying outrageous termination fees. That is the basis of a federal lawsuit filed in Seattle against T-Mobile USA Inc.
The lawsuit accuses the cell phone company of violating federal and state laws in its licensing agreements with customers by requiring customers to pay $200 if they cancel their service early. Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that such licensing agreements are unenforceable because they enforce mandatory arbitration in case of disagreement.
The plaintiff in the suit began using T-Mobile in 2006, only to discover that there was no cell phone service in her home. When she canceled her service she was charged $200, which she did not pay. T-Mobile then turned her account over to a collection agency. Sadly many people have had their accounts turned over to collection agencies for refusing to pay unfair cancellation fees.
Cell phone companies should not be charging customers termination fees when they cannot even provide the services customers are paying for. If you have had poor cell phone service and the carrier has not been able to resolve the problem, but you have been charged a cancellation fee, contact a lawyer to discuss your options.