Unfortunately, I havent been able to find a job in almost 3 years and cant afford my bill. Is there anyone that can help me cancel my line and waive the ETF?
Free Dirk!!!
Right now Sprint is raising some of their regulatory charges, you can argue that these increases represent a material adverse charge which in accordance with their contract allows you to exit your contract with no ETF. I used this to exit Verizon, it should work with Sprint too.
If they ask you why you wish to end your contract
The increase in the Regulatory Charge represents a material adverse effect to me
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They'll ask if there are any other reasons, there are not, do not complain about the service, the device, the monthly contract price.
THERE IS NO REASON BUT THAT CHARGE.
They may argue that these charges reflect a change in taxes and fees that Sprint is charged by local, state, and federal fees and are thereby not subject to the material adverse effect clause.
Sprint defines the regulatory charge as "Sprint Surcharges are rates we choose to collect from you to help defray costs imposed on us. Surcharges are not taxes on you or amounts we are required to collect from you by law." As this is not a fee required by law and explicitly a fee Sprint chooses to collect it is in fact covered under the material adverse effect clause.
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They may try to offer to rebate the difference to you, if they do argue the following
The contract does not stipulate that Sprint may choose to mitigate a change in contract with an account credit. However the contract does explicitly state my option to cancel the line. If I were to accept or not accept the offer, which has no basis is the written contract, the material adverse effect is still represented in the new contractual fees.
In Cunningham vs. Fleetwood Homes of Georgia, reported at page 611 of the third Federal Reporter, volume 253, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that arbitration clauses are material terms to a contract.
If the contract has in fact been altered to allow for mitigation of the charges by account credit, then my standing in a potential arbitration has been negated. So such a clause, having the potential to alter my standing in arbitration would itself be a materially adverse change.
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If they still refuse to let them go ask them
Are you explicitly notifying me, as a representative of Sprint, of Sprint's refusal to comply with the terms of a federally binding contract?
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That's all I had to do with Verizon
Okay, I'll give it another shot.
You could sell your phone and pay the ETF with that money.
USSENTERNCC1701E said:
Right now Sprint is raising some of their regulatory charges, you can argue that these increases represent a material adverse charge which in accordance with their contract allows you to exit your contract with no ETF. I used this to exit Verizon, it should work with Sprint too.
If they ask you why you wish to end your contract
They'll ask if there are any other reasons, there are not, do not complain about the service, the device, the monthly contract price.
THERE IS NO REASON BUT THAT CHARGE.
They may argue that these charges reflect a change in taxes and fees that Sprint is charged by local, state, and federal fees and are thereby not subject to the material adverse effect clause.
They may try to offer to rebate the difference to you, if they do argue the following
If they still refuse to let them go ask them
That's all I had to do with Verizon
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Wow, are you a lawyer or someone of that sort? This is amazing. I'm not being sarcastic by the way. I truly am impressed.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
cruise350 said:
You could sell your phone and pay the ETF with that money.
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Ha! The **** I look like selling my phone?
USSENTERNCC1701E said:
Right now Sprint is raising some of their regulatory charges, you can argue that these increases represent a material adverse charge which in accordance with their contract allows you to exit your contract with no ETF. I used this to exit Verizon, it should work with Sprint too.
If they ask you why you wish to end your contract
They'll ask if there are any other reasons, there are not, do not complain about the service, the device, the monthly contract price.
THERE IS NO REASON BUT THAT CHARGE.
They may argue that these charges reflect a change in taxes and fees that Sprint is charged by local, state, and federal fees and are thereby not subject to the material adverse effect clause.
They may try to offer to rebate the difference to you, if they do argue the following
If they still refuse to let them go ask them
That's all I had to do with Verizon
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I love you dude. This worked 100%
StoneColdCarl said:
Wow, are you a lawyer or someone of that sort? This is amazing. I'm not being sarcastic by the way. I truly am impressed.
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Nah, studying physics and philosophy Thanks though
knowledge561 said:
I love you dude. This worked 100%
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Glad it helped. Good luck with the job, it's a **** market to be looking in
Does anyone know if you will be able to start a new contact right after you cancel this way as a way of getting an early upgrade, or will they kind of blacklist you for a few months after you cancel the contact?
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
el_capitan10 said:
Does anyone know if you will be able to start a new contact right after you cancel this way as a way of getting an early upgrade, or will they kind of blacklist you for a few months after you cancel the contact?
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
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I've seen it somewhere that you can sign up immediately after through a third party vendor, specifically wirefly was suggested. I can't remember where I read this though, may have been here on XDA
USSENTERNCC1701E said:
Right now Sprint is raising some of their regulatory charges, you can argue that these increases represent a material adverse charge which in accordance with their contract allows you to exit your contract with no ETF. I used this to exit Verizon, it should work with Sprint too.
If they ask you why you wish to end your contract
They'll ask if there are any other reasons, there are not, do not complain about the service, the device, the monthly contract price.
THERE IS NO REASON BUT THAT CHARGE.
They may argue that these charges reflect a change in taxes and fees that Sprint is charged by local, state, and federal fees and are thereby not subject to the material adverse effect clause.
They may try to offer to rebate the difference to you, if they do argue the following
If they still refuse to let them go ask them
That's all I had to do with Verizon
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that sir is great im calling tonight and will use this if need be
@USSENTERNCC1701E
Wow! Just... Wow! I'm not even with Sprint (I'm up in Canada), but I must say, I'm impressed! I do love to pin large corporations to the wall and make them accountable when need be! I've used somewhat similar tactics to have early upgrades, waived fees, even got a free computer once from my landline provider (back in the stone age when I HAD a landine)
I've found you can get just about anything you ask for as long as you do your homework, keep a cool head, and when in doubt, ask to speak to a supervisor. Good on you man
This should be stickied! I'm sure there are plenty of folks out there who could use this sort of advice!
Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we will change the world
Related
I was able to cancel my contract for the View I purchased in July with no ETF
Courtesy of SlickDeals.net:
Cancel your Sprint contract with no ETF (9/9/11-10/9/11) **Live now**
Sprint had stated that they are increasing their administrative fee to $1.50/line. This is considered a change in the terms of service and will allow you 30 days from the date it's put into effect to cancel your contract without penalty.
This notice should be on your latest bill...
Administrative Charge Increase &Terms & Conditions Changes for Consumers
Effective 9/9/11, the Administrative Chargewill increase to $1.50 per line for customersthat receive the charge. For details, visitsprint.com/taxesandfees. In addition, theSprint consumer Terms (Ts&Cs) are changing. Please review them carefully at your local Sprint store or sprint.com/termsandconditions
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And per their terms and conditions.....
When You Don't Have To Pay An Early Termination Fee
You aren't responsible for paying an Early Termination Fee when terminating Services: (a) provided on a month-to-month basis; (b) consistent with our published trial period return policy; or (c) in response to a materially adverse change we make to the Agreement as described directly below.
Our Right To Change The Agreement & Your Related Rights
We may change any part of the Agreement at any time, including, but not limited to, rates, charges, how we calculate charges, or your terms of Service. We will provide you notice of material changes—and may provide you notice of non-material changes—in a manner consistent with this Agreement (see "Providing Notice To Each Other Under The Agreement" section). If a change we make to the Agreement is material and has a material adverse effect on Services under your Term Commitment, 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. If you do not cancel Service within 30 days of the change, an Early Termination Fee will apply if you terminate Services before the end of any applicable Term Commitment.
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There have been times where people have called in to cancel and have been given the run around from uninformed Sprint reps. Ask to speak to someone in retentions....RETENTIONS ARE THE ONES WHO MAKE IT HAPPEN!!! After all it's their job to keep you.
Good luck!
Could I get a view with contract then call retentions and cancel it with this?
In the past, when other carriers raised their administrative fees, the carriers just opted to waive the fee for the duration of the contract. Sprint's customer agreement actually says this: "Sprint Surcharges are not taxes or gov't-required charges and are subject to change."
Since you agreed to that, then the material change clause in the contract doesn't apply here.
If anyone does try this, please let us know. I'd love to cancel my crappy Sprint service and get an LTE tablet on Verizon.
Wanna sell me your View then?
TomXP411 said:
In the past, when other carriers raised their administrative fees, the carriers just opted to waive the fee for the duration of the contract. Sprint's customer agreement actually says this: "Sprint Surcharges are not taxes or gov't-required charges and are subject to change."
Since you agreed to that, then the material change clause in the contract doesn't apply here.
If anyone does try this, please let us know. I'd love to cancel my crappy Sprint service and get an LTE tablet on Verizon.
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It worked for me, I told them exactly what is written above. I bought my tablet in July. They are changing the terms and conditions too.
One T&C change is that in addition to modifying your device, they now specificly ban rooting.
Sent from my PG41200 using Tapatalk
There's also a mandatory arbitration clause to prevent potential class-action lawsuits, along with a few other bits of legal.
Zan, where did you see the root policy in the new T&Cs? I'm reading it over on the web and I'm not finding that section.
stringsci said:
There's also a mandatory arbitration clause to prevent potential class-action lawsuits, along with a few other bits of legal.
Zan, where did you see the root policy in the new T&Cs? I'm reading it over on the web and I'm not finding that section.
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"Our Right To Suspend Or Terminate Services", section (i). They added the words "; (for example, rooting the device);"
So it now reads, "(i) modifying a Device from its manufacturer specifications; (for example, rooting the device); " (before it stopped at specifications)
I tried cancelling based on that reason today, the supervisor told me that there was NOTHING they would let you cancel for in the new contract. That of COURSE they would never boot ME for that reason, and that if they did, it'd be ETF free. Except that a few paragraphs above it says that if they boot you for "good reason", you'd be charged the fee. Since they felt that rooting was enough of an issue to add it to the contract, seems that'd be a good reason. He also said that since the possible ETF didn't CURRENTLY affect me, it didn't count. After almost 2 hours he finally wore me down to the point that I just gave up. I'll try again tomorrow.
Funny thing is...I wanted to cancel JUST the service for the View, and just use it with a TMobile portable hotspot. Monthly fee would be about the same, and the TMobile device (so far) seems to get 4G speeds at more indoor locations for me. Now I'm mad enough at them to consider cancelling everything. I'm going to be trying out both a Tmobile hotspot and a phone this week, to see what coverage is like.
its much easier to mention the arbitration agreement change
This worked for me...
I had to call about 20 times to get them to comply with the terms. the last time I called, the call was escalated to the management team almost immediately. I talked to the man very calmly and explained the situation with him. I told him that sprint had changed the terms of my contract several times, I had the original contract in which I signed dated 9/21/2010 and I was not going to accept the new terms with their material changes. He said that sprints attorneys had already looked at the changes to the "surcharges" paragraph and they were not an adverse material change due to the fact that sprint is just imposing limits which it had none before. So I went on to explain the adverse change to the arbitration agreement which impeded my ability to pursue any wrong doing and showed sprint favoritism. I told him of all the complaints I had been researching about JAMS arbitration showing the business favoritism. He asked me to hold a minute and came right back asking if I had considered the buy back program. I told him absolutely not I was not going to loose $250 on a phone less than a year old which they would only give $95 for and expect me to pay $110 for an ETF. He said unfortunately there is nothing I can do. I replied, I am following all the terms of the contract, I stated the Provisions for breaking the contract with no ETF (material change) and again told him this new arbitration agreement which I would be using to pursue the change to the "surcharge" paragraph adversely affects me. He asked me to hold he would transfer my call to the head of his call center because his hands were tied. About 20 minutes later he came back on the line and told me he had talked to the head of the call center and he was willing to mark my contract fulfilled as of last month and set my account to cancel at the end of the billing cycle so I could port my number if I wanted. I told him that was awesome and I appreciated them abiding by our contract even though it took multiple calls to get it completed.
1. Take notes. write down the names and employee ID of all the people you talk to.
2. Make sure you tell them you want to cancel due to the material change to the terms and conditions.
3. If you get a person that seems like they are put out by having to be at work right now tell them something came up and you will have to call back later and thank them for their time. then call right back and get someone who is having a better day.
4. Tell them you do not like the fees but the change to the arbitration agreement is the material change that you do not agree with, it is because they are impeding your ability to resolve any disputes with sprint due to the changes to the arbitration agreement so it adversely affects you.
5. Do not let the persuade you into the buyback program unless you know what the conditions are and you don't mind loosing all the money you paid for your phone upfront, you will still have to pay the ETF and they don't pay much for phones ($95 max for the Epic). You could sell your phone on craigslist for more than they offer and possibly enough to cover the ETF.
6. Always remain calm and collected speak slowly and plainly, be courteous mind you manners. Talk to the employee for a minute ask where he is located and how his day is going. Make sure you are improving their mood sympathize with them. Tell them you understand they have been told what to say and they have to follow orders but someone must be able to complete this and abide by the terms and conditions. Talk to them like their on your side (reverse psychology). If I can make them laugh over something I usually have their support when the call is escalated to the next department. It definitely makes a difference if the previous employee leaves a good comment and they side with you on the account and doesn't say you are an ahole.
7. Do not let them persuade you into the buyback program unless you know what the conditions are and you don't mind loosing all the money you paid for your phone upfront, you will still have to pay the ETF and they don't pay much for phones ($95 max for the Epic). You could sell your phone on craigslist for more than they offer and possibly enough to cover the ETF.
8. If the employee does not agree the arbitration change is a material change. mention "In Cunningham vs. Fleetwood Homes of Georgia, reported at page 611 of the third Federal Reporter, volume 253, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that arbitration clauses are material terms to a contract.”
9. They may offer a discount of .50 each month to offset the surcharge or $10 a month for 3 months to continue service. If you take these offers your contract will still be in full effect and you will be stuck with the new terms.
10. Get a CONFIRMATION NUMBER and keep it safe. Do not loose it just in case the employee lied which has been known to happen from time to time. check your account online and click "see my contract details" it should show almost immediately the contract is complete. press print screen and save the image at least until your final bill has arrived and is correct. I have been burned by companies which lied in the past because it does not matter what they tell you on the phone its what is in writing that counts. If they lie and you have no proof 30 days after the change you are stuck in your contract.
With a bit of luck they should let you out of the contract depending on the representative. They have no legal grounds to make you stay. If they refuse try again be persistent. I overheard the employees talking in the back ground at one point about how many times I had called over this issue. one of them even said "he is one persistent a**hole". Do not give up, if you don't find yourself making headway after 25 calls file a complaint with the BBB, FTC, FCC, your state attorney general, local chamber of commerce and your state public utility commission.
Good Luck,
Brandon
Or just pay a paltry $20 a month for always available data which makes your tablet far more useful, damn!
Today being the 10/9/11, I have run out of time to procrastinate. I called Sprint's Retention Department and was told there is no chance of getting out of the contract on my tablet over the $1.50 administrative fee. I was told asking for a supervisor or calling back 25 times until I got a person who would be cooperative might have worked 3 or 4 weeks ago, but not now.
I was also told that I would have to contact Sprint's Legal Department on Monday if I wanted to try to get out of my contract based on changes to the arbitration agreement and/or the ban on rooting.
In the meantime, I intend to buy a Verizon 4G LTE MiFi device this afternoon because I am totally fed-up with Sprint's slow 3G and lack of 4G towers.
Sprint New Contract
Can someone plesae tell me how we get out of our contact with Sprint, We have had service for about a month, We are paying 175.00 for two phones that we cant even use in our home.. When we were searching for new cell phone service we went with sprint because of the unlimited internet ( which to my knowlege no other cell phone company in my area offers) we both have the Samsung Conqure. I've called in several times regarding the poor service in our area I told them I wanted to cancel when we were well within the 30 days, They told me to hang on and let them try to fix the issues I said what are you gonna do build a cell tower in the town we live in, They offered to send an Airwave at no cost but what they didnt tell us why you have to have internet to get the aiwave to work which means we are going to have to call and get internet in our home and pay another bill to get the airwave to work and to be able to make calls inside our home. I've called customer care several times only to be told the 14 day trial is over.... Took them to th sprint store the girl behind the counter said that we should have been told when we ordered our phones that in our area there was no converage, customer care completly denies the fact that coverage in our area is spotty. So they are wanting to charge us 700 dollars in ETF for phones that we cant use in our home!
Someone please help!
Start searching the forums for changing your prl and roaming on Verizon. While your at it look for diagnostic drivers for your phones and CDMA Workshop 2.7. If you load a Verizon prl and start using your phones and data, in a month or two Sprint will be asking you to leave without an ETF and you can keep the phones. Start costing them money and they are more then happy to let you leave.
will this work if I just signed up for a Sprint plan this month? I signed up for phone service two months ago but justadded a new line last week for my Evo View Tablet. Can I use this to cancel my plan without ETF?
southernlight said:
will this work if I just signed up for a Sprint plan this month? I signed up for phone service two months ago but justadded a new line last week for my Evo View Tablet. Can I use this to cancel my plan without ETF?
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No
10char
As a "perk", I receive a 25% discount on our sprint family plan, since my company uses a lot of Sprint phones as company phones. Looks like starting in feb, they are going to change the family plan discount to only the primary line on the plan, not all phones. While this will only change my out of pocket costs by about $5/month, I'm curious if this can be used to get out of my contract early (I have about a year left). Lately sprint QoS has been lacking (dropped calls, unable to make/receive calls, no data, no texting, etc), and I've called Sprint a few times regarding this. I'd like to make a switch to another carrier, but I'm not sure if sprint changing a discount would give me a way out, like if an additional charge was placed on the bill, due to a tax, or some other fee.
http://www.goodandevo.net/2011/12/sprint-to-cut-back-discounts-on-family-plans.html
I was hoping to find if this gives us a way out as well.
I've heard it will but it is just a matter of talking to the right person probably
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Funny. I was able to get my contact on a month to month due to their last TOS change. I should cancel completely, re-sign with new phones, then cancel again in February due to the new change. Then just sell all the phones on Ebay (or here)
Then go to t-mobile. I haven't made it to 2 gigs of data in a single month with sprint at all this year. Actually, I don't think I have at all given their crap speeds.
For real though, when I first signed up with sprint all I could do was talk up their value. All the changes this year have changed my opinion when people ask. I now tell people just to go prepaid or T-Mobile. I haven't left sprint just yet, but I'm inching towards that door.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
im sure it says in the contract that discounts are a privlage and not a right to have i doubt u can get out of it etf free cause u prolly agreed to pay the full amount in the contract just flash the verizon prl and enjoy good service till they cancle you
http://www.landofdroid.com/2011/sprint-rumoured-to-be-adjusting-discount-rules-on-shared-accounts/
they do a great job showing the specific legal terminology and wording
However, here is the key phrase to keep in your arsenal: “If a change we make to the Agreement is material and has a material adverse effect.“
This change is obviously material and the adverse effect is as it relates to you. They cannot tell you that this is not adversely effecting you as you are paying the bill, not them. They further provide you with the terminology to use when contact Customer Care: “specifically advise us that you wish to cancel Services because of a material change to the Agreement that we have made.“
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do you have to cancel all your lines? or can you simply cut off a one of the family lines?
No1ustad said:
do you have to cancel all your lines? or can you simply cut off a one of the family lines?
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As I understand it, with Sprint when you manage to find a way out of ETF they don't make you cancel your service, they just null your contract and leave you on a month to month. So you can take advantage of one these opportunities, and sit on it until/if they piss you off enough to leave them.
if they do really let you get off contract and still stay month to month that would be awesome as I want to do just that. anyone do this before?
I'd like some more info on this. Not liking Sprint at all atm.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Same ^
Sent from my S-off'd 3VO
I saw on engadget about 2 changes sprint is making. one for for the tiered etf plan and another for changing numbers. do either of these constitute the contract change policy. I'm looking to cancel sprint, just can't take the slow service anymore. But dont want the etf's either. just wondering. thanks.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/09/sprint-charge-15-dollars-number-change-june-10-free-online/
and
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/08/sprint-total-equipment-protection-tiered-plans/
I would say with 95% certainty that the number changing fee does not qualify and the Total Protection thing doesn't qualify with 80% certainty. You could try it if you had the TEP before the change.
Other than that, it's like pulling teeth even if they up your rate or fees on your account. I had Verizon tell me to get a lawyer if I didn't like their answer. lol
Naa..no material changes here. Neither is part of your contract. Both are optional.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
damn. ok, thanks.
A new for AT&T to earn more money??
Administrative Fee (Consumer and Individual Responsibility User (IRU) lines only)
The Administrative Fee helps defray certain expenses AT&T incurs, including but not limited to: (a) charges AT&T or its agents pay to interconnect with other carriers to deliver calls from AT&T customers to their customers; and (b) charges associated with cell site rents and maintenance.
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What a B.S.! Can't stand these communication companies and the lack of options in this country.
sbi1 said:
A new for AT&T to earn more money??
What a B.S.! Can't stand these communication companies and the lack of options in this country.
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The rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer. Its ridiculous what this government let these corporations get away with. Of course at the working man's expense.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
lildoggs said:
The rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer. Its ridiculous what this government let these corporations get away with. Of course at the working man's expense.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
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They don't make enough money.... they justify by letting us pay only $200 for a $700 phone. Tha'ts how they get away with it... we can all go to the European way and just buy the phones up front and save a little on the service. But they will still make tons of money of us. $37 stock price for today 11%+ rise year to date... They obviously need more and more :crying:
I called AT&T yesterday to ***** about it, I asked the CSR "What 'new' expenses does AT&T have now that they didn't have last month?". Sure enough he started reading to me the same thing as I posted above. I said "don't read this to me, I can read it myself. I want to know what NEW EXPENSES do you have..."
He said "we don't have that info". I said "well, HQ should give you the answers".
I got so pissed at him that he ended up giving me a credit of the 4 lines times this bull**** fee for the next year ($30). Sure, I was happy and appreciative of his attempt to make a customer happy. Nevertheless, can't wait for my contract to expire to get the hell out. That's why I don't take 'free/discounted' phones from AT&T. Only international versions, nothing with AT&T logo on it. I will not be tied in contracts with big corporations any more.
Sure, it's much more difficult now to go somewhere else when Straight Talk no longer have AT&T sim cards, but we'll see.
sbi1 said:
That's why I don't take 'free/discounted' phones from AT&T. Only international versions, nothing with AT&T logo on it. I will not be tied in contracts with big corporations any more.
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Could not agree more, well said.
Sent from the i777
Quick & Easy BBB, FTC, FCC links
Some momentum is growing at forums.att.com to have a mass of customers report to the BBB, FTC, and FCC, so I am posting easy links here, in case others wish to do so as well.
It's really quick and easy to make your voice heard .
BBB: www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/telephone-companies/atandt-in-atlanta-ga-7935/file-a-complaint
FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
You can base your info on the following but you will have to edit it to fit in the web forms:
"AT&T has raised the price on every wireless line in service by $.61 a month by adding a new fee to every bill, which they explain as follows:
"MOBILITY ADMINISTRATIVE FEE" Effective May 1, 2013, the Administrative Fee will be $0.61 per line per month. The Administrative Fee helps defray certain expenses AT&T incurs, including but not limited to: (a) charges AT&T or its agents pay to interconnect with other carriers to deliver calls from AT&T customers to their customers; and (b) charges associated with cell site rents and maintenance."
This is a baloney way of saying "price increase", and is a blatant violation of basic contract law which does not allow the changing of terms after the beginning of a bilateral agreement. The vast majority of ATT customers have 2-year contract agreements which prevent their switching carriers without paying a huge penalty clause.
The ATT Wireless Agreement reads: "If we increase the price of any of the services to which you subscribe, beyond the limits set forth in your customer service summary... you may terminate this agreement without paying an early termination fee or returning or paying for any promotional items."
CTIA Consumer Code reads: "Carriers will not modify the material terms of their subscribers' contracts in a manner that is materially adverse to subscribers without providing a reasonable advance notice of a proposed modification and allowing subscribers a time period of not less than 14 days to cancel their contracts with no early termination fee."
ATT claims that the price for the service remains the same and are only adding a "fee".
What's from stopping AT&T from adding an additional $50/month fee and not letting customers out of their contract?
$.61 doesn't sound like much, but some people have multiple lines. In addition, multiplied by 115.78 million customers, AT&T makes an extra $847 million a year from this dishonest price hike.
As it is not any kind of tax or government mandated charge, the new fee should be included in the basic price displayed in advertising and informational material. The new fee should only be charged on new contracts beginning after the increase, and existing contract customers must be allowed to either reject the price hike or be allowed to terminate their service without penalty, as the contract has already been breached by the carrier."
Coincidentally I just cancelled one of my add-on packages with Comcast cable and they also tried to charge a $2.xx administrative fee. Although the CSR waived it as a 'one time courtesy,' seeing the same issue here highlights what appears to be a growing trend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyDbfCbQnH8
harryspar said:
Some momentum is growing at forums.att.com to have a mass of customers report to the BBB, FTC, and FCC, so I am posting easy links here, in case others wish to do so as well.
It's really quick and easy to make your voice heard .
BBB: www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/telephone-companies/atandt-in-atlanta-ga-7935/file-a-complaint
FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
You can base your info on the following but you will have to edit it to fit in the web forms:
"AT&T has raised the price on every wireless line in service by $.61 a month by adding a new fee to every bill, which they explain as follows:
"MOBILITY ADMINISTRATIVE FEE" Effective May 1, 2013, the Administrative Fee will be $0.61 per line per month. The Administrative Fee helps defray certain expenses AT&T incurs, including but not limited to: (a) charges AT&T or its agents pay to interconnect with other carriers to deliver calls from AT&T customers to their customers; and (b) charges associated with cell site rents and maintenance."
This is a baloney way of saying "price increase", and is a blatant violation of basic contract law which does not allow the changing of terms after the beginning of a bilateral agreement. The vast majority of ATT customers have 2-year contract agreements which prevent their switching carriers without paying a huge penalty clause.
The ATT Wireless Agreement reads: "If we increase the price of any of the services to which you subscribe, beyond the limits set forth in your customer service summary... you may terminate this agreement without paying an early termination fee or returning or paying for any promotional items."
CTIA Consumer Code reads: "Carriers will not modify the material terms of their subscribers' contracts in a manner that is materially adverse to subscribers without providing a reasonable advance notice of a proposed modification and allowing subscribers a time period of not less than 14 days to cancel their contracts with no early termination fee."
ATT claims that the price for the service remains the same and are only adding a "fee".
What's from stopping AT&T from adding an additional $50/month fee and not letting customers out of their contract?
$.61 doesn't sound like much, but some people have multiple lines. In addition, multiplied by 115.78 million customers, AT&T makes an extra $847 million a year from this dishonest price hike.
As it is not any kind of tax or government mandated charge, the new fee should be included in the basic price displayed in advertising and informational material. The new fee should only be charged on new contracts beginning after the increase, and existing contract customers must be allowed to either reject the price hike or be allowed to terminate their service without penalty, as the contract has already been breached by the carrier."
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Complaints filed.
sbi1 said:
Complaints filed.
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You da man. How long did it take, a few minutes, right? We need more people to act.
Thanks for the heads up, I didn't even notice it. I filed a complaint with the FTC and will look into switching when my contract ends next month
Does this fee count as a material change in the contract? I'm guessing not. Sneaky
edit: I now read harryspar's post completely. When Sprint did this, many people were able to cancel and not pay an ETF, but I'm guessing AT&T will fight this but some people might be able to get away with it.
havanahjoe said:
When Sprint did this, many people were able to cancel and not pay an ETF, but I'm guessing AT&T will fight this but some people might be able to get away with it.
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Some people have been successful, see thread on fawallet.com: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1270724/
harryspar said:
You da man. How long did it take, a few minutes, right? We need more people to act.
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Yup. few minutes and the bastards "responded" to the BBB one with the usual B.S., to which I responded with (basically) "Cut the B.S.". Nothing will change until everyone files a complaint.
I went through a similar experience with Sprint last year. They claimed it was not a "material change" as another poster eluded to and when I digged very deep in my contract - there was a clause which allowed them to add up to $2.00 per month in "fees" without being considered "material" changes...
I think it depends on the rep you get, some people I know used the fee to get out of their contracts and some it did not work for. I was able to get the fee waived (it was only 20 cents per month or so that they were adding this time) but I didn't feel like fighting to get any further.
AT&T has introduced a new "Mobility Administrative Fee" to its postpaid contracts. The $0.61 monthly fee ($7.32 per year) is being categorized "below the line" alongside tax and fees as an administrative surcharge. The fee came into effect on May 1st, and applies to all consumer contracts as well as "IRU" business contracts (business accounts where the user pays the bill).
It's a small charge for the individual consumers, but given that AT&T's postpaid subscriber base stands at over 70 million, the move will net AT&T hundreds of millions of dollars — somewhere around half a billion dollars, in fact. That's a lot of extra revenue from one little charge.
AT&T tells us that the administrative fee will "help cover certain expenses, such as interconnection and cell site rents and maintenance." It also added that the charge is "consistent with similar fees charged by other carriers." While it's true that both Verizon and Sprint actually have higher administrative line charges — T-Mobile bundles any administrative fees in with regulatory charges, so it's difficult to tell — that's not likely to be much consolation for AT&T customers
http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/23/4358926/att-mobility-administrative-fee
CheesyNutz said:
AT&T has introduced a new "Mobility Administrative Fee" to its postpaid contracts. The $0.61 monthly fee ($7.32 per year) is being categorized "below the line" alongside tax and fees as an administrative surcharge. The fee came into effect on May 1st, and applies to all consumer contracts as well as "IRU" business contracts (business accounts where the user pays the bill).
It's a small charge for the individual consumers, but given that AT&T's postpaid subscriber base stands at over 70 million, the move will net AT&T hundreds of millions of dollars — somewhere around half a billion dollars, in fact. That's a lot of extra revenue from one little charge.
AT&T tells us that the administrative fee will "help cover certain expenses, such as interconnection and cell site rents and maintenance." It also added that the charge is "consistent with similar fees charged by other carriers." While it's true that both Verizon and Sprint actually have higher administrative line charges — T-Mobile bundles any administrative fees in with regulatory charges, so it's difficult to tell — that's not likely to be much consolation for AT&T customers
http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/23/4358926/att-mobility-administrative-fee
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can we use this to break a contract without paying ETF? I'm seeing yes and no answers on that question all over the internets
gunnyman said:
can we use this to break a contract without paying ETF? I'm seeing yes and no answers on that question all over the internets
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When I had VZW's service, they did something very similar. Technically, there's a clause in your wireless contract that says if the carrier makes changes to your contract that you don't agree with AND are materially adverse(this is a key phrase), you're able to break the contract with no penalty. If you don't challenge this change within a certain time farm... say 30 days, your silence is consent to the change. However, what VZW did to stop people from being able to use the material adverse clause to break the contract was to place a reoccurring discount on the account for the remaining duration of the contract thus bringing it back into compliance with the terms you originally signed. Likely, AT&T will do the same thing.
EDIT: Here's the section I'm talking about. Source, particularly section 1.3.
AT&T said:
We may change any terms, conditions, rates, fees, expenses, or charges regarding your Services at any time. We will provide you with notice of material changes (other than changes to governmental fees, proportional charges for governmental mandates, roaming rates or administrative charges) either in your monthly bill or separately. You understand and agree that State and Federal Universal Service Fees and other governmentally imposed fees, whether or not assessed directly upon you, may be increased based upon the government's or our calculations.
IF WE INCREASE THE PRICE OF ANY OF THE SERVICES TO WHICH YOU SUBSCRIBE, BEYOND THE LIMITS SET FORTH IN YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUMMARY, OR IF WE MATERIALLY DECREASE THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA IN WHICH YOUR AIRTIME RATE APPLIES (OTHER THAN A TEMPORARY DECREASE FOR REPAIRS OR MAINTENANCE), WE’LL DISCLOSE THE CHANGE AT LEAST ONE BILLING CYCLE IN ADVANCE (EITHER THROUGH A NOTICE WITH YOUR BILL, A TEXT MESSAGE TO YOUR DEVICE, OR OTHERWISE), AND YOU MAY TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT PAYING AN EARLY TERMINATION FEE OR RETURNING OR PAYING FOR ANY PROMOTIONAL ITEMS, PROVIDED YOUR NOTICE OF TERMINATION IS DELIVERED TO US WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE FIRST BILL REFLECTING THE CHANGE.
If you lose your eligibility for a particular rate plan, we may change your rate plan to one for which you qualify.
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gunnyman said:
can we use this to break a contract without paying ETF? I'm seeing yes and no answers on that question all over the internets
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this is how i got out of my sprint contract ..... but im not sure im reading the same thing
Break a contract for an additional $0.65 a month? I'm pretty sure AT&T won't let this happen.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
It's breaking a contract because they changed the terms without my consent. The amount is irrelevant.
gunnyman said:
It's breaking a contract because they changed the terms without my consent. The amount is irrelevant.
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Good luck
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I'm just looking for information here.
gunnyman said:
I'm just looking for information here.
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From what I gather this is not consider a rate change to your plan. It is an added tax which will not be considered a rate change so there for they won't let you out the contract.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
shook187 said:
From what I gather this is not consider a rate change to your plan. It is an added tax which will not be considered a rate change so there for they won't let you out the contract.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
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Att can't "tax" you. You mean it's a new service charge.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
shook187 said:
From what I gather this is not consider a rate change to your plan. It is an added tax which will not be considered a rate change so there for they won't let you out the contract.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
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its not a tax it's a FEE and YES you can get out of your contract this is EXACTLY how i got out of my contact with sprint 5 line's no ETF canceled since they was being sneaky and added a few extra fee's like this
CheesyNutz said:
its not a tax it's a FEE and YES you can get out of your contract this is EXACTLY how i got out of my contact with sprint 5 line's no ETF canceled since they was being sneaky and added a few extra fee's like this
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Same. I got out of my Sprint contact over what would have amounted to like $1.50 extra per year
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
estxxas said:
Same. I got out of my Sprint contact over what would have amounted to like $1.50 extra per year
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
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Same here...
This Messages Was Shot From A Galaxy S4!
Just spoke with ATT rep. When I asked to release me from the contract because of the fee increase, she responded with the following - since fee is not a service change, she cannot waive the ETF.
dk152 said:
Just spoke with ATT rep. When I asked to release me from the contract because of the fee increase, she responded with the following - since fee is not a service change, she cannot waive the ETF.
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Who said you needed a service change to void the contract? You signed a contract for x price. they've changed that price, which according to the others here, is enough to walk away.
And as far as ATT Reps are concerned, you can call 10 times and get 10 different answers.
@CheesyNutz What is the exact name of the additional fee? Is it the Mobility Administrative fee in the op, is that how it shows on the bill?
I just had a chat sessiom with them and they kept saying other carriers have a similar fee.
My response was that I was a sprint customer when they added this fee abd they allowed customer's to terminate they're contract and have their etf waived.
Then they kept saying att is a difference carrier
This Messages Was Shot From A Galaxy S4!
dk152 said:
Just spoke with ATT rep. When I asked to release me from the contract because of the fee increase, she responded with the following - since fee is not a service change, she cannot waive the ETF.
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Do the same thing in store, it's easy to tell someone no on the phone.. Totally different in person when you walk in holding a copy of the highlighted text on the contract.
Sent from my Tricked out HTC One
plmiller0905 said:
I just had a chat sessiom with them and they kept saying other carriers have a similar fee.
My response was that I was a sprint customer when they added this fee abd they allowed customer's to terminate they're contract and have their etf waived.
Then they kept saying att is a difference carrier
This Messages Was Shot From A Galaxy S4!
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I'd tell them that it doesn't matter what "other" carriers have. You dont have a contract with "other" carriers.. You didnt have the fee when i signed my contract. Then quote from the contract.
IF WE INCREASE THE PRICE OF ANY OF THE SERVICES TO WHICH YOU SUBSCRIBE, BEYOND THE LIMITS SET FORTH IN YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUMMARY, OR IF WE MATERIALLY DECREASE THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA IN WHICH YOUR AIRTIME RATE APPLIES (OTHER THAN A TEMPORARY DECREASE FOR REPAIRS OR MAINTENANCE), WE’LL DISCLOSE THE CHANGE AT LEAST ONE BILLING CYCLE IN ADVANCE (EITHER THROUGH A NOTICE WITH YOUR BILL, A TEXT MESSAGE TO YOUR DEVICE, OR OTHERWISE), AND YOU MAY TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT PAYING AN EARLY TERMINATION FEE OR RETURNING OR PAYING FOR ANY PROMOTIONAL ITEMS, PROVIDED YOUR NOTICE OF TERMINATION IS DELIVERED TO US WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE FIRST BILL REFLECTING THE CHANGE.
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nugzo said:
I'd tell them that it doesn't matter what "other" carriers have. You dont have a contract with "other" carriers.. You didnt have the fee when i signed my contract. Then quote from the contract.
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Yeah..but I assume the "service" theyre talking about is like data, text messaging, minutes..etc
This Messages Was Shot From A Galaxy S4!
What the fine print says is that they can increase the service fees without notice, but this is adding a service fee. I think one could get out of your contract without ETF. I'll try calling tomorrow.