Anyone heard or have any input for this website? Cellbreaker.com. It claims to break your cellphone contract without paying ETF's. I've seen it on the news, but still not too sure since per line its 77 bucks. Anyone use this and have experience to share?
Thanks
Ummmm, yeah...
ppat324wi said:
Anyone heard or have any input for this website? Cellbreaker.com. It claims to break your cellphone contract without paying ETF's. I've seen it on the news, but still not too sure since per line its 77 bucks. Anyone use this and have experience to share?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never heard of it until now, so I went to the site. First they want to charge you $10 to do an analysis. Then, IF they find breach of contract, you pay another $77 to them to get you out of it. So, that's $87.00.
Most carrier ETF's are $250, pro-rated for 24 months. This means that every month you have the phone, you deduct $10.42 from that $250.00. Once you've had your phone for 16 months, the price cellbreaker wants to charge you is MORE than your ETF would be.
Further, from what I'm reading on their website, the breaches they look for are price increases, terms changes, and "performance deficiency." Performance deficiency is very subjective. If you only have service 4 days out of 7, and can document it, sure, there's a breach of contract. But I don't think I've been anywhere where I have not had service for more than a couple of minutes. I've been with Verizon for 14 years and they have never once raised the price, altered my terms or done anything even remotely close to breaching their end of the bargain during any two year period.
In other words: try it if you want, but I honestly don't think it will do you any good. Even though it's "GUARANTEED" to get you out of your contract. Here's that "guarantee," by the way: Terms of Use TBD...
Good luck!!!
So Verizon's etf is 250 if you just got the phone, and since I have had my phone (S4) for about a year, my phone 's etf would be around 120 dollars?
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Yep. That sounds about right. Plus you would be responsible for your final bill, so it's important that you cancel prior to the end of your billing cycle.
Well, I called Verizon, and they told me that it would be 250 per line for the etf, bringing me 250+250+230=730 dollars for etf. Ouch
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ppat324wi said:
Well, I called Verizon, and they told me that it would be 250 per line for the etf, bringing me 250+250+230=730 dollars for etf. Ouch
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OUCH! That's strange to me. I was going to dump them a year or so ago because I could have received a better price through my job. But they're on ATT and I don't like ATT. Well, at least I like them less than Verizon. But big red told me the fees were prorated. I wonder if that has changed...
ammjr71 said:
OUCH! That's strange to me. I was going to dump them a year or so ago because I could have received a better price through my job. But they're on ATT and I don't like ATT. Well, at least I like them less than Verizon. But big red told me the fees were prorated. I wonder if that has changed...
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They got rid of prorated fees about two years ago. Now it's straight up 250 per line through out the contract.
skeezer308 said:
They got rid of prorated fees about two years ago. Now it's straight up 250 per line through out the contract.
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According to http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/support/customer-agreement that's not true.
WHAT HAPPENS IF MY POSTPAY SERVICE IS CANCELED BEFORE THE END OF MY CONTRACT TERM?
If you're signing up for Postpay Service, you're agreeing to subscribe to a line of Service either on a month–to–month basis or for a minimum contract term, as shown on your receipt or order confirmation. (If your Service is suspended without billing, that time doesn't count toward completing your contract term.) Once you've completed your contract term, you'll automatically become a customer on a month–to–month basis for that line of Service. If you cancel a line of Service, or if we cancel it for good cause, during its contract term, you'll have to pay an early termination fee. If your contract term results from your purchase of an advanced device, your early termination fee will be $350 minus $10 for each full month of your contract term that you complete. Otherwise, your early termination fee will be $175 minus $5 for each full month of your contract term that you complete. Cancellations will become effective on the last day of that month's billing cycle, and you are responsible for all charges incurred until then. Also, if you bought your wireless device from an authorized agent or third–party vendor, you should check whether they charge a separate termination fee.
ppat324wi said:
Anyone heard or have any input for this website? Cellbreaker.com. It claims to break your cellphone contract without paying ETF's. I've seen it on the news, but still not too sure since per line its 77 bucks. Anyone use this and have experience to share?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on what their site states they will analyze your contract for Carrier's breach and if they find one for $77 they send the communication to the carrier on your behalf to cancel your contract due to breach.
It seems highly probable being that your average customer would not be able to look at all possible breaches, as far as reputation well they claim they give you a 100% guarantee so that should cover you.
Did you pay the $10 for the analysis and did the analysis return a positive breach finding?
Well, I used a promo code that got me the analysis for free, and it did return with a breakable contract. I might just try it with one of my lines first, then see it it actually is true,then I will do the extra two lines.
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From the Moderator
To all --the term Caveat Emptor comes to mind.... Though this could be a benefit to some...... with the term contracts going away with each passing day..maybe yes...maybe no..... do your research before letting go of your money and or your privacy (which appears that this is necessary for this company to do what they do)...
~~~ oka1
I would choose cellbreaker again and again!
I was with my cell phone company for years before I decided that I was unhappy with everything. I am a long termer. I had been their loyal customer for upwards of 10 years and beyond. I enjoyed everything about my cell phone company until they decided to hike up my cell phone bill. I felt betrayed. I wanted out of my cell phone carriers company, when I noticed that my friends and family were receiving better pricing and coverage. Did I mention coverage? Coverage was awful! Well CellBreaker was there to help. I discovered them on the internet. When I called them, they told me about their process and about their guarantee that it would only take 7 days to switch my contracts. Well it took them a little longer, about 2 more days. I am still pleased with the results. The new contract that they placed me in was cross checked, by them, to guarantee that I wouldn’t experience the price hikes that I experienced with my old contract. I hope that this review will help you determine whether or not you would like to work with CellBreaker. I am happy I worked with them!
ppat324wi said:
Anyone heard or have any input for this website? Cellbreaker.com. It claims to break your cellphone contract without paying ETF's. I've seen it on the news, but still not too sure since per line its 77 bucks. Anyone use this and have experience to share?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity what are you going to do when you leave your contract? If you go to T-Mobile they pay your ETF, if you go to Sprint they buy out your contract and cut your bill in half. So unless you are going to AT&T (why?) you could save yourself the $$.
Related
Close thread please. how do you do this?
Have you tried calling them and asking what all the fees are about? The retention center # is somewhere floating around here, I hear they are very helpful
everyone gets the 10 dollar charge
if your happy with the phone, i'd say suck it up
if your not happy with it, take it back.
Sprint has never screwed me over, in fact they gave me a $10 credit for having tower issues in my area
ninjamirage said:
Sprint is already trying to screw me by removing a save50 invoice credit, and they are charging me $10 more per month (not taxes) then what it said on my original receipt. I hate to have to return the evo 3d because I like it, but Sprint has a bad reputation of screwing over their customers on the invoice credits. I don't know whether to sue them for cancelling my original order and making me a new order without my approval, or to just cancel it and return the phone.
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It is always funny that if a company makes a mistake like this, the first thing people like the OP think about is suing the company. Over what? What phone did you come from? Was it a smart phone? A Razr? All you have to do is call them and explain what the deal is and they will 99% of the time fix it for you.
".....they are charging me $10 more per month (not taxes) then what it said on my original receipt."
In regards to the $10/month, are you referring to the monthly Premium Data fee? It's required on the EVO3D (and on other 4G phones), even if you are on SERO. It may not show on the receipt when you buy the phone but will appear on your monthly statement. Did you get it at a store, online or telesales? I called in my order and they stated very clearly that this phone requires the added monthly fee and exactly how much it was. With online purchasing, it warns you with a checkbox confirmation about the add on monthly reoccurring fee and will not let you proceed to order it without being ok'd by you.
If you enjoy the phone as much as I do then IMO it's worth the extra $10. If you think it's too much, you have 30 days to return it.
tgruendler said:
It is always funny that if a company makes a mistake like this, the first thing people like the OP think about is suing the company. Over what? What phone did you come from? Was it a smart phone? A Razr? All you have to do is call them and explain what the deal is and they will 99% of the time fix it for you.
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this is america dude, we sue over everything D:
The $10 fee is for all smart phones not just 4g ones. The only smart phone that does not require the $10 fee is the Samsung Replenish Android phone.
lol @ trying to sue sprint over an invoicing issue. Lol. Theyll murder you in court.
But in all seriousness, yes all sprint smartphones have the $10 fee except for one. Still comes out cheaper than other carriers data charges. In fact much cheaper and much better value imo
Dude I have just been trying to get the $50 invoice credit that was on my original order, and I've been getting the run-around for two weeks. I understand the $10 fee, even though it wasn't on my original order. But cancelling my order and making a new order without the credit and without notifying me seems shady. Before this I had my Droid X that I flashed to cricket. It's not 4G but it was cheap and reliable. With the phone rooted and optimized, it was pretty quick. I'm on a fixed income, so I can't pay more than $70 per month. When I thought I could get the EVO 3d for $60 per month, I decided to go for it. It just seems deceiving when my invoice says that I will be paying $60 per month plus taxes, then they say it will be $90 per month when I talked to them on the phone. That's a significant difference.
ninjamirage said:
I can't pay more than $70 per month.
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take it back it then, I don't think anyone is paying that low of a monthly cost for the 3d.
OP, create a aol email account. Sprint gives you a %10 discount if you have an aol email account. That would take your bill to about $73. Good luck
".....and they are charging me $15 more per month (not taxes) then what it said on my original receipt"
"It just seems deceiving when my invoice says that I will be paying $60 per month plus taxes, then they say it will be $90 per month when I talked to them on the phone. That's a significant difference."
Although you've made a significant edit to your original post, there's something still not right with your math. You first stated it was higher than you expected at a extra $10/month, then edited to $15, but you say it's now a $30 difference(from the $60 you thought you would be charged per month to $90 that you now claim).
Just tell them you work for your local school district. That's a 15 percent discount.
resolved now thanks
resolved now thanks
Notice Of Administrative Charge Increase
Effective 1/1/2012, the monthly Verizon Wireless Administrative Charge for voice and email plans will increase from $0.83 to $0.99 per line for all eligible customers. The charge for Mobile Broadband customers will remain at $.06. For information regarding this charge, call 1-888-684-1888. Please consult your Customer Agreement for information about rate changes.
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Will this make us eligible to terminate our contract without an ETF and go month to month? I would definitely be interested in re-signing a new contract for another phone.
They did this back in 2008 to the same fee and it was possible to cancel. Actually getting to Verizon to do it is a different story.
http://consumerist.com/2008/04/esca...-based-on-administrative-charge-increase.html
Well my question more specifically is...can I basically end my 2 year contractual commitment and go month to month due to this change? Or do I have to cancel completely and move to another carrier?
I have no desire to break my contract but I wouldn't mind getting them to offer me some freebies to not do it.
On the other hand, if I got out of the contract and something happened to my phone I could get a new one at a reasonable price so it could be my insurance. Hmmm...
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feralicious said:
I have no desire to break my contract but I wouldn't mind getting them to offer me some freebies to not do it.
On the other hand, if I got out of the contract and something happened to my phone I could get a new one at a reasonable price so it could be my insurance. Hmmm...
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
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That's exactly what I'm interested in. I'm wondering if it will basically let me get a new phone at a subsidized price anytime I want since I'm off contract. Essentially an upgrade available immediately for me.
You would probably lose your unlimited data and get on the 2/4Gb plan.... by having to start a new month to month contract.
Cares said:
That's exactly what I'm interested in. I'm wondering if it will basically let me get a new phone at a subsidized price anytime I want since I'm off contract. Essentially an upgrade available immediately for me.
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Click to collapse
Month-to-month customers rarely get discounted devices. Generally you will have to pay full price for a new phone. It wouldn't be worth it. And I agree that you would lose your unlimited data that way. On the other hand, if you break your contract, you could possibly come back in a week or so and sign up for a new one to get a discounted phone.
WasabiWa83 said:
Month-to-month customers rarely get discounted devices. Generally you will have to pay full price for a new phone. It wouldn't be worth it. And I agree that you would lose your unlimited data that way. On the other hand, if you break your contract, you could possibly come back in a week or so and sign up for a new one to get a discounted phone.
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Click to collapse
That's exactly what I meant. Stay month-to-month until a new phone comes out and resign a 2 year for a fully subsidized line.
If you break contract you are at the will of Verzion. If they decide they want to raise your price, reduce your data, etc, they can do it. The only thing keeping you in the plan you have now is the fact they have to honor their end of the deal too.
I will try this tonight. I have a line that I keep suspended, so this would be a great out for me.
H3Dude said:
You would probably lose your unlimited data and get on the 2/4Gb plan.... by having to start a new month to month contract.
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Click to collapse
And there it is who would want to be on a more expensive data plan.
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WasabiWa83 said:
Month-to-month customers rarely get discounted devices. Generally you will have to pay full price for a new phone. It wouldn't be worth it. And I agree that you would lose your unlimited data that way. On the other hand, if you break your contract, you could possibly come back in a week or so and sign up for a new one to get a discounted phone.
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Click to collapse
Which is only a slight discount from buying it outright in the beginning.
VZW charges $299 for these devices with a $350 ETF that drops $10 a month. Same $649 either way - you're just paying for your freedom in advance.
Superguy said:
Which is only a slight discount from buying it outright in the beginning.
VZW charges $299 for these devices with a $350 ETF that drops $10 a month. Same $649 either way - you're just paying for your freedom in advance.
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Click to collapse
But we're talking about getting to break the contract without the ETF and we already have a phone. So I paid 1 penny for my phone and am on a 2 year contract. If I got out of contract and went month to month without the ETF and lose my phone then it will only cost me $150 to get a new phone with a new contract at Amazon or Wirefly. I don't know why people pay more and buy at Verizon.
The issue would be what they would charge you for a plan month to month - or if they even offer that option, they might just say see ya - and if you keep unlimited data if you already have it.
Regardless of who you buy your phone from, in the end we'll all be dealing with Verizon in the end. The .01 Rezound was a deal for new customers only/new lines only I believe. I'm not going to buy from wirefly or any of those retailers. I don't think Costco reduces the price of the phone too much when it first comes out. I do know they generally offer nice bundles for pretty much the same price though. With my company I do get more $ off my devices ranging from $50 - $100. Not sure if other places can apply that discount or not. Imo I don't see what the big deal is from such a minuscule bump in price. When we signed up with Verizon we all knew we were going to pay the highest rates already to begin with. Slight price increase with the 4-5 years I've been with them, I frankly could care less. You pay what you get for imo. If you people want to terminate and sign back up to get a subsidized phone you can try. I'm pretty sure they have some policy or regulation in place that will prevent such scenario. Well! Good luck to those that decide to go down this path.
feralicious said:
But we're talking about getting to break the contract without the ETF and we already have a phone. So I paid 1 penny for my phone and am on a 2 year contract. If I got out of contract and went month to month without the ETF and lose my phone then it will only cost me $150 to get a new phone with a new contract at Amazon or Wirefly. I don't know why people pay more and buy at Verizon.
The issue would be what they would charge you for a plan month to month - or if they even offer that option, they might just say see ya - and if you keep unlimited data if you already have it.
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since you haven't had your rezound for 6 months, amazon would charge you their ETF. When they don't get their monthly commision for your line, they will come after you.
nrfitchett4 said:
since you haven't had your rezound for 6 months, amazon would charge you their ETF. When they don't get their monthly commision for your line, they will come after you.
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Not true. I work at Best Buy mobile. We get payed by Verizon as long as they sign there contract and don't return and cancel with in 14 days. I assume this is the same at Verizon.
zetsumeikuro said:
Regardless of who you buy your phone from, in the end we'll all be dealing with Verizon in the end. The .01 Rezound was a deal for new customers only/new lines only I believe. I'm not going to buy from wirefly or any of those retailers. I don't think Costco reduces the price of the phone too much when it first comes out. I do know they generally offer nice bundles for pretty much the same price though. With my company I do get more $ off my devices ranging from $50 - $100. Not sure if other places can apply that discount or not. Imo I don't see what the big deal is from such a minuscule bump in price. When we signed up with Verizon we all knew we were going to pay the highest rates already to begin with. Slight price increase with the 4-5 years I've been with them, I frankly could care less. You pay what you get for imo. If you people want to terminate and sign back up to get a subsidized phone you can try. I'm pretty sure they have some policy or regulation in place that will prevent such scenario. Well! Good luck to those that decide to go down this path.
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Pretty sure the 1 penny deal was for any new contract, existing customers or new, but that's neither here nor there. I only brought up the price I paid cuz the poster I was responding to was adding up costs.
As to the additional costs, I could care less about pennies more per month, but if it creates a way to lose the 2 year commitment that would be cool since that would allow me to replace the phone for only $149 if something should happen to it. Most likely I won't do anything about it, I'll wait and see if anyone else reports back successfully. I've already had so much good luck getting this phone I may be pushing things. I got refunded $199.98 from Amazon when it went on sale, ordered it with the mhs to get the Amazon $100 gift card for which I found no fine print stating I had to keep it for any length of time, then found the unlimited data plan trick so bumped up my mhs to unlimited to get that. I really needed a new phone too so I made out like a bandit! Oh, and moms got me a 64gb card for xmas (she actually thought it was a boring gift, lol). Now I just have to get brave enough to root.
nrfitchett4 said:
since you haven't had your rezound for 6 months, amazon would charge you their ETF. When they don't get their monthly commision for your line, they will come after you.
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I thought about that, but if Verizon is the one breaking the terms perhaps there's an out and they would be held responsible. However, I suppose they would just subsidize that pennies per month cost to keep the contract valid if it came to that.
So my Tmobile bill has been $150 ever since I bought it back in Aug 2011. When I signed the contract they told me it would be $70 per month, + $15 starting in Oct, and + $25 incl my wireless broadband. That totals $110, and somehow, they have managed to tack on an additional $40 EVERY MONTH since I bought the damn thing! Not one month since I bought the phone has my bill even been close to $110. So last month, again, I called at payment time, and they said there was a $10 charge on my account because they added a feature to my phone monthly, that I did not ask for. They removed it and said they would credit toward my account on my next bill.
So heres the thing, this month I hear about this prepaid $50 per month plan! Thats all I have to pay and I get unlimited-- everything is the same! To get that plan though I have to pay $200 to get out of my current contract, and STILL pay my $50 for the first month!
So after I have been practically robbed ever since I joined Tmobile, now they want me to pay $250 for a plan that they should have offered me in the very beginning!
Is there any loop holes here that I can get out of this contract and switch plans without paying $200??? Your answers are very much appreciated, my bill is due 2 days from now.
Call and threaten to cancel
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Call BBB
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I don't understand. What do you mean "threaten to cancel"? I actually have told them I was going to cancel for previous issues. I spoke to a manager and she was very rude to me, and told me "fine cancel that will cost you $200". Also what is BBB?
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BBB= the Better Business Bureau
Keep in mind that if you signed up for the $50 plan initially, you would have paid a lot more for the phone. The pre-paids and value plans don't provide a phone subsidy.
You should be able to switch to a number of different plans of the "classic " type without paying a fee, but not the value or pre-paid type.
But there does seem to be something odd going on. I can honestly say that I've never had any problem or even rudeness from a T-Mo rep. Although I understand things changed somewhat during the ATT debacle.
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Find out the lemon law for cell phones in your state. In Illinois, if we do 3 or more exchanges on our cell phones, we can break the contract for free and legally.
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/23444.php
The Illinois House has passed a "cellphone lemon law" which would enable consumers to break their contract without financial penalty, if their handset develops a fault on three or more occasions.
I had replaced my Amaze about 5 times within 3 weeks because of blue lines in my LCD. You can just tell them you have blue lines in it over and over until you get a third or fourth replacement, then threaten to break your contract and you won't have to pay an ETF (Cancellation Fee)
This is my 2nd replacement. I had to get a new MyTouch 4G, and then they replaced that with the Amaze. That only counts as 2?
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Okay, let's start with the not being close to $110... Have you been dinged for roaming on AT&T's network perhaps? And did you factor in state sales tax? And those unwanted features, yeah. That's them screwing you.
But the moving down to the lower 50/month price plan? That's a rate for people that have bought their phone outright instead of getting the $300 or so subsidy on the device in exchange for 2 years service. Honestly, while I hate contracts, I think they have every right to charge you 200 bucks to recoup the cost of the subsidy. You can cancel your extra features to drop down to 70 a month. But that's the minimum eligible rate you agreed to for the subsidy that you received when purchasing your device.
Accophox said:
Okay, let's start with the not being close to $110... Have you been dinged for roaming on AT&T's network perhaps? And did you factor in state sales tax? And those unwanted features, yeah. That's them screwing you.
But the moving down to the lower 50/month price plan? That's a rate for people that have bought their phone outright instead of getting the $300 or so subsidy on the device in exchange for 2 years service. Honestly, while I hate contracts, I think they have every right to charge you 200 bucks to recoup the cost of the subsidy. You can cancel your extra features to drop down to 70 a month. But that's the minimum eligible rate you agreed to for the subsidy that you received when purchasing your device.
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Ok, heres how it went down at the sale. I went into Tmobile as a new customer. At that time they told me only the prepaid plan of $50 was available to customers who had been on the plan for already a full 2 year contract. $70 I thought no biggie, and then tack on a $25 charge per month for my Internet, and then $15 after that for the phone. Cool I can deal with that. My first bill $150, oh well we had to pay to start your plan. My 2nd bill, Oh we had to charge you for this fee (I dont remember anymore). Literally every month I have called to complain and it was always a new excuse. A couple months was legitimate because I ordered an $8 battery, and it was another $5 for something else that same month. But that was only one out of 6 months. And every month seems to be something new. Last month was the first month they said "well we added this $10 feature. It sends you news updates, and blablabla.." Wtf, I never ordered that. They removed it. I never was asked and they still charged me $150 last month.
Yeah they were very very rude to me. I called because I had a very important text message that would not switch from the old MyTouch to the new MyTouch. And this text message was incriminating evidence on someone who had robbed me. I called maybe 2x previously I think and they were not able to help me. I went into the Tmobile store on 2 separate occasions and they were not able to help me. I wanted to talk to a manager to get better assistence because this just wasnt making sense. I heard I could transfer my text messages, all the other text messages, but this text message which turned out to be an MMS, would not transfer!
She told me they had tried to help me, and there was nothing she could do, and she didnt even let me reply before she said have a nice day. (How the conversation went exactly I dont remember) but it was rude. I called the Tmobile Corp office and she said the same thing and said there was no one she could transfer me to, and basically hung up on me.
Literally all I needed to do was send the text messages to my Gmail account. All the messages sent. I sent in my old phone. It was that easy. She wouldnt give me the time of day and that was really a point to me that discouraged me from liking them. Besides the $40 over charge per month, besides I had trouble with their phones from the very first month I had one, besides I would be on the phone with customer service we would get disconnected and they didnt call me back, having to wait on hold again, once over an hour on hold.
So I really hated tmobile for while, but with the $50 prepaid plan I will just take it. I was going to switch though as soon as I could if my $150 was not going to stop. $40 doesnt seem like alot but when you are counting on that money every month, that seriously is just about half my groceries for the month if not all of it for some. I never crossed with any AT&T coverage. That was never an issue.
If you want, PM me your # and I will call you from work and go over everything on your plan and either explain or fix it.
BTW the $60 prepaid is the equivalent plan to yours,not the $50
What I am not getting is where you say you have a $70 plan and $25 for web, is that a hotspot? web for your phone?
Just PM me, Im not rude
Does anyone know? I know they can't be done, but is there some level of customer service that can still provide one-year contracts? The death of one-year contracts is pernicious and unfortunate, especially when corporate discounts so often put the one-year price at only 30 or so dollars over the two year.
tekhna said:
Does anyone know? I know they can't be done, but is there some level of customer service that can still provide one-year contracts? The death of one-year contracts is pernicious and unfortunate, especially when corporate discounts so often put the one-year price at only 30 or so dollars over the two year.
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sadly i think the one year contracts are done for, it is sad. i love verizon but our bill is far to expensive anymore. id move back to sprint to save some $$ but i cannot afford the eft's on two lines.
mighty_markus12 said:
sadly i think the one year contracts are done for, it is sad. i love verizon but our bill is far to expensive anymore. id move back to sprint to save some $$ but i cannot afford the eft's on two lines.
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I left Sprint when I realized that Verizon actually ended up costing the same, or less, for our 4 lines of service once Sprint added in their 10$/smartphone fee.
sprint was about $40-50 cheaper for me.
I could save a ton of money by switching to sprint, but their service is so bad around my area it is virtually unuseable.
jmorton10 said:
I could save a ton of money by switching to sprint, but their service is so bad around my area it is virtually unuseable.
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Click to collapse
same here, that's why i left them last summer.
Alright, well that's great--Sprint sucks, but it's cheaper. Alas, one-year contracts with Sprint are dead too, so let us never discuss that wretched company again.
yeah one year contracts are dunzo, no way to get them at all.
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One year contracts, as far as equipment upgrades are concerned, are completely done. If a rep is gonna offer you equipment as a save option, it will come with a 2 year agreement or at full retail (there is also the Certified Pre Owned option, but that's another story and doesn't have a 1 year deal).
There are some save options, as far as Friends and Family for non-qualifying plan or bonus minutes/texts, that do require a 1 year agreement if you accept, but they are unrelated to equipment. Of course, it's been several months since I stopped working for VZW, so things may have changed.
jmorton10 said:
I could save a ton of money by switching to sprint, but their service is so bad around my area it is virtually unuseable.
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Exactly how I feel. I had the EVO4G with Sprint but did not want to go for another contract. It's true they offer unlimited data for a significantly cheaper cost than Verizon, but what's unlimited data worth if you can't use it? With Verizon, I am paying $30 more than I was paying to Sprint, but at least, I can play my music with MOG Music. I felt so frustrated with sprint because I was paying $10/month for my MOG subscription without being able to use it on Sprint Network.
Wendemixda said:
Exactly how I feel. I had the EVO4G with Sprint but did not want to go for another contract. It's true they offer unlimited data for a significantly cheaper cost than Verizon, but what's unlimited data worth if you can't use it? With Verizon, I am paying $30 more than I was paying to Sprint, but at least, I can play my music with MOG Music. I felt so frustrated with sprint because I was paying $10/month for my MOG subscription without being able to use it on Sprint Network.
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My biggest problem with sprint is the spectrum they use. Wimax is a joke indoors on a phone. Move 2 feet to the side and it would drop to 3g. What frequency are the building lte out on?
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tekhna said:
Does anyone know? I know they can't be done, but is there some level of customer service that can still provide one-year contracts? The death of one-year contracts is pernicious and unfortunate, especially when corporate discounts so often put the one-year price at only 30 or so dollars over the two year.
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I sent a letter directly to Mr. Mead voicing this exact thing. They stated that they removed 1-year contracts because no one actually used them. When the truth is that VZW's business model made reps always push you into a 2 year for the added commission.
It's really been downhill for VZW. First they got rid of Annual Online Upgrades, New Every Two, Unlimited Data, and then finally one year contracts. I've been planning to send out a few more emails to executives, maybe if we all voice our disappointment?
isdnmatt said:
I sent a letter directly to Mr. Mead voicing this exact thing. They stated that they removed 1-year contracts because no one actually used them. When the truth is that VZW's business model made reps always push you into a 2 year for the added commission.
It's really been downhill for VZW. First they got rid of Annual Online Upgrades, New Every Two, Unlimited Data, and then finally one year contracts. I've been planning to send out a few more emails to executives, maybe if we all voice our disappointment?
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I actually wouldn't be surprised if people didn't use them, people aren't very smart about their money. It's a no-brainer though if you've got most corporate discounts. And most people don't care about their phone that much to upgrade very year.
It's been downhill since the iPhone. Let's be clear about what caused the problem! I think it's probably too late for them to bring one-year contracts back, but I was wondering since they did promos like this http://www.droid-life.com/2011/07/07/verizon-offers-1-year-contracts-to-out-of-contract-customers/ last summer when one-years were supposedly dead, if they'd do them again. But that was a while ago.
I'd rather just have a European pricing model where I pay for my phone outright and have a smaller monthly bill.
I actually move from ATT to VZ because of the Droid Inc and got it on a one year contract (paid $30 extra for the phone). It's almost been a year since my contract has expired and I don't want to upgrade because of the 2-year contract policy and also since phones are moving so fast, if I wait 6 months for a price drop like the rezound, everyone has already moved onto another phone. Lol.
Side Note: My wife is on the Eris and I'm thinking about getting a Rezound for her. Is it easy to root and flash a custom rom on it?
AT&T is the only I know that offered a 1 year contract, and was typically online only thru Premier. They kept making them harder to get.
I refuse to sign a 2 year contract based on how Verizon treated me in 2004. When you think about it, the ETF difference is virtually the different in phone price buying off contract. So you're paying for it one way or another. I will say I have found that on AT&T and Verizon, they treat you better if you DON'T have a contract. You can threaten to walk out that door immediately and mean it. That puts a lot more power back in the consumers' hands.
Have A Question Regarding etf. I recently had a line cancel out on my account. The etf is 350 but then I'm also getting charged an additional $65 in taxes for a total of $415. What the heck is that. When did taxes start applying in to the etf. I had an etf line a year ago and there was none of this. I even looked at the contract and online at sprint.com and it states upto $350 etf. No where does it say plus taxes. Can anyone clarify this? Any sprint employees
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yaniel06 said:
Have A Question Regarding etf. I recently had a line cancel out on my account. The etf is 350 but then I'm also getting charged an additional $65 in taxes for a total of $415. What the heck is that. When did taxes start applying in to the etf. I had an etf line a year ago and there was none of this. I even looked at the contract and online at sprint.com and it states upto $350 etf. No where does it say plus taxes. Can anyone clarify this? Any sprint employees
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Yeah, based on a cursory search of their Terms and Conditions, I couldn't find anything relating to taxes on an ETF. You might want to call their billing department to see what's going on with that. Record your phone call (tell them that you're doing this, as some states require everyone to be aware of recordings), make them tell you exactly where in their Terms and Conditions this line is located. If they don't answer your questions to your satisfaction, talk to a supervisor and see what they can do for you.
Edit:
I just saw this line in Sprint's Return and Exchange Policy:
Please note that this policy may not reflect the additional return policies of our authorized third-party dealers or retailers. If you are returning a device leased through Apple Finance Services (AFS), call AFS at 1-800-216-4384.
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The taxes could be from a third-party dealer or retailer, but it doesn't sound like it. Just a heads up.
Just read it but this looks like it is due to a return within the 14 days they give you.
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I find it funny that on the Framily plan Sprint advertises no contract no ETF's yet my plan still indicates I am locked into a contract and that I will have ETF's if I cancel.
MikeyLee said:
I find it funny that on the Framily plan Sprint advertises no contract no ETF's yet my plan still indicates I am locked into a contract and that I will have ETF's if I cancel.
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You don't have a contract, unless you we're already under a contract before you switched your plan. Then you would still have until your original contract date ends. Also if your enrolled in easy pay for a new phone where u would pay monthly for it, if you we're to decided to terminate your service you would be responsible for the remainder of the phones retail price!
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MikeyLee said:
I find it funny that on the Framily plan Sprint advertises no contract no ETF's yet my plan still indicates I am locked into a contract and that I will have ETF's if I cancel.
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I believe this is due to the transition between Subsidized to Un-Subsidized phone plans... I'll try to explain this in a way that makes sense, since I had to ask a lot of questions in order to fully understand it myself. In order to understand why there's even an ETF, we have to understand how subsidized phones worked and why Sprint (and soon all other carriers) will move away from them.
Subsidized Phones and Early Termination Fees (ETFs)
When you buy a subsidized phone (let's say a Note III) for $200, that doesn't mean that Sprint got the phone for $200 and is now passing the savings off to you. It means that they have factored in the cost of the phone in their plan pricing. If the phone cost them $500 (at wholesale), that's $300 that they have to recoup from you over the course of two years. If you get your phone and decide to leave after 6 months, they're not going to recoup $240 (assuming they split it evenly over the 24 months, which I doubt). That's the philosophy behind the ETF. If you leave early, they aren't going to recoup from their subsidized phones, and they lost out on a decent amount of cash.
That's also why the ETF decreases as you get closer to that magic 2-year mark. They've already recouped most of their "investment" into you as a customer, so they can't charge you as much for an ETF.
Now, the Subsidized phone scheme has always been a means to entice new customers and to keep existing customers. If you can offer a $700 smart phone for $250, it's great marketing! But, I bet they are making less money when they have to subsidize a smart phone than when they offer a "dumb" flip-phone for free. When smartphones (I'm thinking back to the days of the Treo) were relegated back to the nerds and businessmen, they could afford to make less money on the subsidized plan and still make a ton on the subsidized flip phones.
Verizon must have loved my in-laws, because they had the same "dumb" flip-phones for about 5 years, but were paying the same price as the High School senior who had a subsidized iPhone. In my opinion, the in-laws were paying the subsidy price of the iPhone.
After the iPhone and the mass-market flooding of smart phones, more and more people started getting smart phones. When looking at phones, the consumer can easily argue an extra $50 to get a top-end smartphone over a medium-level phone. Which should work out fine, but it also means that Sprint (or Verizon or ATT or whoever) is not going to make as much money (due to the subsidized portion of the phone cost being higher). I've even heard that they started losing money on some of the top-end phones since the subsidized costs were higher than the recouping they were doing. (note: the previous sentence is hearsay and no credible source has been given to me).
At first, Sprint (and others) tried to recoup those losses by incurring a "smartphone" fee. I remember the first time I saw a $10 "Premium Data" fee, I knew it was bull**** (pardon the language), but I was also stuck in a contract. Despite much arguing with various supervisors, I still ended up paying it, but not before threatening to leave numerous times (even with the ETF). If it weren't for my 18% "employee" discount, I would've switched.
Un-Subsidized Phones and the Future of Phone Buying (IMO)
I think the Framily Plan is interesting. They are basically taking the subsidy cost out of the phone plan and having the customer pay for what they actually get. In my opinion, this is much better.
Yes, I get a gut reaction when I have to pay full-price for my latest-and-greatest phone (since I'm so used to my subsidized price). But for those customers who are OK with keeping their technology a bit longer or buying second-hand phones, they can make some pretty significant savings. It also means that you don't have to buy your phone from Sprint or Verizon. The customer has more options when it comes to buying their phone.
So, all-in-all, I think it's a good move and I can see all carriers moving towards this model in the future.
Transition between Subsidized and Un-Subsidized Plans
This is where I believe you, MikeyLee, are stuck. Sprint can't recoup their losses from your subsidized phone because you're now paying $25/month on the Framily plan. This is why they initially had the whole "existing members can't join the Framily" crap. They loosened that to some members being "merge eligible," meaning they were allowed to switch to the Framily Plan. I believe the only check for "merge eligibility" was whether or not Sprint had recouped enough of their subsidy.
For those of us who were merge eligible but who still had time before their old two-year contract was up, Sprint also has an ETF to cover the remainder of the original two-year agreement (and recoup their losses from you leaving and not ponying up for your subsidized phone).
In Closing
I personally like the Un-Subsidized plan. For me, I went from paying $150/month down to $75/month (2 lines, one with unlimited, not counting phone monthly payments). Even when I factor in the cost of two new top-tier smart phone every 2 years, I still save $700 over the two years.
It also makes more sense for people like my in-laws, who don't need (or want) the latest-and-greatest and would rather keep their phones for decades if they could.
But yes, the transition between the two is inherently going to be messy. Hold out to see the real value of un-subsidized plans!