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How to Get out of a Cellular Service Contract
In the U.S., it can be easier to end a marriage than to leave a loveless relationship with Verizon or Cingular. No, you don't have to move to SIM card swapping Europe. Try these guerrilla tactics to get out of your service contract.
Steps
Be a squeaky wheel. Say you want out because the service isn't up to par. (And really, is it?) Then back that up by filing official complaints online with the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.
Get a lemon. Get a known problematic phone, complain 3 times, be let out of a contract due to your local lemon law.
Try a market-based fix. Some companies such as Celltradeusa.com match unhappy mobile customers with people who'd like to sign up - at a discount, of course. You'll pay a $20 fee to sell your contract on the block.
Look for your provider to bury changes to Terms of Service with your bill. Quite often providers modify their service plans, much of the time the modification is a benefit. It doesn't matter, this voids the previous contract. Read the small print on those inserts included with your bill, it will spell out that you have 30 days (may vary on where you live) to cancel your contract with no charge simply because they changed the contract.
Do a radical move. While potentially extreme, these solutions could free you of the contract:
Get off the grid. Study your provider's coverage map and find a town (maybe in Alaska?) with absolutely no service. Then tell the company you're moving there. They're not legally required to cut you loose, but frustrated consumers have reported success.
Join the army. If you are a member of the US Armed Services and you receive orders to somewhere the company doesn't provide service (it doesn't have to be Iraq) they are obligated to cancel your contract free of charge. Keep in mind, you'll have to provide a copy of your official orders. (However, if you're moving to Kenosha, WI and still want to get out of your contract, you can just black out the location and tell the provider you're being shipped to a CLASSIFIED location. It works.)
Over use Free Roaming. Most phones come with free roaming now. But it's not actually free. The company pays it for you. So all you do is go to an area that is considered roaming (and when you have free nights or weekends) and place a long (5 hours?) phone call to "Moviefone" or something along those lines. You can also set your phone to only roam and instead of utilizing its own network it will search for others and utilize those. This will start adding up for them in the fees they have to pay to the service provider in that area and they will kick you out of the contract. Too bad.
Try talking their language. Call up to complain about the lousy reception you've been getting ever since the end of that 30-day lock in period. Tell them that because they are no longer providing the same service for which you contracted, the contract is void and unenforceable; you just aren't gonna pay anymore, and forget that "penalty clause," because that's against the law in most states (check with a local attorney). Be persistent on this point. When they mention collections (and they will) use the words "abuse of process." In most states this will stop a cell company dead, because it means you will consider suing them for punitive damages if they do anything to affect your credit based on their (in your mind, void) contract. Again, check with a local attorney.
Shrink your plan. As a last resort, cut back to the bare minimum the provider allows and drop any frills, like picture-messaging. Depending on the number of months you have left, this could be cheaper than paying the typically prorated termination fee, which can often run up to $300. However, at some cellular companies changing your plan, even to reduce it, may extend it for at least another year, so do the math first to make certain it will actually save you money.
Tips
Please be aware that some of these tactics may require deception on your part. You may wish to weigh the advantages of getting out of your contract against the value of a clear conscience.
If you have a contract with "Unlimited Nights and Weekends", then anything that the carrier does, or doesn't do, to limit the number of minutes you could use during that period is a potential contract violation on the carrier's part. This might work if you consistently receive 'all circuits are busy now' messages or poorer reception than advertised on their coverage maps. Plus it has the added value of being the truth.
Warnings
Not all contracts provide free roaming. Make sure to check before placing a lengthy roaming call. If it's not free in your contract, it will cost you a fortune.
Some carriers will charge you a hefty Early Termination Fee if they kick you off for excessive roaming. However, your insistence on satisfaction may help you avoid this charge.
Remember; you haven't heard the last word until an executive or a court says you have.
In the U.S., it can be easier to end a marriage than to leave a loveless relationship with Verizon or Cingular. No, you don't have to move to SIM card swapping Europe. Try these guerrilla tactics to get out of your service contract.
Steps
Be a squeaky wheel. Say you want out because the service isn't up to par. (And really, is it?) Then back that up by filing official complaints online with the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.
Get a lemon. Get a known problematic phone, complain 3 times, be let out of a contract due to your local lemon law.
Try a market-based fix. Some companies such as Celltradeusa.com match unhappy mobile customers with people who'd like to sign up - at a discount, of course. You'll pay a $20 fee to sell your contract on the block.
Look for your provider to bury changes to Terms of Service with your bill. Quite often providers modify their service plans, much of the time the modification is a benefit. It doesn't matter, this voids the previous contract. Read the small print on those inserts included with your bill, it will spell out that you have 30 days (may vary on where you live) to cancel your contract with no charge simply because they changed the contract.
Do a radical move. While potentially extreme, these solutions could free you of the contract:
Get off the grid. Study your provider's coverage map and find a town (maybe in Alaska?) with absolutely no service. Then tell the company you're moving there. They're not legally required to cut you loose, but frustrated consumers have reported success.
Join the army. If you are a member of the US Armed Services and you receive orders to somewhere the company doesn't provide service (it doesn't have to be Iraq) they are obligated to cancel your contract free of charge. Keep in mind, you'll have to provide a copy of your official orders. (However, if you're moving to Kenosha, WI and still want to get out of your contract, you can just black out the location and tell the provider you're being shipped to a CLASSIFIED location. It works.)
Over use Free Roaming. Most phones come with free roaming now. But it's not actually free. The company pays it for you. So all you do is go to an area that is considered roaming (and when you have free nights or weekends) and place a long (5 hours?) phone call to "Moviefone" or something along those lines. You can also set your phone to only roam and instead of utilizing its own network it will search for others and utilize those. This will start adding up for them in the fees they have to pay to the service provider in that area and they will kick you out of the contract. Too bad.
Try talking their language. Call up to complain about the lousy reception you've been getting ever since the end of that 30-day lock in period. Tell them that because they are no longer providing the same service for which you contracted, the contract is void and unenforceable; you just aren't gonna pay anymore, and forget that "penalty clause," because that's against the law in most states (check with a local attorney). Be persistent on this point. When they mention collections (and they will) use the words "abuse of process." In most states this will stop a cell company dead, because it means you will consider suing them for punitive damages if they do anything to affect your credit based on their (in your mind, void) contract. Again, check with a local attorney.
Shrink your plan. As a last resort, cut back to the bare minimum the provider allows and drop any frills, like picture-messaging. Depending on the number of months you have left, this could be cheaper than paying the typically prorated termination fee, which can often run up to $300. However, at some cellular companies changing your plan, even to reduce it, may extend it for at least another year, so do the math first to make certain it will actually save you money.
Tips
Please be aware that some of these tactics may require deception on your part. You may wish to weigh the advantages of getting out of your contract against the value of a clear conscience.
If you have a contract with "Unlimited Nights and Weekends", then anything that the carrier does, or doesn't do, to limit the number of minutes you could use during that period is a potential contract violation on the carrier's part. This might work if you consistently receive 'all circuits are busy now' messages or poorer reception than advertised on their coverage maps. Plus it has the added value of being the truth.
Warnings
Not all contracts provide free roaming. Make sure to check before placing a lengthy roaming call. If it's not free in your contract, it will cost you a fortune.
Some carriers will charge you a hefty Early Termination Fee if they kick you off for excessive roaming. However, your insistence on satisfaction may help you avoid this charge.
Remember; you haven't heard the last word until an executive or a court says you have.
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