| Feel locked into your cell phone contract because | | | | your service. While this should not apply to the 14 |
| of the early termination fee? | | | | day window the carrier allows, you may want to |
| Cell phone carriers impose hefty early termination | | | | play it safe and stop using your cell phone until |
| fees for a reason. | | | | your contract for service has been canceled. |
| A report by the U.S. Public Interest Research | | | | Excess Roaming |
| Group (U.S. PIRG), found that termination fees | | | | Roaming occurs anytime you place or receive a |
| allow cell phone companies to continue providing | | | | call out of your carrier's network. Not long ago, |
| substandard service to their customers because | | | | carriers offset roaming costs by charging |
| those customers can't cancel their contracts | | | | customers 69 cents or more for each minute |
| without paying large fees. | | | | spent on another carrier's network. Today, all |
| While this is true, there are a few loopholes in | | | | major carriers have eliminated tariff fees |
| your carrier's service contract that will allow you | | | | associated with roaming by allowing consumers to |
| to terminate your relationship with your cell phone | | | | purchase nationwide plans that offer roaming-free |
| service provider, without a penalty: | | | | minutes. |
| The Material Adverse Clause - this little known | | | | Many cell phone users are unaware that there's a |
| snippet in your cell phone agreement states that, | | | | cap on the amount of time one can spend |
| "should any terms or conditions change after | | | | roaming. |
| signing the Agreement for Service, you have a | | | | Typically, carriers start losing revenue if you roam |
| right to terminate the service without penalty". | | | | over 750 minutes a month. They also lose money |
| Wording in each carriers' service agreement | | | | if a customer uses more than 6 gigabytes of |
| varies, but essentially states the same thing. | | | | data. The amount of roaming minutes or data |
| Some of the recent changes that have allowed | | | | you're allowed to use varies by carrier. |
| users to end the relationship with their carrier | | | | What To Do |
| include; an increase in the charge for text | | | | - Read your carrier's service agreement. It will |
| messaging by all four major wireless carriers, and | | | | provide information on how much data and voice |
| Verizon's increase on administration charges. | | | | roaming you can use before its considered |
| When a carrier makes any changes to the | | | | excessive. |
| contract, you are given 14 to 60 days to | | | | - Find an area where your phone is roaming, and |
| terminate the service, depending on the carrier. | | | | start calling or texting. If you're cell phone plan |
| Continuing to use the service beyond the given | | | | includes free night and weekends, you may want |
| time frame indicates that you're agreeing to the | | | | to consider using your phone then. It's more |
| changes. This is known in the wireless industry as | | | | expensive on the carrier's end. |
| a negative option. | | | | Downfalls |
| What To Do | | | | Terminating service because of excessive |
| - Carriers notify customers of changes made to | | | | roaming is at your carrier's discretion. There are |
| their cellular contract via U.S mail, so make sure | | | | other options a carrier may choose, including |
| you read any correspondence from them. Most | | | | prohibiting off-network roaming, or changing your |
| carriers provide information on the amount of | | | | plan to one that imposes a fee on any roaming |
| time allowed to exit the contract, but some do | | | | activity. |
| not - and they're not legally obligated to do so. If | | | | Repeatedly Calling Customer Service |
| you're uncertain on the amount of time you have, | | | | Each call placed to your carriers' customer service |
| find the information online or call your carrier's | | | | center cuts into their profit. For an average |
| customer service. | | | | wireless subscriber who spends about $53 a |
| - Make certain that the changes in the contract | | | | month on a service, carriers only pocket a profit |
| pertain to you. For instance, the recent text | | | | of about $24, according to Roger Entner, senior |
| message increase did not affect subscribers who | | | | vice president at IAG Research. |
| purchased unlimited text messaging - only | | | | On average, it costs cell phone companies |
| subscribers who used the service occasionally. | | | | between $2 to $3 for every minute a customer |
| - Ask to speak to a supervisor right away. Most | | | | is on the phone with a support staff member. |
| customer service representatives don't have the | | | | This means that all of a carrier's profit for one |
| authority to terminate your service. Make sure | | | | subscriber is depleted after only 8 to 12 minutes |
| you specifically state to the supervisor that you | | | | per month of phone calls to customer support. |
| wish to terminate under the Adverse Material | | | | What To Do |
| Clause, and explain how changes in the contract | | | | - Try to make your gripe legitimate. If you |
| have affected you. | | | | browse through your cell phone statement, you'll |
| Downfalls | | | | often find excessive or unfamiliar charges. Ask |
| Cell phone companies don't enforce material | | | | the customer service representative to explain |
| adverse clauses uniformly. In fact, it's often up to | | | | these charges to you. Downfalls Not all cell phone |
| the discretion of a customer support supervisor | | | | service providers terminate service due to too |
| whether you have an honest gripe or not. | | | | many calls placed to customer support staff. |
| Also, wording in material adverse clauses can be | | | | Carriers who have canceled service to their |
| confusing. For instance, T-Mobile's clause states | | | | subscribers because of excessive calls include |
| that you accept the changes if you continue using | | | | T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint and Alltel. |