Source (google.com.pk)
In the U.S., it can be easier to end a marriage than to leave a loveless relationship with a cellular company. No, you don't have to move to SIM card swapping Europe. Try these guerrilla tactics to get out of your service contract.
Steps
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1Find an alternative. Having ammunition as to what contract you are going to switch to will give you confidence and strength to go through with the painful process of getting out of your contracts.
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2Be 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. However, if you have no grounds for complaint, then these steps will not help you.
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3Get a lemon. Get a known problematic phone, complain 3 times, be let out of a contract due to your local lemon law. However, most carriers and manufacturers warranty their phones for one year and will offer alternatives if you continue to have problems.
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4Try a market-based fix. Some companies such as CellPlanDepot.comand ContractExchange.com.au match unhappy mobile customers with people who'd like to sign up, at a discount of course. Some of these sites are free and others charge a nominal fee.
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5Look 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.
Get off the grid. If you move and cannot get the same level of service as your previous location, tell your service provider. They're not legally required to cut you loose, but frustrated consumers have reported success. T-Mobile's and AT&T's is to waive the Early Termination Fee if you do not have service in your area. This step may have to be verified with their engineers.
If you are a member of the US Armed Services and you receive orders to a location that the company does not provide service to, they are obligated to cancel your contract free of charge. Keep in mind, you'll have to provide a copy of your official orders. Your base's legal office should be able to provide you with free assistance in working with the company. Most carriers will offer a military suspension option as well.
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6Force them to produce the signed contract. Ask them to produce a copy and mail it to you. This step rarely works anymore, as most retailers send their paperwork to storage facilities and scan them into databases, so they can usually pull up contracts and receipts fairly easily. This step also rarely works because many carriers have clauses built into agreements stating that customers do not need to physically sign a contract if they keep the phone more than seven days or use more than thirty minutes of airtime - with these carriers, fulfilling either requirement is the legal equivalent of physically signing a contract.
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7Shrink 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 early termination fee, which can often run up to $300 per line. 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.
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8If your cell phone happens to be in the name of someone who has recently passed away (spouse, Dad, Mom, the CEO/Owner of your workplace), call the carrier to discuss your options. In some cases, the contract may be considered null and void because it is in the name of a deceased person - but in other cases, the company may require you to open an account in your name.
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Tips
Read your bill carefully! Carriers are legally required to notify you of cellular service contract changes, and they will attempt to sneak these changes by you, usually by including them in small print on the bill in the hopes that you won't notice. When you are notified of a contract change, you have 30 days to end your contract WITHOUT penalty - that's why it's so important to read your bill every month! Once that 30 days is up, if you were legitimately notified on your bill, there is nothing you can legally do about it.
Some carriers offer a text messaging service that notifies their customers of any contract changes. Call your carrier to find out if they offer this service, and ask to be placed on this service if they do. The same rules apply as those listed above regarding contract notifications on bills. Some people have even reported success with getting out of their contracts because they were not sent text notifications of contract changes. Please note that this option is completely dependent on the company making changes to the contract - as well as the company failing to notify you of the change with a text message.
Sometimes paying the early termination fee is cheaper than keeping the phone and living with bad service, especially if you have many months left in the contract and will incur a longer contract by changing to a less expensive plan. Sure, it's a sock in the wallet - but once you pay, your nightmare is over. Following the steps above can be an unpleasant pursuit that spans hours, days, even weeks. What's your time worth?
Think carefully before you sign another contract. If you're reading this article, chances are excellent that you understand the basic nature of cellular service carriers. There are companies with alternatives that don't require contracts, as well as companies that offer pay-as-you-go service, and you might do well to consider one. Those deeply discounted or free phones offered by many carriers still come with a price tag, and the price is a multi-year contract, so consider paying outright for a phone and going with a pay-as-you-go service. Yes, it will cost more up front, but it will likely save you money - and the headache of getting out of a contract - in the long run.
Do not attempt to use fraudulent means to get out of a cellular contract. Lying to a company or using fraud to get out of legitimate charges, such as attempting to make yourself a "burdensome" customer by requesting dropped call credits for legitimate calls or requesting refunds for 411 calls that were legitimate and correct information provided, can certainly get your account cancelled, but not quite in the way you were hoping. If your account is cancelled because you are a problem customer, not only will the carrier still charge you for the early termination fee, they will send you a bill for the legitimate charges you falsely tried to get out of - and if you tried to defraud the company out of a large sum of money ($500 or more), they may pursue criminal and civil charges against you. You'll only end up wishing you'd just bit the bullet and paid the ETF!
If you are willing to sign a contract with another service, there are cellular providers who are willing to buy out your old contract, usually up to $200. Credo Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Boost Mobile are all companies who have made such offers in the past and likely will again in the future - it pays to shop around.
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 use during that period is a potential contract violation on the carrier's part. This option might work if you consistently receive 'all circuits are busy now' messages or suddenly have poor reception at the time that unlimited service begins. Be aware that in these situations, the burden of proof is on the customer to demonstrate that the company is purposely restricting the ability to use minutes during unlimited usage times.
Minors cannot be forced to comply with contracts.
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