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Sprint reveals new early termination fee details
Sprint Nextel revealed the details of its new plan to pro-rate early termination fees (ETF), joining the other major U.S. cellular carriers in the practice.
The new policy, which will come into effect on Nov. 2, drops the $200 termination fee by $10 increments beginning in the sixth month of the contract, meaning that by the 15th month of the contract, the ETF is down to $100, which Sprint calls an industry-low. The new policy applies to both new customers and those who are renewing service agreements, who sign up on or after Nov. 2.
Earlier this spring, early termination fees came under closer scrutiny from the FCC, which had been discussing ways the carriers could work with customers to give them more flexibility in their contracts.
Verizon Wireless was the first carrier to pro-rate ETFs, back in November 2006. AT&T Mobility followed suit in October 2007 and T-Mobile USA jumped on the bandwagon in November 2007.
For more:
- see this release
Related Articles:
Sprint to cut early termination fees
FCC may cap early termination fees
T-Mobile USA to pro-rate ETFs, too
Comments (4) | Post a comment
Comments
Posted by Anonymous | November 2, 2008 - 2:57am
To be clear, this only holds for people who sign a deal on or after 11/2, so this doesn't help customers already under contract.
Posted by Anonymous | November 2, 2008 - 4:32pm
Something should be done for those of us who are current Sprint customers who wish to discontinue our service. I'm willing to pay a disconnect fee, but it should be prorated. Either that, or provide better service.
Posted by Anonymous | December 23, 2008 - 11:25am
When you move to a spot where their coverage map shows excellent and then can't even get one bar, you should be able to get out of your contract with no penalty.
4 more months and then Sprint, YOU"RE FIRED!
Posted by Anonymous | December 24, 2008 - 10:27am
Sprint is increasing its Administrative Charges effective 1/1/2009 from 75 cents to $1. So, based on the contract, you can legally get out of your contract. You have 30 days to do so. The increase in charges is considered a material change in the contract. I just cancelled my contract and moved my service to another carrier and all ETFs were waived. I suggest you use the chat function on Sprint.com website to cancel. The process seems to go more smoother.
