Avoiding early termination fees
From what we’ve learned this morning, taking your existing wireless number with you when you buy an iPhone should be no problem, even if you’re on a different carrier. But what do you do if—like me—your current contract with another carrier has not yet expired? Most carriers charge an early termination fee, usually around $150-$175 dollars; if you add that on to the cost of your iPhone, it can get pricey indeed.
Our friends at the Consumerist have six suggestions for you on how to avoid being hit with that early termination fee; they vary from the pretty legit (selling your existing contract) to the somewhat more, erm, questionable (die or, presumably, fake your death).
Any other suggestions about how to escape your current cell phone provider’s devious fees?
Category: AT&T, Tips & Troubleshooting
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This article has some other tips:
http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2007/06/07/more-tips-for-getting-out-of-your-cell-phone-contract-to-buy-an-iphone-with-cingular/
Posted by John Starks | June 26, 2007 5:01 PM
Do the math. At the rates I pay, I'd be better off paying for the service for 6 months than terminating. Since the iPhone was announced in January, the math suggests that 50% of early adopters will be out of their contract or within 6 months of termination by now. You didn't renew your contract in the last 6 months did you?
Posted by Dave-O | June 26, 2007 5:11 PM
I heard that Verizon customers are not allowed to port their numbers to another carrier (doing so will result in automatic termination of the number and account and $175 early termination fee). According to the AT&T iPhone activation, we were able to port our numbers. We can make outgoing calls, but still cannot receive incoming. Has anyone out there been able to successfully port their Verizon number?
Posted by Linda | July 1, 2007 4:02 AM
@Linda: I'm on Verizon and my number ported with no problem. They can't stop you from taking your number, since that's a federally-mandated law. However, they can charge you an early termination fee if you're still under contract.
Posted by Dan Moren![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://iphone.macworld.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
July 1, 2007 9:14 AM
Why doesn't anyone try the swap sites like Getoutofyourplan (.com?) or Celltrade? They are great sites to do this.
Other than that there are laws coming around to help people get away from this. Tjis won't be an ongoing situation in the next few years.
Posted by Corey A. | January 10, 2008 2:14 PM