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Break Your Cingular Contract Without a Fee!

consumerist.com — Cingular customers may have noticed the cellphone provider changing its text message rates from $.10 to $.15 and realize they can use that to escape contract without early termination fee.

Who dugg this? Made popular Dec 20, 2006

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  • spikes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+92Its a sick world when its nearing 2007 and it still costs this much to send 20 odd bytes of data.
  • mgkwho, on 10/12/2007, -5/+43Do they charge $.01 or $.0001?

    -=|Mgkwho
  • Ramtech, on 10/12/2007, -2/+35holy *****...
    saved me a few hundred bucks

    i'm setting my calendar...

    i thank you.. :)
  • kalleanka, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29Let me share my store to all of you:

    I previously had Sprint when they increased from 10 cent to 15 cent. I called them to break the contract (actually I just wanted to transfer my current account to a month-to-month plan, since I was happy with the service/price).
    Anyway, what happened was that I mentioned "I want to break my contract due to the price increase" and I was immediately transfered to a manager where we started negotiating.
    I was offered to not break the contract but instead get 500 free SMS per month. I accepted and now I'm not paying anything at all for the text messages. If I had preferred I would have been able to just break the contract (as in "I can keep the same contract, but it goes from month-to-month so I can terminate whenever I want in the future").

    Good luck to all of you!

    Could anyone else who had Sprint please share your stories if you were offered something similar?

    Thanks
  • athlonmj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23and after you get out of your cingular contract, sign up for the litte known SERO (Sprint Employee Referral Plan) with Sprint:

    for $30 a month (less if you work for a major corp.), you get 500 anytime minutes, 7 pm nights weekends, free roaming, unlimited mobile to mobile, free picture mail, and best of all, UNLIMITED power vision (unlimited internet access). oh yeah, you also get a new phone for a ridiculous cheap price.

    more info here: http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=385350
  • FishyJoe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20Whenever you talk to these people, tell them that you are recording the conversation and can use the recording for any purpose. Make sure you get their name. Then if they lie to you, remind them that you are recording the conversation. If it really gets bad tell them you will release the recording to the internet for the whole world to listen to. If they keep telling lies, post the recording here and you'll be sure to get my digg.
  • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2015 cents to text message, and of course, now you have to pay for incoming text messages as well (which I don't because I'm on a old AT&T plan still).

    What happened to things getting cheaper and competition driving down prices? Everything is just getting more and more expensive. We should have proper internet on cell phones by now, but no - the cell phone companies are too busy charging stupid amounts of money for bandwidth to allow this to flourish.

    ***** 'em.
  • Rsulliv1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18@ kalleanka

    I saw that digg story for Sprint. I called right away, got transferred to the retention specialist. That guy flat out told me I was lying. I had to quote the section from the contract stating that these changes are reason for a no-fee cancellation. The guy then told me that my plan included free text messages, meaning that the increase wouldn't affect me. It was 20 minutes at this point, so I let it go for then.

    Well.. I checked my account the next day, I do pay for text messages. I was so pissed. Spring has good coverage, decent phones, but f-n awful customer service. It's terrible.

    The next retention specialist asked why I was canceling. I told this guy my situation, that I was flat out lied to. I specifically told the guy from my first call to detail everything in my account so I could call back. He obviously didn't do that, so it was my word against his. Then, this guy said, "so you're canceling because we have poor service.. You won't be eligible for the no-fee cancellation."

    I *****' went off. Short story long... I demanded to speak to a supervisor (a threat I believe is useless)... I got to cancel without charge.
  • bikini, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15i'm actually happy with my cingular service.

    however, my phone is completely broken and i'm using a friends busted ass motorola phone in the meantime. i think i'm gonna break my contract and sign up again and get a blackberry pearl. and THIS time, i'll make sure i have insurance on it.
  • corsairstw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Then don't... Nobody's stopping you.
  • arunforce, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14It's funny, because in India and China, it costs about a CENT to send a text message.
  • nickj6282, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Sorry anchorman, time for you to do some fact-checking.

    I got the insurance with my RAZR in February for $4 a month. Sometime in April I sent my phone through the washing machine. I checked eBay and with the Cingular store and it would have cost me ~$150 or more to replace with the same model (which at the time, I liked). So the $50 deductible was a bargain for me using the insurance.

    Fast forward. After replacing a half dozen RAZRs through warranty (not insurance claims, but faulty handsets) I now have a SLVR instead. A few weeks ago I took my son trick-or-treating and dropped my SLVR on the sidewalk, cracking the screen. The phone was still useable, but I didn't particularly enjoy the glass shards in the side of my face, so I replaced that one under insurance too. Another $50 and I got a brand new one. This one would have also cost me at least $150 for a used one from eBay or $250 from the Cingular store. Insurance may be BS, but lately I seem to have a knack for ***** up handsets, so it's saved me oodles this year.

    Long story short, cell phone insurance covers water damage. Water damage is about the #1 reason to buy phone insurance, especially in a snowy climate like Wisconsin, where people are known to drop phones in snowy parking lots all the time.
  • geniusj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11good to know, asspants.
  • drizek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11It has nothing to do with the amount of data transmitted or how "evil" the cellphone companies. Its all about the consumers this time. People dont know and dont care how much a text message costs, so they send them and the companies keep jacking up the price. If people just stopped using it, the price would drop, but people are too ***** stupid.
  • youareretarded, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11@anchorman

    Could you possibly spread any more misinformation?

    Its great that you want to help people out but if your information isn't correct you could be doing more harm than good.

    First off, for cingular insurance, water damage is covered. (see page 2)
    http://www.cingular.com/learn/en_US/pdf/INSBRT11060099E_final.pdf

    Second, while insurance may not make sense for some it can potentially save a customer a lot of money. For example a basic phone like the nokia 6030 (currently selling for $20 w/2yr) would cost someone $170 to buy it new after the initial purchase (sure you can buy it elsewhere for cheaper but that's besides the point), with insurance it would cost a maximum of $155 ($5 x 21 months, after 21 months customer would be eligible for a new phone discount).
  • MEbuDDy6, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11You have to move your number 1st before you terminate your contract.

    @mbrannon

    All cell phone numbers are transferable, you don't need permission. A Cell company doesn't own your #.
  • mbrannon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11This is the exact same as the material change to the Sprint contract a few months back. That worked flawlessly for me so I can only assume this will as well. It's a great way to get out of your contract if you are looking to change providers. Do note though that payment of your next bill is acknowledgment and acceptance of the material change so if you plan to use this to get out of your contract, do so before you pay your next bill. Oh, and if its anything like the Sprint incident, a lot of the regular employees won't even be aware so you may have to escalate. Good luck to everyone.
  • s2006, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12I was able to break my contract 2 weeks ago stating the change in the contract and I did'nt even have text messaging.
    First. they said this does not change my contract because i did not subscribe to text messaging and blah blah and I asked them to look at the contract .

    Here how I did it:

    1. call cingular and said I noticed that on my recent statement that text message is changing from 10 - 15 and from the agreement that I am now able to break the contract.
    2. rep responded by asking if I had the contract and I said no, but you should be able to pull it up.
    3. rep put me on hold and stated that she needed to speak to her supervisor
    4. i was on hold and the rep came back online and said the it only apply to subscribers who currently has text messsage subscription which I did not have. So this does not void my contract. I hung up

    I called again and spoke to a different rep and said the same thing but this time, i had the cingular agreement on the computer and kept on repeating that this was a change. I said even though i did not subscribe to text message my fees will still increase and this nulls the contract.
    the rep said hold and put me on hold again..then the rep came back on and said i no longer have a contract!!!

  • tdowling, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Okay, here's my story.

    I cancelled my Sprint account because of this and ran into no trouble after dialing the "special" number that shows up in the fine print of the contract (apparently they only let one call center know what the heck is going on with things like this). HOWEVER, when I got my next bill from Sprint: full cancellation charge. I was all like "WTF?" and called up customer service. I'm told that they see a code on my account but don't know what it means; a manager would have to get back to me. Of course, this was followed by a week of no manager getting back to me. Ultimately, I called the "special" number back again and, voila, the person recognizes the code and pulls off the charge. Take-home message: don't assume anything and be sure to read the contract that you're trying to get out of.
  • zymologist, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12@s2006:
    wtf? you have to pay extra to be able to send text messages in the states? that's ***** up
  • mbrannon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10If you wanted to keep your number and move to T-Mobile, you would just have to initiate it with them first. They are the ones that verify that your number is transferable. You have to do it BEFORE you cancel your current contract. They can't reserve a number that's no longer in use. So, you would go to T-Mobile, verify it's transferability, etc. And then use this material change clause to cancel your Cingular contract without the early termination fees.
  • mouthster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9He played you. You're not breaking the contract, they will be breaking the contract when they raise the price on you.
  • devindotcom, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10I'd like to do the same with Verizon... any chance anyone knows something like this for them?
  • Snakedal337, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10@narunet

    Yea it does, extra $15 a month ;-)
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6FTL..maybe...just maybe because a lot of people don't send a lot of text messages?

    As for why it costs that much, well, it is a lot, but you can ask that about a Porsche. Or an iPod. Or anything. It costs that much because people have shown they are willing to suck it up and pay the outrageous mark up. Supply and demand. at 10 cents (and Cingular is hoping at 15) the demand does not drop enough to make them lose money.
  • yum9me, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Text Messaging is expensive in your part of the world. In New Zealand it costs 10NZD for 500 texts to any network or 10NZD for 2000 text to your network. Having texts 2000 to your network isn't a problem here since there are only two networks, you are either on the network your friends are on you you are on both.
  • narunet, on 10/12/2007, -7/+12Cingular doesn't have unlimited text-messaging.
  • youareretarded, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Marked inaccurate

    According to cingular company policy, you will not be let out of your contract for this. If you get a rep that lets you out, consider yourself lucky, its not the norm.

    From an internal memo
    Q. Will this price increase allow customers to end their contract without paying an Early Termination Fee?
    A. No, this price increase is not considered a change in the terms of service and does NOT qualify customers to terminate their contracts without paying the appropriate fees

    Whether or not you think they are in the right or wrong, it doesn't matter, that's their policy and if you don't like it you will have to take them to court.
  • Ligeia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You can call Customer Care and ask them to add an administrative sms feature; this will block sms from everyone but Cingular.
  • bandomac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Call them and tell them to disable all texts for your account. They will do it.
  • nhaas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5As a person that deals with alot of cell phones and ports every week. Once a company lets say Verizon ports a number from Cingular. Your Contract will be canceled at the moment of the port. No way around this, check with the vendor that you are going to first, before you trade companies.

    I always tell this to friends, Don't go with Cingular! Crappy service! I spend two hours a day dealing with Cell issues with 3 different carriers. The only thing worse that I have heard about is T-moble - though I dont have any experience with them.

    DO NOT CALL and cancel you account before you Port - Let your new vender do it! Chances are if you call and say that you want to Port/Cancel you will lose you number! This is from experiance!!!
  • mooninite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Get 200 messages for $5/month. Does the job for me... Paid $30 in text messages once. Never again.

    ... but you do have a point. Text messages are next to nothing to a cell company. I am shooting in the dark, but it wouldn't suprise me if they make nearly 100% profit off messaging charges.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5For me, I realized after a year that having a cell phone is annoying and a waste of money per month. I'd like to get out of the contract and go back to the "if I don't answer my phone at home, then I'm busy" way of living.
  • tzon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I would TRY and use this as an excuse, however according to a spokesman from Cingular addressing the possibility of teminating your contract early, it "doesn’t apply here, this is simply a pricing change for pay-per-use text messaging, which is an optional service"
    Note that her take on it is this, since you aren't subscribing to text messaging service, and just using it on an optional basis, she's saying it doesn't apply.

    Here's the link: http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/FREE/61215010/1002

    And the earlier digg (from yesterday) reporting as much:
    http://www.digg.com/tech_news/Cingular_raises_text_messaging_fee_from_10_to_15_cents_2
  • Murdats, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4and in australia it costs about 20-25cents
  • mike503, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6uh, why the hell are text rates going UP?

    i was under the impression we've been beefing our networks up, both capacity and speed-wise.

    if anything, cellular data should be getting cheaper. this is *****. this should be illegal. it is tantamount to price gouging, not even 1 cent, but 5 cents (a 50% raise) - charging people higher rates because they can.
  • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4You can turn your Mobile Phone off you know. But, I agree with you.
  • nickj6282, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Text messages are great in a lot of situations:

    1. Stealth (when you don't want the people around you knowing what you're talking about)
    2. At a concert or other loud place where a voice conversation is impossible
    3. In a meeting/in class/at church/etc. etc. where you don't want to disturb or interrupt
    4. At the movies (mind the screen brightness though!)
    5. Any place connection quality is too poor for voice conversation, you can usually still send and receive text messages
    6. When you need an important piece of data that you can't write down (i.e. your friend gives you an address or phone number while driving)
    7. To google for directions, phone numbers, word definitions, price checks, or complex calculations

    Text messages have come in handy for me in every single one of these situations
  • funbags, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5But can you terminate and keep your number? What if I wanted to move to t-mobile?
  • blahtastic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Oh wow. This is just deplorable. How is it that we can be charged so much more for sending so much less data (and actual words) than a regular phone call?
    Whoever makes these prices needs to be shot. I don't need ten frickin thousand texts a month, i need perhaps 15, and they shouldnt be killing us for something that costs them so little.

    If people could just stop using these idiotic little messages every 3 seconds then maybe they wouldnt cost so much, but apparently they're a necessity to life or something...
  • tdowling, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My understanding was that you have to set up the cancellation of your account *before* transferring. If you transfer your number first, your previous account will automatically be cancelled, thus resulting in an early termination charge. When I did it with Sprint, I let them know that I was planning on transferring my number, and they were cool with it. No problems.
  • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4If you don't like Cingular, why do you have a contract with them in the first place?
  • SenatorPenguin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It's called supply and demand. They charge it because we're paying it. It's that simple.
  • youareretarded, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@broomett

    First off the scenario I gave was the worst case using the cheapest phone possible and paying for the longest length possible before someone is out of contract. Second, I'm glad you think people are perfect and its just a matter of changing their habits. Unfortunately a lot of people aren't intelligent and they do do stupid stuff and that's exactly what insurance is for. Just because it doesn't makes sense to you doesn't mean it doesn't make sense to everyone else.
  • KMehthas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I'll have to agree on this one. The pay-per-use features are there for convenience, since you choose to not pay a monthly subscription, it doesn't count.
  • nickj6282, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3So were you able to cancel your Sprint contract but keep the service? I'd like to cancel my ***** 2 year contract but keep the service and phone numbers that I have. Contracts are just a cell company's insurance so they don't have to hire decent customer service reps.
  • pkulak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Code Division is just a better access protocol"

    Yeah, for data, maybe. For low bandwidth uses (like voice), all it does is wast battery power. But yes, it does use the spectrum more efficiently.
  • CybrMike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Dude, its the per message rate that is changing, not the text messaging plans.
  • JustinGN, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Code Division is just a better access protocol."

    I'm sure the other 75% of the world (Minus South Korea and other Americas Countries) heartily disagree. CDMA is good if you're staying within your country, but while I loathe Cingular and wish T-Mobile would jump on the HS/UDPA bandwagon already, I refuse to give up my GSM service. SIM cards are just too flexible and allow much greater mobility, whereas CDMA phones are never unlockable to different carriers (Or if they are, said carriers won't unlock them or allow you to add unlocked phones to your contract). And because CDMA carriers have their phones locked to them, they tend to think they can just ***** all over you regarding customer service; I mean, honestly, where are you going to go? You can't take your phone with you, so they figure you're there until renewal time.
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