What is Digg?73 Comments
- chingchingrice, on 10/12/2007, -3/+40I know a guy who punched a Verizon employee in the face because they wouldn't cancel his plan, but I guess this works too.
- babakshirazi, on 10/12/2007, -6/+32
Yeah, get out of this Verizon contract and get a new 2 year contract w/ Cingular and an iPhone. Woohoo! Now you're stuck in another contract again. ***** contracts. - StevoCJ, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25Hmm, digg that down. If they're changing their rates while you're under contract that's not acceptable either.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+24Actually my assuming you work for the company came post edit, so technically it was my *second* response.
Secondly, are you saying that when a company breaks a contract you are legally obligated to remain in that contract? If that is the case what is the point of even signing one?
I await you lofty, egotistical reply. - rlg420, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19Hey its the weekly "Get out of you Verizon contract post". Woohoo
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -7/+23"You signed up to the contract. Ever thought about honouring the agreement you made?"
they ever thought of providing timely service, no sneaky tricks and locked phones and all?
they ever thought of providing an alternative, contract-free plan for a slightly hgher price but still on a monthly basis?
they ever thought of honoring their warranty policies in full? - brodie7838, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16I went through hell trying to get our 3 phones out of contract with VZW. The first rep I talked to told me that I could, then when I called back for confirmation several days later (T-Mo was already in process of porting my numbers over at this point) the next rep said the same thing as the first rep, but for some reason transfers me to her supervisor (I didn't even know till after she did it). Her supervisor then tells me that they last 2 CSR's were wrong to tell me this, and I was going to have to pay the ETF for all 3 lines. I then quoted her the part of the contract where it says "IF THE CHANGES HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON YOU, HOWEVER, YOU CAN END THE AFFECTED SERVICE, WITHOUT ANY EARLY TERMINATION FEE, JUST BY CALLING US WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER WE SEND NOTICE OF THE CHANGE." Well, VZW makes it impossible to cancel for this reason, because they will then offer compensation for whatever price they just hiked up, so its technically not considered an "Adverse Effect". I argued with her for almost 45 minutes, then finally escalated the call to HER supervisor, who told me she was going to honor what the first 2 CSR's told me. (No ETF). VICTORY IS MINE!!!
- jeff4379, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Because you have a choice to take the incoming call, no choice to accept the text message.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13contracts are the sign of a weak company trying to beg for consumer loyalty. if your company has a good enough product and priced honestly, you won't need dumb contracts.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+18If they did not legally have to let a customer out of a contract due to their breach, then they would never do it.
I am curious. How long have you worked for a cell phone company? - hbweb500, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8So how do I run this script? Just "sh ./script"?
- unidentified, on 10/12/2007, -8/+15Hell, even if you like your service you should quit. Then sign up again and get another free phone (that $175 they want so bad... haha).
- tdowling, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7fatdog789, doesn't a modification have to be mutually agreed upon, regardless? Modification, breach; tomatoes, tomahtoes.
For what it's worth, I cancelled my Sprint contract under this type of thing not too long ago and I was able to hold on to my number for a new carrier. They do have to allow you to transfer. - semiotix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Well, one thing's for sure. Cindy Granroos, assistant to VP for Customer Service Barbara Trinko, is about to have an extremely annoying week.
- teamgwho, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7dude, you really shouldnt talk about what you don't know.
here's what I did, so don't even talk to me about "you can't do that" "or it doesn't work that way" cause it did for me!
I called. I confirmed that the change applied to me. She said yes. I confirmed I could cancel w-o a penalty? she said yes. I had this in undedr 5 minutes with out and argument and without escalating to a manager. Now I had debated going to Cingular for the iPhone but I don't know anyone in the NY metro area with a positive thing to say about CIngular coverage, so I proceeded with my plan.
My wife and I each got phone last year (we have seperate bills but they're both in my name) and somehow she was under a 1 yr contract and I was under a 2 yr contract wehich I didnt realize till we went into to the store and she was able to get a phone on promo and I wasn't. I then got a letter telling me that I was a VZW VIP because of the plan which my wife is under.
So I tell the rep 1) I am thinking of leaving for the iPhone and Cingular, 2) I know I can l;eave without penalty. 3) On the one phone I am a VZW VIP and under the other I'm not? How about you look at the big picture and help me out?
and so she did, and I'll get a phone at a promo price this week when I head into the store.
Had I wanted to change to Cingular all I would do is go into a CIngular store and port my number over. When that happens, then VZW would've automatically hit me with the ETF. But because my conversation was noted already of why I was leaving, that ETF would've been credited.
So keep talking as if you know wtf you're talking about. We all know ***** when we see it. and just to be clear, I could've canceled right then and there, she agreed to that well before I made my proposal for letting me get a phone on promo. - WhackingDay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5People hate all Cellphone companies because they're all based on an annoying principle, that of nickle-and-diming you to death. If you don't want to be dinged for every little thing you do, you have to pay a boatload extra for the total package deals.
On top of that, you add generally poor customer service and this is across the board. The number of good customer service events pale in comparison to the number of bad ones. For every single person who will say "I've been happy with [insert provider here] ", you'll have at least 100 others who say they suck.
Finally, you get to the area of deals and competition for business. There is little competition. You're going to pay the same monthly amount from one as you would from another unless you get spectacularly lucky. The only differences these days are, which network you want to be on and what kind of phone you want. In an ideal world, neither of these things would affect our choice in provider, there should be a standardized network and unlocked phones, but there isn't.
Even people who rarely use cellphones are probably annoyed by the whole operation just on principle. - Denamite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5FTA:
"I will still be charged your 50% increase rate to read text messages"
Did I read that right? Does Verizon charge you to read text messages?
If so, that's just wrong on so many levels that I don't know where to start. - awhiteflame, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5You can't buy an "unlocked" CDMA phone. They were right in telling you that. "Unlocked" phones are GSM, which is a completely different network.
- dorkus23, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4HEY! That's my HEAD!!! Seriously! MY SKULL!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulio/96847161/
Never though I'd See it on Digg, tho... ;P - ghst, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I must say, after this change was announced, I jumped on the bandwagon to cancel my contract. My family and I are now happily with T-mobile... Now, the question is if my account was credited like it should have been because the customer service rep I spoke to put the electronic notes on my account that I asked her to... I just hope it was, because I don't feel like getting into a heated argument...
- krets, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Every cell carrier charges you to read text messages. It's exactly the same as getting a call on your cell. You're going to get charged for the minutes you use so why wouldn't you get charged for incoming text messages as well?
- JackHererUK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@krets, so you are saying that in the US the networks charge you to receive calls and text messages? That is totally ***** up, surely the person sending the text/making the call is paying so are they not double dipping?
- sremick, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"Now you're stuck in another contract again. ***** contracts."
Or you could go with a cellular provider that doesn't require contracts. I'm on one (Unicel) and no, it's not pre-pay. - dandylion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This worked for me. I was able to cancel my VZ contract!!!! I damaged my phone in the washing machine a few weeks ago. I called Verizon at that time to tell them to deactivate my number until I got a new phone. I bought a used an unlocked phone. I called Verizon to activate that phone. The phone wasn't compatible with VZ's network, per Verizon. My rep tried to sell me a new phone. I simply told her I couldn't afford it. I then asked the rep about the up coming rate increase. She verified it. I stated I couldn't afford the increase and would like to cancel my contract. She was very nice and canceled my contract.
- GruntboyX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2as much i would love to get out of my contract with verizon...i have to admit that they are the best service in the area. With maybe the exception of Altell...but Altell's phones suck worse than verizon. Cingular is picking up a lot of steam in my area, however in the mountainous areas the cingular service is still less than par.
.... besides... why cancel my contract now ? When it is up i can then think about switching to Cingular..maybe their service will be better and by that point IPHONE 2.0 will be out. I can wait. - duxxyuk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2First a Thank you to popsumer for giving us this useful info.
I hate companies like this (add France Telecom, British Vodaphone and France Free telecom to that list) that rip off their own clients with unreadable contracts that constrain their clients to pay even if they don't use their services. I hate the fact that one has to be "educated" to cleanly escape their horrid contracts. - Stopher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They are changing the contract. I don't know why they don't just keep your current rate for the life of the contract or let people out and avoid this fiasco.
- j_bellone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They legally have to allow you to port your number now.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Whatever floats your boat.
- miggy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Just canceled my account this morning. They will keep my account active so I don't lose my number. I had to call twice but it will work. Point out the text message increase and the administrative fee increase and you should be good. If they till you there is no active use or no use of text messaging on your account, tell them if the past is to be considered then the future should also be considered. I told them I was going to Mexico and there is almost no Verizon service at all and I would be using a local cell service there to message. So no message package they have will protect me from the price increase. I told them that and they canceled the account. T-mobile here I come.
- cuervoman914, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1now if we could only find a service provider that wont give us the proverbial stick...
- thebuggman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What's the big deal with a $.05 raise for text messages?
Yes, it's a breach of contract; the very contract that the TEAM of lawyers the cellular providers make you sign just for the privilege of paying them for their service that they clearly indicate "...cannot be changed..."
How would you like having a 2 year contract with 100% FREE text messages (incoming or outgoing), only to have it jacked up to $0.20 PER MESSAGE, incoming or outgoing before you ever got to send or receive a single message?!?!?
If you buy a car, drive it home & a week later you find out that NOW every time you want to make a left turn it will cost you $5.00, you'd surely sue the crap out of whomever sold you the car.
How can cellular providers jack up charges already set in their service agreements (or in my case charge for FREE services) without being held accountable? - mister711, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have Verizon and cant wait to get out and move to Tmobile but I am not sure if I am really gaining much. I really hate the fact I need to spend $50 a month for something I barely use. I may use 300 minutes a month but that is not worth all the BS taxes and fees.
- laterallateral, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What about Virgin? I don't know if the Canadian rates reflect the American ones but I don't have to pay for incoming txt messages.
- Toddbrew1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1THeres a much easier way to do this. Check the coverage availability of their roaming in an obscure area such as South Lake Tahoe. I told them I was moving for work and needed the phone to be able to call my work and emergencies. I said my phone would not work in that area. They cancelled the contract with no termination fee since it's their coverage problem.
- Kytro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Paying for receiving FTL. In Australia you only pay for outgoing calls and texts
- mr_wej, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is sooo true!
- RoflMyWaffle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1dugg cuz my family wants to leave verison SOO bad right now but doesn't want the fee!
- MScrip, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1> "I think the fact that they make it so difficult for customers to break the contract through this loophole speaks volumes about their attitude towards customers."
Do you realize what you just said? "difficult "break the contract" "loophole"
If they really wanted to make it easy, they would not have ETF at all. Then people would be switching carriers like mad.
But, instead they offer contracts, which, by nature, are DIFFICULT to break.
And why switch because of a rate increase? Everything goes up! Verizon increased its TXT rate to 15 cents.. so you switch to Cingular, whose TXT rates are also 15 cents. Now what will Cingular (AT&T) do to shove people to another carrier? - GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How do you Americans get into this situation. I mean companies basically have to beg you to sign a contract in Britain these days (and they do try, I've walked out of more than one store in the past decade because they spent 30 minutes rattling on about their contract when I just want a phone and stated as much and was prepared to pay £300 on one. Their loss).
The point is the consumer is supposed to kick these guys where it hurt by going elsewhere. It seems to devolve into two camps, one which believes that getting raped is the way it's supposed to be and the other who make mistakes and then try and fiddle their way out of it.
True I hate it when companies sell something then alter it later on but the way to deal with that is being selective when purchasing. - jakebarnes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@fatdog...
You'd be wrong abou that. Prices are subjective (in the mind of the agreeing party... So, if you are a party to the contract, and reasonably believed that the rate was .10, then it doesn't matter what the Contract says, unless the price is expressly listed as another number. Even in the case of the latter, if you can show that your subjective belief that it was .10, and that you'd been paying that rate, it doesn't matter if the contract say $50 a text, you'd still have a case that it should be .10 under theories of equity. - dstew74, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I finally canceled without the EFT, sort of bittersweet. Their Tier 0 chick argued for awhile, told me to go to a brick and mortar, I simply pointed out that they would make me call her back. I quoted my contract a couple more times, ask her to explain the material adverse affect, was put on hold. Her sup. just told her to transfer to their retention department. That rep was extremely helpful and nice, to the point I felt slightly guilty.... for a moment.
- brodie7838, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@ broomett: I never said anything about being a prick, or being rude at all. I'm pretty sure that the guy who wrote the script didn't either. I never swore at any of the CSR's I spoke with, and I never insulted them at all. I simply stated my frustration at the company, and the current situation, was firm about what I wanted, persistent, but above all, I was polite, even though I was very upset. Its wasn't her fault that VZW raised the rates and wouldn't let me out of a contract. It was the companies fault. I was mad at the company, not her, and I made sure to let all 3 of the reps I talked to know that.
- MScrip, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0> "How can cellular providers jack up charges already set in their service agreements (or in my case charge for FREE services) without being held accountable?"
It never specifically said in the contract that TXT messages will forever be 10 cents. It does say, however, that only changes that have an "adverse affect" on you could be contested.
Meaning: they can raise TXT prices whenever they want (most carriers already have!) because TXT messaging is only a small part of your total service.
What they CAN'T do is raise the price of your monthly plan: $59.99 a month, etc.
On a side note... are people really switching to another carrier because of this? If everyone switched to Cingular, and Cingular started some shenanigans like this, would people switch again? When will it end? - drazen77, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Cell phone companies in the U.S. basically are highway robber barons. Cingular just screwed me after I had bought a Smartphone less than 6 months ago... it stops working, I find out that they didn't transfer my line insurance over from my previous contract, they no longer carry that phone so I have to buy a replacement... but get this... I am not eligble for the upgrade price, so I have to cough up full price on a new phone, AND its a $10 increase on the data plan just because its a blackberry phone.
Oh yeah, and I failed to read the fine print... your data plan DOES NOT INCLUDE TEXT MSGing. So I had to cough up and extra $5 a month for 200 message or get nailed for $50 in text messages every month.
Corporate greed gone off the deep end.
WTF.
Meanwhile, 3rd world countries have access to the same mobile phones and service we do, CHEAPER.
In regards to Verizon, I pretty much did this same thing a few years ago... except I had to talk to 26 reps in two states because they still hadn't consolidated from their cell company buying spree... my argument at that point was that they lied and misrepresented themselves by saying that they were the "Largest single cell provider" in the country. Sorry, if you don't have a central database and are still using regional databases, you are NOT a single provider... you are just an umbrella company for a bunch of baby cellbells. - bighed03, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0isn't interesting how in the cellphone industry new customers are given all the deals, while existing and loyal customers are given jack *****? says alot about how they really feel about you as a consumer... and how we should respond with acts like this.
- jscolgan, on 05/29/2009, -0/+0There is now a service that will actually cancel you cell phone contract completely! This is not a trading service where you might wait 6-12 months for a trade to actually come to fruition. These guys actually get you out completely. I thought you might be interested. It was fast and easy for me. http://www.CellBreaker.com
- MaxPayne3476, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Actually, I have to say, from all my cellphone provider experiences - Verizon has so far been the best.
My few complaints are small.
1) Crippled Bluetooth, but i don't use it anyway
2) Old Verizon UI is ugh - but I love the one on the Chocolate
3) Data plans cost out the ***** - meaniketd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1is there a way to cancel t mobile ?
I have contract and I moved to a different city. the network here sucks...my calls are dropped and when i call customer care they tell me about some maintenance going on and offered me $5.
I dont want to stay with t mobile. - SpectreBlofeld, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0headshotwi: "Please for the love of god does anyone have something like this for getting out of a sprint pcs contract?!?!?"
Yep.
Sprint has merged with Nextel. Sprint will allow you to switch to a Nextel plan even if you are still in contract. Nextel uses different calling plans, network, and phone technology than their Sprint half, so they give you a 30-day trial period during which time you can cancel without a termination fee (just as a new Nextel customer would get).
So, you tell them you want to switch to Nextel. You cancel the Nextel a week later. Bada bing, bada boom. No termination fees. -
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