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"VZW seeks deal on cancellation fees"

cwcanty

May 23, 2008, 8:16 PM
Looks like good 'ol big red is leading the charge in reducing ETF's and making them more reasonable for the consumers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080523/tc_nm/fcc_fees_dc »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless said on Friday it is trying to forge a deal with consumer groups and regulators that would reduce the fees customers are charged when they cancel their cell phone service early.
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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said at a media briefing on Friday the two sides had made "substantial progress" toward a compromise, although there was still no final consensus.

"I think it would be good for consumers and, ultimately, good for the industry if there was more of a national framework with c...
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tgoace

May 24, 2008, 5:18 AM
cwcanty said:
Looks like good 'ol big red is leading the charge in reducing ETF's and making them more reasonable for the consumers.


You know Chris, I agree with you most of the time.

But the thing that troubles me is...the consumer in America doesn't hold the word "agreement" or "contract" in the regard that those words actually mean.

You get the damn phone for cheaper than what the carrier paid for it (causing them to take a loss at the point of sale) because you AGREE to a service commitment. I think it's stupid to pander to ignorance. While I do feel bad to tell people that no, they don't get the upgrade pricing right now because they just utilized that option 3 months ago doesn't mean that ...
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slines

May 24, 2008, 9:13 AM
I know Verizon now prorates your ETF by $5.00 each month. So you have it for 6 months and want to term the contract you would pay $30.00 less.
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johnnyslick

May 24, 2008, 11:02 AM
...but I've always been skeptical about the level of reciprocity in these contracts. If what you're getting in return for the 2 year agreement is a cheaper phone but you have to pay for more than the difference between the cost of the phone and the full retail price for the life of the contract for the entire term, that doesn't strike me as terribly reciprocal. A non-reciprocal contract won't stand up to judicial review. Put another way, it doesn't matter if a customer signed a piece of paper. If what they signed for is obviously unfair, they may well not have to live by its terms.

I think VZW is working with the government in large part because they realize that if somebody doesn't do so, the end result could very easily be legislation t...
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tgoace

May 24, 2008, 10:54 PM
Well put.
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crazyeaglefan236

May 25, 2008, 1:22 PM
ok...here is what you are missing. The ETF is fair because of the dollar amount of the item purchased versus the dollar amount of the ETF. In other words, I give you 175 bucks towards the purchase of the phone but if you deact before the term you pay back the cost difference...where are you? You are back to square one where you would have the same net out of pocket expense as if you bought the phone at retail and didn't have a contract. So in other words, if the net result is the same...then where is this unfair?
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mellowlen62

May 28, 2008, 6:32 AM
Why can't they just SELL phones at retail and skip the ETFs altogether? Wouldn't that make more sense? You still have cheap phones, and expensive phones - just lose the freebies and let people PAY for their phones...make the contracts 6 months then, or something, and let the SERVICE do the rest.
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crazyeaglefan236

May 28, 2008, 9:40 AM
What?!?! And have people pay for phones?!? LOL. Yeah, we would see months of no sales before people would start accepting the true costs of phones. Also, cellular company stocks would fall as churn would rise and inability to accurately forcast future earnings would diminish. Since companies would have less confirmed income they would also, in turn, spend less on the network (building out network, etc) until they have the cash revenue in hand. So, in other words, you are asking for the cellular industry to slow down for awhile...

Thanks!
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cwcanty

May 24, 2008, 11:31 AM
Are you phonescoopin' drunk, lol...very dangerous.

Nah, I agree with your point, however I am a fan of prorated ETF's. If I'm paying you $100 bucks a month for 2 years, then if I want to leave, I don't think I owe you $175 bucks any more.

The ETF achieves a certain level of customer buy in and commitment, which is great for business. The ETF will prolly never go away completely, but it's time we look at modifying a fairly antiquated system.
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tgoace

May 24, 2008, 10:44 PM
cwcanty said:
Are you phonescoopin' drunk, lol...very dangerous.

Nah, I agree with your point, however I am a fan of prorated ETF's. If I'm paying you $100 bucks a month for 2 years, then if I want to leave, I don't think I owe you $175 bucks any more.

The ETF achieves a certain level of customer buy in and commitment, which is great for business. The ETF will prolly never go away completely, but it's time we look at modifying a fairly antiquated system.


Hey, at least I spell just fine while drunk! 🤣

You and johnnyslick posted VERY GOOD replies that I align with. I was drinking, so I didn't clearly read the original post in the first place, so allow me to say this: I wholeheartedly love t...
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cwcanty

May 25, 2008, 3:08 AM
ok, first off...now I'm posting drunk, lol.

I appreciate the kind words...this whole ETF can get people's panties in a bunch. But I think it's an important issue that should make cell companies more accountable for their actions.
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tgoace

May 25, 2008, 3:37 AM
cwcanty said:
ok, first off...now I'm posting drunk, lol.


LMAO! Nice... Oh hey, they finally processed my order so I should have my phone right after memorial day. I HATE holidays sometimes (they screws up delivery schedules!)

Btw, I was so stoked this morning to wake up still dizzy drunk after only sleeping 3.5 hours. Had to work at 8, so it was a pleasure to go in a little out of it. YES! 😁

Damn Jack in the Box Supreme Croissant ruined it though. 🤣
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cwcanty

May 25, 2008, 3:39 AM
yeah I went with the perkins tremendous 12 to cure my hangover needs yesterday morning...this weekend seems like it might not ever end,lol
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tgoace

May 25, 2008, 2:49 PM
cwcanty said:
yeah I went with the perkins tremendous 12 to cure my hangover needs yesterday morning


Perkins Tremendous 12? I had to look it up.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=T-12 »

And I thought Denny's Build Your Own Grand Slam was a dream come true!

I've never heard of Perkin's until now, there isn't one out here.
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cwcanty

May 25, 2008, 10:22 PM
Where do you live? I thought perkins was pretty much everywhere. I live in wisconsin, they're all over the place up here.
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tgoace

May 26, 2008, 12:02 AM
California. It's Denny's and IHOP out here.

The only thing I miss about the south is Waffle House. That place rocks!

Born & raised Californian. I was stationed in NC when I was in the Army.
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AvgJoe

May 24, 2008, 11:40 PM
tgoace said:
cwcanty said:
Looks like good 'ol big red is leading the charge in reducing ETF's and making them more reasonable for the consumers.


You know Chris, I agree with you most of the time.

But the thing that troubles me is...the consumer in America doesn't hold the word "agreement" or "contract" in the regard that those words actually mean.

You get the damn phone for cheaper than what the carrier paid for it (causing them to take a loss at the point of sale) because you AGREE to a service commitment. I think it's stupid to pander to ignorance. While I do feel bad to tell people that no, they don't get the upgrade pricing right now because they just utilized that optio
...
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tgoace

May 25, 2008, 1:50 AM
AvgJoe said:
What $500 phone is Verizon subsidizing for $100?? I didn't think Verizon had a phone worth $500.


Are you serious? You know I was giving a ranting example. Use some reading comprehension and see that I wasn't serious about that amount of subsidy. It was an obvious over exaggeration. 🙄

Pull your head out of your 4th point of contact and pay attention.
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AvgJoe

May 26, 2008, 12:02 AM
tgoace said:
AvgJoe said:
What $500 phone is Verizon subsidizing for $100?? I didn't think Verizon had a phone worth $500.


Are you serious? You know I was giving a ranting example. Use some reading comprehension and see that I wasn't serious about that amount of subsidy. It was an obvious over exaggeration. 🙄

Pull your head out of your 4th point of contact and pay attention.

Well if you HAVE to exaggerate to make a viable point...........Just sayin.
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tgoace

May 26, 2008, 12:22 AM
The Voyager is $470 full retail anyways. Close enough.
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AvgJoe

May 27, 2008, 5:47 PM
tgoace said:
The Voyager is $470 full retail anyways. Close enough.

I have never paid full reatil for any phone (and I don't use Carrier subsidies either)

Don't have to. If you shop phones you can find many less expensive than the "contract priced fare"

Of course you guys wouldn't know that. Your CArrier has got you by the short hairs. Not many phones for CDMA on the open market. Although I hear some may be coming with Verizon's foray into "open source"
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tgoace

May 27, 2008, 7:06 PM
AvgJoe said:
tgoace said:
The Voyager is $470 full retail anyways. Close enough.

I have never paid full reatil for any phone (and I don't use Carrier subsidies either)

Don't have to. If you shop phones you can find many less expensive than the "contract priced fare"

Of course you guys wouldn't know that. Your CArrier has got you by the short hairs. Not many phones for CDMA on the open market. Although I hear some may be coming with Verizon's foray into "open source"


You've said this before, and I'm still not impressed/don't care. Why are you changing your point?
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cwcanty

May 25, 2008, 3:05 AM
wow...that might have been one of your worst rants ever. I didn't get anything you just said. Cmon now, if you're going to be a worthless troll that everyone hates, atleast make sure your posts make some sense. Thats the least you could do for making us listen to your useless dribble on a daily basis.
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AvgJoe

May 26, 2008, 12:06 AM
cwcanty said:
wow...that might have been one of your worst rants ever. I didn't get anything you just said. Cmon now, if you're going to be a worthless troll that everyone hates, atleast make sure your posts make some sense. Thats the least you could do for making us listen to your useless dribble on a daily basis.


Yeah I understand how you must be one of those users who live from upgrade to upgrade and therefore cannot comprehend actually buying a phone from a retailer rather than getting your little "food stamp" phone form mother Verizon every two years in return for your undying allegiance.

Its ok I DO UNDERSTAND and get you.
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cwcanty

May 27, 2008, 12:21 PM
yeah, my last four phones have averaged $300 and have all been smartphones. So, I'm not exactly sure where you're misplaced rant against me comes from.

Once again, you're a worthless troll who has failed to provide anything of value for the past six months to this forum.
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AvgJoe

May 27, 2008, 5:55 PM
cwcanty said:
yeah, my last four phones have averaged $300 and have all been smartphones. So, I'm not exactly sure where you're misplaced rant against me comes from.

Once again, you're a worthless troll who has failed to provide anything of value for the past six months to this forum.


WOW a whole $300?
Yikes How you gonna pay the rent with that huge expense......

. And BTW I don't see a lot of cred there either dude. What do you contribute that is so useful?
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cwcanty

May 27, 2008, 6:11 PM
Check my recent posts if you want to see how useful I am.

You come on here and spew nonsense that has nothing to do with verizon, then you complain that people are so love with verizon, yet you seem to forget that this is the VERIZON FORUM. So if you can't contribute something positive to the discussion, then just go back to the att forum.
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crazyeaglefan236

May 28, 2008, 9:42 AM
He just contributed to the fact that you are like foreskin...no real purpose and should have been removed eight days in...
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yeahright

May 24, 2008, 9:19 PM
I think they should force all carriers to offer a no contract,(not prepaid but same consumer plan)If customer provides their equipment or pays retail there shouldn't be an early term fee. Most will still sign contract to get subsidized price but they would have an option
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temp_name

May 25, 2008, 2:43 AM
The problem I see is handsets are already getting more expensive comparitively. Yes, there still are free phones, and some decently priced... but, it wasn't too long ago (december 2004) that I remember almost every VZW phone was buy one get 3 free! Even high end phones (LG-7000 for example) were having that deal. Now, the only get 3 free phones are the u410 and the 5400... just two phones. I don't think they'd be that much cheaper if the ETF policies hadn't changed, but it probably would've been slightly less. Who knows...
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cwcanty

May 25, 2008, 3:10 AM
I totally agree with that. If you're willing to pay $300-$500 for a phone you shouldn't have to be locked into a contract
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AvgJoe

May 26, 2008, 12:10 AM
yeahright said:
I think they should force all carriers to offer a no contract,(not prepaid but same consumer plan)If customer provides their equipment or pays retail there shouldn't be an early term fee. Most will still sign contract to get subsidized price but they would have an option


That is already available without paying FULL retail if you buy a phone from a 3rd party retailer. The first time you sign up the carrier will offer free weekends and nights IF you sign a contract. After that you never need to sign a contract again.

I dont understand why Verizon wants to have their customer sign contracts.....them being the best of everything and all. Customers will not leave them...What are they afrai...
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CellStudent

May 26, 2008, 1:41 AM
AvgJoe said:
I dont understand why Verizon wants to have their customer sign contracts.....them being the best of everything and all. Customers will not leave them...What are they afraid of?


It's about income visibility. Being able to look at the books and say: "We can expect this much income from our customers in the next 6 months."

Consumers that are under contract (even if a termination fee is as low as $50) are less likely to get pissed off when some AT&T retail rep forgets to change the right text pack on their account and simply walk into a Sprint store shouting "sign me up!"

Cellular consumers are fickle. The reality is that even when they port out their accounts, realize they're not happy wi...
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tgoace

May 26, 2008, 3:39 AM
CellStudent said:
It's about income visibility. Being able to look at the books and say: "We can expect this much income from our customers in the next 6 months."

Consumers that are under contract (even if a termination fee is as low as $50) are less likely to get pissed off when some AT&T retail rep forgets to change the right text pack on their account and simply walk into a Sprint store shouting "sign me up!"

Cellular consumers are fickle. The reality is that even when they port out their accounts, realize they're not happy with the new service and decide to go back to the old carrier (but that never happens... right?) then the original carrier and the new service provider just spent HUNDREDS of dollars (per lin
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CellStudent

May 26, 2008, 11:06 AM
tgoace said:
I think I'm in love with you. 🤭 🤤 😁

I don't think my pregnant wife would approve. Sorry, bud- 👀
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tgoace

May 26, 2008, 11:08 AM
🤣 😁

Ah, it's ok. I have a wife too.
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AvgJoe

May 27, 2008, 5:52 PM
tgoace said:
CellStudent said:
It's about income visibility. Being able to look at the books and say: "We can expect this much income from our customers in the next 6 months."

Consumers that are under contract (even if a termination fee is as low as $50) are less likely to get pissed off when some AT&T retail rep forgets to change the right text pack on their account and simply walk into a Sprint store shouting "sign me up!"

Cellular consumers are fickle. The reality is that even when they port out their accounts, realize they're not happy with the new service and decide to go back to the old carrier (but that never happens... right?) then the original carrier and the new service provider just s
...
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CellStudent

May 28, 2008, 12:21 PM
Cellular consumers are fickle. The reality is that even when they port out their accounts, realize they're not happy with the new service and decide to go back to the old carrier (but that never happens... right?) then the original carrier and the new service provider just spent HUNDREDS of dollars (per line) in man-hours, system resources, and activation commissions to help a customer port out their number and then port it right back. Nobody makes a penny on that deal, and the customer just returned a subsidized phone that can't be sold as "new" any more.

EVERYONE loses. Period.


You musts have missed that part the first time. When someone leaves, even if they come back the resources expended to get a c...
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yeahright

May 26, 2008, 11:26 AM
that is what i am saying though, If i walk into Verizon they should be able to throw me on a consumer plan, lets say the 59.99 select plan(with nights and weekends and everything else). I pay the activation fee and then at that point i can choose to pay retail for the phone or have it discounted at 1 or 2 year contract. Hell Verizon could even charge $50 over cost on retail and i think it would still be an option a few consumers may take, it would also teach them the real value of their phone. So say a 9100 at $289 no contract, $150 after rebate on one year and $99 after rebate on 2 year(plus you will get signed up on NE2). 99% of consumers will still sign the contract so I don't see this really harming Verizon financially, but the consumer ...
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lilgabe1

May 27, 2008, 12:15 PM
Great points about LTE. VZW customers will be able to get phones from anywhere in the world at that point. I think consumers should be offered a choice. I don't think that carriers should subsidize handsets without a contract and subsequent etf though. Not good business at all.
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AvgJoe

May 27, 2008, 6:05 PM
yeahright said:
that is what i am saying though, If i walk into Verizon they should be able to throw me on a consumer plan, lets say the 59.99 select plan(with nights and weekends and everything else). I pay the activation fee and then at that point i can choose to pay retail for the phone or have it discounted at 1 or 2 year contract. Hell Verizon could even charge $50 over cost on retail and i think it would still be an option a few consumers may take, it would also teach them the real value of their phone. So say a 9100 at $289 no contract, $150 after rebate on one year and $99 after rebate on 2 year(plus you will get signed up on NE2). 99% of consumers will still sign the contract so I don't see this really harming Ve
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Kagehiru

May 28, 2008, 10:19 AM
What isn't mentioned in this article, but was in a couple others, is that by Verizon offering this approach, and hoping that the government agrees to it, they are asking several lawsuits regarding ETF's to be dismissed or forstalled.

Verizon's efforts to introduce Variable ETF's and industry standard ETF's is their way of preventing costly lawsuits and heavy handed legislation by Congress. Hopefully it works.
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