Early Termination Fees
One of the things I hate the most about working CS is when customers decide to cancel their service (or have it involuntarily disconnected) and either demand that the ETFs be waive or state that they are NOT going to pay it. 😕
When you start cellular service with ANY cellular company, you sign a contract. This contract ALWAYS states the if the service is disconnected before the contract is fulfilled, you agree to pay an early termination fee. Also, ALL service providers add a line in the contract that YOU sign that says something along the lines of "WE (service provider) do NOT guarantee service in all areas all the time."
Cingular : There are gaps in service within the service areas shown on coverage maps, which, by their nature ...
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When you start cellular service with ANY cellular company, you sign a contract. This contract ALWAYS states the if the service is disconnected before the contract is fulfilled, you agree to pay an early termination fee. Also, ALL service providers add a line in the contract that YOU sign that says something along the lines of "WE (service provider) do NOT guarantee service in all areas all the time."
Cingular : There are gaps in service within the service areas shown on coverage maps, which, by their nature ...
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Well.. how about a prorate of the ETFs.. say I ned to leave for any reason and I have 3 months left.. currently my bill is somewhere around 50$ a mo. so..instead of prorating you stick to your 175 flat fee.. which does two things.. 1. forces me to drop the absolute min plan and 2. Really, really pisses me off. So after all is said and done, you lose money and you continue to contribute to the awful rep CS depts get and that person will sully the brand for a very long time.. probably costing you much more than the 30 bucks you already lost.. Way to think big picture!
Since you are a CS.. can you tell me WHY MY BILL HAS NEVER BEEN THE SAME AMOUNT ANY MONTH IN 4YEARS??? I really don;t get it.. I had heard about this with Cing.. but it...
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Since you are a CS.. can you tell me WHY MY BILL HAS NEVER BEEN THE SAME AMOUNT ANY MONTH IN 4YEARS??? I really don;t get it.. I had heard about this with Cing.. but it...
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rytr23 said:...
Well.. how about a prorate of the ETFs.. say I ned to leave for any reason and I have 3 months left.. currently my bill is somewhere around 50$ a mo. so..instead of prorating you stick to your 175 flat fee.. which does two things.. 1. forces me to drop the absolute min plan and 2. Really, really pisses me off. So after all is said and done, you lose money and you continue to contribute to the awful rep CS depts get and that person will sully the brand for a very long time.. probably costing you much more than the 30 bucks you already lost.. Way to think big picture!
Since you are a CS.. can you tell me WHY MY BILL HAS NEVER BEEN THE SAME AMOUNT ANY MONTH IN 4YEARS??? I really don;t get it.. I had he
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I understand the thought about a prorated early termination fee. There is one state New York which requires early termination fee's to be prorated. The fee is 240 dollars and decreases each month you stay on service. One I do not like goverments whom do not understand economics telling companies and consumers what to do but that is a side issue. The real issue is not the fee but what it is protecting. When you are given a discounted or subsidized phone you are charged more for service, about 25% more. You stating you will stay with a company for 2 years is saying you will give them 2 years of revenew at a certain level. From this income discount are offered. If you choose to leave 3 month early spending 50 dollars a month and want to...
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what about death, military service, adverse change in contract? these are all valid reasons. but I will agree with you that most are just to lazy to read there contract and realize that its a legal binding document. oh well don't forget these angry crazy customers give us our jobs.
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Cingular will waive the ETF in the event of death or military service that takes that customer out of our area!
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I hate this because it is always the wife with her power of attorney. She never wants to suspend service without pay like sshe has the option to(thus honoring her original agreement), no they always want to cancle. I had one in here a month ago flip flopping whether she wanted to use this to cancle her line as well. She had the gall to ask me if she could think about it and come in later to do it!
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Let me add to the Military suspend and cancelation issue. Cingular like all other wireless companies supports the armed services and and accommedates short and long term deployment. However back in the days of AT&T Wireless we started getting calls from customer who just switched over to TMobile to make sure they paid their ETF fee. This was a bit of a shock to AT&T Wireless since these customer had thier accounts suspended for Military deployment. We informed the customer that they needed to go back to what turned out to be a TMobile sub dealer and get their money back and AT&T Wireless would either restore thier service or impose the 175 ETF fee. So for all of you upset with Early termination fee's be careful of an offer that sounds t...
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They're not really angry and the customers are not really all that stupid. They just want to see if they can weasel their way out of $150. Ethical? No. Sad? Yes.
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Odd situation but i had a customer port a line out of his wifes plan three weeks prior to contract end date. ETF was charged however the customer came in and asked if it were possible to reactivate line under a new number. ETF was credited and i got a Two year act. 🙂
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Isn't waiving b/c a cust moved out of a coverage area standard for wireless companies?
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No, most wireless companies will state again that they dont guarantee coverage in 100% of the area, if you move to an area w/o service, then it your responbility as a consumer to either cope with bad service or pay ETF. (I know Cingular doesnt waive b/c of moving, Verizon doesnt, and T-Mobile didnt when i was with them, but that was 3 years ago, they may have changed since then)
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this IS a standard policy if you move to a no service area, (no service meaning that company has no right to sell service in) then you are not accountable for an etf
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Why should the wireless company be responsible for a customer moving to an area with little to no service. The contract you signed stated that you will keep your account open and paid for the next 2 years. If you have a car with no insurance and you total it will the finance company let you out of the car note each month... No they put it on your credit the same way Cingular will...
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MistaBlue1914 said:
Why should the wireless company be responsible for a customer moving to an area with little to no service. The contract you signed stated that you will keep your account open and paid for the next 2 years. If you have a car with no insurance and you total it will the finance company let you out of the car note each month... No they put it on your credit the same way Cingular will...
I'm not talking about little to no service. I am talking about NO SERVICE. Period. Nothing. No towers, no roaming, nothing. I don't get your car analogy. We're talking about a service, not a product.
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LilShorty said:MistaBlue1914 said:
Why should the wireless company be responsible for a customer moving to an area with little to no service. The contract you signed stated that you will keep your account open and paid for the next 2 years. If you have a car with no insurance and you total it will the finance company let you out of the car note each month... No they put it on your credit the same way Cingular will...
I'm not talking about little to no service. I am talking about NO SERVICE. Period. Nothing. No towers, no roaming, nothing. I don't get your car analogy. We're talking about a service, not a product.
Wireless service is the product the csrrier sells...
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No company i know of has that policy, not Cingular, not Verizon, and again, not T-mobile last time i checked. Cingular's policy is not to waive the ETF if you move to an area w/o service, even a "no service" area, and so is Verizons. From experiences with both recently, both of them give the same standard statement that "they dont guarantee service everywhere, and if you move to an area w/o service, that is your responsibility for the ETF"
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asiatic1982 said:
No company i know of has that policy, not Cingular, not Verizon, and again, not T-mobile last time i checked. Cingular's policy is not to waive the ETF if you move to an area w/o service, even a "no service" area, and so is Verizons. From experiences with both recently, both of them give the same standard statement that "they dont guarantee service everywhere, and if you move to an area w/o service, that is your responsibility for the ETF"
*sigh* I work for T-Mobile. I am looking at our policy for waiving the ETF right now. One of the reasons is, and I quote, "Moving Outside of T-Mobile Area or Overseas." It goes on to say that the customer must show acceptable documents for ETF waiv...
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asiatic1982 said:
No, most wireless companies will state again that they dont guarantee coverage in 100% of the area, if you move to an area w/o service, then it your responbility as a consumer to either cope with bad service or pay ETF. (I know Cingular doesnt waive b/c of moving, Verizon doesnt, and T-Mobile didnt when i was with them, but that was 3 years ago, they may have changed since then)
-sigh- i'm tired of people trying to start arguments over something they didnt fully read in the first place. If you'll read my statement, i stated that was three years ago, I never stated anything about T-Mobiles current policy, because I have no idea what it is. I stated that last time i checked, it was a cert...
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asiatic1982 said:
-sigh- i'm tired of people trying to start arguments over something they didnt fully read in the first place. If you'll read my statement, i stated that was three years ago, I never stated anything about T-Mobiles current policy, because I have no idea what it is. I stated that last time i checked, it was a certain way which it was. I had T-mobile, was in the Kansas City area. I called T-mobile to cancel service because i was going to Africa for a year, and of course, no coverage in Africa. Was told I had to pay ETF, paid it, and that was that.
*sigh* If you had read fully, you would have seen that I have been working here for OVER 3 years and it has always been the policy. The o...
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asiatic1982 said:
No, most wireless companies will state again that they dont guarantee coverage in 100% of the area, if you move to an area w/o service, then it your responbility as a consumer to either cope with bad service or pay ETF. (I know Cingular doesnt waive b/c of moving, Verizon doesnt, and T-Mobile didnt when i was with them, but that was 3 years ago, they may have changed since then)
I worked at T-Mo 3 years ago, and it was (and is) that if you move to an area where we had no coverage, ie we pulled it up on our map and it was WHITE indicating NO COVERAGE AT ALL, then we waive the ETF. Yes, no carrier guarantees 100% coverage, but that's usually if you're in a coverage area, and you don't get ...
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LilShorty said:
Isn't waiving b/c a cust moved out of a coverage area standard for wireless companies?
No, and why should it be, all you'd have to do is say change your address and say i moved i need out of my contract, if you move out of the service area, thats not the fault of the carrier, thats why you have the option of doing a change of ownership or cancel and pay the ETF.
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When I had cingular two years ago, I wanted to cancel and not play the ETF. THey would not let me so I did not play the ****ing $600 ETF. I was in the "excellent" coverage area, it was all the ****ing trees around my neighborhood, I coould not help that. They said that it had been a known issue in my neighborhood, and I was like well then why did you not tell me, and he was like they were suppose to. I hate talking to CS, not that all of you are bad, but it just the way they start the conversation with the bitchy attitude. That was what I had to say
PS That stupid 30 day thing is ridiculous, they know you will get good coverage for the first thirty days.
PS That stupid 30 day thing is ridiculous, they know you will get good coverage for the first thirty days.
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🤣 how would cingular know that your service will be good for the first 30 days? this makes no sense. what do you think, that they improve coverage at your address then after 30 days turn it off and laugh there a$$ off because they "punkd you." Come on lets be real. this comment made no sense.
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30 if your not satisfied with the service, not coverage.
I can cancel if i liked the coverage but the cs is horrible, or i don't like the phone, or if it was more than i needed. it's not just for coverage
I can cancel if i liked the coverage but the cs is horrible, or i don't like the phone, or if it was more than i needed. it's not just for coverage
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averagejoe said:
No, and why should it be, all you'd have to do is say change your address and say i moved i need out of my contract, if you move out of the service area, thats not the fault of the carrier, thats why you have the option of doing a change of ownership or cancel and pay the ETF.
Well, you require proof, such as faxing in a utility bill with your current address outside of coverage. I would double check your policies b/c I think it may actually be a legal issue, since technically the provider no longer has anyway of providing service to the customer, which wouldn't be fulfilling their end of the contract.
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LilShorty said:
Well, you require proof, such as faxing in a utility bill with your current address outside of coverage. I would double check your policies b/c I think it may actually be a legal issue, since technically the provider no longer has anyway of providing service to the customer, which wouldn't be fulfilling their end of the contract.
No sorry you are incorrect, i'll explain it to you why. If you sign up for a service package within the cingular service area and then , CHOOSE to move to a area where cingular never offered or never stated they offered service the customer is still gonna be responsible since the customer chose to move, the customer moved in this scenario to where cingular never m...
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T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless will waive the ETF if a customer moves to an area where the carriers have no towers or a license to cover that specific area. Customers in these situations must send in proof of residency, ie. new Driver's license, utility bill with the NEW address on it.
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This is just bad policy for cing. Verizon and tmob both have policies if a customer moves to a no service or extended service area they can cancel without an etf. Even if the company may lose money waiving the etf, its about customer satisfaction. If you force the customer to continue service or pay they won't have anything good to say. If the cancelling customer refers two more customers or maybe reactivates when they move back to a service area it would be worthwhile.
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All companies have unwritten policies about when they will let people out of contract.
Cingular has certain instances when they will let you out of your contract. Now I am not going to give away the ending to this wonderful story but I will tell you be honest with them tell them exactly what is going on and they will work with you. If a CSR is not willing to help there are managers whom if you keep your cool are reasonable. If that does not work their manager has an area manager. If their area manager will not help you their is a director. If the Director will not help you their is the office of the president. If you write the office of the president you will always get a resonable person who will treat you fairly and with considera...
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Cingular has certain instances when they will let you out of your contract. Now I am not going to give away the ending to this wonderful story but I will tell you be honest with them tell them exactly what is going on and they will work with you. If a CSR is not willing to help there are managers whom if you keep your cool are reasonable. If that does not work their manager has an area manager. If their area manager will not help you their is a director. If the Director will not help you their is the office of the president. If you write the office of the president you will always get a resonable person who will treat you fairly and with considera...
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The State of Illinois is VERY close to passing a Wireless Consumers Bill of Rights. This bill is favored by lawmakers will pass and become law.
If so, it is possible that ETF's and other fees imposed by wireless companies will become illegal in Illinois. Then the court battle(s) begin. Illinois is trying to become the California of the Midwest and other states may follow passing similar laws.
Let the battle begin!!!
If so, it is possible that ETF's and other fees imposed by wireless companies will become illegal in Illinois. Then the court battle(s) begin. Illinois is trying to become the California of the Midwest and other states may follow passing similar laws.
Let the battle begin!!!
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chgocell said:
The State of Illinois is VERY close to passing a Wireless Consumers Bill of Rights. This bill is favored by lawmakers will pass and become law.
If so, it is possible that ETF's and other fees imposed by wireless companies will become illegal in Illinois. Then the court battle(s) begin. Illinois is trying to become the California of the Midwest and other states may follow passing similar laws.
Let the battle begin!!!
Better hope not for customers sake, as that is the reason that carriers provide subsidized handsets, and without that will mean the customers in that area will simply pay the no commitment pricing since there is no deterrant for signing up to get a deal on a phone then...
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