WASHINGTON (AP) – The government is quietly negotiating to help cell phone customers avoid expensive fees when they cancel contracts with wireless companies, The Associated Press has learned.

Cell phone companies routinely charge customers $175 or more for quitting their service early. Under a proposal to the Federal Communications Commission, the wireless industry would give consumers the opportunity to cancel service without any penalty for up to 30 days after they sign a cell phone contract or until 10 days after they receive their first bill.

The proposal also would cap such fees and reduce them month by month over the course of a contract based on how long customers have left, according to people familiar with the offer speaking on condition of anonymity because the FCC has not accepted it. The plan would not abolish cancellation fees entirely.

In exchange for the government’s approval, the agreement would let cell phone companies off the hook in state courts where they are being sued for billions of dollars by angry customers. If approved by the FCC, the proposal also would take away the authority of states to regulate the charges, known as early termination fees.

The nation’s No. 2 wireless company, Verizon Wireless, offered the proposal to the FCC for its review after high-level meetings with senior FCC officials. It did so in consultation with other leading wireless companies, whose executives indicated they would not oppose its provisions, people familiar with the offer told the AP.

Full Story Here:
Feds may help cell phone users get break on fees

“I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” ~Ronald Reagan~

There’s a lot said in that quote from Mr. Reagan, but maybe we’re about to see an exception to the rule…

We have had cell service for 15 years now, I have never had a problem with my cell service, at least not yet, we used AT&T until about 8 years ago and then switched to Verizon Wireless for cell service, and yes, I know there are switching fees and so forth but we haven’t switched in the middle of a contract, we waited until the contract had expired…

Those fees were put in place by the cell companies for a very good reason, lots of folks were doing the ‘but it and try it’ thing and as soon as some other company came out with a slightly better deal, more minutes, roll over, whatever, they switched, and by doing these frequent switches they caused the cell companies to have an extraordinarily large amount of unnecessary paperwork, causing their operating costs to rise, and those costs were passed on to other customers…

“It’s ridiculous,” said Ric Causey of Allen, Texas, who paid $600 in termination fees to Sprint on contracts for three cell phones after he canceled service because of what he said was poor reception around Dallas.

Somehow, I just don’t believe that, maybe 10 years ago, but not now, not in today’s market, you can’t move in Dallas county without having a cell phone tower or relay somewhere in your immediate line of sight, it’s just not possible…

Now if you’re out in the middle of North Dakota or Montana, maybe Podunk, La, somewhere like that, maybe so, but there’s not a big metropolitan area in the USA that doesn’t have cell towers sticking up everywhere…

One other thing, have you ever noticed that the lefty libbers and tree hugging crowd always gripe about the windmill towers, wind generated electricity?? “They’re an eyesore, they’re dangerous to our little feathered friends“, all that garbage??

Have you ever once heard a tree hugging libber complain because there were too many cell towers as he/she pulled out their Ipod, or whatever the latest thing is, and sent a text message to the local tofu bar for an order to go??

I didn’t think so…

Trackback URL:
http://texasfred.net/archives/1211/trackback/