Verizon doubles early termination fee for smartphones

Verizon Wireless has announced plans to double the early termination fee for users of smartphones, from $175 to $350 USD for those that cancel their contracts early.

Verizon spokesman Jim Gerace says the move should begin on November 15th and will be eligible for anyone using BlackBerrys, the DROID, and other smartphones.

Gerace also adds that the termination fee will decline by $10 for every month the user stays with the contract.

�The cost of smart phones is considerably higher than feature phones for which the early termination fees were created years ago at $175,� Gerace notes.

Analysts believe the move will help protect Verizon's bottom line, which takes a hit everytime a user cancels their service and pockets the difference that Verizon subsidized in the first place to sell the contract.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 8 Nov 2009 3:29

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12 comments

thebox

holy crap, these guys are 2nd in line to poochin' the customer for cell phones. My provider in Canada, charges 400$ early termination fee. How in god's name is this fair? And the 10$ decline for every month the customer stays on contract, that's just their way of you having to fulfill your end of the bargain.
Vultures!!!

8.11.2009 09:59 #1

jpc1284

im pretty sure north america is the only place that still charges for early termination and has contracts for that matter. doesn't matter im leaving verizon to get an iphone anyways

8.11.2009 10:52 #2

Ryoohki

That's really crazy. I wonder if at&t will start following suit. I have verizon right now but at&t is looking better and better every day.

8.11.2009 12:05 #3

H08

Originally posted by jpc1284: im pretty sure north america is the only place that still charges for early termination and has contracts for that matter. doesn't matter im leaving verizon to get an iphone anywaysgood phone, crappy network

8.11.2009 13:02 #4

cyprusrom

I really don't see how protecting their interests/investments makes a company crappy(not that they might not be crappy for different other reasons). Before you sign on the contract, you can do your homework, see if you'd like the phone, if you have enough coverage and so on... I don't think any "honest" customer will be influenced by the policy change in any way.

I personally would never go with a non GSM service like Verizon. If my phone broke(like drop it in beer mug again!), I just take my SIM card out and pop'it in a different phone. If I want to cancel my service and switch to a different network, I can still use my phone easily on a different GSM network, just insert the new SIM card.

8.11.2009 13:48 #5

djeazyg

Quote:Originally posted by jpc1284: im pretty sure north america is the only place that still charges for early termination and has contracts for that matter. doesn't matter im leaving verizon to get an iphone anywaysgood phone, crappy network
I second that....

8.11.2009 15:14 #6

H08

8.11.2009 19:55 #7

emugamer

I would think that before buying a smart phone, like the Droid for example, a person will have done their homework. You have to spend roughly $200 out of pocket with the contract. It would suck for those with unforseen circumstances that have to back out of the contract early. Only issue I see is that $10/month for the standard 2-year contract does not add up to $350. It should be closer to $14/month credit.

Every person I've ever talked to who has an iPhone hates the phone service. Real Estate agents, Attorney's, friends, sales people I've met at different stores....people I've run into from all over. As a matter of interest (and the fact that I don't believe all the media that I read), I've asked everyone I've come into dealing with how they liked their iPhone. Every person has told me it's a great device unless you are trying to make a phone call. Success rate varies from 20%-50%. Don't even try making calls from iPhone to iPhone. I guess if you are already an AT&T customer, it might make sense to opt for an iPhone. But why anyone would choose to switch from VZW to AT&T is beyond me.

9.11.2009 12:27 #8

ek82

Perhaps Verizon is relying on Cellswapper.com

9.11.2009 13:00 #9

Memnock

Verizon is just scared of the iPhone. Their commercials and this doubling of the early termination fees proves that.

9.11.2009 23:28 #10

dbb10001

I wanted to respond by addressing Verizon subscribers affected by this increase of ETFs because they are considering changing to another provider due to a high Verizon plan cost. We tend to think of wireless costs as fixed, but you can tinker with your plan to optimize its features to best suit your usage and often generate significant savings in the process. I know this firsthand because I work in the consumer advocacy division of the company Validas, where we electronically audit and subsequently reduce the average cell bill by 22 percent through our website, http://www.fixmycellbill.com (and I'll add that 22 percent equates to over $450 per year for the average user). Put simply, Validas guards against frivolous and unnecessary charges that over-inflate a cell bill.

You can find out for free if fixmycellbill.com can modify your plan to better suit your individual needs by going to the website. For more info, check out Validas in the national news media, most recently on Fox News at http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/consume...ne_bills_072409 .

Good luck to everyone reading on cutting the wireless costs, especially in light of this unforgiving economy.

Dylan
Consumer Advocacy, fixmycellbill.com

10.11.2009 11:53 #11

gnovak1

Thank you Verizon for convincing me NOT to buy a smartphone.
Buying a SMARTphone would be DUMB !!!

10.11.2009 13:22 #12

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