Get out of your Sprint contract ETF free

[boomhower]

I hadn't seen a thread dedicated to this yet so here it is. Sprint is raising there Administrative Fee by $1.50. They are letting customers out of there contract with no fight whatsoever. Just call up and tell them you want to cancel because of the fee increase and they will do it without arguing, for the most part. With the new ETF's going to $350 I would imagine this is the last time it's going to happen for a long time so if you want out I would jump on it now.

 

[gorcorps]

Any confirmation on this? Last time somebody claimed that a phone company changed their fees and it would be an "easy out of the ETF"... it wasn't. People bitched and moaned and they still couldn't get out of it. Unless you have 1st hand experience of getting out of it I'd be leery of any internet story. Not saying it isn't worth a shot anyway, just nobody get their hopes up.

 

[Slick5150]

People on SD have been rather successful, so yes, seems like its a go.

(I'm already out of contract otherwise I could confirm myself)

 

[boomhower]

SD and sprintusers.com both confirm it works just fine. Sprint evidently anticipated it and decided ahead of time not to argue the point and are just letting people go. Here's a nice long thread to peruse:

http://sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222931

 

[her209]

What if you have a family plan? One of my lines has a phone under contract. The other 3 lines are out of contract already? Can I just cancel the one line without penalty?

 

[boomhower]

What if you have a family plan? One of my lines has a phone under contract. The other 3 lines are out of contract already? Can I just cancel the one line without penalty?

It may take some effort. Some reps will let you cancel just one line and go month to month but in general it's a cancel to port out deal, not a cancel and stay month to month. Some are getting them to let them go month to month but it's much rarer. Also keep in mind that with Sprint contracts and upgrade dates are separate so just because you get them to let your contract month to month doesn't mean you can upgrade your phone.

 

[abaez]

Nice move on Sprint not fighting and being assholes to their customers like Verizon.

 

[her209]

It may take some effort. Some reps will let you cancel just one line and go month to month but in general it's a cancel to port out deal, not a cancel and stay month to month. Some are getting them to let them go month to month but it's much rarer. Also keep in mind that with Sprint contracts and upgrade dates are separate so just because you get them to let your contract month to month doesn't mean you can upgrade your phone.

But if I could cancel ETF-free but can't go month-to-month, I would cancel the line, and then re-add the line with 2-year contract when the new Samsung Epic 2 4G phone comes out. I would have to figure out how to save the phone number. Do you get a grace period for porting your number?

 

[ponyo]

SD and sprintusers.com both confirm it works just fine. Sprint evidently anticipated it and decided ahead of time not to argue the point and are just letting people go. Here's a nice long thread to peruse:

http://sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222931

So OP, have you canceled?

 

[her209]

I contact Sprint Customer Service via chat and asked if the increase in Administrative Fee was true and if I would be affected. The rep said yes. I asked if I could get out of my contract on the one line. The rep said the best thing they could do was have Sprint Retention call me back.

How should I proceed when they call me?

 

[ew915]

Like someone stated before this is a "deal" to cancel and port to another carrier, not something you cancel and sign up a contract to get a new phone.

 

[boomhower]

So OP, have you canceled?

Yeah, a couple months ago. I got feed up with Sprint adding fees and changing terms on upgrades at their whim. I'm on Verizon now and much happier. They are far from perfect but the better coverage has been worth the additional cost.($15 in my case across three lines, pretty insignificant). I got right before they started doing the tiers.

 

[JS80]

How long will this last?

 

[boomhower]

How long will this last?

Typically until you pay the bill the new fee is on. By paying the bill you agree to the change.

 

[her209]

Like someone stated before this is a "deal" to cancel and port to another carrier, not something you cancel and sign up a contract to get a new phone.

Its the same thing. I can either cancel and get a new phone and contract on a Sprint competitor network or on Sprint.

 

[JS80]

Its the same thing. I can either cancel and get a new phone and contract on a Sprint competitor network or on Sprint.

I think they put your phone # on a 30 day period where you can't re-sign up as a new customer.

 

[slag]

But if I could cancel ETF-free but can't go month-to-month, I would cancel the line, and then re-add the line with 2-year contract when the new Samsung Epic 2 4G phone comes out. I would have to figure out how to save the phone number. Do you get a grace period for porting your number?

I tried to do this last week and here's my story.

I could call and cancel my service, but wouldn't be able to rejoin for a period of 45 days as a new customer. My number would stay with me for 30 days if I wanted to keep the number and re-sign on. I was not able to go month to month, only cancel penalty free. I brought up an error with a charge on my account to the amount of $20.00 and they decided to credit me instead $50.00 on the following month's bill.

So, to summarize, only 30 days to keep my number, but it would take 45 days for me to be treated as a new customer if I wanted the benefits of a cheaper new phone. I opted instead to stay with Sprint, take the $50.00 credit, and also was given an airrave due to the horrible signal inside and outside my house.

 

[ImDonly1]

How long will this last?

You have 30 days from when the fee goes in effect which is September 9th, 2011. After that, if you do not call it is as if you agree with the new fee.

Also to clarify, the fee is going up to $1.50 from $1. It increased 50 cents, not $1.50 as in the original post.

If you are unsure what to say when they call. You must call the retentions/line cancelling department and NOT online chat. Look at the first post here
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3212758

You are not supposed to be able to cancel until the fee goes into effect, but some people are getting out of it early.

 

[Thegonagle]

You guys are lucky if you want out at Sprint.

Other wireless carriers do a one time credit equal to the fee increase times number of months remaining, but wouldn't let you out of contract a day early.

 

[kamikazekyle]

My procrastination paid off for once if this works. I switched to Tmobile prepaid recently and was dreading calling up to cancel (didn't really mind the ETF all that much with the sheer amount of cash I'm saving), so I kept putting it off. Guess I'll try to call in and see if I can cancel without an ETF before I have to wait another billing cycle.

 

[Cstefan]

For me, I moved and now have no sprint service, but ATT/Verizon work 100%. My work provides me an ATT phone. I am cancelling MY personal line, porting it to google voice. My wife wants to change her # anyway, so we are getting her a Cricket or TMo phone with the cheapest rate we can.

 

[shortylickens]

SD and sprintusers.com both confirm it works just fine. Sprint evidently anticipated it and decided ahead of time not to argue the point and are just letting people go. Here's a nice long thread to peruse:

http://sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222931

Thats good cuz Verizon butt-raped people and I just sucked up the ETF since I was tired of their nonsense.

 

[zsdersw]

I'm not satisfied with the price of other carriers' unlimited data plans, so I will be staying with Sprint... with or without the $1.50 administrative fee.

 

[BabaBooey]

I just called and she closed my acct. with no hassle,no ETF...:thumbsup:

 

[Dulanic]

I am going to call October 3rd (My 1 year date and 25 days after the change) and bribe for another upgrade reset on one of my lines. I really would prefer to stay with unlimited and better pricing so I will push retetions for a upgrade reset early or I cancel w/o EFT.