YACell Phone Company Thread - cancelled my TMobile subscription, hit with a 449.00 "contract termination" fee

[waggy]

well if it is in the contract suck it up and pay up.

you will lose. they will send it to collections wich will ruin your credit (somehow i doubt that bothers you). but i agree with mike..

 

[PastaPete]

um. why wouldn't that bother me? where did i say that if i cant get out of the fee i won't pay it? i don't want to ruin my 790 credit score at the age of 23! (self made speculator/investor, i own 5 rental properties)

i understand though.

it's ok to agree with mike (even though he is a doofus).. as they say even a broken clock is right twice a day!

 

[bigrash]

sorry kids, but I gotta take Mike's side on this one. This is very common practice with third party cell phone vendors. That's one of the risks that you take by not buying straight from the phone company so that you can buy a cheaper phone. i believe they still give you the 1 month to cancel if you have poor service. if it's in the contract, there's nothing you can do and you should pay up before the decide to go with a collection agency.
same thing happened to me a few years ago. i terminated a contract early and they were going to charge me $150, but luckily the credit card i had on file was expired and they didnt bother to come after me. at least now I know to make sure what the contract termination fee is when I sign up and I make sure not to break it.

do I think it's not fair? sure. but I don't think it's sleazy at all.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

My question is why did you go through a 3rd party to get a phone? All the cell providers have stores everywhere. The 3rd party cmpany is going after you for the commision they would have made from t-mobile had you kept the account active.

 

[thirdlegstump]

Difficult situation here. I'd follow up promptly with TMobile customer care management and complain nicely about the service and to ask for a waiver. Being nice is what's important here and will only help in a situation like this.

If that still doesn't work, have them point out the clause of the originally signed contract that specifically states that you are mandated to pay X amount of dollars. If they fail here, they should have no case but based on your posts, it may be that you fully understood the contract.

Remember that these fees cover all sorts of administrative expenses which are calculated during risk management of the business and are indeed fair. If you do not pay, they can only resort to selling your balance to a collection agency who are going to hound you until they get as much as possible from you and inevitably ruin your credit history. It'll cost you more money in the long run by avoiding the issues IMHO.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: PastaPete
she called me back and the lady used a "strong arm" tactic and tried to act intimdating on the phone. I told her to fax/email me a copy of the contract, and to pls issue a letter with my name on it not this lady from FL.

You really stuck it to them

 

[PastaPete]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: PastaPete
she called me back and the lady used a "strong arm" tactic and tried to act intimdating on the phone. I told her to fax/email me a copy of the contract, and to pls issue a letter with my name on it not this lady from FL.

You really stuck it to them

LOL

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: PastaPete

Originally posted by: Mike
Well, was it in the contract?

yes it was. still doesn't justify it.

Pasta,

The carrier (T-Mobile) pays the retailer a finders fee based on the length of the contract. When you cancelled, the retailer probably had to refund some or all of the fee to the carrier.

Now I bet you the fee wasn't $450 so you might be able to negotiate, but if it was in the contract and you signed the contract, then you haven't much to fight with if they choose to pursue it.

 

[brtspears2]

You bought from a 3rd party, I'm sure you accepted their free phone. Now you cancel on them, the shop doesn't or loses their commission because of you. And, they lose a telephone since you have it. Many cases, 3rd party authorized resellers have a store contract to not cancel in 6 months, else you owe them the cost of the hardware.

Example: Bought 1 Sidekick, 2 V3, 1 Nokia 6101 from a 3rd party T-Mobile reseller. I agreed not to cancel for 6 months, or else the store will take the retail value of the phones (at the time, $1,200) from my credit card. After 6 months, I can cancel with tmobile, but I will take a tmobile cancellation charge per line.

 

[PastaPete]

called up, told the woman that i will offer 300$ right now or ill hand it over to my lawyers... 300$ later contract is termed