Cell phone contracts

[hookjunior]

Has anybody had any luck getting out of them? Mine isn't up until June '11 and my blackberry pearl is turning into a real p.o.s. and I'm really anxious to get a new android phone.

[pureinsanity]

Buy one off hsolist or HSO-Classifieds. and than call to change the phone you wont need to update your contract.

Keep in mind if you are out of a contract, your smart phone is going to be way more expensive... AKA full retail.

[CAMAN]

Do you have Verizon? They usually send out a card saying you are eligible for a early upgrade about 6th months before your contract is up. That's how I got my Droid2 a couple weeks ago and my contract wasn't up until May 2011. I'm sure the other companies do that as well to prevent you from getting out of contract and going somewhere else.

Otherwise check the big E or HSO-Classifieds for a good deal on a used one.

[Ryan_V]

With tmobile your eligible for a full upgrade 22 months into a 24 month contact. Not sure who your provider is, but they are pretty hardcore when it comes to their contacts. I'd try customer service and see what options you have.

[hookjunior]

I'm with alltel, the bad part is even if I could get an upgrade with them they don't have any of the cool new phones.

[pureinsanity]

Alltel is part of verizon now. Go to a verizon store and shop.

[pureinsanity]

Let me rephrase that. Verizon BOUGHT Alltel. You should be able to get any fancy phone. Do you have a family plan? I am on a family plan and I am the only one who ever wants to upgrade my phone. Three of us are on the plan. I use all three upgrades

When one is eligible, I switch it to my line, than when the other one is eligible I switch it to my line

So if you have a family plan someone else might be eligible and you can "borrow" their upgrade

[hookjunior]

Well I just found out that I am eligible for an upgrade now. They also confirmed that they will be switching to verizon, probably early next year. I checked out their phones and they have one that is the same as the first droid but its $200 and verizon is selling the droid 2 for the same price so it doesn't seem like a good deal. I asked and they will not let me switch to verizon early. So now I need to decide if I want to pay new price for an older model phone, wait until they make the switch and then get the phone I really want, or if I should get a cheaper $50 android phone for now and upgrade to the X when they make the switch. I'm leaning toward the third option because my blackberry is really driving me nuts. Any advise?

[pureinsanity]

I would call verizon and see what you can do, there has to be a legal stipulation. and I am sure there is significant service for verizon where you live. It gets tricky with companies buying out other companies. Like sprint and nextel, I still don't think they are under one name completely yet

[pureinsanity]

Find a used phone, stick it out. switch to verizon ASAP.

or stick it out and wait to see what phones are available at the time you switch over to verizon.

[Loose]

Find a used phone, stick it out. switch to verizon ASAP.

or stick it out and wait to see what phones are available at the time you switch over to verizon.

When I got my new phone a couple months ago, verizon phone but alltell plan yet, once we finally have to switch over to verizon I guess were gonna get less for more

Like others said HSO-Classifieds is a good place,that way you dont have to resign a contract too, you can get some nice phones for cheap, just have to be carefull if buying slightly used or refurbished.

[pureinsanity]

check rhymes with gregslist and E bay

[spearchucker]

When I got my new phone a couple months ago, verizon phone but alltell plan yet, once we finally have to switch over to verizon I guess were gonna get less for more

Like others said HSO-Classifieds is a good place,that way you dont have to resign a contract too, you can get some nice phones for cheap, just have to be carefull if buying slightly used or refurbished.

You can still keep your Alltel plan. I got new phones and signed a new contract, but they allowed me to keep my existing Alltel plan which was much cheaper and suited me better than the Verizon plans.

[Shack]

Dude! You can get out of a cell phone contract lock, stock and barrel. I have helped friends with Sprint, Verizon, AT&T with getting out of their contract the last two years. Sprint by far is the easiest. Everyone I know has been able to even keep their phones but they were older ones. My buddies Nextel was only 6 months old when he switch to AT&T and they never asked for it back.

One very quick search and I found this:

Quote:

If you've decided to leave your Alltel service behind, you'll want to know how to cancel your contract and move on. Whether you choose to pay for the early termination or you want to find a cheaper way out, there are several options you can employ.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

How to Get out of an Alltel Cell Phone Contract

1

Call Alltel customer service and request a contract disconnect. As of June 2009, you will be charged a fee of between $175 to $200 for leaving Alltel service early. However, you still will be able to move your number to a new service if you complete the number change before requesting the disconnection.

2

Write down any services issues you are having and call Alltel customer service immediately after the issues occur. This will include disconnected numbers, voicemails being received when your phone doesn't ring, no voicemails being received when they are left and high speed data signals being constantly lost in your area. The more instances you report, the better the chance you have of ending your contract without additional fees.

3

Escalate your complaints to a customer service representative manager. They typically are the only parties authorized to waive early termination fees (ETF). Once they agree to release you because of constant service issues, request that they provide the non-ETF agreement to you in writing for your own records.

4

Offer to pay off the cost of your phone in exchange for not being assessed an ETF fee. These fees are imposed to pay for the large discount you have received on your phone. For instance, if you received your phone for $100 and it typically costs $225 with no contract, it might be cheaper for you to pay the $125 difference rather than a $200 early termination fee. You might need to escalate this to a manager for approval.

5

Visit CellTradeUSA or Cellswapper, which offer cell phone contract trading service. These sites allow users to find other people looking for a short-term contract to take over. For example, have a user at CellTradeUSA send in the necessary paperwork to Alltel to assume control of your contract. Once they pass the necessary credit checks, they become the responsible party for the remainder of your contract.

Most times you just have to read a legal script exactly the way it is worded and they legally have to drop the contract (Sprint with a contract prior to 18 months ago and Verizon with a contract prior to last August) . If you look further on-line, you might find a way like this with an Alltel contract.

If they request your phone be sent back, just send it back.

If you need to get out of a contract, I guarantee there is some way and nothing shady has to be done on your past. You are the victim. Cell phone companies change their end all the time to suit their needs with out your knowledge. I guess the only thing to that is the cell user signed a contract that allows them to do that, but some times the cell companies are shady and fudge things at times themselves (Sprint is famous for this) and thanks to whom ever watching, they get caught and a loophole is provide on-line to get out of your cell contract. Cellphone contracts are made to broken.

[trailbreaker]

i wouldn't use verizon if they were the last cellphone co on earth.. i had nothing but headaches, sent me a rebate check that bounce in my checking

sent another on a week later,if they think i'm paying $135 their nuts

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I had 6 months left with T-Mobile and was hot for a Droid Incredible for several months. Funny thing happened, once my contract was up I was VERY reluctant to enter into a new contract with anyone.

A two year contract is an eternity with the way phones are changing now. I decided to buy a used MyTouch so I could have a smartphone, but not sign a new contract.

I may decide to enter into a new agreement down the line, but will be extremely picky about it before I do.

I actually like the phone I bought. Not the fastest, but better then the dumbphone I was using. Already know that my next phone must have a FM tuner. Thought they all did, but was wrong. Can't listen to the TV's at the gym without FM.

[upnorth]

Yeah I am about to make the plunge in to the smartphone world. Had a BB at my last place of work(supplied by them) and kind of miss it. Been looking at the Samsung Captivate. Just can't make up my mind if I want a phone that large.

[trailbreaker]

i signed up with t-mobile two months ago how can i get out of it with out paying a ETF

[LwnmwnMan2]

We have 5 phones on our plan. Mine, wife, father, mother and mother-in-law.

I have it spaced out so there's an upgrade available about every 4-5 months.

I upgrade whichever line to my phone, then pass my phone along.

I'm running an Incredible right now, waiting for my replacement "X", and I can tell you I already miss the "X".

I know the screen isn't THAT much bigger, but it IS that much bigger.

[pureinsanity]

Verizon is actually good specially if you have a family plan. I am basically the only one who ever upgrades as the rest of the family doesn't want a smart phone. they want a basic flip phone.

After a about 6-8 months it seems Verizon always lets you upgrade early. Along with like LwnmwnMan2 said, if you space them out you can upgrade every few months. Keep in mind family plans you can transfer upgrades. I wouldn't even doubt it if they let you transfer to a completely different account if you knew a friend that didn't want to upgrade.