T-Mobile gives in, allows pro-rated early termination fees
By Will Park on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 7:22 PM PST In Announcements, Services, T-Mobile
Contract killing has never been so sweet. No, we’re not condoning homicide-for-hire, we’re talking about killing your wireless contract with your wireless carrier. AT&T (NYSE: T) already gave in to consumer demand, and Verizon recently jumped on the pro-rating bandwagon, so it’s not really surprising that our favorite US carrier is now offering a pro-rated Early Termination Fee (ETF) for its customers.
What this means for T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA customers is that they’ll only pay an ETF commensurate with the remainder of their wireless contracts. So, if you cancel on Day 1 of your contract, you can expect to pony up the full ETF to T-Mobile. But, should you decide to kill your contract during the last few months of your contract, you’ll pay drastically less in penalties.
Don’t get all crazy and kill that T-Mobile contract just yet, people. T-Mobile has only announced their intention to enact a pro-rated ETF policy. They’re still working out the details and expects to have the new policy in effect by mid-2008.
I’m just trying to figure out if T-Mobile is the favorite, then why do we see all these ads for AT&T? Not to mention if they are the prefered wireless provider, why would it matter if you have to pay the full ETF, since one would not be leaving their favorite.