Consumer groups testify before a House Subcommittee

One person who deals with cell phone complaints frequently is a columnist known as "The Fixer," whose columns appear in the Chicago Sun-Times. According to the section on cell phone tips, many customers write in to complain about early termination fees they encounter when trying to cancel their cell phone contracts.

Some have a common problem - they made a change to their cell phone contract and discovered that their contract has started over, meaning that they may have another two years to wait until they can cancel their phone contract without paying an early termination fee.

Consumer cell phone user

Consumer groups testified in July before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet to speak out against the industry's most abusive practices - "excessive early termination fees, hobbling mobile phone features, and locking out competitive applications."

According to documents detailing the testimony of Chris Murray, Senior Counsel of Consumers Union, the claims that cell phone companies make defending their use of early termination fees are patently false. One claim that is often made is that the early termination fee is charged because companies offer subsidies or discounts to consumers. Murray's testimony argues this, saying that consumers who purchase an iPhone for full price still face an early termination fee if they end their contracts early.

"Furthermore," Murray goes on to state, "wireless carriers simply do not offer the option to consumers of paying full retail for their phone in order to avoid getting locked into a multi-year contract. So clearly, 'subsidy' is no excuse for these Early Termination Fees."

Murray ends by noting that people who rent apartments can terminate their tenancy with only one month's rent, yet cell phone customers pay early termination fees that can cost up to half a year's service to end their cell phone contracts. He calls for either the elimination of early termination fees or at the most a charge of one month's service for people who end their contracts early.

Check back here for more articles as this story develops...

Consumer groups testify before a House Subcommittee

Cell Phone Companies Legal Help

ADD YOUR COMMENT ON THIS STORY