t-mobile contracts

[cjay]

hi all
does anyone know the best (and cheapest) way to cancel a contract with t-mobile i am half way through an 18 month term but fed up with the cost of data transfer something i didnt check before taking the contract .
i dont want to talk to their customer service until i have some expert advice from you guys
anyone in the know ?

[TheZodiac]

In the US it can be up to a $200 pentalty for cancelling a contract. IT sucks, but if you are getitng porked for DATA then It just maybe worth getting out. What are the other carriers offering in terms of contract with DATA?

[Dubster]

Theres no cheap way except perhaps downgrading to the lowest tariff for a month and paying off the remaining months of the lower tariff or just plead with them and see what happens.

[3gpeasy]

pleading with them won't do; they're only nice to you if you're a loyal customer. buying out = not loyal so they'll try to screw you.

i've worked in disconnections for orange so here's my top tips:

1) find out what the actual lowest tariff is. they'll typically offer their lowest peak xnet tariff, but there may be a cheaper one.

2) wait until your billing date; the tariff will then have taken effect. if you're even more patient, wait until the day before the billing date after that; since you're disconnecting, they can't send you a bill the next day. if you disconnect early in a billing cycle, they just sent you a bill anyway, and you'll still have to pay it :mad: although you would then get credits back afterwards.

3) make sure they deduct the VAT from the final sum. buyouts aren't subject to VAT, unlike line rental for an active phone. they may try to charge you it anyway.

4) see if your contract has a clause with a discount if you buy out before the end. it's not gonna be very much (5% on orange) but every little helps.

5) if you want a pac code, tell them so in the first place. changing a disconnecton request to a pac request is a pain in the arse, and you want the guy on the end of the phone in a good mood. piss him off and you could end up paying a month twice (buying it out and also serving it during the pac validity period)

that's the standard stuff. as well as that, try:

6) do you really need to leave? there may be bundles that can help you out.

7) did you get the contract from t-mobile direct, in a shop, or did somebody phone you up and sell you it? if you went out and got it, you can reasonably be expected to have checked out the terms. if somebody actively sold you it, then try claiming it was mis-sold. contact your dealer's customer services; you didn't understand the charges, they didn't tell you it was an 18-month contract, etc etc. they will fob you off as far as possible (they have a whole department devoted to fobbing up dischuffed punters) but if you mention the Distance Selling Regulations or the Sale of Goods act and threaten legal action, they will pass you on to a supervisor, who will probably be prepared to waive a few charges in return for a quiet life. don't back down, and eventually they'll have to.

if i think of anything else i'll add it on, but i'm going for a kebab just now...

hope that helps

[jmax577]

tell them you are moving. pick a location where they do not have service, find a physical address with house number, zip, city, etc., give them that is your final address to mail the final bill too. Done.

[Box215]

tell them you are moving. pick a location where they do not have service, find a physical address with house number, zip, city, etc., give them that is your final address to mail the final bill too. Done.

unfortuantely, i think that will only work in the US. T-Mobile covers 99% of the UK population, and most European carriers cover almost all of thier countries (they are so small)

[carcomptoy]

So there is an advantage having no service in MANY places:D

[3gpeasy]

unfortuantely, i think that will only work in the US. T-Mobile covers 99% of the UK population, and most European carriers cover almost all of thier countries (they are so small)

true, but it wouldn't help anyway. they won't let you off a contract just cos you've got no service, especially if you've moved cos then it's "your fault".
and they'll have your details on file so if you don't pay your final bill they'll track you down anyway, you'll pay the same and have dodgy credit to boot.

sorry fella, but the only ways (in the uk) are the ones i posted above.

[carcomptoy]

Oh, well...what my parents did is just pay the early contract termination fee. Their carrier didn't get service at our house, and they couldn't stand it any longer, so they switched to mine, T-Mobile USA:D Better to have service rather than paying for no service...

[TheZodiac]

I have this unbelievable suspicsion that eventually the FCC will force the wireless industry to drop early termination fees OR pass a law to substantially lower them.

This will do one of two things, since people usually cancel their contracts because of fees relating to extra services (like mailing photos or DUN): get rid of them al together and bundle "extras" or revamp their monthly packages.

[cjay]

Just spoken to a voice at t-mobile it would seem that you can only downgrade your tarriff at 11 months
To buy out of the contract you have to give 30 days notice then pay the remainig monthly payments less the VAT .
So I guess i'll stay until the 11th month downgrade to their (lowest) tarriff then buy out . Then I can sign up with Orange again
thanks for all your replies its always better to have more than one viewpoint .

[3gpeasy]

I have this unbelievable suspicsion that eventually the FCC will force the wireless industry to drop early termination fees OR pass a law to substantially lower them.


mega-mega unlikely, especially with the level of handset subsidy in the uk, that that will ever happen here.

after all, in any other area of life if you sign up to a contract you have to meet certain conditions to get out of it; usually paying quite a lot of money.

if you take out a loan you gat a load of money, but sign an agreement to pay it all back, and more. if you take out a phone contract you gat a phone and a service plan, but sign an agreement to pay at least a set amount for a set time.

you can't drop termination fees, any more than you can drop loan repayments. the big, bad telcos have to stay solvent, otherwise we don't get to use our lovely shiny little phones.

[carcomptoy]

mega-mega unlikely, especially with the level of handset subsidy in the uk, that that will ever happen here.

after all, in any other area of life if you sign up to a contract you have to meet certain conditions to get out of it; usually paying quite a lot of money.

if you take out a loan you gat a load of money, but sign an agreement to pay it all back, and more. if you take out a phone contract you gat a phone and a service plan, but sign an agreement to pay at least a set amount for a set time.

you can't drop termination fees, any more than you can drop loan repayments. the big, bad telcos have to stay solvent, otherwise we don't get to use our lovely shiny little phones.
Well, seeing as how the FCC probably only has jurisdiction in the United States and its territories, of course it's not gonna happen in the UK...

TheZodiak's just dreaming I guess...we finally got our WNLP and so there possibly could be more concessions in the future:rolleyes:

[3gpeasy]

Well, seeing as how the FCC probably only has jurisdiction in the United States and its territories, of course it's not gonna happen in the UK...


yes, i wasn't really talking about the US, just commenting on the likelihood of what Zodiac was talking about happening here. i really don't know enough about american networks to make considered judgments, so i was just saying wether it would happen here in the UK, which is where this thread was originally about.

and the answer is that no, it won't. in america who knows; handset subsidies are rather different and much lower there so it's more plausible. but from my limited knowledge my guess would be that it won't happen there either.

[wincinfuller]

Ok I bought into t-mobile for my elderly Mother to have a phone from her nursing home. It was never used. I was activated. Before she could use it, it was stolen. Not recovered. NOw the Bay Area Credit service in California sent me a seriously delinquent account notification for $369.24. Is there no recourse? A lawyer maybe? I live in Texas.:rolleyes: