Cell-Phone Bill Watch: Introducing the $350 Early Termination Fee

By Brad Tuttle | @bradrtuttle | December 3, 2009 | +

For some smartphones, the fee for jumping ship and canceling your service plan early is now a whopping $350.

Verizon Wireless, which used to charge a $175 at most for what’s known as an ETF (early termination fee), doubled the fee that’s listed in the fine print of many new contracts. Per LA Times’ David Lazarus:

The in-your-face fee applies to BlackBerrys, the much-touted new Droid phones and other smart phones capable of sending and receiving text messages and e-mails as well as accessing the Internet.

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http://money.blogs.time.com/2009/12/11/report-verdict-fcc-needs-to-improve-oversight-of-wireless-phone-services/ Report Verdict: ‘FCC Needs to Improve Oversight of Wireless Phone Services’ – It's Your Money – TIME.com

[...] that's some serious spin there. Verizon just demonstrated its "flexibility" by introducing a highest-ever $350 ETF, and it's not even prorated. You cancel anytime before the contract runs out, and you're hit with a [...]
http://money.blogs.time.com/2010/04/09/whine-time-31-annoying-fees-gripes-and-ways-your-money-is-wasted/ Whine Time: 31 Annoying Fees, Ways Your Money Is Wasted, and Other Reasons to Gripe – It's Your Money – TIME.com

[...] Scenarios Where Early Termination Fees Apply. Includes the obvious one—the fee of up to $350 for canceling your cell phone before the contract is up—but also the rather hefty fees you can incur for early termination of [...]
http://money.blogs.time.com/2010/04/26/cell-phones-when-does-it-make-sense-to-drop-the-contract-and-switch-to-prepaid/ Cell Phones: When Does It Make Sense to Drop the Contract and Switch to Prepaid? – It's Your Money – TIME.com

[...] OK not having the coolest new feature-laden handset, and if you really, really hate the idea of an early termination fee, in which you'll be charged as much as $350 for trying to get out of your wireless contract, then [...]