Looks like T-Mobile has decided to increase their text messaging rates. As has been the case when other carriers have made similar moves, this constitutes a material breach of contract on T-Mobile's part, allowing customers to jump ship without paying the hefty $200-per line ETF.
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Change doesn't go into effect until June 1st
You have 30 days from from date of notice to cancel.. if you got your bill now and wait till june to cancel, it will be too late since you 'agree' to terms if you do not inform them of your disagreement in 30 days.
Message edited by: MeraNamJoker on 2007-04-02 22:46:01 CDT
they increased their txt rates a while back. did you try to cancel and not pay the fee. is this confirmed? also, I think this should go in the Deal Discussion forum. or maybe not
alisarom said:Looks like T-Mobile has decided to increase their text messaging rates. As has been the case when other carriers have made similar moves, this constitutes a material breach of contract on T-Mobile's part, allowing customers to jump ship without paying the hefty $200-per line ETF.No, it doesn't, and no, this isn't a "Hot Deal". :rolleyes:
From the TM Terms Of Service:
"Changes to the Agreement or Charges. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, IF WE: (A) INCREASE THE CHARGES INCLUDED IN YOUR MONTHLY RECURRING ACCESS RATE PLAN, OR (B) MODIFY A MATERIAL TERM OF OUR AGREEMENT WITH YOU AND THE MODIFICATION WOULD BE MATERIALLY ADVERSE TO YOU, WE WILL NOTIFY YOU OF THE INCREASE OR MODIFICATION AND YOU CAN CANCEL THAT SERVICE WITHOUT PAYING A CANCELLATION FEE (WHICH IS YOUR ONLY REMEDY) BY FOLLOWING THE CANCELLATION INSTRUCTIONS IN THE NOTICE. IF YOU DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SERVICE BY FOLLOWING THOSE INSTRUCTIONS, OR YOU OTHERWISE ACCEPT THE CHANGE, THEN YOU AGREE TO THE INCREASE OR MODIFICATION, EVEN IF YOU PAID FOR SERVICE IN ADVANCE. IF THE NOTICE DOES NOT SAY HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO CANCEL, THEN IT IS WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE NOTICE, UNLESS A LONGER PERIOD IS REQUIRED BY LAW. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, CHARGES FOR PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OPTIONAL SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER CHARGES THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR MONTHLY RECURRING ACCESS RATE PLAN (SUCH AS DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE, ROAMING, DOWNLOADS, AND THIRD-PARTY CONTENT) ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO USE THOSE SERVICES, OR YOU OTHERWISE AGREE TO THE CHANGES, THEN YOU AGREE TO THE NEW CHARGES. VISIT OUR WEB SITE, RETAIL LOCATIONS, OR CALL CUSTOMER CARE FOR CURRENT CHARGES."
Most people cite item (B) as the reason to break the contract and get out of the ETF. Increasing TM charges is not a material change, however, since you can stop all TM by simply telling them to block that service. Notice the last bloded sentence - text messaging falls into that category, as it's an OPTIONAL SERVICE, not part of your rate plan.
Often, though, you'll get CSRs who will approve the contract break with no ETF, but that's simply the company (TM, Cingular, VZW, et. al) being nice, not being forced to.
So if my kid is allotted say 40 test messages a month and she doesnt go over that then nothing changes for me. it is only when she goes over the 40 a month is when I have to pay the higher fee.
Strange how they didnt raise the cost of my monthly plan though.....or did they? Heck, all i know is that I went from a $39.99 a month plan to paying close to $60.00 a month !!!!!
Izpoof said:Strange how they didnt raise the cost of my monthly plan though.....or did they? Heck, all i know is that I went from a $39.99 a month plan to paying close to $60.00 a month !!!!!
That is because they charge a bunch for tax. My T-Mobile plan is $65.00 and each month after tax it is closer to $87. Man i want out of T-Mobile the service is just not there anymore. Any one else having problems that they did not have 3 years ago.
cquintanilla2001 said:Izpoof said:Strange how they didnt raise the cost of my monthly plan though.....or did they? Heck, all i know is that I went from a $39.99 a month plan to paying close to $60.00 a month !!!!!
That is because they charge a bunch for tax. My T-Mobile plan is $65.00 and each month after tax it is closer to $87. Man i want out of T-Mobile the service is just not there anymore. Any one else having problems that they did not have 3 years ago.
I know, Its freakin crazy, when I txt overseas, they take the 15 cents a txt fee and and charge about 5-7 cents over that. it adds up fast when you do a bunch of international txting. my plan is 59.99 and I pay about 95.00 a month
Woohoo! I've been waiting far too long for this. I still have more than a year to go with the current contract. So, do you have to be a text user to be able to get out of the contract? I hardly ever use text messaging.
kopitubruk said:Woohoo! I've been waiting far too long for this. I still have more than a year to go with the current contract. So, do you have to be a text user to be able to get out of the contract? I hardly ever use text messaging.You won't get out of your contract because of this. Read my post above. It's also well-covered on HowardForums.com; many, many people have tried and most have been unsuccessful, for the very reason I stated previously.
The CSR lied, or was too dumb to know how to do it. My GF has TM, and her daughter's phone is blocked from any TMs except admin (i.e., from TM directly, and no charge for those.) I have Cingular, and the same goes for my sons phones.
HotStuff2 said:alisarom said:Looks like T-Mobile has decided to increase their text messaging rates. As has been the case when other carriers have made similar moves, this constitutes a material breach of contract on T-Mobile's part, allowing customers to jump ship without paying the hefty $200-per line ETF.No, it doesn't, and no, this isn't a "Hot Deal". :rolleyes:
From the TM Terms Of Service:
"Changes to the Agreement or Charges. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, IF WE: (A) INCREASE THE CHARGES INCLUDED IN YOUR MONTHLY RECURRING ACCESS RATE PLAN, OR (B) MODIFY A MATERIAL TERM OF OUR AGREEMENT WITH YOU AND THE MODIFICATION WOULD BE MATERIALLY ADVERSE TO YOU, WE WILL NOTIFY YOU OF THE INCREASE OR MODIFICATION AND YOU CAN CANCEL THAT SERVICE WITHOUT PAYING A CANCELLATION FEE (WHICH IS YOUR ONLY REMEDY) BY FOLLOWING THE CANCELLATION INSTRUCTIONS IN THE NOTICE. IF YOU DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SERVICE BY FOLLOWING THOSE INSTRUCTIONS, OR YOU OTHERWISE ACCEPT THE CHANGE, THEN YOU AGREE TO THE INCREASE OR MODIFICATION, EVEN IF YOU PAID FOR SERVICE IN ADVANCE. IF THE NOTICE DOES NOT SAY HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO CANCEL, THEN IT IS WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE NOTICE, UNLESS A LONGER PERIOD IS REQUIRED BY LAW. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, CHARGES FOR PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OPTIONAL SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER CHARGES THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR MONTHLY RECURRING ACCESS RATE PLAN (SUCH AS DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE, ROAMING, DOWNLOADS, AND THIRD-PARTY CONTENT) ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO USE THOSE SERVICES, OR YOU OTHERWISE AGREE TO THE CHANGES, THEN YOU AGREE TO THE NEW CHARGES. VISIT OUR WEB SITE, RETAIL LOCATIONS, OR CALL CUSTOMER CARE FOR CURRENT CHARGES."
Most people cite item (B) as the reason to break the contract and get out of the ETF. Increasing TM charges is not a material change, however, since you can stop all TM by simply telling them to block that service. Notice the last bloded sentence - text messaging falls into that category, as it's an OPTIONAL SERVICE, not part of your rate plan.
Often, though, you'll get CSRs who will approve the contract break with no ETF, but that's simply the company (TM, Cingular, VZW, et. al) being nice, not being forced to.
Sir, Does this mean that even if they increase the rates for minutes , we cant break the contract as we can bar outgoing calls. ie till they increase the monthly plan fees , we cant break the contract...
not sure about the rate hikes. i noticed it for the new plans. but i'm still paying 9.99 unlimited txt messaging on my family plan with two lines. guess i won't be renewing anytime soon. hehe.
HotStuff2 said:kopitubruk said:Woohoo! I've been waiting far too long for this. I still have more than a year to go with the current contract. So, do you have to be a text user to be able to get out of the contract? I hardly ever use text messaging.You won't get out of your contract because of this. Read my post above. It's also well-covered on HowardForums.com; many, many people have tried and most have been unsuccessful, for the very reason I stated previously.
You're wrong. I read the thread (and posted on it several times). Only one poster attempted to get out but the CSR was waiting for management to let him know what he should do...
T-Mobile USA subscribers get an out: ETF can be waved over increased texting fee
By Matt Kapko Story posted: March 23, 2007 - 1:40 pm EDT
T-Mobile USA Inc. has confirmed that its recently announced rate increase on pay-per-use text messages will be regarded as a material change to the terms and conditions of its subscribers’ contracts, hence allowing them to cancel service without incurring early termination fees.
“Customers may terminate their contract without incurring an ETF soon after receiving their notification of the pricing change,” T-Mobile USA spokesman Peter Dobrow wrote in an e-mail to RCR Wireless News.
T-Mobile USA didn’t elaborate on whether all of its customers would be allowed to cancel without paying the fee. Customers who pay for text messages in bundles—and therefore don’t pay the per-message fee—as well as those who don’t use text messaging at all won’t be affected by the change and therefore may not be able to claim it as a change to their service.
While the four largest U.S. carriers have all increased their pay-per-use rate for text messages from 10 cents to 15 cents over the past few months, each claims the changes affect customer contracts and ETFs differently.
AT&T Inc.’s Cingular Wireless said it was simply a pricing change for an optional service and that subscribers would still have to pay the fee to cancel their contract. However, when Sprint Nextel Corp. made the change, the carrier said it would only allow affected customers to cancel their service without paying the carrier’s ETF; customers on text-messaging plans were not able to get out of their contracts scot-free.
I would also argue the point that bundled TM users as well as non-users might not apply. Those folks are still affected by this change in that a bundle user who uses up all his TMs would also pay the increased rate, as would the non-user that happens to just text once.
The only people that I believe wouldn't apply would be the folks with the unlimited text bundle, which I have =(
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