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Beat early termination fees for cell phones

Finally, logic is starting to prevail in some parts of our cell phone society.

AT&T has announced it too will prorate its "early termination fee" --- the charge it levies for breaking your contract before it expires.

The company will reduce the previously flat $175 fee by $5 for every month the contract has been in effect for contracts that start or renew after May 25. So, if you're considering an iPhone or if your contract is already month-to-month, it might be worth your while to wait a month or two before you re-up.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which broke the news earlier this week, noted that Verizon Wireless started offering pro-rated fees in 2006.

 

What other changes would make your cell phone bill more palatable? I can't understand why text messages cost so much when it costs the company nearly nothing to provide the service, according to this analysis. And our European and Asian neighbors never pay for incoming calls.

Comments

We have European and Asian neighbors?!

You know what sucks most about my cell phone bill? The taxes and levies. It's like Ticketmaster fees -- all of a sudden you're paying 30% more than advertised! Boo.

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A native of Vietnam, Dan Thanh Dang has lived in Maryland most of her life and has been a Baltimore Sun reporter since 1990. She's written about everything from mayoral elections and murder to energy prices and online dating. These days, she writes about a topic she's all too familiar with, spending money -- how to save more of it, blow all of it, use it wisely and avoid getting ripped off in the process.
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