Geting out of a Cell phone contract?

Eric Alderson · 03-27-2005, 06:44 PM

My girlfriend has had some issues with her phones from Verizon. She has been through at least 4 phones within 2 years but now they can't help since her friend stopped working at one of the store which made it easy to switch out phones. They tell her things like, "it the other persons phone which causes the echo", or "you could be in a bad area" which is ridiculous because her sister has the same service and has no problems. She is so fed up that she thinks it's worth the $175 to cancel the service. Don't these guy's have to provide the consumer with quality service and if not, the contract is void? Has anyone got out of the contract or at least get there problems resolved?

Kyle McKnight · 03-27-2005, 09:54 PM

So she's had 4 bad phones in less than two years? What is she doing to the phones? How much longer is on her contract? I don't know if Verizon allows plan switching without extending contract, but if it's only a few more months she may want to drop to the cheapest plan and let it ride out. Do the math to see if it beats the ETF.

Leila Dougan · 03-28-2005, 12:04 AM

Were they all different phones, or the same one (or at least the same brand)?

It could be the network, it could also be the phone. Ebay is a good place to buy cheap phones. The fancy ones will be expensive, but a used or older model won't be. Just make sure it's unlocked or locked to Verizon before purchasing.

Actually getting out of a cell contract is hard. Pretty much the only way I know of is if you can prove you no longer live in an area that has coverage. But considering Verizon is in a ton of places and the fact that they require quite a bit of proof, that's tough to pull off.

But overall I agree with Kyle. It might just make more sense to drop to the lowest plan and ride it out. At least she'll get some use out of the phone in the mean time.

Alan Erceg · 03-28-2005, 12:12 AM

I work for VZW...

Basically the only way you will get out of a contract is if you move out of a service area and can prove it, Die, have a terminal illness, get called to duty(military), prove that the area your in is a trouble spot with little/no service.

Those are the main reasons.....

There are exceptions, but honestly I would think your g/f would not have any luck trying to get out of the contract now. What exactly is happening with the phone? The phones that have been swapped have they been the same model? Different models?

Eric Alderson · 03-28-2005, 06:00 PM

She has the Samsung SCH-a670. She is on her 2nd one of those. When people call, the other party will hear themselves echo on there phone. I'll call her and hear myself but if I call her sister in the same house under the same service, there is no echo. The people at the store said it could be my phone but it happens to other people with Verizon. They did a software update which helped for a few days, then the echo came back. Could it be that she just has a bad number?

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TonyD · 03-28-2005, 11:45 PM

verizon.

i bought a phone from them about 18 months ago.
the day i took it home the small crystal on the front developed a crack right down the middle.

dont know how it happened becasue i hadn't even realy used the phone yet.

when i went back the next day to ask for an exchange or repair the manager flat out refused.
" did you buy the $5 a month service plan?"

"no"
"sorry" nothing we can do."

i was polite the entire time but no matter what argument i presented, from me being a verizon cell phone customer for about 5 years to just asking for simple customer service so that when this phone runs out i'll buy another verizon phone.

the guy even suggested that i may have run the phone over with my car.

well i was flabbergasted.

i showed him the phone had not a scratch or a mark of any kind on it to indicate it was even barely touched.

he didnt care.
he just wanted to see me leave the store and continue to send my $60 a month for the 2 phones on the contract.

Robert_Gaither · 03-28-2005, 11:58 PM

I would recommend that you tell your girlfriend to lower the volume on her phone as this can be the source of echoing on the phone (her mic might be picking up the earpiece).

Marvin Richardson · 03-29-2005, 12:15 PM

Quote:

he didnt care.

The problem is, they are all like that. It doesn't matter which company it is. I don't understand it. They all act like they have a monopoly, when you can go anywhere else you want once your contract expires. My Sprint is up next month and I'm going Verizon because its supposed to have the best service in my area. They might screw me over too, but I figure at least it will be someone new doing it!

Holadem · 03-29-2005, 12:19 PM

Quote:

They might screw me over too, but I figure at least it will be someone new doing it!

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