http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/ Engadget Mobile Comments for http://mobile.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://mobile.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/-Taylor]]>Jan 30th 2008 4:40AMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Jan 30th 2008 10:06AMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/The HTC one of what? I bought my verizon xv6700 over two years ago, and saw spy shots of the 6800 over 1 year ago. I waited and waited and waited for that phone to come out, and watched as AT&T came out with the 8525, the 6800's cousin, long before i heard any word about the 6800's release date. Rumors came up that the 6800 was supposed to come out last summer, and more spy shots showed up. It showed up on roadmaps and leaked powerpoints, and i kept waiting. It was supposed to come out at the beginning of august last year, and i was waiting, cash in hand, for that magical day. August came and went, with no 6800.
Finally AT&T announced the Tilt, the third in the line of phones that started with the 8125. The 6800 would have only been the second generation from that same line, and not only was it not even out yet, but AT&T was to release their THIRD generation of that phone before VZW could get the second gen model out the door. By that point waiting seemed pointless - why wait for failed release dates over and over again, when, even once that phone did come out, it would be a generation behind AT&T? There was no point. I left Verizon after 7 years because their phones just plain suck.

I did wait for the next HTC model, i waited 11 months, and it never came.
-Taylor]]>Jan 30th 2008 4:21PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/01/19/driver-trouble-makes-angry-mobile-owners-rush-castle-htc-with-bu/

Since you have a Tilt with AT&T you can sue HTC in with the Class Action on the video drivers and since your an ex-Verizon customer, you can sue with the Class Action of the ETF. God Bless America.]]>Jan 30th 2008 7:43PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Jan 30th 2008 1:48PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/
It is the flat-fee ETF that is in dispute, not the simple fact that they have one. This is why you are seeing cellular carriers move to this model.]]>Jan 31st 2008 5:24PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Jan 30th 2008 11:07AMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/"I left and paid my ETF, but now I am gonna get my cash back"
lawsuit

there are certain things you need to have happend to you to qualify, and will be getting a mailer if you meet the stats. at this time there are no idea about the stats will be, however it will not be a "email us to get in on this lawsuit" thing.
]]>Jan 30th 2008 11:18AMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Jan 30th 2008 12:59PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/
The two classes, as the article states, are indeed going to be huge. The second class will likely contain the largest majority of current and former Verizon customers.]]>Jan 31st 2008 5:17PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Jan 30th 2008 12:03PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Jan 30th 2008 12:58PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/
If, on the other hand, your wireless carrier did not fulfill its obligations to you as a customer, that's a whole different ball game. But if you left your carrier early, and you expect the government to bail you out because you wanted a different phone with a different carrier, then you have NOT fulfilled your contract. You need to know what you are agreeing to before you sign a contract.]]>Jan 30th 2008 7:11PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/
The customers who cancel because "service sucks" and don't let VzW even TRY to fix it DESERVE to pay the ETF, same as those who think "the phones suck." These people need to just get over themselves and read the contract that THEY SIGNED!]]>Jan 30th 2008 8:10PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/
What do you guys think? I'm still unclear about the actual lawsuit]]>Jan 30th 2008 8:31PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/
“I find the claimants have complied with the criteria for class certification,” wrote Eugene I. Farber, a former federal judge and senior arbitrator-mediator for the American Arbitration Association in White Plains, N.Y. “My decision is also motivated by my conclusion that as a matter of equity and fairness, millions of class members are entitled to adjudication of the central common questions of fact or law in this arbitration related to whether the $175 early termination fee imposed by respondents Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless … is based upon an unenforceable liquidated damage clause.”

You gotta love Google. Here is a copy of the request for arbitration and class action:

http://www.adr.org/si.asp?id=3707

If you read through the demand for class action, they basically are alleging that Verizon categorizes the ETF as liquidated damages, however, it's really designed to prevent you from moving to another carrier. Therefore, sparing all the gory details, they allege that the ETF is unlawful. Their justification:

* The termination penalty does not vary during the term of the contract. The customer is required to pay the full penalty whether he cancels one day after the contract goes into effect or one day before the date it is scheduled to expire.
* The termination penalty is not a reasonable measure of the anticipated or actual loss that the termination causes Verizon.
* The termination penalty is not designed to compensate Verizon for any damages arising from the termination, but rather is designed to lock in the subscribers of Verizon and serve as a disincentive to prevent Verizon subscribers from switching to competing services.
* The termination penalty imposed by Verizon is an unconscionable, void and liquidated damages provision, and constitutes an unjust, unreasonable, unlawful,
unfair and deceptive practice under all applicable statutes.
* The termination penalty is not a rate charged by Verizon, nor is it part of Verizon’s rate structure, nor is it a rate component. It is a liquidated damages
clause.

They go on to define the classes:

Class A: Anyone who had been *charged* (not who paid) an ETF between November 1, 2000, and November 16, 2006 (except CA residents)

Class B: Anyone who had a Verizon contract which included an ETF and an arbitration clause (that's nearly everyone) from November 1, 2000 to November 16, 2006 (again, except CA)

Of course, this is all still subject to approval and such, but this much has already been determined. ]]>Jan 31st 2008 2:33PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Feb 1st 2008 10:28AMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Feb 1st 2008 3:07PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Feb 3rd 2008 7:00PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/
@Dave

haha i hear ya man. People crap bricks when i tell them they have to pay any $ for pda phones and the like, though for the most part they are getting the picture.]]>Feb 5th 2008 9:57PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/
Read my rant here: http://www.jackassery.com/news/504/]]>Feb 9th 2008 4:47PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/http://mobile.engadget.com/2008/01/30/lawsuit-could-force-verizon-to-pay-up-for-illegal-etfs/Mar 3rd 2008 3:20PM