Just a word of caution to anyone out there with an itchy credit card finger: signing up for a contract with Verizon just became a considerably more binding affair thanks to a big boost of its contract early termination fee from $175 to $350.
Rumored for a few days now, the change became official as of yesterday, which means that anyone who bought an "advanced device" prior to the 14th is in the clear. The advanced device list can be found on Verizon's site, and as you might expect, it's a little broad and ridiculous -- winners like the
Versa,
Exilim, and
Glyde are on there, so they're obviously not just referring to smartphones. They throw you a bone by reducing the ETF by a stout $10 for every month of the contract you successfully hurdle, but that still leaves you with a $120 ETF 23 months into a 24-month deal... so yeah, just be careful out there and don't do anything rash, alright?
posted Nov 15th 2009 2:44PM
Cocaine's a hell of a drug....I just signed up for the $700 ETF!
It's things like this and demanding $15 a month to access an exchange server on the Droid (absolutely NO reason for this, it's not going through one of RIM's servers or something) that made me avoid signing up with Verizon. They might have the best network in the U.S. but it seems like they're trying to gouge their customers at every turn.
The $15 charge is only if you have a corporate account with Verizon, in which case your company should be footing the bill for your cell phone anyway. As for the reason for the price increase, it doesn't apply to 99.9% of people, so meh?
And the ETF increase was to make it such that people didn't benefit from ETF fee abuse:
$200 (phone) + $175 (ETF) = buying a $550 phone for $375. And now it's $200 (phone) + $350 (ETF) = $550, and that's assuming you cancel immediately. Do you really think that makes sound business sense to ANYONE? People need to remember that the money you pay for a phone is not the phone's true cost. It's subsidized!
I hate to be a party pooper, but a loophole like this wasn't going to be open for long, regardless of which carrier did it first.
I wouldn't do it. If you subscribe to a service and realize after the 30 days that you don't like the service, then you are putting up a hefty sum. No thank you. I wouldn't want to be locked into any contract for that amount.
Three months left to go and I'm off to the iPhone. Verizon, you should have said yes to Apple.
Verizon was never going to get the iPhone because Apple was never going to make multiple versions. And back then (heck even now), there weren't any CDMA/UTMS dual-mode chips on the same die (Verizon has multiple phones that have them in the same package, but that makes the phone bulky and more expensive).
Qualcomm is just now getting around to making true CDMA/UTMS mix-mode chips that are small enough for cell phones (they've been making them for 3G USB cards for a while under the "Gobi" market name). It's just a matter of time until there's one phone to rule them all.
@dagamer43...having CDMA/UMTS makes the phone too bulky...Have you ever seen the Imagio or the Storm 2...or hey how bout the Tour? All three have quad-band GSM and CDMA (1x and EVDO) and the Imagio and Storm 2 have Wifi...and the Imagio is certainly thin. There is much more to it than the technology not being available. It was available back then and it's even more available now. The decision was business control related.
@ Anon - ok, good for you. go away now. thank you.
This happened in canada about 2-3 years ago. One carrier changed their fee from $200 up to $400 and it had no impact at all on people's buying decisions, and so all the other carriers followed along. I'd expect the same thing to happen in the states... all the major carriers will do the same thing, and people won't change their buying habits because of it.
Yet before if you were in the last month of your contract it would still be $175 to terminate. If you cannot decide to drop a service after a month thats your bad.
@lolthisismyname, sorry its not $15 to use exchange with droid. Its only $45 on a corporate account. If you have a personal account is $30 with exchange support. Good try though.
You're wrong. Verizon was prorating its $175 ETF. $5 off a month, meaning after 23 months it would only be $60.
They simply doubled everything: both the ETF and the monthly discount.
@zags From what I've read it sounded like Verizon wanted $15 no matter what to access exchange: http://www.androidguys.com/2009/11/03/verizon-to-charge-15-for-exchange-access-on-the-droid/
I hope what you're saying is right because it seems like a pretty lame thing for Verizon to do. The extra charge for using exchange is a big part of why I don't use Blackberry phones (that, and the browser is terrible) and in Verizon's case for the Droid it makes absolutely no sense: The Droid connects directly to the exchange server and doesn't have to go through any third party servers.
Meh. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.
All the major carriers are trying to find ways to provide the least amount of service at the highest price possible, all while locking you into a contract.
"Yet before if you were in the last month of your contract it would still be $175 to terminate. If you cannot decide to drop a service after a month thats your bad"
BS. This was the WHOLE point of prorated ETF's pushed for by the government on the carriers. It dropped $5 every month and at the end youd be left with about $60 ETF a month early NOT $175
All this policy does is circumvent the whole prorated ETF policy push that the government was investigating carriers for (their ETF practices). Its REDICULOUS that you should get to the end and the ETF is still what other carriers charge after the FIRST month of service (then dropping from there).
People who defend VZW on this policy have no sense what so ever. Yes, people played the system to sell phones, so what? Its been like that for HOW LONG? 10+ years? All of the sudden now they magically want to stop this from the VERY few people who do this? Gimme a break. Its VZW trying to butt rape their customers and guarantee they dont go to another carrier or lose more customers to the iphone.
I hope the government probes VZW now and finds this practice to be against public policy and consumer rights. The fee is astronomical for an ETF and we all know carriers dont let you out except VERY extreme circumstances and even real reasons are a fight. Another poor policy by a carrier that, even though I dont support governemnt controlling business, I hope is challenged and probed into why the fee is so non-proportional.
And to the statement that a phone costs $550 and you get it for $200 and only a $175 ETF, SO WHAT? Thats the carriers incentive to get you to sign up with them and sell an affordable phone. They take a loss up front and, wow, they make it back in monthly fees. your naive if you dont think they recoup that cost in what you pay them monthly. So they should charge $200 for the phone, $350 ETF, and THEN not consider any monthly payments youve made to them leaving them with a huge ETF still? Please.......
your grammer is crap and you can't even spell "ridiculous" correctly.
also, the reasoning is valid. perfect example- Droid by Motorola. $560 off contract, or $200 on contract. You buy the phone for $200 (not including taxes), and then immediately cancel. Your ETF is $175. $200+175 = $375. You sell the phone for anything more than that, and you're profiting. And yes, people will easily pay ANYTHING less than full retail.
So Verizon changes the rules... $200 + $350 = $550, which is much closer to the actual cost by Verizon to get the phone in the first place.
It has nothing to do with greed, and everything to do with "Holy shit! We're losing money, and the people who buy the phone and then cancel are making a profit".
oh, and unless you can come up with some proof that the government was pushing for pro-rated ETFs, shaddup about that. Verizon was the first company to implement pro-rated ETF fees, and the others followed suit... well, some did.
T-Mobile Even More Plus FTW.
Ya buddy. Vz is crooked as a barrel of snakes.
So is this reason enough for people to switch service from Verizon to another carrier? I've been with Verizon since about 1998 and I've had my current phone an LG VX6100 for about 5 years, but I wonder if it's not better to switch to AT&T and purchase an iphone 3gs or to pay the extra money for a 1 year contract? I was hoping to finally upgrade next month to a smart phone but Verizon's new policy is now giving me reason to rethink that decision. If I'm correct Verizon already has the highest fees for their phone, data, and entertainment services.
I'm no fanboy, but you might want to check out T-Mobile's even more and even more plus plans. One plan is contract free and the other has a much lower etf than Verizon's new rates. Just sayin'....
" If I'm correct Verizon already has the highest fees for their phone, data, and entertainment services. "
negative. Actually, the majority of the prices are spot on with other carriers, and lately are becoming more in line with the market... meaning that VZW is most likely changing their plans and/or requirements to be in line with other major carriers.
A helluva lot of people think that VZW is SOOOO over priced. If you simply check what you get for what you're paying, the cost-to-plan ratio is actually in line with all the major carriers. The only real differences is what you get for the cost, and even that is starting to become a moot point.
What a sad Verizon apologist you are.
"Actually, the majority of the prices are spot on with other carriers, and lately are becoming more in line with the market... meaning that VZW is most likely changing their plans and/or requirements to be in line with other major carriers."
Are you saying Verizon's pricing is the same as other carriers? Or more in line with the market? What is that exactly?
Are you saying Verizon is lowering their prices? Not for existing customers. For new customers? While they sign the $350 ETF?
If you work for Verizon, as your multiple bullying posts imply, it's not going to make new customers find the new $350. ETF any better.
I don't need to justify my statements to you, since you're a sad ifanboi... aww, you see what I just did there?
in any case, be an adult and do your own legwork. Check out the cost/coverage for the major carriers (they are: Verizon Wireless, AT&T, TMobile, Sprint). What you get for what you pay is nearly identical between them.
I happen to have a bit more info about Verizon because a) I've been a customer for over a decade so I pay attention to changes, and b) I know a bunch of people who either have been, or still are, employees.
The $350 ETF is a recouperation of costs associated with the device, not a monthly payment or start up fee. If you don't want to have an ETF, then don't sign a contract. Simple as that. Hope you enjoy signing your contract and having an ETF with AT&T when you get your iphone...
its on like donkey kong!
i've got no problem VZW trying to protect themselves. they don't deserve to lose money if someone bails 6 months into a 24 month contract. (for the record, I hate contracts, but they're a reality) what is ridiculous is the fact that 23 months in, VZW has made its money back on you, but if they treat you poorly and you want to cancel, you owe them roughly $170.
if they want to raise the ETF, fine, but it should completely amortize over the life of the contract.
ex - $350 ETF / 24 months = the ETF should decrease by 14.58 each month of the contract. that's fair, but cell phone co's aren't known for being fair.
I agree. Technically, the contract should straight-line depreciate according to your math. I'd like to see that happen as well.
To tra la la lame. In case you are too much of an ignoramus to figure it out, klmsu19's spelling of ridiculous was spot on. The refernce was to Verzion being "RED" as in their advertising. You may not need to explain yourself to others but why do we have to explain others to you?
if he were making that correlation, then he should have put REDiculous. that would have made more sense.
btw- it's referEnce, you ignoramus.
Whether it was Verizon who did it first or someone else I still think that it's stupid that they would even raise it. Why can't a company be satisfied with the money that they are receiving? It's just companies like them that put are put on my shit list because of being greedy money whoring corporate jerks. Even when you're making millions (or maybe billions I don't know exactly) it's still not enough.
@ tra la la
Actually, the majority of the prices are spot on with other carriers, and lately are becoming more in line with the market... meaning that VZW is most likely changing their plans and/or requirements to be in line with other major carriers.
being the same price as the second largest carrier is not them being more in line with the market. for example if one wants a blackberry on one of the four major carriers (Verizon, ATT, Sprint and T-mobile) and they want unlimited texting is going to cost them 89.99 on verizon 89.99 on att 74.99 on tmobile or 69.99 on sprint. and this is only one line on the smallest minute plan when it comes to the family plans there is more of a gap between VZW/ATT and the rest of the market. both att and vzw are overpriced. you say it is because of what you get with it. ATT= roll over minutes and a bogged down network from all the 13 year olds with their iphone. VZW= coverage..... except that sprint is almost the same coverage as vzw now and has one of the fastest data speeds not to mention they are the first that has rolled out 4g. it cost 69.99 for unl data/text/calling to ANY CELL PHONE IN THE USA/450 to call land lines mon through fri from 7AM-7PM. im pretty sure thats alot that you get but it doesnt cost an arm and a leg. VZW charges $480 over two years to get less stuff and if you cancel a week earl to switch to sprint add another $110.00 that VZW gets. V-Dub your a joke