You know what's worse than showing your
Bitter Beer Face to the world after you passed on Apple's iPhone and let AT&T enjoy the spoils? Raising your early termination fee to stratospheric heights. Just over a year ago, we honestly though this whole
ETF thing was headed in the
right direction, as most of the major carriers (
VZW included) sought to
prorate contracts in order to
lessen the charge as one's contract drew closer to an end. Now, however, Big Red is evidently gearing up to pull a 180, with the slide above showing a $350 ETF for "advanced" devices (read: probably anything deemed a smartphone). The newly hiked rate will go into effect on November 15th, and while that $350 will decrease by $10 per month over the life of the agreement, this pretty much guarantees that you won't be adding a line, disconnecting and then flipping that phone on eBay.
posted Nov 4th 2009 8:42AM
Now thats bull shit.
Why would a service contract cost more than a phone (smartphone)? Please, no one justify it.
Moral of the story? Don't use Verizon.
Just came in to mention that in Canada, if you buy an iphone from rogers and cancel before your contract is up, its $400 for the phone and $200 for the data plan... but i'm sure this $350 is terrible for you guys
Verizon is also charging Droid users 15 dollars for Exchange access. The Verizon nickel and diming begins.
Because the subsidy Verizon pays is higher on smartphones. They plan to make their money back on the data plan, but if you cancel after a few months Verizon isn't able to do that. The current $175 isn't enough to cover the difference between the cost of the phone and what Verizon sells it for under contract. I have no problem with the change, you are able to buy the phone at retail price and have no contract obligations if you'd like.
I can see now AT&T coming out with an ad talking about this here. That should be great.
Perhaps the 350 fee will only apply to netbooks?
This is a good chance for Sprint to pull out an ad as well and claim the lowest prices and termination fees of any carrier, if AT&T and Sprint are smart, they take full advantage of this.
Enjoy your overhyped piece of shit Droid!
And when you figure out that it's no where near as sexy or as cool as the iPhone and you want to sell that shit on eBay enjoy your $350 ETF...
Verizon = FAIL
The only positive about Verizon is the network. And I get excellent service where I live with AT&T and the iPhone (although I do feel for those in NY)...
Sprint please get the HD2!
@Mack
Well, to be fair, everybody charges an additional $15 for exchange access, and they do it on all smartphones capable of using Exchange. AT&T does it, Verizon does it, pretty sure Sprint does, but I'm not sure on that one.
If Sprint did make an ad like you are suggesting, it would need to go along the lines of this:
Sprint: Lowest Prices, Lowest Termination Fee, Lowest Coverage Area, Lowest Customer Service, Lowest Customer Satisfaction; Guaranteed!
@Fernando
Too bad AT&T would never go with this, "Want to look like a douche bag company? There's a change in terms for that."
@Mike
Well, Verizon is mainly pitting Droid against the iPhone and the iPhone gets Exchange access for FREE. To me, this move signals that there will be more hidden costs to come. Verizon is like the scorpion in that old scorpion parable.
"Why did you sting me? Now both of us will drown."
"It's my nature."
Does this apply to only new activations only or existing too? I was able to get out of a contract when they raised texting prices. If they are changing ETF on existing plans, you can get out of your plan by saying they changes the terms of agreement and you can get out without paying anything.
The higher ETF is effective Nov 15. DROID comes out Nov 6. I am ordering it online Nov 6, paying the ETF of $175, taking the DROID to one of the MVNOs that use Verizon or Sprint (Hello Boost Mobile and your $50 unlimited everything plan). Good bye Verizon and your uncompetitive plan costs and your ridiculous ETFs.
@drew
actually, laptop magazine just founf AT&T to have the worst customer service. Sprint was tied with verizon.
@Avi
Based on what I've read over on crackberry (concerning the BB bogo deals Verizon has) you can't buy a phone on contract from Verizon and then a few days later pay the ETF and keep the phone. If you try to keep the phone they will charge you the full price of the phone. I believe the only way to get around this is you have to fulfill 30 days of your contract.
this sucks! now I have no plans on ever joining verizon, but you now that the other telcos (starting with at&t) are gonna follow suite like they always do, and within a year this will be standard across the carriers.
@ OsgoodMEO:
I can understand maybe raising the ETF and then lowering it at a quicker rate like other people were saying. They obviously make their money back on the required data plan for the term of the contract, so why don't customers get a break off the monthly plan once they're off contract, or if they buy the phone out-right?
I don't think they're hurting that much when people pay $175 + subsidized cost of the phone, and flip it. They make more than the difference back on people who purchase that same flipped phone, and activate it, off contract, on a plan that's just as much as the "on-contract" plan. Actually, if the phone gets activated on Verizon's network anyways, they make MORE money. The customers pay for it either way.
Now if they followed T-Mobiles new off-contract and on-contract Everything pricing, then it'd be a different story.
Whats bull sh*t is that 99% of Verizon reps will 'forget' to inform new customers of the higher ETF.
They have to cover their tax increase the Obama and the Dems passed on them. Increasing a cell phone company's satellite fee from $50M to $500M per year is not a good thing for consumers. How's that change working out for you now? Wake the F up people...a tax/fee on companies is a tax on YOU.
Want out of your VZW contract? Want exchange sync?
"There's a fee for that."
Does this mean these Carriers dont get these phones for free like consumers like to think? Also att's been charging 15 bucks extra for exchange ;)
Are we forgetting that a phone is bought 1st) to make calls, and 2nd) to go online with? Why do I care if Verizon has more 3G coverage over a farm in Wisconsin that AT&T doesn't cover? If I happen to drive next to that farm ONCE in my lifetime and I don't have 3G access, I'm sure I won't spontaneously combust.
Luckily I don't live in NY, and over here in the DC Metro area, AT&T is 5 bars & 3G 100% of the time for me.
As if Verizon doesn't rape their customers enough?
@ Spiel -
If your not worried about coverage.. then why not use Metro Pcs instead of ATT?
Metro is like the Tata (Chinese car company) - you can get a NEW product that is semi reliable and very cheap.
OR
You can get the "lexus, bmw, mercedes" version and pay more.
The problem is.. that ATT service (especially here on the Mainline near Philadelphia) is VERY shotty!
Also.. I hate to defend any company that increases fees BUT:
I signed up for the BOGO free blackberry. I activated the 2nd one only to change back to the original phone and sell it on ebay to a guy that wanted it unlocked for GSM. I sold the storm for $375.
I paid $225 with tax for 2 of them. Sold one for $375. So I MADE $150 on it. (minus ebay fees etc) but still. For a few minutes of work I made 150$.
Verizon lets say they paid $300 for EACH blackberry. Thats $400 loss up front. My 24$ a month data plan is going to net them $576
So at the end of the contract I will have made them appox $7.33 per month in data revenue. Clearly not that much considering they have A LOT of data coverage.
They need to figure something out if they are going to be subsidizing phones so much. This works out great for 99% of the people that research and buy the phone (you do have 30 days to decide if you want it). The only people this DOESN'T work out for is the ones that SIGN A CONTRACT THEN CHANGE THEIR MIND! Military get out of the contract, if you move to a zip code that doesn't have coverage, no termination fee etc.
DON'T SIGN THE CONTRACT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO! NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO! YOU CAN ALSO HAVE THE PHONE AND PAY FULL PRICE.
If apple gave free ipods and said you HAVE to buy 15 songs per month for 24months there would STILL be people complaining! I don't understand it.
Actually, you couldn't use the Droid on Boost because they use two different technologies. Boost is iDEN and all of Verizon's phones are CDMA. I would go further into explanation, but most people who read this site are complete idiots.
Actually joarobdel5, Boost has a CDMA network as well, but you wouldn't know that because you're an idiot. How do you think people get their Blackberrys on there? Did you think there's a mysterious iDEN Blackberry for sale somewhere? Maybe next time you should bring up a legitimate point, like the phone being locked or something.
i was fairly certain that the ETF was not by law allowed to be more than the cost that the carrier paid into the device. since they claim that that is what the ETF was for. and the prorating was put into the law because they said that the repayment was build into the contract.
so Verizon is trying to claim that they pay $350 worth of upfront on these phones.
why am I smelling lawsuits.
People Exchange is added into the 30 dollar data fee
@ n_shakuras: I guess you've never heard of the BB 8350i. Also, Boost's CDMA coverage is still pretty limited afaik.
This is madness!
This... is... SPARTA!
No...this is....VERIZON!
They just lost a potential customer in me. $200 is painful for T Mobile. $350? You can go to hell.
No, this is Patrick.
This is a real shame. I was dead set on leaving AT&T / the iDevice to join the Droid's, but an ETF of $350? Now I'm not so sure. Really Verizon?
C'monnnn! (Say it like the guy in the PS3 ad)
How often do you guys really break your contracts? I mean, is it common practice now to get a new phone before 2 years?
I buy a subsidized phone and then stick with it for 2 years and then change.. Am I not normal for following the contract that you sign when you sign up?
I'm hoping since they are doubling the ETF, we will see a reduction in cost elsewhere - perhaps $15 a month data....or something, lol. How can they justify this???
@Tom Reinke
I get a new phone pretty much every year. But I'm not charged an ETF for doing so. I don't believe that Verizon is going to charge a ETF for upgrading a phone either. They will just charge you full price for the next phone. The ETF should only come into play when you tell them to cancel service.
Yet another thing... DroidDOES
/swats Verizon with a newspaper
Bad! That's a bad Verizon! No!
Place yourself in Vz's shoes. You sell someone a $600 phone for $200. They turn around and sell that phone on EBay for $500+ and just pay $175 to break the contract they signed to get the phone cheap. This person ebaying the phone made 500 - (200 + 175) = $125.
I don't like early termination clauses, but you pretty much have to have them to avoid someone doing just that.
Andir, your math is flawed...you still have to pay activation ($36) and one month service, lets call it $75 for data/voice/text. Comes out to $200+$175+$75+$36=$486, yielding a profit for the end user of only $14, minus eBay/PayPal fees, so you're actually losing a few bucks flipping the phone. I know, I've done it with iPhones, BlackBerries, etc. It's hard to keep costs competitive when flipping....
Here's the thing. The person buying the phone will likely be activating it on... Guess what... Verizon! Verizon will make their money back anyway because they are making extra $$ because the phone isn't being subsidized anymore, even though they are still charging the same for their services.
Unless they buy several phones, and the people that buy them use Sprint.
This ALSO pretty much guarantees my move to Big Red is not gonna happen. Their coverage area had my interested, but I would like to have a regular $175 ETF if I need to get outta contract. $350 is insane!!
Then don't cancel your contract.
Enjoy a shiny new DROID and experience Verizon's excellent 3G coverage and the ability to make and receive calls.
If your state was gonna raise the fine for speeding... would you stop driving altogether? Or would you just NOT SPEED?
@ Michael Scrip
I would still like the ability to cancel my contract, within a reasonable price range. To cancel a contract has multiple reasons:
a) Moving back to my home country for an extended period of time and thus, not worth paying the $99/month fee.
b) Switching service providers for interest in a better plan/phone
c) Missing the simultaneous access of voice AND data on my current GSM provider, but (as mentioned) not possible on CDMA.
etc etc...
It's simple to say "Dont cancel a contract" and then give an asinine analogy of speeding tickets. But some of us just tend to think more about how being bound in a contract can be stifling.
@ Michael
I was not aware that there were multiple companies that impose speed limits.