This is just a reminder that as of 1/1/10, Sprint is changing their contracts to add a “Regulatory Charge” of 20 cents per month. Despite the name, this is nothing but an increase in your monthly plan cost, as it is not a consumer tax nor is it required by law. Because of this voluntary fee hike, you can now cancel your Sprint contract without an early termination fee (ETF). You must do this within 30 days of notification (check your billing statement).
After some early pushback, it appears that most Sprint reps are now aware of this legitimate out. Commenter Stephan also shared a handy script that has been used successfully by several readers:
“Hello. I’m calling about my current contract with Sprint and the new 40 cents per line regulatory charge that Sprint will be introducing this January. The latest Terms & Conditions contract I signed with Sprint was in [year], and under that contract, it specifically states that as a Sprint customer, I have the right to terminate my contract without paying an early termination fee in the event that Sprint makes a material change to its agreement with me, and so long as I notify Sprint of my desire to do so within 30 days of such a change. This new 40 cent per line regulatory charge constitutes a material change to the Terms & Conditions agreement I signed, and therefore, I would like to exercise my right under the agreement to terminate my contract without any early termination fee.”
A few testimonials:
I called today read the script that Stephan wrote and it was like magic.. she didn’t argue just said.. ok sir.. but you will need to wait to cancel till Jan 1st 2010 and forward me to her managers voicemail to state thats what I want to do.
The beauty of information on the Internet! I ordered two Iphones with At&t last week and placed my call today with Sprint. The call took maybe 35 seconds. All I mentioned was “I want to terminate my contract and port both of my numbers to another carrier because of the 2010 regulatory charge”. The sprint rep said “you’re certainly entitled to do that sir”. Then, he gave me a confirmation number which waived the EFTS on both lines. The end. I already ported one Iphone today, working great.
I gave the spiel that Stephan scripted out above, and it worked like a charm:) I was put on hold for about 10 minutes and when the rep came back on the line she told me that I was set up to terminate on January 26th. (This is because my billing cycle starts and ends on the 26th. They cannot prorate, they set the termination at the end of your current billing cycle so keep this in mind.)
If pressed, you should always focus on the fact that they made a material change to your contract and by law you are allowed to cancel without a ETF. Don’t get sidetracked by your satisfaction with your phone, coverage, etc. If you don’t get satisfaction immediately, either ask for a supervisor or simply hang up and talk to another customer service representative. Good luck!
Update: Instead of *2, you may find it faster to call Sprint’s Cancellation (formally called “Retentions”) department directly if you run into long hold times. Try 888-567-5528, 800-235-1185, or 888-211-4727.
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I don’t get how this fee is worth it to them.
The word about getting out of Sprint contracts is all over the internet, there must be thousands of people canceling their contracts with Sprint.
It’s gonna be alot of .40 fees that are gonna’ make up just one subscriber canceling their $100 contract.
Well, $50 million customers x .20 cents per month = $10 million per month.
They did this is January 2008 as well, so they probably thought they could get away with it again, although these days the internet changes the speed of information.
I’m on the Sprint Sero plan and am happy paying $30/month so I’m just curious as to what service provider those that are leaving Sprint are going to. Is there a better deal out there than Sprint SERO?
I get my service credit (after 1 yr & 9 mos) in February so I was planning on seeing what new phones I can get that qualify under SERO – which I understand is limited according to an post here earlier this year.
Should I not stick with Sprint?
I called them today and was told that I cannot possibly cancel until the stupid increase is printed on my bill. The fact that it says I will be charged the fee my next month is not enough to get me out of my contract and I cannot terminate until after I incur the charge. This is just another example of how Sprint screws people over.
@Troy Brown – I don’t have any plans to move right now, but for some people it can allow them to switch to iPhone or whatever. Also, you can sell your phone if it is a newer model and make some money as well. For example, I could probably sell my Touch Pro2 for about $350 on eBay after only paying $199 w/ contract.
Not to be mean but that’s one loooooooooong script lol.
Any chance there’s a similar deal on Verizon? Stupid non-iPhone having jerks…
Does anyone here know if AT&T has this same loophole in their contract and if they too raise this regulatory fee once a year, like Sprint appears to do? I would love to get a subsidized iPhone from them and then cancel and bring it over to a cheaper plan on Tmobile.
It worked wonderfully!!! Thank you!
On another note, if someone is happy with Sprint, maybe they could threat to cancel just to try to save some money. I was offered $20 off my bill for the rest of my contract which was about 10 months away.
Sprint was also trying to charge me a $4.99 Spending Limit Program charge. They can wave this fee if you sign up for Autopay. I told them i refuse to pay the extra charges and they said when it shows on my next bill i can cancel. They’re screwing me out of another month, but at least there is no ETF!
I was told the same like some of the others on here. I have to wait until my next bill to see if i can cancel without an ETF…..just wish I could do it now.
Called Sprint back today and told them that i refuse to wait another month to terminate and they switched both my wife and I’s contracts to a month to month. They guy admitted that the additional charges were a breach of my contract and he said that there would be no ETF. Just be persistent, and also make sure they aren’t trying to stick you with the $4.99 spending limit program charge as well.
The Wife and I are/were on SERO – learned about it here, THANK YOU – but they figured out the loophole and were only producing smart phones that needed an extra data plan.
So I called up Sprint and told them that I didn’t want to leave Sprint but wanted to turn my 2 SERO plans into a family plan and get 2 new phones at the lowest price possible. It took one Supervisor call but I got it!
Listen, anyone who was told they could not cancel it untill they get their bill, dont LISTEN. Your bill is most likely at the end of the month and they are hoping you pay it. Once you pay that bill, you have agreed to the contract. Call back, call back, call back. Dont give up..
It states you have 30 days from the effective date, not the date it effects you. You can complain to FCC and BBB.. It has taken me at least 14 phone calls to get it cancelled. Dont accept anything, dont allow them to say “We noted it on your account”. Specifically state your contract must be marked as fulfilled. If they agree, then go online and verify. Do not port you number and expect them to refund your ETF fees.. Sprint has done this multiple times in the past and has lost to the FCC.
“# Ginny Says:
December 31st, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I called them today and was told that I cannot possibly cancel until the stupid increase is printed on my bill. The fact that it says I will be charged the fee my next month is not enough to get me out of my contract and I cannot terminate until after I incur the charge. This is just another example of how Sprint screws people over.”
You don’t have to wait. Call them again and tell them that the extra charge is a breach of your contract, and that you are notifying them within 30 days that is stated in the 2009 Terms and Conditions. They will switch you to a month-to-month and then you can port to a new provider at any time.
Just cancelled and am on my way to port numbers to another carrier. Was real simple, stuck to the script, did not give any other information. No ETF – Thanks!! Took only 10 minutes!
Here’s the actual fine print:
The effective change was 1/1/30. You must *specifically* advise them “that you wish to cancel Services because of a material change to the Agreement that Spring has made.” Other than quoting their own fine print, say nothing else, and don’t give up!
I just called rep #2 and she also stated that I had to wait for my bill to cycle. I asked to speak with a manager. He was aware of the material change and said that I would be able to port my # to another carrier without paying the ETF. He gave me a confirmation # from our call. He told me that I needed to call back AFTER I port my # to ATT. Then, they will waive the ETF. But, he could not waive it until I ported my #. I took the confirm # and his employee identification #. Hoping that there will not be any problems when I switch.
I’m going to buy an iphone and switch to ATT today. Will advise if there are any big issues.
Thanks for the advice!!!
I am not interested in canceling my service with Sprint, but would love to be released from my recently renewed contract just in case I decide to leave in the near future. Would I be able to call and just request that I contract (not my service) be cancelled?
I tried something similar to this a few years ago with Verizon. They argued that the change was not “material” and that they would alleviate it by giving me a credit. In this situation, if the increase is $0.20/month and you have say, 13 months remaining on your contract, they may offer to credit your bill $2.60 ($0.20 X 13).
I argued back and forth with Verizon and finally threatened to do arbitration (also in the terms and conditions). They verbally let me out of the agreement (I recorded the phone call), but charged the ETF anyway. I then wrote them another letter and went back and forth about it. They eventually refunded the ETF.
Would be nice to jump on a new Nexus One and shake off Sprint.
know why there charging us the $4.99 ,, it think its there way of bringing up the economy, here you see where going thru this difficulties its due to our debts not only with sprint , come to think of it most us are using credit cards to buy foods, clothes etc. but how many of us paying their debts? how many people are managing der accounts i think in 10 people only 3, theyre always reason is because of economy crisis, when we use our credit card, where do you think the bank is getting the funds when people are not paying , so it like a chain reaction ,, think its time to think twice on what were going through ,, we need to learn how to manage our accounts this time if we wanna get through this, i know its really annoying saying this things but its true as they say TRUTH HURTS, Most of the people who are really piss with this $4.99 are the people who have balance on their account and always asking for extension, i myself is sprint customer as well, but lets look at the good side of this , wondering where the fees are going might with the debts of the people that had left ther account with almost a thousand balance , we do not know but this just clearly means that if we wanna stand up again we have to be
I’m pissed with the $4.99 charge because i have NEVER had an overdue balance on my account, nor have i ever asked for an extension. People who leave a company with crazy insane balances instead of doing it the right way are responsible for their own actions. That’s why they have to pay $500+ deposits if they go to another company and they get turned in to collections. That’s their fault. But if i want to cancel my service because i’m getting charged extra for something i didn’t agree to be charged for, where am i wrong? I’m not going to help the economy through my cell phone company. That’s stupid.
“# Daisy Marie Says:
January 4th, 2010 at 10:27 am
I am not interested in canceling my service with Sprint, but would love to be released from my recently renewed contract just in case I decide to leave in the near future. Would I be able to call and just request that I contract (not my service) be cancelled?”
You should be able to. When they terminated my contract they left me on a month to month. Advise them that you refuse to pay any additional fee increase and that you would like to switch to a month to month basis. They can’t refuse that. The extra fees are a breach of your contract according to the Terms and Conditions. They know that, but be sure and remind them! Good Luck!
I also am not interested in canceling my Sprint service but my 2 year contract (SERO) comes up in May. Will they make me renew for two more years or can I remain on SERO on a month to month basis?
If they do make me renew, then I suppose I should also ask, excuse me, “demand” to have my contract terminated and start on a month to month basis now though I would lose my equipment upgrade credit (or would I?)
Are there really no smart phones that work under the SERO plan anymore?
As long as you were notified of any additional fees (should have been stated on your last bill) then you are legally obligated to exit your contract if you choose to do so. Be polite, but persistent. Sprint seems to be very aware of this particular situation but they will offer you tons of options to get you to stay in your contract. As far as equipment upgrade, you may get discounts because of how long you have been with them, but don’t know for sure. Hope this helps.
Troy,
They have smart phones, but seem to be phasing us SERO out. You have to add another data plan over SERO for BlackBerry, Google phones, and some others
I ended up getting $20 off my bill for the next 24 months, along with my usual 28% discount.
I signed up my family of four for the Sprint Everything Data Family 1500.
Comes with free calls to any cell, and unlimited data.
With discounts my bill comes to about $105, not bad for 4 lines.
My 8 and 11 may not need a data plan but it’s nice to have gps locater on them!
@Jon ^^^^
That is a pretty sick deal you got. How did you come about bringing you bill down that low? Did you threaten to cancel?
Thanks
RM
PS. Is $105 pre-tax?
@G: When you write, “As long as you were notified of any additional fees (should have been stated on your last bill) then you are legally obligated to exit your contract if you choose to do so,” you are of course misleading people on a couple of levels. Not sure why you offered the advice in the first place.
First of all, how can you be legally obligated to exit your contract?
Secondly, the fact you were notified does not grease the wheels for convincing your carrier that the nominal amount is a “material change.” That will vary case-by-case, and as mentioned here as well as broadly across the Web, Verizon are extremely predatory in this regard and almost always refuse to release customers from contracts. At that point, your only recourse is the Federal Communications Commission. Even if it seems like government action could be a big hassle and slow, it’s a necessary step at the end of the game.
@Paul: Ok, legally obligated may have been the wrong choice of words. More like “You can legally break your contract.” Your not really obligated to because it’s your choice to do so. The point is that a $4.99 per month for two phones (in my case) with the .20cent increase per phone and 12 months left on my contract = $124.56 in additional charges over the next year. But as far as I know not everyone is receiving the 4.99 Spending Limit Program Fee as I am. Either way, I’m offering the advice because that’s what a blog is for and it worked for me and plenty of others. So, what was your advice again?
@G: The advice is to try your best, given the suggestions here; be aware that Verizon are the most villainous and least likely to budge; and where unsuccessful, pursue the contractual interpretation problem (“material change”) via complaint to the Federal Communications Commission at the following URL:
http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm
@ pinkhat:
I see your point although your post is confusing to read. Tell me, have you ever been in a contract with ANY cell phone company and wanted to get out of it? C’mon, seriously, tons of people have gotten the first time user discounts and loved it and later on decided they didn’t like the service for whatever reason… dropped calls, lousy phone, roaming somewhere when you shouldn’t be, headaches dealing with customer service, increases in bills and so on. I’m not downing any cell company. They all have their pros and cons. I’m also not trying to say that I don’t want to help the economy, but some people are sick of their cell phone service and want to switch to find the best one that suits them. Look at the original post. That’s what we are talking about. Not about “someone said this” and “someone is trying to hurt the economy”. Maybe I’m in the wrong blog, but I thought we were discussing dropping Sprint because of payment increases that are not gov’t or tax increases.
@G
well then if your a good payer with sprint whats the reason of being pissed with this $4.99 charge it was on the letter that if u are good payer they can take off your spending limit and you will not be charge for this $4.99, and as you had said “people who leave there account with insane balance are responsible for their own action” whats the reason to be pissed when there is a solution to your problem, as you had just said “NEVER had an overdue balance on your account, nor have ever asked for an extension” think about it ,then were do you think your money is going when your paying your bills on time??? see how the flow of $$ in the USA, you not gonna help you economy your cellphone sad to say your living it ,,
@RM
Yes, pretax.
You want to speak to the retentions dept., they are the ones that can give you the best deals.
When you call into Sprint, choose the options to cancel. I didn’t have to threaten to cancel, just the fact that I reached that department was enough.
There’s a ton of forums out there where people share what deals they got from the retentions department. I had to specifically ask for the $20 off a month deal, but they gave it to me no problem.
Thanks for all the info. I called to cancel. Made it to the retentions department. I ended up staying – $12 less per month, more minutes, more text messages and a new phone. I’m happier.
I followed the script and it worked very easily! I am moving to a new apartment and I cannot get any service so I called followed the script and they offered me no contract for 90 day’s until I decide what I wanted to do!! Also they are sending me something to hookup to my computer for free that is supposed to give me extra bars in my place… So if that does not work the way it should I am out and on to a new service without paying any term fee..
I am getting conflicting accounts of what I should do. I have called and told the Retentions Dept. that I wanted to cancel my account due to the new charges, they gave me no offers or resistance, instead just said “I know”. They advised that we port our numbers before the new billing cycle started, which was fine but made me think: wouldn’t they be able to get out of waiving the ETF if we were never officially billed for the new charges? So we called back and the second lady at Retentions told us that we needed to wait for our current bill to arrive and then go ahead and call them to let them know we had it, so that they could help us port our numbers and then waive the ETF fees, etc.
So has anyone gone through this process successfully from beginning to end and if so, which method did you use? Please post some real success stories and not just, “I canceled my account and got a confirmation number.” Because those confirmation numbers won’t do much except refer to the notes that were left on the system which at times won’t be exactly what you were told.
When it looks like a pig, chances are it is a pig!
First off, I want to express that the supervisor I spoke with on the phone was courteous and helpful and made every attempt, given by corporate Sprint, to address and resolve my concern.
Unfortunately, corporate Sprint had made questionable limits on what could or could not be provide by its supervisors to resolve my concerns.
Corporate Sprint believes, and has instructed its employees, that this letter and $4.99 monthly fee outlines a customer benefit. However, it is obvious that a benefit would offer a customer a discount to create a desired action rather than impose a fee otherwise.
As I do not see how using auto pay to make monthly payments rather than my current payment method would provide Sprint with any cost savings, Sprint has assessed a penalty as a result of my decision. I presently have the freedom to use the sprint.com website to pay my bill a number of ways including credit card, debit card, checking account, and savings account. Corporate Sprint has decided this freedom is worth a fee of $4.99 per month.
As a result of Sprint’s decision:
* I will not be renewing my subscription at the end of my contract date.
* I will not provide any word of mouth marketing to promote Sprint.
* I will actively support any sprint customer discontent legally available including Internet websites, chat rooms, and consumer support groups.
* I will pursue, support and advocate any class action suits that result from Sprint’s decision.
* I will enjoy seeing how AT&T, Verizon, T-mobile, and other competitors will capitalize on Sprint’s lack of insight with this decision.
If any Sprint employees are part of this group, I understand that you do not have direct voice in corporate matters. My hope is to teach you the difference between a benefit and a penalty. And to help you understand that if a company is attempting to generate immediate cash flow by imposing a penalty to its customers when that penalty does not justify a company expenses, the stability of the company is in question.
For all others, the Internet is a strong voice. We consumers have much more power over the success and failure of a business than in the past.
Real success story – I called and talked to one guy, was never transferred. I stuck to the story that I wanted to cancel due to the material changes and did not want to pay etf. He said, “so…you are canceling your contract over 20 cents per phone, because I can make that 20 cents go away”. I replied, “yes, that is why I am canceling, no other reason and I would like to please cancel and not pay etf”. He advised as soon as I port numbers my account would be canceled. I did not get a confirmation number but I got his name and employee number. He told me I should not receive another bill as I canceled before my billing cylcle had ended. I hung up, went to verizon, ported my numbers and that was a week ago. I logged onto my sprint account online and it let me log on but said there are no numbers associated with that account. I am still hopeful I will not receive a bill for the etf but he assured me I would not.
Any update to this?? I would like to exercise my rights. My cycle ends on the 20th and have not recieved the charge on my bill yet.
Thanks for the info worked like a charm 1st time
I called today and had to fight, but finally got our 3 lines cancelled, with a confirmation number, and confirmation that there would be no further charges associated with the account (unless we went over minutes, data usage, etc.). I called today, and the man said he wouldn’t/couldn’t cancel the account because the .40 increase hadn’t actually been charged to our bill yet, we had only received the notice of the change, and we might not even be effected. Sprint’s terms and conditions say:
“If a change we make to the Agreement is material and has a material adverse effect on Services under your Term Commitment, you may terminate each line of Service materially affected without incurring an Early Termination Fee only if you: (a) call us within 30 days after the effective date of the change; and (b) specifically advise us that you wish to cancel Services because of a material change to the Agreement that we have made.”
It clearly says “within 30 days after the effective date of the change” – and in my bill which was generated on 12/29/09, it says,
“Effective 1/1/10, the Regulatory Charge will increase to $0.40/line.”
So the effective date is 1/1/10, right? It doesn’t say, effective on your next bill. It’s effective on 1/1/10 and according to their terms and conditions, I had to notify them within 30 days of that date, and I can cancel with no EFT. But he kept insisting I had to wait for another billing cycle for the increase to appear, and pay for another month (which I didn’t want to do).
I had to talk to 2 people (including someone in the escallations dept) and then wait on hold for a half hour until he spoke to someone else before he finally came back and told me I was right and the account would be cancelled on the 25th (at the end of our billing cycle). I was so excited that I said “Thanks!” and hung up without a confirmation number or anything. So, I called back, and spoke to a very nice girl who said that the account wasn’t closed and the notes said we didn’t qualify. I went into my speech again, and she closed it for me without arguement. And I got a confirmation.
The morale of the story – not everyone at their customer service center has the same info (obviously) – so keep fighting! You are right, and entitled to cancel with no EFT, as long as you call by January 30th!
Success!
i’ve been calling the little turds at Sprint for a few weeks now, trying to get out of my contract due to haveing NO signal at my home or work. They just kept saying “…sir, the zipcode provided shows there is coverage in the area..” Well, thanks to the all the information provided above, I am no longer a Sprint-ite….and I got a IPhone.
Anyways, they knew that I’ve been calling and complaining and such…so they woman on the phone was trying to be all buddy-buddy with me, and asked…”ok, I understand…but what is the real reason you are cancelling, just over .40 cents?…we can help you out”, and tried to get me to say something to “incriminate” myself. So I was just like…nope…just over the .40 cents. Win one for me!
I agree with Dan. They tried to get me to say something else as well and I said the same thing, “It’s just over the .40. Don’t give them any opportunity to sway you. After I said that, deal was done and I was cancelled. Had new phones in an hour. I cancelled on January 3rd. My billing cycle ends on 14th. They didn’t say anything about waiting until it shows up on my bill as I was notified in bill before and it was effective on January 1. Good Luck everyone.
It took one phone call to have them set me up to port without an ETF. When I called back to ensure that my account was noted properly they offered the $20 credit for renewing the agreement for 2 years. I had them note that offer in my account notes so I could consider my options. Even without the discount it’s hard to find a carrier that charges less for their plans/services. Since I was only a year into my contract I decided on the credit since it really only adds a year to my current agreement. I called back and they honored it after I stated it should be in my account notes. The other advantage I got from this is that the new contract offers a prorated etf whereas the previous one did not.
Moral of the story is whether you like sprint or not this change is a legit reason leave free of charge or be rewarded for sticking with them.
Wow, I just did it. Extremely simple if you get the right CSR. She knew exactly what I spoke of and asked me the question. I stuck to the Material Change” and she went ahead and rremoved the contract immediately. She put me on Month to Month and I can port out before the 23rd when my cycle closed. All I have to do as open a new line with a new carrier and port the number over and the cancelation will be complete. She put notes in the record and gave me an interaction number. She even emailed me everything with a replyable message email address…
Thanks
This WORKS. However, I tried using the online chat and they said they do not have authorzation to do cancel the service over the internet. So I tried a second time online and got the same answer. I called them and read the script word by word and it worked like a charm. The guy said that no one cancels for a 40 cent charge per month. He then asked “Whats the real reason”. If you say its a matter of principle that I do not like to be charged a fee without being notified it will work.
Thanks for the help!
My hubby was sceptical but I just got off the phone and we are done, done, done with Sprint. Nice guy understood why we were leaving no ETF fee and he did try to tell me we are going to pay more for a new carrier–to which I explained–probably not since I have two accounts with Sprint and get doubly charged every month!! Thanks to all your tips it was very easy to do..
I called customer service and the agent told me I did not have a contract, I chatted with an online agent who verified that I did have a contract. So when you call be careful they will LIE to you. I’m calling back to get it taken care of.
Called sprint back and told them that the previous CSR had lied and said I wasn’t under contract. They canceled the contract on both lines of service and switched me to a month to month subscriber. Didn’t follow the script word for word but it worked.
Called on Friday to Retentions Dept and asked to cancel due to the new Regulatory Charge. The woman put me on hold for three minutes, then came back on and immediately started offering me $20 off a month, more minutes, etc..etc.. and I firmly said “No thanks I’d like to cancel.” She said I’d receive a confirmation number in the mail and once I port my number over to a new carrier (I’m getting an iPhone) then the account with Sprint will be cancelled. She said a bill WOULD come for the ETF but that if I called into Sprint once it comes, it would be waived. SUPER excited to finally have an iPhone. Sprint has been good to be for the past ten years but they don’t have a phone that compares to the iPhone.
They absolutely refused to let me cancel. I got a $50 credit for renewing my contract instead, which I had just recently renewed for $70, so it’s not bad.
So is your phone turned off the same day you cancel your contract. I want the new iphone also.
We just talked to a couple of different people to confirm this today. The first person in customer service said no, but when transferred to a manager they confirmed that if we cancel or port that we will not incur the ETF. We were told we had 30 days to do this. We called back to another CS person to double check it applied if you port your number and they confirmed it was true right away. They gave us a confirmation number and notated the account.
Thank You, Thank You, My husband and I have been fighting with Sprint for over 2 weeks with Sprint. Having major coverage problems. Spent way to many hours arguing with them about a contract that was never even agreed to. (they added an additional year without our concent). Found this information randomly this morning and checked my bill, sure enough the .40 charge was there. Called Sprints cancilation department and was released from our contract due to the .40 charge. I recieved a confirmation# and also spoke to supervisor who verifies no etf’s. It was so easy only took 10 min. no arguing at all. I only wish We knew this earlier in the month. We can’t thank you enough for your info.
Just called. Really just wanted a reasonable rate on a Samsung Moment, but they didn’t offer so much as $0.05. Did say I could cancel my contract, port the numbers over, and then would be charged an ETF which they would waive when I called back. Sounds crazy to me – I’ld rather just have gotten a reasonable data plan for my phone.
Hello IPhone!
I called today to do this. My company is switching us to another provider and paying for cell service, so I needed to cancel my Sprint contract. The conversation went roughly like this:
Me: Explains why I need to cancel, extremely nice about it, nothing they can really say to make you stay when you’re going to get free service elsewhere
Them: Okay, well we’re sorry to lose you, but free is free. I’ll get the cancellation started for you. Will you be taking your number with you?
Me. Yep! And I understand that I can get my ETF waived because there has been a material change in my contract, is that true?
Them: You understand correctly, I’m noting your account and you’ll just need to call back when your last bill comes in and everything will be waived for you. Have a great day!
So, yeah. Super easy. Took a total of 4 minutes from the time I picked up the phone until I was done. THANKS!!!
I just finished cancelling one of my sprint phone lines and it worked perfectly. I told them I had to cancel the line because of the regulatory charge. She said she would check whether it would affect me. Since it did, she would cancel it. She offered a $5 monthly rebate for the line instead of cancelling but I said I would prefer to cancel. Ask for a confirmation number and email confirmation. No problem. Now Im debating wheter to cancel the other line.
Thanks Guys
Customer service said that my contract will be cancelled and I would lose my numbers and that could not go month to month. Anyone know if that’s true?
JH Says:
January 18th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Called sprint back and told them that the previous CSR had lied and said I wasn’t under contract. They canceled the contract on both lines of service and switched me to a month to month subscriber. Didn’t follow the script word for word but it worked.
I just called today and cancelled. They kept asking me if I was cancelling for any other reason and I just kept saying it was due to the change of my contract with the regulatory fee. She said as long as I cancelled before March there was no early termination fee. I hope I like at&t and the iPhone.
WOW Thank you for this info. Including the hold time i was done with Sprint within 5 minutes!!!! Iphone here I come finally!
Thank you once again so much I have been wanting to get ridof Sprint for some time now but have always had small problems pop up that didn’t allow me to until now. Thank you thank you thank you
I just canceled right now. I had two lines with sprint. I idiotically added a 2nd line in 2008 but never used it. so i’ve been wanting to cancel but haven’t because of the stupid fee. so i called right now, used the script above. fortunately, the rep i spoke with worked in the cancellations department and advised me that they were very aware of the change. of course, he did trya little to save me from cancelling, i just said no thanks. he did say that as long i state that my reason for cancellation is for the material change, they would cancel with no problem. sure enough, its canceled, verified it online, got my confirmation number. and now i’m just down to one line like i wanted. took me 10minutes.
If I cancel my contract do I have to cancel my service with Sprint? I don’t mind them that much but I hate my phone and would love to upgrade.
I just heard about this fee being means to cancel a contract; is it really good until March? I’d love to cancel my contract, as we moved and get horrible reception/dropped calls in our house (even with the Airave they’re providing us at no cost). The fee showed up on my Jan bill and is on the current one, as well, due 24 Feb.
Bummer, I just found out about this today. Any chance I can get in on it? My billing cycle is from the 1st to the 31st, the bill is dated feb 4th online,
Ok so I just found this and im scared im a bit late!.
My billing cycle runs from January 12 to february 12 and as its the 8th of february im still within 30 days of the charges appearing on my bill.So can I still use this loophole ???????????
Hey! Just wanted to say that I found this site while searching for information on cancelling my contract due to the $5/per month Spending Limit Program Charge that was just instituted. I just got off the phone with the folks at Spring and they didn’t give me any trouble whatsoever. I basically followed the same script you gave only inserted “Spending Limit Program Charge” instead of “Regulatory Fee”.
Thanks for the help!
i just called and it worked like magic
I also called yesterday February 10th 2010 they tried to get me to say i was leaving for other reason, “But let me tell you this if your leaving because you think its going to be cheaper in T mobil its not” and i was like “i never said i was leaving for another company im just Not happy with Sprint underhandedly charging me more, i like your service its the principle” the guy then went on to say it was ONLY $1 (I have 5 lines) to what i responded with “yeah 1 dollar, and its mine” what are my options and he said they could give me $10 dollars and that would cover 2 months out of 22 but the contract for the main line would extend 4 months. I then asked if I could cancel my contract without the ETF on the grounds of sprint raising the payment to 40 cents and he said yes you can,he didn’t offer to waive or even said i could do it , I mentioned it so yeah GOOD LUCK
I called 2/17 (my billing period starts on the 22nd of each month) and asked about additional fees on my statement. I specifically asked about the regulatory fees (.40 additional for each line) and questioned why it was increased. Once they explained, I mentioned that I was understood that if any changes were made to the contract, I could cancel my contract without any early termination fees. The customer support rep had to ask a manager (guess she was new) and she explained to me that Sprint has the right to change certain fees and if I wished to talk to their account retention team, I could. I went ahead and requested the account retention team and spoke to a very nice lady that once I explained the scenario, she said that I had the right to execute the cancellation w/o penalty. Thanks for this Post!
Just canceled at no fee today!
Just cancelled today! Thanks!
This just worked like a charm for me I now have two droid’s on the way to me and no ETF with sprint.
i would love to cancel my contract with “rip me off” sprint. do i go to another carrier first or cancel first?? how does this work. i have always been with sprint. don’t wanna leave myself with no service & then find out i can’t sign up with say verizon. my phone with sprint doesn’t even ring, i get text messages hours after they were sent. never even shows a missed call, just never get calls. called cust serv & they are the most useless people ever.trying to get out of contract today if i can
IT WORKED!!!! I did it. took 2 minutes , i am so happy I could dance. now we’ll have to see if they try to sock me with any fees. Guy said i wouldn’t have to pay anything, but to call back if i had a etf on my last bill. better believe i will. thanks for this
Is it too late to do this? I just found out about this and wanted to see if it still works?
Do you guys think I should try this anyways?
not too late. i did it just last week. let me tell u, sprint has never been nicer. i had no problems (yet) & switched to verizon. very happy. just like above says, dont give any other reason to leave, just the change of fee in your contract. good luck
Do you guys know of any other way to cancel the contract without paying the early cancellation fee?
Best,
I just did it tonight! They pushed back a little bit, but I stuck to my guns. Looks like they will waive the ETF IF you port your number elsewhere by March 15th.
iPhone here I come!
hey im trying to do this now they said i passed the 60 day mark but i’m fighting it because they never showed me that the fees would increase on my online bill so im going to see if i could still get out of it
i’ll kepp you guys posted
Is this option still working?
Hey guys, I just read this. Do you guys know if its still working??
Thank you!
Does this still work? Please tell me!!!
having major probs with sprint they will not let me out of my contract because they don’t believe that i have been to the store 10 times in one month if ANYONE knows if i can use the 4.99 spending limit (even know we have paid for 12 months on it) PLEASE let me know
thank you
It didnt work for me the lady and her supervisor told me there has been no regulatory changes. But the supervisor ended up telling me that it only costs 175$ to the cancel the contract and they would buy the evo back for 135$, so im happy
Sprint is the worse cell phone provider out there! Was with them for 8+ years with no problems…then in the past few years they must have had some internal difficulties or something because they started charging for things not ordered, refusing to replace defective phones, charging my account for “free” cell-to-cell,nights/weekends and the list goes on…
So I have changed providers and am refusing to give them any more money…and making sure I tell everyone I know…and even those I don’t know…that there are better services out there for the money.
Well, I have been with Sprint for several years now and have not had one single complaint. I always pay my bill on time through sprint.com and Im also on the Everything Data 1500 Shared plan with 4 lines and I will tell you, I have around, just to make sure I have a good deal, and I have not seen any better offers. Sprint still offers unlimited internet access while AT&T only offers 2GB of data for 25.00 per month. We have unlimited data, unlimited messaging, any mobile any time and 1500 anytime mins shared between all lines which we barely use at all. At the start of my services, I was also being charged the 4.99 spending limit monthly fee, however they did explain when you start services with sprint, they have to run your credit and will apply spending limit amount, based on your personal credit history and will add the 4.99 monthly fee since spending limit accounts require additional monitoring on a day to day basis just to ensure you will not go over the sl assigned amount. However if you sign up for auto pay, that 4.99 fee will be removed or if you have been with the company for at least 18 months and have kept a good payment history for 12 consecutive months the 4.99 charge will also be removed. I’m a very happy customer. If you pay your bills on time, don’t go crazy ordering stuff you can’t afford, you should not have any issues. So what if they charge a small fee here and there from time to time? Doesn’t life change? doesn’t cost of living change? don’t you have other billers that also raise charges, taxes, fees, etc? It’s 2012 people, technology advances as time goes by and technology is not cheap…prices can’t remain the same as 10, 20 years ago….that’s economy and life moving forward for you!! In the company that I work for (has nothing to do with mobile phone btw), I wonder how we have not gone bankruptcy when I see all these huge! bills that customers carry on from month to month just because they want to have the latest technology, no matter what the cost and just live the glory of the moment not considering what they can actually afford. And yes, life does happen and at times you may not have control over certain situations. And sprint knows this and are willing to assist the customer in any which way. I have a co-workers who also have sprint and they call in when the going gets tough and ask for payment arrangments, sometimes a couple of times a month and have never been turned down. So overall, sprint is a pretty darn good cell phone company who actually care about their customers needs. But if all you can think of is saving 20 cents here and there and having a one way win situation, then I guess that’s why you try to find faults in others when in reality it really goes back to you. Have a blessed day!
I WOULD LIKE TO CANCEL MY SPRINT CONTRACT FOR 2012. I’VE ONLY BEEN A COSTUMER FOR 4 MONTHS AND I SOMEONE STOLE MY IPHONE AND I CAN NOT AFFORD TO GET A NEW ONE AT THE MOMENT BECAUSE SPRINT DOESN’T TELL YOU THAT THEY DO NOT GIVE YOU A DEDUCTIBLE ON IPHONE AND THE INSURANCE I PAY 100 WHEN I FIRST GOT MY IPHONE FROM APPLE DOES NOT COVER THAT. CAN ANYONE HELP ME?
Left Sprint a few months ago after being a “valued customer” for 8+ years. Had few complaints in the beginning but the last 2-3years had so many ridiculous issues with them and got so tired of them bs-ing and ripping me off that I finally called it quits…am now on a no-contract phone plan with another company and it is so nice to be done with them!! No more unexpected charges for “free” minutes that were really not free because they charged me for them! Should’ve done it sooner!