How I Got Out of My T-Mobile Contract and Saved $200
March 18, 2009 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Spending and Saving
The title is a little misleading, because I am not going to reveal any groundbreaking new method about how to get out of a cell phone contract, but I will reveal a full-proof method that some of you may still not be aware of.
We recently moved to Orlando, Florida and I have been a faithful T-Mobile subscriber for the past six years. When my wife and I got married, she ditched Cingulair and was added onto my plan. I liked T-Mobile, because their plans offered the most bang for your buck. Once we were settled in our house, we realized that we were getting quite a few dropped calls and no coverage bars at some points. We don’t pay for a land line in our house, so our cell phone reception is very important to us in our house. We ignored the situations for a couple of months, but after numerous people said they kept calling us without an answer and interruptions in conversations, I decided to do some investigation. I went onto T-Mobile’s website, and I typed in our address in the T-Mobile coverage map application on their website. I noticed our neighborhood only had 1 to 2 bars of coverage.
I had done some research in the past, and I had read that most carriers will let you out of your contract if you move to an area where their coverage is not good. So, I called up T-Mobile, explained to them my situation, and they understood. They went through their script trying to get me to stay on board, but I knew that it was finally time for me to part ways with T-Mobile. They finally got the hint that I needed to cancel my contract without a penalty, and they agreed to do so. Their only requirement was that I give them proof of residency at my new home to show that I did actually move.
Showing that your current residence does not have adequate cell tower coverage is an almost full-proof way to legitimately terminate your contract early. If a carrier ever gives you a hard time about this when you can prove on their own website that they have no coverage in your area, the contract is void. The carrier is not fulfilling their end of the contract by providing you with adequate service.
Of course, T-Mobile sent me a final bill with the extra $200 on my bill, but I called them immediately and they removed the charge. If anyone has any other legitimate ways to
I like your idea of using cell phones for your only phone. How much money have you saved? Maybe you can write about it in another post.
Thanks,
Nate
yeah, we definitely save about $300 to $400 a year by skipping the land line. Think about how often you use your land line. Most everyone that we talk to on a regular basis always calls our cell phones.
I had a guy at work tell me when they send you changes to your wireless plan you call an let them know that you want to cancel due to changes that they have made. Just be prepared to pay in full what you currently own.