AT&T Increases Early Termination Fee for Smartphone Users

AT&T is taking steps to reduce the number of customers it may lose once the company’s exclusive deal with Apple expires. Consumers who wanted one of Apple’s smartphones were forced to go through the cell phone service provider AT&T. The company is implementing a huge price increase to those who wish to cancel their contracts early. The fee of 175 dollars for early termination will jump to 325 dollars.

AT&T reps say the fee hike has nothing to do with their contract with Apple. It has more to do with them following in the footsteps of their competitor Verizon Wireless. Verizon customers get slapped with a 350 dollar early termination fee. Their fee hike went into effect in November. Both companies have applied this new contractual obligation to those purchasing smartphones. Both companies reduce the amount of the penalty 10 dollars for every month a customer stays in their contract.

Smartphones are quite a bit more expensive than a standard cell phone. The companies are attempting to recoup some of their losses when a customer gets a 500 hundred dollar phone for next to nothing when they sign a 1 or 2 year contract. Customers who end their contracts before they are fulfilled are walking away with a phone that would have cost them more than the early termination fee. Standard cell phone device customers who opt to end their contracts prematurely will be excited to hear early termination fees are being reduced to just 150 dollars instead of the original 175 dollars.