Comments on: Astounding: Canceling iPhone service will cost $175

By: niki

niki — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:19:31 +0000

You can return the phone and cancel service without paying a fee if you do it in the first 15 days of purchse.

If you do it in the first 30 days of purchase, they waive the fee, but you can’t return the phone.

After that first 30 days, THAT’S when you’d have to pay the $175 cancellation fee, which is pretty standard. t-Mobile charges $200 and only gives you 15 days.

By: fareal

fareal — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:11:05 +0000

re: jason said, on June 22, 2007 @ 10:56 am

Is this the first time a U.S. phone has not been subsidized?

I wouldn’t expect that a U.S. mobile phone provider would alter from their regular Terms of Service regarding Early Termination Fees only for specific (unsubsidized) phones.

They should instead lower the price of the phone. But since its the allmightly Apple iPhone, who knows when we’ll see a lower price.

By: jason

jason — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:31:58 +0000

no Michael, from what I know, you’re paying full price.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:03:44 +0000

I thought that the iphone prices were subsidized…?

By: jason

jason — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:56:54 +0000

fareal,
as I said in the blog post, normally a carrier charges an early termination fee to recoup the expense of the phone subsidy. They difference here is that AT&T doesn’t subsidize the cost of the iPhone, meaning they have no justification to charge an early termination fee.

By: fareal

fareal — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:16:05 +0000

How is that different than a normal early termination fee when you cancel most other cell phone service after the trial period is up?