Resolved About AT&T Early Termination Fee

For my iPhone 5, I believe its $325, less $10 for each full month of Service Commitment completed.
I had completed 2 months. So that would be $305..
I know that I will have to pay for the remaining bill charges too, plus taxes
So I assume that $400 will be enough for me to get out of the contract without returning my iPhone 5 to AT&T? I dont have to pay for my device right?
Anyone here tired to cancel your AT&T contract? I want to know if AT&T will charge any other fees like service charges...etc and estimate around how much would it cost to cancel my iPhone 5 contract.
Thank you!
I am planing to switch to straighttalk $45 unlimited plan though!

dictoresno said:

i would call and ask. that means you got an iphone 5 for alot less than its actual cost, even with the termination fee. i think they still may charge a prorated fee for the device. i would read their terms and agreements regarding the termination fee and read the fine print. im sure theres something that states if you cancel, lets say under 6 months - 1 year, you still may get hit for the phone. best thing to do is call and ask. they are the only ones that will be able to provide you with correct numbers and answers.

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I already did asked a representative on online chat, she said all I will have to pay will be $305 + $remaining bill charge + taxes. Also she said I do not need to return the iPhone cause its over 14 days period. I feel like I saved a little bit on it cause it dont really cost a lot. So that I am asking here and try to make sure.
Actually I already spent $199 for the iPhone 5 + $60 x2 for the 2 months bills

dictoresno said:

actually, after reviewing their policy, i guess thats right. $325 - $10 per month.

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/returnpolicy.html?#fbid=8PkMFuWzm6H?tab2

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Thats the answer that I got from the representative.. But I still want to make sure there aint any hidden charges, like extra fees if I want to keep the phone or anything else...

mjpearce023 said:

I used to work there is how I know. They used to charge 175 for the ETF but after the iPhone came out so people wouldn't use this to get the phone cheaper. By the time you pay the activation fee, ETF, 1 month service and the price of the phone it's not much cheaper than buying outright.

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Nope, no extra fees

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So I guess $400 would be good enough to let me get out of the contract..?

mjpearce023 said:

Should be plenty because you shouldn't have any service charges. The last bill you got was for the service for this month so you should just have the ETF on the last bill. That's why the first bill is always higher because you pay in advance for the service. The only way it would be more is if you went over on data or minutes.

Edit: just want to add that if you try to do this again at&t will catch on and charge a hefty deposit to start new service so you can't keep getting phones and canceling service.

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Perfect if I can end it with below $400! I am not gonna do that again! The reason why I am doing that is because recently I found out straighttalk would cost less and they have more reasonable price.
Also, would this action make any effects on my credit scores?

mjpearce023 said:

Now that I'm not sure of. I wouldn't think so as long as you paid the final bill but I don't want to tell you something and end up being wrong. I would ask AT&T that one. I did a quick search but found different answers.

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I did some research on it too. Most of the people say it wouldnt ruin my credit as long as I pay off all the charges!
Thanks though!!

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thehumorpolice said:

If you are a postpaid customer you will have to pay for the remainder of the monthly bill cycle you are in. So port your number out a few days before the current cycle ends. So, your charges will be the ETF and 1 months bill (the final one). This will not hurt your credit one bit as you will have fulfilled your contract. This info is correct for all carriers. I have cancel several contracts this way.

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Thats good!Thanks a lot! I might go ahead and cancel the contract shortly!

bohbot16 said:

If you're only spending $60/month now, you're not saving much by switching to Straight Talk. AT&T is letting you spread that $305 out across another 22 months @ ~$14/month. The remainder of the AT&T bill is only $46/month.

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Spending around $60 monthly now for service: 450 mins & 200mb data, if I switch to straighttalk $45 monthly for service: unlimited mins and data (some people said is not truly unlimited data but 2 GB) Plus I will be out of the country for 3 months this coming summer...So I think switching would be the best solution for me

thehumorpolice said:

If you want to keep your number you cannot cancel the contract first. you have to have ST port your number and ATT will cancel the contract automatically. Please be aware that ST has a data cap of 2GB and streaming youtube is against their usage policy and they will throttle you for that no matter how much data you've used. I talked a friend into switching over and they have throttled him twice in two months for streaming youtube. You can get them to do an "account refresh" which will reset your speeds but you have to know what to say. I'm not sure how much longer that'll work though.

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Yes..I heard of that the ST unlimited data is not truly unlimited but 2GB, I cant stream youtube vids? That would be fine for me, Most of the time I only surf, facebook and instagram. Now I have 200 MB a month is not quite enough.
Can I only change the area code of my number if I moved to other state?

thehumorpolice said:

I'm not sure about changing the area code. I just know you will lose your current number if you cancel the contract instead of porting your number out.

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I will figure that out! Thank you for the informations!