Early termination of Iphone contract

[kalda01]

I bought a refurbished Iphone from AT&T with a 24 month contract last week.
My employer is sending me out of the country on a project so I want to terminate the wireless contract, but I want to keep the phone.
What are my options ? will they charge the ETF even though I'm moving outside of the coverage area ?

 

[Tallest Skil]

Refurb 1st gen or refurb 3G?

You would have to return the 3G if you cancelled the contract.

 

[kalda01]

It is a 3G 8GB model. and I want to keep using it with a local GSM carrier.
What if I cancel after 30 days ? what if I tell them I am over seas and can't return the phone ? How much will they charge me ?

 

[08mxkfx]

no you dont have to return the phone if you terminate your contract. They will charge an early termination fee. It starts at $200 and goes down each month. My fee is $145 to cancel my phone since i think im going to verizon and getting a blackberry.

 

[kalda01]

no you dont have to return the phone if you terminate your contract. They will charge an early termination fee. It starts at $200 and goes down each month. My fee is $145 to cancel my phone since i think im going to verizon and getting a blackberry.

I thought the ETF was $175 when I read the service agreement.
It seems that if you move to an area with no coverage you are entitled to cancel the contract. Since a foreign country has no AT&T service, wouldn't it qualify for a valid reason to terminate the contract without ETF ?

 

[dave006]

You are correct it starts at $175 with AT&T and any contract after May 25, 2008 it decreases by $5 per month after the first 30 days.

What one of the earlier posters was trying to tell you is that the AT&T policy is that you have 30 days to use the service and if you don't like it you can return the phone and only pay for usage and the activation. Now with the iPhone 3G it gets a little more complex in that your also subject to a 10% restocking fee but you can do you want to do and cancel and keep the phone.

You will have to cancel at day 31. So you will pay $175 Early Termination Fee + $36 Activation + up to 1.5 months of service for voice and data (this depends on the day you activated the phone and when your billing cycle starts). The first service bill is always pro-rated and your final month will not be pro-rated.

So it will cost you some money but you get to keep the iPhone 3G and you can take it with you out of the country. I would however suggest that you think before you do this since the iPhone 3G warranty is only valid in the country where it is purchased. In your case USA only. You might want to take advantage of the 3 day return policy.

Dave

 

[kalda01]

You are correct it starts at $175 with AT&T and any contract after May 25, 2008 it decreases by $5 per month after the first 30 days.

What one of the earlier posters was trying to tell you is that the AT&T policy is that you have 30 days to use the service and if you don't like it you can return the phone and only pay for usage and the activation. Now with the iPhone 3G it gets a little more complex in that your also subject to a 10% restocking fee but you can do you want to do and cancel and keep the phone.

You will have to cancel at day 31. So you will pay $175 Early Termination Fee + $36 Activation + up to 1.5 months of service for voice and data (this depends on the day you activated the phone and when your billing cycle starts). The first service bill is always pro-rated and your final month will not be pro-rated.

So it will cost you some money but you get to keep the iPhone 3G and you can take it with you out of the country. I would however suggest that you think before you do this since the iPhone 3G warranty is only valid in the country where it is purchased. In your case USA only. You might want to take advantage of the 3 day return policy.

Dave

Here's a quote from the service agreement:

""if you terminate within three (3) days of activating the service. You may have to return any handsets and accessories purchased with this Agreement.
If you are terminating your service because you do not wish to accept this Agreement, any restocking fee associated with your handsets will be waived or refunded provided that you send us a letter that is postmarked within 15 days of activating service to inform us that you are terminating service because you do not accept the Agreement."

It states you may have to return, not must return.
So what would happen if I notify them in writting within 15 days, that I moved out of the country and provide my foreign address ?
Would they ask me to mail the phone back or what ?
I read in another forum that people were able to not pay the ETF by canceling the contract due to moving overseas.
Obviously I have no way to verify if those stories are true.

 

[lambo]

If you cancel within 30 days after signing your contract, you have to return the iPhone.

If you DO NOT return the iPhone, you have to pay the unsubsidized price for it, which is $499. But since you already paid $199 for the iPhone (assuming you have the 8GB) you will only have to pay $300 extra. There will be no termination fee.

This is why it's wise to wait after 30 days and cancel, that way you don't have to pay the unsubsidized price, just the $170 termination fee.

This is from the iPhone 3G contract:

To cancel service within the first 30 days, the customer must return their equipment to the place of purchase (no exceptions). If the customer cancels service after 30 days, they will be charged the ETF. The customer is not required to return the device to cancel after 30 days.

 

[dave006]

......So what would happen if I notify them in writting within 15 days, that I moved out of the country and provide my foreign address ?
Would they ask me to mail the phone back or what ?
I read in another forum that people were able to not pay the ETF by canceling the contract due to moving overseas.
Obviously I have no way to verify if those stories are true.

Just don't plan to come back to the USA and have any credit for a very long time. You were quoting the general terms, as the poster above indicates the iPhone 3G has a specific set of contract terms. If you don't pay all the fees in your final bill including the $175 ETF, AT&T can and will turn it over to collections, have a good trip.

Here is an online version: http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/legal/plan-terms.jsp#iPhone

Dave

 

[kalda01]

Just don't plan to come back to the USA and have any credit for a very long time. You were quoting the general terms, as the poster above indicates the iPhone 3G has a specific set of contract terms. If you don't pay all the fees in your final bill including the $175 ETF, AT&T can and will turn it over to collections, have a good trip.

Here is an online version: http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/legal/plan-terms.jsp#iPhone

Dave

One more question. If I buy online at the AT&T store, is the phone shipped already activated or there is a way to activate it after receiving it ?

 

[tnisatard]

cant he just tell att that hes moving out the country and he wont get service internationally, then he can get otu of the contract

 

[dave006]

One more question. If I buy online at the AT&T store, is the phone shipped already activated or there is a way to activate it after receiving it ?

The refurbished iPhone 3G will arrive already activated but the SIM is not activated. So if you already have an AT&T SIM, you can just put your existing SIM into the iPhone 3G and it will work.

You will want to make sure you have the iPhone 3G plan or make sure that you don't use any data features until you check your account features. Without the iPhone data plan you dont have access to Visual Voicemail.

If you want to use the New SIM that is included with the refurbished iPhone 3G you can activate it online with this link or you can call Customer Care.

SIM Activation: https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/

Dave

 

[dave006]

cant he just tell att that hes moving out the country and he wont get service internationally, then he can get otu of the contract

Sure but if he just bought it last week, he has to return the iPhone 3G to "get out of the contract".

He wants to take advantage of AT&T and not return the iPhone 3G as he agreed to in the Contract.

Dave

 

[kalda01]

Sure but if he just bought it last week, he has to return the iPhone 3G to "get out of the contract".

He wants to take advantage of AT&T and not return the iPhone 3G as he agreed to in the Contract.

Dave

If I decide to cancel the contract and return the phone, how exactly do I return it ? Ship it back or what ?
I don't mind paying the $175 ETF, but if there is a way to keep the phone and not pay for activation and a month of service, I'd like to try and do that.
The problem is that in the US they don't give you a choice. I want an IPHONE but don't need AT&T as where I live there is no service.

 

[eplchamps0304]

If I decide to cancel the contract and return the phone, how exactly do I return it ? Ship it back or what ?
I don't mind paying the $175 ETF, but if there is a way to keep the phone and not pay for activation and a month of service, I'd like to try and do that.
The problem is that in the US they don't give you a choice. I want an IPHONE but don't need AT&T as where I live there is no service.

not going to happen mate.

 

[dave006]

Do we have a troll or just someone trying to work the system?

If I decide to cancel the contract and return the phone, how exactly do I return it ? Ship it back or what ?
I don't mind paying the $175 ETF, but if there is a way to keep the phone and not pay for activation and a month of service, I'd like to try and do that.
The problem is that in the US they don't give you a choice. I want an IPHONE but don't need AT&T as where I live there is no service.

OK, how many of these threads have you started?

Do we have a troll or just someone trying to work the system?

You have posted soo many different stories.

Did you buy at Best Buy?
Did you buy at AT&T?
Did you buy at Apple?
Did you buy a refurbished iPhone 3G from AT&T Online?

Dave