I just want to start by saying this is not guaranteed. This is just a story I picked up from Consumerist, since it regards T-Mobile and cell phone contracts, two topics covered here. As expected, a reader of theirs couldn’t get out of his contract, even though he had moved to New York city, where T-Mobile’s service is notoriously crappy. I have a few friends with T-Mo in New York, and they’re all counting the days until their contracts expire. Well, Consumerist has a story of one person who got out of his.

It’s as simple as filing a complaint with the FCC. T-Mobile advertises coverage in NYC, so theoretically they must supply it. But when you talk directly to them, you’re just getting corporate-speak. They don’t want to lose you as a customer, they have the grounds to not let you go, so they’re going to keep you under their wing until your contract is up.

So the user went to the FCC’s website, where there’s a complaint form. Just fill it out online, or you can even print it out and mail it in. But the idea is that T-Mobile then has to report a resolution to the FCC. This means that they actually have to address your problem, rather than giving you the runaround.

Once again, there are no guarantees that this will work. But it did for one person. So if you’re under contract and have moved to an area with spotty coverage, drop the FCC a line. Hey, at least they can serve some useful purpose.

[Consumerist]

Posted By : Joe
Posted at : January 18th, 2008 - 11:30 am
Filed under : Consumer Issues