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I called AT&T to cancel my phone the other day because I would rather have the $56 a month to put towards debt reduction, instead of toward a phone I hardly use.  I knew for an absolute fact I had no contract with AT&T.  For one thing, I got the phone through a panel I was a member of (the IMMI panel) and so I didn’t even speak to any Cingular Reps, go through any store, click on any click-thru contracts, or anything else of the sort.  For another, I didn’t get a free phone and the only reason that those ridiculous contracts are acceptable at all is because the companies allege that they give away phones and need to be entitled to protect themselves by ensuring you will stay a customer after this initial investment they make. 

So, I called and expected there to be no problem at all.  Unfortunately, the old lady (Midge) who answered my call decided that she wanted to try to make an extra $175 for AT&T.  Well, I don’t know if she decided or if this just standard AND SHADY business practice on the part of AT&T.  But, I was informed that I had a 2-year contract that I had signed in May of 2007 (huh, I got my phone in January 2007, not May) and that Midge would be glad to cancel my contract for the small fee of $175.00.

I nicely explained to her where I had gotten my phone, that I hadn’t gotten the phone in May, that I never signed a contract.  For about 20 minutes, she was just steadfastedly insisting that her computer said I had a contract, signed May of 2007, and that there was absolutely nothing anyone could do because the computer said so. 

I know you are supposed to be nice and that maybe it wasn’t Midge’s fault and that maybe you get more flies with honey than with Vinegar.  But I was really mad.  I demanded that my request to speak with a supervisor be honored (I had asked when I first called, and was told that no one would be able to tell me anything differently), I started throwing around legal terms (adhesion contract, consideration, some other fancy sounding terms I struggled to remember from my 1^st year Contracts class), and I insisted that I wanted an immediate faxed copy of my signature or any other evidence suggesting that I had agreed to a contract at any point.

All of a sudden, after my little outburst (which continued really for about 10 minutes), Midge “double checked” and realized I didn’t have a contract at all.  Funny, I don’t know if my apparent knowledge of the law changed her mind or the fact that I wasn’t just going to say “oh sure, take my money” or what it was that altered the “unchangeable computer” that she had been insisting was absolutely correct for the first 20 minutes of the call.

So, my point here is to keep records, don’t ever just accept what a company tells you, and make sure to stand up for your rights as a consumer.  I know a lot of people would have been unable or unwilling to argue in this case because the Cell Phone Companies and their early termination fee’s are such a legal Goliath.  I think it’s a horrible business practice that they would try to trick customers into either staying in contracts (that don’t exist) or paying a fee they don’t owe.  I filed a Better Business Bureau Complaint regarding this and have emailed executive customer service, so I will let you know if I get any results…