Breaking a verizon wireless contract?

[dis2cruise]

My dh is getting an iPhone from work as his work phone. We currently have Verizon and he is a part of our family plan which he just renewed his phone March of this year. Can this contract be canceled without penalty and if a penalty how much would it be?

 

[davedmaine]

My dh is getting an iPhone from work as his work phone. We currently have Verizon and he is a part of our family plan which he just renewed his phone March of this year. Can this contract be canceled without penalty and if a penalty how much would it be?

Can't you just call Verizon and ask?

 

[pyrxtc]

Just remember that if you cancel his personal line then his number changes and if work wants to take the phone back then he is without a phone.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

No, his contract cannot be canceled without paying an early termination fee. You can find the amount and further information right on Verizon's web site.

 

[wannagoback]

I had the same situation. I believe the Verizon rep told me I could downgrade to a dumb phone to avoid the data charge but that I needed to keep the line (or pay the termination fee).

DH just carries two phones at all times since his work phone is a 24-hour contact number and his personal phone is the fun phone!

 

[caribear]

Just as a reference.....my dh's contract is up in July 2013. If we cancel right now.....$90.....it then goes down $5 each month.

 

[horseshowmom]

I can't speak for Verizon, but I had something similar happen with ATT. We had been customers for years and had five lines. While they didn't let me cancel his line, they did give me a credit that was enough to cover the cost of his line for the rest of the contract. I canceled it as soon as it was up.

 

[LostSock]

"If you're signing up for Postpay Service, you're agreeing to subscribe to a line of Service either on a month–to–month basis or for a minimum contract term, as shown on your receipt or order confirmation. (If your Service is suspended without billing, that time doesn't count toward completing your contract term.) Once you've completed your contract term, you'll automatically become a customer on a month–to–month basis for that line of Service. If you cancel a line of Service, or if we cancel it for good cause, during its contract term, you'll have to pay an Early Termination Fee. If your contract term results from your purchase of an Advanced Device, your Early Termination Fee will be $350 minus $10 for each full month of your contract term that you complete. (For a complete list of Advanced Devices, check verizonwireless.com/advanceddevices.) Otherwise, your Early Termination Fee will be $175 minus $5 for each full month of your contract term that you complete. Cancellations will become effective on the last day of that month's billing cycle, and you are responsible for all charges incurred until then. Also, if you bought your wireless device from an authorized agent or third–party vendor, you should check whether they charge a separate termination fee."

 

[maggiew]

We just went through this.

For dumb phones, the cheapest ETF fee you will get is $60. If you have a smart phone, it is $120 (I think, maybe $140.)

We wanted to leave one month early so I could get my girls new phones for Christmas, but even if you leave one day early, you have to pay the above.

For my DH, when his work offered him a phone, he had to get a new line and new number. Luckily DH was out of contract and on a month-by-month. But his work's policy used to be to take over the old number. Check what the work policies are. They may just transfer his number over.

Maggie

 

[beckybowler]

If your husbands work also uses Verizon, they can assume the line and he will retain his phone number. There is no cancellation charges when you have it done this way. We just did that with my Dh's phone.

 

[bamamom]

If your husbands work also uses Verizon, they can assume the line and he will retain his phone number. There is no cancellation charges when you have it done this way. We just did that with my Dh's phone.

We did same thing!! My DH got a promotion at work and part of that was they provide him with iphone. His company just assumed the line and contract and he was able to keep his number and it only took them about 10 mins to do it all. No charges for us, new phone for him, which meant I got his new phone he had only had for two months and our bill went down

 

[Lewisc]

Check sites like fatwallet. Some of the VZ increased fees have nothing to do with actual government charges. Sometimes, if you call at the right time, you have grounds to get out of your contract early.

 

[JB2K]

Husband will have to pay the early termination fee (which I believe is $150) -- not much you can do about that.

But...

...if he's like me, and has owned that phone number forever and ever (and wants to keep it in case his phone situation at work changes), he can do one of two things, right now:

• Port it to Google Voice, which I understand is free
• Port it to a simple, basic Tracfone (with the 1-year continuous service card) to use as a backup phone in the event something goes wrong with the iPhone (or the battery goes dead when you need it, most) -- we call such backup phones "glovebox phones"

If he goes either with either option, he will not need to call VZW -- they will simply process the "port-out" as an early termination and bill you the $150 on your next monthly statement.

Hope this helps -- it did work for me (porting to Tracfone)