Cancel without paying ETF due to living and working in a dead zone

I am curious to know if Cingular will let those customers who live and
work in a dead spot out of their contracts without having to pay the
ETF. I receive no signal in my apartment complex or if I do get a
signal, my phone drops the call within a few minutes. This is quite
frustrating when working with customers. I have spoken to several
CSR's and Cingular is aware of my area being a known dead spot, but
they don't seem to eager to correct it. Does anyone have any
feedback?

---

› See More: Cancel without paying ETF due to living and working in a dead zone

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Ghost Dog) wrote:

> I am curious to know if Cingular will let those customers who live and
> work in a dead spot out of their contracts without having to pay the
> ETF. I receive no signal in my apartment complex or if I do get a
> signal, my phone drops the call within a few minutes. This is quite
> frustrating when working with customers. I have spoken to several
> CSR's and Cingular is aware of my area being a known dead spot, but
> they don't seem to eager to correct it. Does anyone have any
> feedback?

Don't ask to bet let out of contract. Demand it. Basic common law, a
cell phone sold to you must be fit for purpose. if you can't use it,
they can't charge you. If they refuse, write to your State's Attorney
General, with Certified copy to HQ in Atlanta.

"Ghost Dog" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am curious to know if Cingular will let those customers who live and
> work in a dead spot out of their contracts without having to pay the
> ETF. I receive no signal in my apartment complex or if I do get a
> signal, my phone drops the call within a few minutes. This is quite
> frustrating when working with customers. I have spoken to several
> CSR's and Cingular is aware of my area being a known dead spot, but
> they don't seem to eager to correct it. Does anyone have any
> feedback?

I doubt they will, and legally they don't have to. It's not a matter of the
phone/service being unusable. It is a matter of you not getting service in
that particular place, which is covered in their terms. That is the reason
for the trial period. If you find the service unsuitable, you can return the
phone during that period with no ETF. Unless you used to get service with
them there, and now don't, I would think it would be a weak case. But you
might be able to. I was getting disgusted with Cingular back around
November. After finally getting in touch with the right person, they offered
to cancel with no ETF, even though I was still in contract on one of my two
lines. I wish I remembered the guys name, but I do not. Just keep asking up
the ladder when you make the call. There is no legal reason they have to,
but if you get in touch with the right person, who knows.

In article <[email protected]>,
"Jason Cothran" <[email protected]> wrote:

> I doubt they will, and legally they don't have to. It's not a matter of the
> phone/service being unusable. It is a matter of you not getting service in
> that particular place, which is covered in their terms.

The Contract is a legal wish list, which they hope you will blindly
believe. DON'T.


Don't ask to bet let out of contract. Demand it. Basic common law, a
cell phone sold to you must be fit for purpose. if you can't use it,
they can't charge you. If they refuse, write to your State's Attorney
General, with Certified copy to HQ in Atlanta.

"Robert M." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
..
>
> The Contract is a legal wish list, which they hope you will blindly
> believe. DON'T.
>
>
> Don't ask to bet let out of contract. Demand it. Basic common law, a
> cell phone sold to you must be fit for purpose. if you can't use it,
> they can't charge you. If they refuse, write to your State's Attorney
> General, with Certified copy to HQ in Atlanta.

Basic common law also requires you to repay any loan you sign a promissory
note on. Unless he paid full retail for the phone, he IS bound to that
contract. The only other way around it would be if Cingular changed
something on their end since the contract was instated. The State's attorney
General would have quite a laugh at that letter.

In article <[email protected]>,
"Jason Cothran" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> "Robert M." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> .
> >
> > The Contract is a legal wish list, which they hope you will blindly
> > believe. DON'T.
> >
> >
> > Don't ask to bet let out of contract. Demand it. Basic common law, a
> > cell phone sold to you must be fit for purpose. if you can't use it,
> > they can't charge you. If they refuse, write to your State's Attorney
> > General, with Certified copy to HQ in Atlanta.
>
> Basic common law also requires you to repay any loan you sign a promissory
> note on. Unless he paid full retail for the phone, he IS bound to that
> contract. The only other way around it would be if Cingular changed
> something on their end since the contract was instated. The State's attorney
> General would have quite a laugh at that letter.

No, there have been ample posts from folks thatget out of their contract
by doing just what I suggested. Of course they need to return the phone.

In article <[email protected]>, Jer <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Jason Cothran wrote:
>
> > The only other way around it would be if Cingular changed
> > something on their end since the contract was instated.



>
> Nah, no wireless carrier changes anything - they have standards to
> adhere to. All cell sites are permanently anchored and are incapable of
> moving around. All antennas are also permanently anchored in place -
> they never move either. <giggle>



Nice try. Things change.

"Robert M." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Jason Cothran" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> > "Robert M." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > In article <[email protected]>,
> > .
> > >
> > > The Contract is a legal wish list, which they hope you will blindly
> > > believe. DON'T.
> > >
> > >
> > > Don't ask to bet let out of contract. Demand it. Basic common law, a
> > > cell phone sold to you must be fit for purpose. if you can't use it,
> > > they can't charge you. If they refuse, write to your State's Attorney
> > > General, with Certified copy to HQ in Atlanta.
> >
> > Basic common law also requires you to repay any loan you sign a
promissory
> > note on. Unless he paid full retail for the phone, he IS bound to that
> > contract. The only other way around it would be if Cingular changed
> > something on their end since the contract was instated. The State's
attorney
> > General would have quite a laugh at that letter.
>
> No, there have been ample posts from folks thatget out of their contract
> by doing just what I suggested. Of course they need to return the phone.

It is by the carriers choice, not legal requirement.

"Robert M." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> > I doubt they will, and legally they don't have to. It's not a matter of the
> > phone/service being unusable. It is a matter of you not getting service in
> > that particular place, which is covered in their terms.
>
> The Contract is a legal wish list, which they hope you will blindly
> believe. DON'T.


While some of the contract terms are likely to fall apart in court,
your tireless rant about "fit for purpose" isn't a catch-all for every
situation.

In the OP's case, his phone doesn't work in his apartment . Now if it
USED to work there then coverage changed so it stopped working there,
the OP has a case (the standard contract "coverage not guaranteed"
clause notwithstanding!) However, you'd have a very hard time
convincing a judge (or arbitrator) that you never got around to
checking coverage at home during the 14-30 day trials offered by the
wireless company. Not cancelling during the trial period pretty much
admits you accepted the service as it performed at that point.

> Don't ask to bet let out of contract. Demand it.

Go ahead. Just don't be surprised if Cingular doesn't ask for an EFT,
but instead DEMANDS it.

> Basic common law, a
> cell phone sold to you must be fit for purpose. if you can't use it,
> they can't charge you.

Fit for WHAT purpose? It's a MOBILE telephone. It's a phone, and
it's mobile. By definition, it's "fit for purpose". It doesn't work
in his APARTMENT- not the city at large. If his LANDLINE phone
doesn't work in his apartment, that's not "fit for purpose!"

> If they refuse, write to your State's Attorney
> General, with Certified copy to HQ in Atlanta.

Now, if you are suggesting the OP makes enough of a nuisance of
himself that Cingular will let him out just to get rid of him, that
may work, but stop wrapping it in this righteous "fit for purpose"
bulls**t. The OP has no legal (or moral) grounds for severing his
contract without penalty unless the service quality at his home has
changed materially since his service began, and nothing in his
original post indicated that's the case.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Todd Allcock) wrote:

> "Robert M." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
>
> > > I doubt they will, and legally they don't have to. It's not a matter of
> > > the
> > > phone/service being unusable. It is a matter of you not getting service
> > > in
> > > that particular place, which is covered in their terms.
> >
> > The Contract is a legal wish list, which they hope you will blindly
> > believe. DON'T.
>
>
> While some of the contract terms are likely to fall apart in court,
> your tireless rant about "fit for purpose" isn't a catch-all for every
> situation.

No, but it applies if you have no service for your phone.

Well, it used to work. I'm not talking about inside my apartment, but, the
parking lot, and within a square mile of this area. I spoke to Customer
care about the situation and I was told that my area is rated low to medium
for GSM coverage. So I'm saying they are not providing the service that I
am paying for. That's all.
"Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Robert M." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
>
> > > I doubt they will, and legally they don't have to. It's not a matter
of the
> > > phone/service being unusable. It is a matter of you not getting
service in
> > > that particular place, which is covered in their terms.
> >
> > The Contract is a legal wish list, which they hope you will blindly
> > believe. DON'T.
>
>
> While some of the contract terms are likely to fall apart in court,
> your tireless rant about "fit for purpose" isn't a catch-all for every
> situation.
>
> In the OP's case, his phone doesn't work in his apartment . Now if it
> USED to work there then coverage changed so it stopped working there,
> the OP has a case (the standard contract "coverage not guaranteed"
> clause notwithstanding!) However, you'd have a very hard time
> convincing a judge (or arbitrator) that you never got around to
> checking coverage at home during the 14-30 day trials offered by the
> wireless company. Not cancelling during the trial period pretty much
> admits you accepted the service as it performed at that point.
>
> > Don't ask to bet let out of contract. Demand it.
>
> Go ahead. Just don't be surprised if Cingular doesn't ask for an EFT,
> but instead DEMANDS it.
>
> > Basic common law, a
> > cell phone sold to you must be fit for purpose. if you can't use it,
> > they can't charge you.
>
> Fit for WHAT purpose? It's a MOBILE telephone. It's a phone, and
> it's mobile. By definition, it's "fit for purpose". It doesn't work
> in his APARTMENT- not the city at large. If his LANDLINE phone
> doesn't work in his apartment, that's not "fit for purpose!"
>
> > If they refuse, write to your State's Attorney
> > General, with Certified copy to HQ in Atlanta.
>
> Now, if you are suggesting the OP makes enough of a nuisance of
> himself that Cingular will let him out just to get rid of him, that
> may work, but stop wrapping it in this righteous "fit for purpose"
> bulls**t. The OP has no legal (or moral) grounds for severing his
> contract without penalty unless the service quality at his home has
> changed materially since his service began, and nothing in his
> original post indicated that's the case.

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Message-ID: <[email protected]>
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Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 03:08:42 GMT
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Xref: news.newshosting.com alt.cellular.cingular:30648

In article <[email protected]>,
"Jason Cothran" <[email protected]> wrote:

It is quite simple. If the
> tower is still functional and putting out the same power, it is either the
> handset, or something that has been erected causing interference between the
> tower and himself.

Duh, maybe the Tower is over used, and its functional distance is less
now.

In article <[email protected]>,
"H.C." <[email protected]> wrote:

> Well, it used to work. I'm not talking about inside my apartment, but, the
> parking lot, and within a square mile of this area. I spoke to Customer
> care about the situation and I was told that my area is rated low to medium
> for GSM coverage. So I'm saying they are not providing the service that I
> am paying for. That's all.

Don't ask to be let out of your contract, demand it.

Write to your State's Attorney General with Certfied copy to company HQ.

"H.C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, it used to work. I'm not talking about inside my apartment, but,
the
> parking lot, and within a square mile of this area. I spoke to Customer
> care about the situation and I was told that my area is rated low to
medium
> for GSM coverage. So I'm saying they are not providing the service that I
> am paying for. That's all.

If it used to work at your apartment and now it doesn't, then they will
likely let you out if you return the phone if you get the right customer
service rep. But, assuming you were on GSM when it worked, and are still on
GSM now and they haven't reduced the power on your closest tower, they
aren't required by law to let you out of your contract. Perhaps you should
have them replace the handset if your signal has decreased and they haven't
had to reduce the power on the tower for some reason. Whatever service you
change to, it would be a good idea to make sure it works where you need it
to during the "trial period" to make sure you don't get yourself into this
mess again.

In article <3%[email protected]>,
"Jason Cothran" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> "H.C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Well, it used to work. I'm not talking about inside my apartment, but,
> the
> > parking lot, and within a square mile of this area. I spoke to Customer
> > care about the situation and I was told that my area is rated low to
> medium
> > for GSM coverage. So I'm saying they are not providing the service that I
> > am paying for. That's all.
>
> If it used to work at your apartment and now it doesn't, then they will
> likely let you out if you return the phone if you get the right customer
> service rep. But, assuming you were on GSM when it worked, and are still on
> GSM now and they haven't reduced the power on your closest tower, they
> aren't required by law to let you out of your contract. Perhaps you should
> have them replace the handset if your signal has decreased and they haven't
> had to reduce the power on the tower for some reason.

Don't go there. They sell you another handset, and hit you with another
activation fee, and the results 95% of the time are the same.