If terminating contract early, how long before I can sign up again?

[PapaPrem]

I recently lost my job and am planning to cancel my phone service. Cingular stated that there would be a $100 early termination fee for me, which is fine. If I wanted to sign up with Cingular as a new customer again, later in the future, would I be able to do so? If so, how long would the period be to sign up again? Also, would cancelling the contract be considered negative the next time (if) I were to sign up with them? Thanks!

[theclarks1]

The termination fee would be more like 175$ I dont think that varies from market to market. Most likely with you buying out the contract that will not affect your standing with them and you should be able to reinstate when you want too. But I could be wrong. Im sure that there are some others who can shed more light on this thread.

[tennessee31]

[QUOTE=theclarks1]The termination fee would be more like 175$ I dont think that varies from market to market. QUOTE]

$175 ETF only went into effect recently. The old ETF was prorated, so the $100 figure is probably accurate. There probably won't be any problem starting service again in the future.

[theclarks1]

[/QUOTE]$175 ETF only went into effect recently. The old ETF was prorated, so the $100 figure is probably accurate. There probably won't be any problem starting service again in the future.[/QUOTE]

I thought that the 175 had been in effect since before december? Like I said though I could be wrong. In our market even after cingular took over the ETF was 175.

[tennessee31]

Nope, the $175 ETF went into effect something like February 5th. It might differ somewhat from market to market, but if the ETF was different when you signed the contract, that's what you'll be paying.

[BellaDea]

i think the wait period to sign up again after cancellation is 180 days.... (or it used to be and only if you're in good standing)

[mikasn]

Some companies will let you go on inactive status and pay 10 or 20 bucks a month until you can afford to reactivate your phone...

[Superguy]

There are certain states that have a different amount and it drops every month. Think it was an ETF of $240 and that dropped $10 each month until, of course, you were done.

So there may be some state laws that govern the contracts that affect the ETF.

[B-Money]

I love how most people decided to discuss a part of the thread that wasn't the actual question. He wasn't asking about the ETF and how much it was; he got the 100 ETF, good for him. How about someone answers his question: how long does he have to wait until he can sign up again?

I had a friend cancel because of reception issues at her house, and then reinstated her account 2 months later. There was no problem, no false churn or anything; they just took her cancelled account and reinstated it as if the cancellation had never taken place.

[SHoTTa35]

it's 6 months before you're a new customer and you can put your account on "vacation" mode. up to 6 months. they suspend your account so that you wont have to pay anything but you contract expiration date extends too.

[MrAlifEkin]

it's 6 months before you're a new customer and you can put your account on "vacation" mode. up to 6 months. they suspend your account so that you wont have to pay anything but you contract expiration date extends too.

I wonder if your in "vacation mode", will it back out the commission of the sales rep? I had instances when my commission would be backed out because a customer's account was canceled due to non payment. I mean, is it my fault that they didn't pay their bill?

[SHoTTa35]

i don't see why it would as the account isn't cancelled just yet. Just suspended. The contract will extend up to 6 months too so it's not like Cingular is loosing any money. They'll still get their 24 months of service from you, just albeit a lil longer in terms of months to get all the money they'd expect.

[flybeech]

If your bill was paid, and the cancellation fee was paid, you would've fulfilled all your obligations under your contract, and therefore would be in good standing with the company. I would see no reason for them to give you any trouble when restarting another contract.

But rather than bailing out of your contract, why not get someone else to take over financial responsibility? Take a look at Cell Trade USA.

[eden_nova]

it's 6 months before you're a new customer and you can put your account on "vacation" mode. up to 6 months. they suspend your account so that you wont have to pay anything but you contract expiration date extends too.

Vaction suspend doesn't exist anymore. People were abusing it, so they did away with it.

It doesn't matter how long your cancelled for before you can start up again. As long as you don't get written off with us, you'll be fine to sign up. If you want to keep your number however I beleiver it is 180 days.

[PapaPrem]

It doesn't matter how long your cancelled for before you can start up again. As long as you don't get written off with us, you'll be fine to sign up. If you want to keep your number however I beleiver it is 180 days.

Im sort of confused by what you mean when you say "written off with us"? Is that when an account goes into collections and is then cancelled? Cancelling a contract and paying off the total remaining balance due (plus ETF) won't get your written off I assume?