Verizon raising early termination fee to $350

By Phil Nickinson
last updated

If you're looking to break out of your contract with Verizon, better do it before next week, as the maximum penalty will be increased to $350. That goes down, of course, $10 for every month of the contract that you've already completed. Why the change in the early termination fee? A scam involving flipping BlackBerries for cash, prizes and small puppies, apparently. But, let's face it: If you're going to break a contract, chances are you're not going to care that much what it's gonna cost ya. [Boy Genius Report]

Phil Nickinson
Phil Nickinson

Phil is the father of two beautiful girls and is the Dad behind Modern Dad. Before that he spent seven years at the helm of Android Central. Before that he spent a decade in a newsroom of a two-time Pulitzer Prize-finalist newspaper. Before that — well, we don't talk much about those days. Subscribe to the Modern Dad newsletter!

11 Comments
  • my guess this will apply to new contract or contract extensions past that date. prior to that date i doubt this will apply to since there contract will have the lower etf in it.
  • p.s if they retro the old contracts i think you have 30 days to cancel anyway if this applies to existing customers. and pay zero.
  • Looks like Verizon is tming this PERFECTLY for the launch of the Droid. the big V really knows how to weild its attitude that its the carrier everybody wants to be on.
  • Um, no? Droid release: November 6. ETF increase: November 15.
  • Or could it be that my company, all 10,000+ employees, is dumping Verizon for Sprint next month? $350 * 10,000 would be a pretty big payday.
  • "But, let's face it: If you're going to break a contract, chances are you're not going to care that much what it's gonna cost ya." This is so ludicrous I don't even know where to begin. I suggest you Google "efficient breach." Sometimes it makes financial sense to break a contract and pay damages. This includes construction contracts, cell phone contracts, anything. Doubling the ETF changes this calculus. (Note that if the ETF did not change this calculus, there would be no reason to raise the ETF in the first place). So the idea that the amount of the ETF doesn't matter is ridiculous. Some of the stuff I've read on here over the past month has been pure idiocy. This one is right up there along with thinking that Samsung was awarded the official Olympics phone, as though they didn't pay for that title.
  • Completely agree - since I'm month to month with Verizon currently, if this sticks, I may not ever sign a contract with them now. I had broken one before to get a different phone, but that was only because the ETF was $170 allowing me to still be getting a new phone for a good deal. If I was currently under a contract and they did this, I don't think I would ever be breaking it for whatever reason. $350 is too much for me and it dropping a measly 10 for each successive month, that still doesn't make me want to think about possibly breaking my contract.
  • Note that no one has confirmed that "Advance Device" means smartphones, and not just netbooks.
  • A netbook is not a advanced device and is most times not even worth $350 retail.
  • Just goes to show how big red takes advantage of their customers when they know they have the best network. I suggest we all boycott Verizon.
  • Lucky we still have Cellswapper.com