If you’re in the market for a new cell phone and you’re getting tired of your current status, you’re pretty stuck until your contract runs out. At least, that’s how it has traditionally worked for smartphone users. Two years with Verizon or AT&T in exchange for a lower-cost iPhone and a decent data plan price seems like an okay deal, but when you’re trapped with a phone you don’t like and you’ve got another 16 months until you can get something different, there’s where problems arise. T-Mobile is giving interested parties an escape by offering to pay their cancellation fees and buy their locked phones.
So how much will T-Mobile offer those that want to jump ship? A total of $650; up to $300 for the cost of the phone you’re giving up and $350 in early termination fees (that T-Mobile will refund you after you send them a copy of your final bill from AT&T or Verizon. Of course, there’s a problem with that offer. If you pick up a new iPhone 5S, the cost of your phone ($25 spread out over 24 months) will be $600! Sure you won’t have a contract, and you’ll get to own the phone, but it will be locked to T-Mobile and you’ll still have to pay for your minutes, text, and data ($50 for unlimited minutes, texts, and 250mb of high-speed data and unlimited throttled bandwidth). You might be better off just paying for the phone you want with your current provider at that price, then leaving whenever your contract is up to take advantage of whatever offers the competitors have at that point.
