Humberto Saabedra is the Editor-in-Chief of AnimeNews.bizPhoneNews.com and an occasional columnist for Ani.me. He can also be found musing on things at @AnimeNewsdotbiz

13 responses to “Sprint ETF Out: Changes in Select States Lead to Gross Receipt Charges Increase”

  1. John Grubb

    So how can i make that work so that I can port my number to Google Voice at the same time? I assume that if I cancel Sprint first that I cant take my number but if I port my number first I cant get my way out of Sprint.

  2. Christopher Price

    You would contact Sprint, and inform them that you are opting out, and plan to cancel service without being charged an ETF.

    Then, tell them that you intend to port out. At this time, they will notate your account that you should have the ETF waived.

    Once they approve you, then you can port your number out to another provider, using the provider’s process for porting a number in.

    Finally, after the port is completed, you should contact Sprint to ensure that the ETF fee was credited to your account, so that you are not billed for it.

  3. Eric S.

    Thank you Mr. Price. Most responsive and complete answer to a question I’ve been trying to answer myself.

  4. John Grubb

    As always, Christopher, thank you.

  5. Jeff

    The biggest thing: when you call tell them that this is the only reason for which you intend to leave. If you give any other reason, you will probably be denied.

  6. Christopher Price

    While Jeff is correct, legally Sprint cannot deny you because you have some other motivation. Unfortunately, customer service representatives (in our opinion) are not trained sufficiently to handle ETF Outs. It’s not too hard to figure out why.

    As such, we suggest you keep things simple; if you want to object to this change, simply say this is the sole reason you are leaving. If a CSR refuses to let you cancel, escalate to a supervisor. If that fails, wait a day or two, and then call back and try again. If that fails… BBB, FCC, State PUC, and State AG complaints (simultaneously) are your best bet.

  7. Chris

    Am I able to cancel my contract with Sprint right now or I have to wait until I get the next bill with this notice?

  8. Christopher Price

    Sprint has bounced back and forth on this, depending on the circumstance. Our advice: Try now, and if unsuccessful, wait for the bill.

    If trained properly, a CSR would have an answer for that. We aren’t holding our breath.

  9. Phoneman

    What if I don’t live in one of those states right now, but I move to one of those states tomorrow. Would that give me an ETF out?

  10. rizzo

    The grass is not greener anywhere else. I left Sprint after 10+ years 3 months ago. I wish I stayed with them. All wireless companies are sucking these days. I drop more calls with my Shiny new Iphone with more bars then I did with sprints 1-2 bars in house. I have dropped calls with full signal outside on AT&T.

  11. Christopher Price

    Phoneman, probably not since the date that Sprint announced it. When you move locations, you are expected to pay the price difference in fees, that’s not Sprint’s responsibility.

    Theoretically, Sprint doesn’t have to let you move the account. You signed a contract based on that area. This is unlikely, but it is the grounds that can be used for denying you an ETF out.

    From both a legal and moral standpoint, my take is that’s a no go.

  12. Jon

    Thank God! No more supporting habib labor … at least on my cell phone anyways. Porting out today.

  13. Beth

    I live in Michigan and our May bill stated: “customers in MI will see a small increase in some Spring Surcharges including…Gross Receipt Changes”. Does this mean we can cancel our contract without paying ETF? We already paid the May bill; can we still request cancellation without ETF? I would like to sign up for a Spring plan with less minutes, which requires that I cancel the current plan first. In that case, I’d like to not pay the ETF. The whole port your number thing is new to me, but I’ll try to follow along with the advice given earlier.

    If I can’t cancel the whole family plan with four phones, I’d like to cancel one of the phones because my daughter got married and is on her husband’s plan with a different company. Sprint still wants to charge me $100 ETF. Isn’t there an exception for legal marriage, divorce, or death? It seems like there should be.

    I will appreciate any advice you can give me.