Wireless providers lock in consumers with abusive fees

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2008

Picture a business where dissatisfied customers have to pay a penalty to stop doing business with you. Sounds like a dream of a business to own, but not one you'd want to patronize.

Well, you don't have to imagine such a business. It exists, and if you're one of the nation's 255 million cellphone subscribers, you're already a customer.

"Early termination fees" -- charges of up to $200 that customers must pay to end a contract before its termination -- are an integral part of the cellular industry. While it's not unreasonable for a business to demand compensation for letting customers out of contracts early, major wireless providers have turned this practice into an abusive penalty.

The fees are high and, until recently, often remained the same...