Confirmed, this is working, got of contract today after 3 days trying!
I COLLECTED AS MUCH INFO AS I COULD, AND HERE IT IS; THIS IS YOUR WEAPON, QUOTE THEIR T&Q AND DON'T EVER GIVE UP, DO NOT ARGUE WITH THEM, TRY TO FIND THE RIGHT PERSON, THE ONE THAT HELPED ME OUT OF MY CONTRACT WAS RAFAEL, A SUPERVISOR FROM THE CANCELLATION DEPARTMENT, SO HERE IS WHAT ALL THE INFO THAT I USED AS MY BASIS FOR THE COMPLAINT:
Here is the LEGAL definition of "material change"
A change in the meaning or language of a legal document, such as a contract, deed, lease, or Commercial Paper, that is made by one party to the document without the consent of the other after it has been signed or completed.
Sprint is changing the way they calculate surcharges. Sprint's surcharges are part of their rates. Therefore, Sprint is charging different rates starting April 1, 2013. For it to be considered material, it is irrelevant which way the change has gone. What's relevant is that the original meaning of the legal document has changed.
Also, using taxes anywhere in this discussion is deliberately misleading. Sprint does NOT tax its customers. Taxes are determined by the government. Sprint collects money from its customers on behalf of the government in exactly the same way as grocery stores collect sales tax. These taxes appear on the bill as government taxes and fees. The sentence 'Sprint will be changing its' taxation process in April..." is ludicrous. The fact that a Sprint representative thinks that Sprint has control over its customers taxes is painful. Sprint has no taxation process. They have no ability to assess taxes. They are REQUIRED to collect government taxes in a manner and at a rate at which they have no control. Sprint is responsible for its own taxes and that is their problem. They can and have increased their surcharges to cover paying their taxes, and they also spell out in their terms and conditions that surcharges are not taxes. Yes, PART of their change has something to do with insurance and premium content. Victor, you do not know how Sprint calculates their surcharges. All you know is what the rest of us know which is that Sprint has changed their rates. Allow me to connect the dots for everyone so it is plain and simple.
Here is the message as it appears on some or all of our bills (bold and underlined are mine):
"Effective 4/1/13, Sprint will be changing tax systems for charges such as insurance & premium content. This update may cause an increase of taxes and/or surcharges on your bill for these products. For details of taxes & surcharges, visit sprint.com/taxesandfees ."
Here is part of the terms and conditions:
"We may change any part of the Agreement at any time, including, but not limited to, rates, charges, how we calculate charges, discounts, coverage, technologies used to provide services, or your terms of Service."
Sprint provided notice that they are changing the way they calculate charges. Therefore, they are changing the agreement. Here is the rest of the paragraph:
"We will provide you notice of material changes?and we may provide you notice of non-material changes?in a manner consistent with this Agreement (see "Providing Notice To Each Other Under The Agreement" section). If a change we make to the Agreement is material and has a material adverse effect on Services under your Term Commitment, you may terminate each line of Service materially affected without incurring an Early Termination Fee only if you: (a) call us within 30 days after the effective date of the change; and (b) specifically advise us that you wish to cancel Services because of a material change to the Agreement that we have made. If you do not cancel Service within 30 days of the change, an Early Termination Fee will apply if you terminate Services before the end of any applicable Term Commitment."
The only part left is showing that the material change is adverse. If a customer's bill goes up, then it is adverse. Plain and simple.
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HERE IS MORE:
By far, the reason why most people are not successful in getting out ETF-free is because they try to make too many arguments at the same time.
Piece it out and it'll be less confusing/frustrating.
premium content:
premium content is a service outlined in my contract. Although I may not have made use of it yet, I intended to.
You have changed this service in a manner that I don't agree with.
surcharge and taxes:
I understand what surcharges and taxes are and how they're used by Sprint. Changes to surcharges, however,
constitute a change of contract because they are arbitrarily imposed by Sprint on the customer. Notwithstanding the use of these
surcharges for government-related expenses, surcharges are not required to be collected.
cancellation:
I understand that Sprint will try to impose an ETF if I cancel my contract, but I will be disputing the validity of this ETF.
For now, please go ahead and cancel my contract with the ETFs for each line.
contract subject to change at any time:
I understand that Sprint can change its contract at any time, but I don't have to agree with the change.
ETF waiver:
According to Sprint's Terms and Conditions under subheading "When You Don't Have To Pay An Early Termination Fee,"
I do not have to pay an ETF when changes to my contract are materially adverse. I consider the surcharge base changes,
effective 4/1/13, to be a materially adverse change of contract because I don't like when people change my contract as they wish.
It is entirely irrelevant how this change affects my bill. Again, I simply find it materially adverse if Sprint changes
my contract in any way.
Each topic above is already elaborated. Unless you truly feel the need to add more and risk being more
confusing/prone to fallacious counter-arguments, just say, in your own words, what I described above.
Remember to come in with ONE specific intent, e.g. to inquire about the change, cancel, or request an ETF-waiver.
Do each one with DIFFERENT representatives. If you don't get the results you wish, or you know you're speaking to someone incompetent,
don't spend any calories and just hang up and call again.
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Terms and Conditions under Our Right To Change The Agreement & Your Related Rights
" . . . If a change we make to the Agreement is material and has a material adverse effect on Services under your Term Commitment,
you may terminate each line of Service materially affected without incurring an Early Termination Fee only if you: (a) call
us within 30 days after the effective date of the change; and (b) specifically advise us that you wish to cancel Services because
of a material change to the Agreement that we have made."
Your stance: the purchase of premium content services was partly the reason why you signed up for a contract with Sprint
in the first place. Increasing surcharges for premium content is tantamount to increasing costs for texting, which
is a materially change. Both services are arguably "optional," but again, these services are the reason why you initially
went along with Sprint. You have not made any premium content purchases yet, but you intended to do so in the future.
Changes to this service is a material change because Sprint has increased the cost for you to purchase these premium contents.
(redundant in a few places but it serves, rather poorly, to emphasize the point)
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"I noticed on my last bill that effective 4/1 the taxes and base surcharges would be changing. I called in quite a few times about this
to get details and was only able to find out that my surcharges would for sure be changing but not what they would be changing to.
Rather than wait to be billed some new unknown amount I decided to cancel my service beforehand. I do not agree with the changes
made to my T&C and feel they are materially adverse. I think any change to my T&C is a materially adverse change as I do not like companies
changing prior agreements whenever they like. It states in my T&C that due to a materially adverse change I can cancel my service without an ETF fee."
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