said by jc100 :

TK JUNK,

We all recognize this but you miss the big picture. While the lawyers WILL GET RICH, consumers will have laws protecting them on the books. Companies will no longer be able to get away with this crap. It has to come at someone's expense. Sure the lawyers will be the real winners monetarily, but the consumers will finally get protections in place.

said by TKJunkMail :

But they get the legal protections anyway when the FCC implements the new rules. So where is the need for the lawsuits? All the lawsuits do is raise the costs to the cell companies - which WILL be passed on to the customer in higher fees.

said by jhboricua :

Because of course, if we know something from all your posts, is that your real concern is always how this will affect the customers.

said by TKJunkMail :

... where the only winners would be the lawyers who file the class action lawsuits.

By having the FCC ratify and make the new policies law instead of just phone company policy, the consumers get the break and the phone companies can't back out of them later.

All the lawsuits will do is line the pockets of a bunch of scummy law firms that would probably net the actual customer nothing more than a discount voucher on their next phone upgrade.

said by Matt :

The FCC can't create laws, only regulations with fines attached. You know this.

I agree with you though that we need laws in place, rather than class-action lawsuits, to protect consumers.

said by mod_wastrel :

"scummy law firms"

That's redundant.

said by jjeffeory :

There should be NO ETF fees. The companies are all big enough to handle setups and the risks. If I suddenly don't like a service, or move, or whatever, I shouldn't be penalized. NO ETFs.

said by ReVeLaTeD :

You're kidding, right?

It costs time, and money, to set up a new account. Provisioning the line, activating the equipment, maintaining signal, etc etc etc...all rolled into it.

said by KrK :

On a wireless new account? Please. I think the main cost is the labor cost of the employee who has to spend 30 seconds typing your info into the computer to set up your account.

said by TKJunkMail :

Without any ETF at all, there would be hundreds, if not thousands of people, who would get service, quit, and then resell cellphones they got at deep discounts on eBay and elsewhere. Therefore, getting rid of ETFs would result in "no discounts" on cellphones. Sure you could then buy one on your own at full price, but you won't get the deal a Verizon or AT&T get when they buy cellphones in the millions and then resell them.