Senator blasts AT&T over early termination fees for smart phones
An increase in the charge provides another example of why Congress and the Federal Communications Commission need to intervene to protect consumers, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said.
AT&T is coming under fire from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., for hiking the fee it imposes on customers who break certain smart phone contracts.
A day after criticizing Google for its Wi-Fi data collection practices, Klobuchar issued a statement on Friday criticizing AT&T for boosting the early termination fee for some of its smart phone contracts to $325. The move provides another example of why Congress and the Federal Communications Commission need to intervene to protect consumers, she said.
After Verizon Wireless raised its fees last year, Klobuchar introduced a bill in December that would place restrictions on the fees. FCC has been studying the early termination fees and requested information from wireless operators on the practice.
"Once again, wireless providers have shown that they would rather use arbitrary fees than network and service quality to keep customers," said Klobuchar, who sits on the Senate Commerce Committee. "It is time for Congress and [FCC] to act to ensure competition and consumer protection in the cell phone marketplace."
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said while his company did raise the fee for some of its smart phones such as the iPhone and Blackberry Bold it lowered fees on some of its less-advanced phones from $175 to $150. Siegel also noted that the fees are pro-rated, based on when a consumer breaks their contract. "The longer you're with us, the lower your ETF," he said.
Early termination fees are "one of the reasons our customers can enjoy such low prices on hand sets," Siegel said, adding that customers can obtain mobile phone service without a contract if they want to pay full price for a handset.