Senator goes after cell phone fees, contracts

SENATOR GOES AFTER CELL PHONE FEES, CONTRACTS
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Some cell phone companies charge their users $100 to $200 to end a contract no matter what the reason and disguise their own charges as taxes on bills, witnesses told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. The hearing addressed a bill introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The bill requires that early termination fees be pro-rated. Companies now sometimes charge $100 to $200 to users who decide to switch to another service, even soldiers who wanted to drop their service because they were being deployed to Iraq. The bill would also require cell phone companies to identify as "taxes" only charges that were required by federal, state or other regulation. Lawmakers also wanted companies to eliminate the practice of extending cell phone contracts without the consent of the user if changes were made to the bill that were as simple as raising or lowering minutes. Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam stonily pleaded for a "light touch" in regulating the cellular telephone industry. "We talk to customers every day. We don't need interference," he the Committee. "I don't believe that this is necessary regulation."
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1732940520071017

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