Let’s say you’ve had your eye on the latest phone and IT&E just came out with a great promo for it; or you just heard about the Unlimited and Unlimited Plus plans and you want to get yourself and your family unlimited 4G LTE data; or you just want to change your plan.
You may be asking, “Can I change my plan without paying any extra fees?”
Well the short answer is: it all depends on your timing and your account standing.
Your account standing is determined by an internal credit score and can be excellent, good, fair, or poor.
You can change your plan without paying early cancellation fees if you don’t have any outstanding balances, had paid a deposit when you first signed up, AND if you fall within the following categories:
- You’re upgrading your current plan, have less than 3 months on your contract, AND an excellent account standing. The remaining months of your contract ill be zeroed out. Changes to plans can no longer be made 6 months from the end of a 24-month contract.
- You’re on a 12-month contract, have less than 3 months left, AND you plan to renew your plan for 24 months. The remaining months will be added to your new contract.
If your account standing is not excellent, you’ll have to finish out the rest of your contract before renewing, even if you only have 3 months left.
Early Cancellation Penalty
Don’t fall into above the categories or don’t have an excellent account standing? You can still change your plan.
If you have an outstanding balance, like if you were a bit behind on your payment, you will have to clear your account before you can change your plan. If you did not pay a deposit when you first signed up, you may have to make a deposit based on your account standing. The deposit is no more than $150, and if you have good account standing, you may not have to pay one at all.
If you’re planning to downgrade your current plan before the allowed time frame or if you don’t have an excellent account standing, the Early Cancellation Access Fee of $150 and the Early Cancellation Handset Penalty apply.
For customers signing a service agreement after 11:59 PM CST September 16, 2019, the Early Cancellation Handset Penalty is the amount owed for the remaining months of the service agreement. For example, customer canceling plan on a $40 plan with 10 months remaining, must pay $400 ($40 x 10 months).
If you’ve signed a service agreement on or before 11:59 CST September 16, 2019, the Early Cancellation Handset Penalty is 50% of the amount owed for the remaining months on the plan. So, the penalty for the $80 plan with 12 months remaining must pay $480 ($80 x 12 months) x 50%.
(Remember: if you are upgrading your plan you don’t have to pay this penalty.)
Getting a new phoneÂ
Let’s say you drop your phone and the screen shatters into a million pieces. Now you might need a new phone.
The great thing is that at IT&E you can get the best phones on the market at subsidized or promo prices when you sign up for a new plan or you can pay for your phone in easy installments with the Device Payment Plan. So if you want or need a new phone and you don’t fall in the categories above, you can get a new device at a special price by signing up for a new plan.
You’ll have to pay the Early Cancellation Handset penalty (50% of what is owed for the remaining months on the plan), but you won’t have to pay the $150 Early Cancellation Access fee unless you completely terminate your plan or downgrade your plan. Other terms and conditions for signing up for a new plan apply.
Thinking about upgrading or changing your plan? check out our online store for the hottest phones on the market!