Verizon Wireless holding phone number hostage and demanding early termination fees at end of contract ripoff Bellevue, Washington Nationwide

Late last month, while I was away from home and engaged in moving a truck load of business/office belongings, my cellular phone was stolen. I knew that I was at or near the end of my two year contract.

After reporting the phone stolen, I decided to start service with a new carrier instead of going through the police reporting and insurance claims and all the mess that goes along with getting a replacement phoneespecially when it would be a matter of days till the end of the contract.

After all, I received absolutely no help or accommodation from Verizon when I went through this process in 2003, and this and other customer service experiences prompted me to vow to NEVER renew with this company.

When renting a home or leasing equipment or ANY other rental service of any kind, early termination at worst means the total amount payable would equal the sum of payments for the term of the agreement. Early termination fees are meant to discourage people from opting out of their contracts and always add up to significantly less money than if people are held to the full term.

In this case, I had/have no objection to being financially responsible to the end of the contract, but Verizon is forcing me to port my phone numbers back to them for the remainder of the contractwhich according to their mathadding days for the time I supposedly reneged on my contract with themis June 5, 2005. They are using the (teleport) law, which was intended to allow competition and to protect & empower consumers, to hold me hostage. They demand that I pay $175 early termination penalties FOR EACH LINE.

Verizon fought against consumers' rights to take their wireless phone numbers with them. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now. The ONLY language Verizon understands is money. 99% (plus) of the time they bully people into getting exactly what they demand.

Certainly, they have now succeeded in bullying me. I deserve compensation for what they have done to me, and I am sure there are others. Just as I pledged to never renew my contract with this company, I am now pledging to make them regret the abuse they are inflicting on consumers. I will not rest until this abuse stops.

Gaylon
Mammoth Lakes, California
U.S.A.