Wireless Toyz Founder Joe Barbat on Phone Plans

Feb. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- Can't wait to switch service providers? Leaving your current carrier is getting a whole lot easier. AT&T Inc. has followed Verizon Wireless' lead in introducing a program that will gradually lower early cancellation fees throughout the typical two-year life of a cell phone contract.  Bloomfield Hills-based retailer Mobile 1 ran an October promotion that paid half of a new customer's cancellation fee to make the switch to T-Mobile service. Lowering customers' cost to bail on their current providers makes it easier for them to jump to new cell phone services. That's especially enticing during the holiday shopping season, the time of year when the flashiest handsets tend to be released -- often only through specific wireless carriers -- tempting people to make the switch.

"With all the new introductions this time of year, considering new carriers and products is top of mind," for customers said Gregg Kuperstein, president & COO, Wireless Toyz, a Farmington Hills-based mobile phone retail chain, which sells Verizon, AT&T and numerous other brands.

Products such as AT&T's Apple iPhone or Verizon's LG Voyager can tempt consumers to cut ties with their old carriers, even before their contracts expire. A new handset ranks even ahead of service as the top reason customers switch carriers.  According to Joe Barbart, prorated cancellation fees are the latest customer-friendly feature, joining number portability and relaxed return policies. "These changes are very positive for the industry because they give customers more flexibility," he said. A year ago, Verizon became the first national carrier to prorate cancellation fees. For every month a customer stays with Verizon, the nation's second-largest carrier, the $175 cancellation fee declines by $5. A customer leaving Verizon after 18 months, for example, would pay an $85 cancellation fee.

The nation's largest wireless carrier, AT&T, recently announced it would also offer prorated cancellation fees, beginning in January. The company has not released details on how it will prorate its $175 early termination fee. The two companies are also the top two carriers in Michigan. "It's the right thing to do for customers and the business," said AT&T spokeswoman Meghan Roskopf. "It's another example of how we stay competitive in the market place." This month AT&T also eliminated a requirement that customers sign a new two-year agreement to make any changes to their plans. Now, customers can move their level of service up or down, from $39.99 to $199.99 per month, without extending their deal. Mobile 1, a retail chain with 18 Michigan stores, last month offered to pay half of a new carriers, said Steve Marvicsin, manager at Mobile 1's Southfield store and member of the company's marketing team. Mobile 1 exclusively sells T-Mobile services. T-Mobile corporate outlets do not offer the same deal. "Customers want to leave other carriers and high bills, but a lot of people are stuck in contract," he said.

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Entrepreneur Joe Barbat of Wireless Toyz has been referred to as one of the industry thought leaders in his effort to revolutionize the wireless retail industry.