Published on 07/29/2008
Sprint became the potential center of a legal precedent today in a ruling in a California court that would have the carrier pay $73 million in refunds. The decision follows a case in which former customers argued that Sprint had unfairly charged some customers early termination fees (ETF) for ending their service before the end of their respective contracts. Sprint is not the only firm facing penalties for discounts and is joined by Verizon, which agreed to settle for $21 million to avoid a definitive ruling, and AT&T. The ETFs became a particular sticking point in the US Congress after the introduction of the original iPhone, customers with no approved means to unlock the Apple device and unhappy with the service not only had to pay a fee but couldn't unlock their phones to use with T-Mobile.