Back when I had a cell phone, in the years before “Early termination” fees were common, and commonly disclosed in TV and radio adds, i spoke with a customer rep before ending my contract, and was told there would be a nominal fee for canceling before a full year of service. When I called back a month later to request a final bill and discontinue service, i was told there would be a $150 “deactivation fee.” The long and short of it was, a few pointed remarks led to the latter representative backing off, and I wasn’t charged the fee. But I always suspected the company had an incentive plan in place for its phone-bank employees to see what they could get by demanding phony charges.

Now those bogus charges are the standard practice.

Nice post, Sam. Do you accept trackbacks?