Getting out of my cell phone contract

i n c u b u s

(Sorry about the multiple threads here in the H/A)
So here is my situation, I have a 2 year contract with Helio for my Ocean that I loved when I got it and has been cool up until now. For the past couple months my phone has just been terribly glitchy and at times seems to have a mind of its own by only recieving/sending calls or texts to specific people and completely blocking others from sending/recieving anything at all. Normally I'd just get a new one but my warranty is up so I'd probably just end up buying a new Ocean, but why when I'd only have it for about a half of a year when my contract expires and I will be switching services.
Thats the issue with my phone now I am wondering if there is a way to get out of my contract without having to pay the $250 fee. Helio was bought up by Virgin Mobile not too long ago and has since been extremely sluggish with services and especially customer support. I've really been fed up with them and thought well maybe because of the merger there is a loop hole or something I can fall under. Anyone have any suggestions?

Natheo

Wow. I have nothing else to add here except "me too". I'm in the exact same situation. I've noticed a fairly sharp decline in service. At least they've been really good to me as far as the billing goes. But isn't the ETF $175?

TK-42-1

couldnt you buy a shitty unlocked phone to use in the meantime? just pop in the simm and go?

i n c u b u s

Is it? I'm gonna have to look it up in my original contract but I remember the figure 250 for some reason. Ocean owner as well I presume?

Deadfall

I'm not an expert on this or anything, but I did work in a Soundtrack for a few years and my buddy was the cell phone guy. Now, this was several years ago, but from what I remember it was pretty damn near impossible to break the contract with no fee.

JAEF

You can look through your bill and see if any fees have been increased (texting rates, surcharges from your provider, etc.) that you can use to break contract since that negates your original agreement. http://www.consumerist.com is great for this sort of thing, do a quick search.

Also may be worth looking into what exactly your termination fee is. Sprint lost a big lawsuit recently for not having prorated agreements. I'd do some more digging but I'm posting from my phone, bit tough to multitask on this.

i n c u b u s

JAEF wrote: »

You can look through your bill and see if any fees have been increased (texting rates, surcharges from your provider, etc.) that you can use to break contract since that negates your original agreement. http://www.consumerist.com is great for this sort of thing, do a quick search.

Also may be worth looking into what exactly your termination fee is. Sprint lost a big lawsuit recently for not having prorated agreements. I'd do some more digging but I'm posting from my phone, bit tough to multitask on this.

No probs, I appreciate the help.

Natheo

Yeah, Ocean owner here as well. I really want a G1. I've thought about trying to recoup a bit of the fee through selling my Ocean.

TL DR

JAEF wrote: »

You can look through your bill and see if any fees have been increased (texting rates, surcharges from your provider, etc.) that you can use to break contract since that negates your original agreement. http://www.consumerist.com is great for this sort of thing, do a quick search.

Also may be worth looking into what exactly your termination fee is. Sprint lost a big lawsuit recently for not having prorated agreements. I'd do some more digging but I'm posting from my phone, bit tough to multitask on this.

This is your best hope.