In the face of many looming legal battles over the hated cell phone cancellation fees customers are often slapped with when they change services, the FCC has decided to get more involved. Cell phone companies want them to protect them from consumers who think the large and inconsistent fees are unfair, and consumers want protection from the wallet rape and pillaging that goes on when they change service.

It isn’t clear which side the FCC will fall on with this issue. In recent technology cases, like the infamous Comcast throttling issue, the FCC has sided with consumers. However, that is not always the case. They could go either way on this issue.

FCC Chief Kevin J. Martin commented that “The most effective way to protect a consumer is to become more involved with the principles and direction on what is reasonable and not reasonable.” He hopes to create a federal law that will make the fees and how they are enforced across carriers and states more uniform.

He did not say whether he would lessen the burden of those fees that are exorbitant, nor did he mention how the new law might affect any ongoing lawsuits or lawsuits still slated to come to trial. Some carriers charge cancellation fees as high as $500, while others charge anywhere from $100 to $150 per cancelled line, a price many customers can’t afford to pay, causing them to be stuck with whatever carrier they are experiencing subpar service with.

The litigious consumers out there and the ambulance-chasing lawyers who love them are unhappy with the potential regulations. One thing seems quite clear: the FCC regulations, slated to hit as early as July, will definitely limit frivolous lawsuits at the same time it limits fees. Martin’s hope it to protect both the companies and the consumers. He has chosen a delicate line to walk, and one that certainly won’t make him popular across the board.

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Entry was posted on Sunday, June 15th, 2008 at 5:41 pm under Cell phones, Legal.

Read more entries by Leslie Poston.
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