I signed up for phone service with McLeod USA and I switched carriers to AT&T because of no service for 4 separate weeks and my small business directory listing was not in the upcoming phone book as promised. The deadline for the phone book was Jan.31 2007 and I signed up in Nov. 2006. AT&T charges a $99 early termination fee. But McLeod charged me an outrageous $612.87. Is that legal? They didn't specify in the contract either. Please let me know your opinion.
2007-06-02 10:07:14 · 4 answers · asked by Michael J 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Small Business
I think Judy had it correct. Basic common law contract theory is that a party does not need to continue to perform if the other party is in breach. There is a long list of "howevers" attached to that answer. Was the breach major or minor, could it be cured, did the breaching party make efforts to cure, did the non-breaching party give the other a reasonable opportunity to correct the problem etc. etc. After that there are always the two kickers: can you prove it and can you afford it. I suggest that you contact the consumer affairs division of Alameda Co. District Attorney and the Better Business Bureau for some insight in to the situation. Your contract may give you arbitration/mediation rights. You should also Google the company and the situation. Perhaps you can benefit from the experiece of others in similar situations.
-Art (still a lawyer, but not practicing law except for mediation) The above comments are intended to be general in nature and do not constitute legal advice.
2007-06-02 13:59:40 · answer #1 · answered by artwhiterealtor 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2017-01-21 04:09:24 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes-i had a similar problem. The thing is that once you sign the contract, you are legally bound to the words in those contract. If they stated that you will be charged a termination fee, then basically anything goes. BUT- you can contest. What you can do is to plead to them-show them that they are/were being very unreasonable. You can also take it to court and HOPE against all that your judge would listen to reason-especially if the contract did not specify a fee.
The sooner you do the better-but think about it this way: those stiff suits would hold on to their money till the grave, that's all they think about.
Good luck and I pray you get justice!
2007-06-02 10:15:31 · answer #3 · answered by §treet §killz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since you terminated the contract for cause, you'd very possibly win in court and avoid paying ANY termination fee. But of course it can be expensive to go to court.
A lot depends on just what the contract says.
2007-06-02 10:37:54 · answer #4 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋