A better way to escape cell phone jail

PIRG is working to pass cell phone users Bill of Rights laws in states around the country.  One such bill did pass last year in California, offering consumers the chance to return a phone for up to 30 days with no termination fee.

The industry has responded by vigorously defending its policies. Farren says early termination fees are necessary because cell phone providers subsidize the cost of handsets and must recover that subsidy if their consumers bail on them.  Cell phone firms have asked the Federal Communications Commission to clearly categorize the fees as part of the subscription price, as opposed to a penalty.  That would insulate the industry from lawsuits that would challenge the fees as unfair penalties. 

Number portability and clingy companies
But while consumer groups and the powerful telecommunications industry duke it out, Wurtenberg figures he can make some good money by plugging the gaps. After all, paying him $19.99 is a lot cheaper than paying your cell phone company $175.

The site wouldn’t have worked two years ago when consumers had to abandon their cell phone numbers if they switched providers. But new FCC rules requiring cell phone portability opened the door for a business like Wurtenberg’s. Also, the slow, steady rise in two-year contracts -- much stiffer than than the once-popular one-year pacts -- helps makes the case for subleasing.

It also makes the case for those who criticize cell phone companies and their clinginess. The rise of two-year requirements did seem to correspond neatly with phone number portability, suggesting just as cell phone firms were forced to give consumers more choice, they found other ways to chain them up.

'Get out of your contract' prize
So far, CellTradeUSA.com's offerings are a bit sparse.  Wurtenberg says at any given time there are about 5,000 phones being offered. "Get out" people with hot phones seem to fare the best.

"If you are offering a Razr or Treo, you get out in one or two days," he said. He claimed he couldn't say how many deals had been consummated, because consumers actually handle the final steps of the transactions on their own, so he can't track them. 

A coming feature might earn the site a bit more attention. Soon, CellTradeUSA will be offering "get out of your contract" prizes -- a sponsored contest in which winners will actually be absolved of their cell phone obligations for free.  Advertisers will foot the bill.

"I think people are going to go crazy over this," he said.  The fact that people even land on his site proves they've already been driven crazy by their phones. 

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