Raised Early Termination Fees for Verizon Wireless

It's been a month since Verizon Wireless has raised its early termination fees on smartphones to $350, but recently the FCC has been huffing and puffing on Verizon's questionable fee, and might even consider it 'unfair'.

To be sure, Verizon Wireless' explanation of the raised fee has raised a few eyebrows, but for those of you considering the upgrade to a Motorola Droid, you might want to know the rules prior to making your purchase.

The early termination fee on such devices like the Droid or the Storm 2 is $350, and diminished by $10 every month you have the service, prorating the early termination fee. The fee does make sense, as the retail cost of a Droid is $599, but you can pick one up for roughly $199 for a new line of service or qualifying upgrade. Considering that's a $400 discount, then really, you're ahead of the game if you quit after the first month of service.

I'm not sure why the FCC is bothered by the fee, except it is a departure from the industry standard $175 - $200 charged by other carriers, none of which currently plan to follow suit with Verizon Wireless. Our feelings here are pretty simple: Consumers are getting a discount in return for signing a two year agreement - Verizon Wireless is just making sure if you don't hold up to your end of the deal, then they get some of the costs back for the equipment. 

Verizon Wireless isn't requiring that you get a discount for the device; you don't like the fee, or the two year agreement, pay full price for the equipment.