Instructions for How to Return a Cell Phone Under Buyer's Remorse

Want to return a phone under the cell phone company’s buyers remorse program? You can provided that you return the cell phone within the time period stated by the cell phone company. This period ranges from 14 days to 30 days dependent on your cell phone company. Some companies waive the usage fees while others bill you for the time used. Your one time activation/account set up fee I usually not refundable. You may or may not have to pay a restocking fee dependent on when and where you purchased your phone. See specific terms of your cell phone receipt for more detail. If you purchased your phone through a retail store, you need to return the phone to the retail store.

Here is an overall step by step guide to handling the return of a cell phone. Regardless of whether or not you purchased the phone in a retail store or online or through a 3rd party company the first thing you need to do is CALL CUSTOMER CARE and DEACTIVATE the phone number. After a cell phone has been ‘activated’ meaning it has the ability to place or receive a call, whether or not you have actually used the phone the billing starts immediately. Remember with billing you prepay for the base monthly cell phone plan in advance and you pay for overcalls in arrears. So after the cell phone salesperson activates the line, the $$$ clock starts ticking.

1. Call customer care and request to deactivate the phone number.

2. Within a few minutes to a couple of hours (let’s say 24 hours in the worst, worst, worst case scenario) the number should be disconnected and you can check it by dialing the cell phone number that you were originally given.

3. Delete all the phone numbers that you may have dialed or programmed into the cell phone address book.

4. Package everything nicely back into the original box (don’t forget the wall charger).

5. Take the package and your receipt back to the store from which you purchased it.

6. Notate the date on which you returned the cell phone and to whom.

7. If you purchased the cell phone through the Internet, then mail the package back with a guaranteed and ‘trackable’ form of delivery i.e. UPS or Fed Ex.

8. You will receive a bill/a final bill that will charge you for any calls or fees that you are responsible for. If you were inadvertently charged the early termination fee, contact customer care right away and let them know. It is VERY LIKELY that someone failed to check that ‘special box’ in their little database which alarms the billing system that you have deactivated the cell phone under the remorse period.

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