[blindlaw] needed to re-post.

[Steve Jacobson]

William,

I am not a lawyer so I don't know how solid your legal position is.  However, in talking with T-Mobile, keep in mind that the fee they want when you cancel a contract 
is mostly to reclaim the subsidy they gave you when you chose a phone.  You likely signed something saying you were aware of the cancellation fee, and there 
probably was a grace period of some kind.  

It AT&T truly offering you a completely accessible phone without the addition of Mobile Speak or TALKS?  I know that they subsidize the purchase of these 
programs, but I believe AT&T is the only one that does.  T-Mobile will be able to claim that you have the same options, but that they simply don't match AT&T's price.  
If you are thinking of going with the I Phone, there are lots of people who probably would like to get out of their contract to get it, blind or sighted, and that will water 
down your position some.  The I Phone is nice, but you should be completely sure you want to switch to that phone before committing.  There is a learning curve to 
using it and there are some limitations as to the availability of bluetooth devices and such.  Also, because the I Phone is accessible does not mean that all 
applications for it are.  My point is not to start an argument with you, but to highlight issues for which you need to be prepared if you work with T-Mobile.  They might 
let you out just to avoid the hassle, but they are going to be very careful not to set a precedence allowing people to leave a contract because a nicer phone 
became available somewhere else.  

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:19:29 -0800 (PST), William ODonnell wrote:

>This email is being sent on behalf of William OĻ"Donnell in care of Yvetta Scott,  The below post is lengthy; however, it is in regard to T-Mobile and some 
customer service issues that she is having.
>    I have been a t-mobile customer since 2005.  I am currently locked into a contract until 2011.  My issue is the inaccessibility of both t-mobiles products and the 
insensitivity toward my visual impairment by the representatives from t-mobile.  
>    I prefer a product that has both a screen-reader and a screen magnification program.  However, screen magnification (ability to increase font to at least 14 PT) is 
absolutely necessary for me to use my phone affectively.  
>    I use phones that have complete data functionality as this is my main source of internet use especially email exchange.  Over the years, I have had phones such 
as the dash, Samsung slider, and most recently, a blackberry 8320.  These phones that I have had provided the ability to increase the font to a suitable size; 
however, I ran in to many technical difficulties.  These difficulties ranged from frequent system failures with the phones, as well as the phones rebooting themselves 
during calls or other important activities.  
>    My problem with the screen magnification capabilities is as follows.  My newest blackberry 9700 does not save the font changes to be applied on all the phones 
functions.  In addition, when I am on the internet, and try to use the zoom-in function feature, the words become jumbled and unreadable.  I proceeded to obtain a 
phone that met my needs.  This is where the problems began with both the customer service representatives from T-mobile as well as the account specialty 
department.  Over the past few months, I have had many conversations in an attempt at finding an accessible phone for my needs.  Many times, I have been 
misinformed about t-mobiles products which turned out to be inaccessible.  An example of this was the G1 and the touch.  In a final attempt at finding an accessible 
phone, I visited the T-mobile store located at 735 6TH Avenue in New York City on Friday, December 11, 2009 at 4:00PM.  The in-store representative was 
understanding of my
>needs and spent an hour trying to find a phone for me.  In his attempts, He contacted the customer care call center for some suggestions.  After a few moments, a 
request was given to the representative for me to speak with the customer care agent.  Although I can not recollect the agentĻ"s name, I do recall him saying that 
ĻSas the technology becomes newer, they are taking out the feature which enables customers to increase the font size.  The call concluded with me realizing that 
I must cancel my service with this company.  The in-store representative then showed me his personal HTC Touch Pro 2 which has the ability to increase the font 
size; however, the font can only be increased to an approximate size of 10PT.  
>    I have done some research and found that AT&T is able to successfully meet my needs.  I am ready to cancel my contract with T-mobile As a result of T-mobileƒ
ª"s inability to provide an accessible phone for me.  This evening, I contacted T-Mobile to discuss canceling my contract.  Once again, the representative tried to 
offer me several phones such as the G1 and My touch.  In addition, she informed me that ĻSby law, T-mobile offers phones for the hearing impaired and the blind; 
however, these are simple phones that do not support data plans.Ļ_  She proceeded to tell me that most of their visually impaired customers ĻSdonĻ"t use data 
plans.Ļ_  She told me that I would have to pay a cancellation fee of $200.00.  I asked to speak to a supervisor about this since I feel that I should not be subjected 
to pay this fee.  She then told me that I should contact their legal department at the following address.  T-mobile wireless: Legal department 12920
> South
>East 38TH Street Bellevue Washington 98006-1350
>I would appreciate any help in this matter as I feel I should not be penalized for canceling a service that I can not use.  I can be reached via email and help in this 
matter as I feel I should not be penalized for canceling a service that I can not use.  I can be reached via email and telephone at the following.  My contact email is 
yvtscott at gmail.com and my phone number is (917)407-5666.  Thank you in advance,
>Yvetta Scott




>      

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