Released: August 18, 2007

Hard to hang up on cell phone contracts

Source: Kim Hart, Washington Post (Free Registration)

Fed up with dropped calls and a string of defective cellphones, Corey Taylor said he became irate when he learned he’d have to pay $175 to get out of his long-term contract with Verizon Wireless. So he resorted to a rather extreme measure. He faked his own death.

After reading on a blog that wireless companies would cancel the contracts of deceased customers, “I thought, ‘What have I got to lose, besides a cellphone I despise?’ “ Taylor said. The Chicago consultant fashioned a fake death certificate and had a friend fax it to Verizon Wireless, his carrier. He thought he was in the clear - until the company caught on.

“In the end, I forked over the money,” Taylor said. “But I bet I sent a definite message about how much people hate being strapped to a cellphone that doesn’t work.”

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