Mini background: I got a new cell phone and extended my Verizon contract for 2 years on May 30, 2005. I remember this date specifically because I was flying to California the next day, the same day I was eligible for a new phone at a subsidized price. My current phone's battery lasted about 5 minutes, so I needed to get a new one or else I'd be across the country and out of contact (I was also going to be driving 7 hours alone, so not an option). Getting the phone 12 hours early meant I had to pay an extra $150 or something.
Unfortunately my memory of the exact day ended up burning me. I assumed since May 31st was the day I could get the new phone that the contract I extended would end on May 31, 2007. On this assumption I got a new phone from Cingular last week planning to port my number over when my Verizon contract expired (I've been forwarding my calls to my new cingular number). I called Verizon last night and found out that my contract doesn't actually expire until September. I am an idiot. As far as I can tell this leaves me with 3 options:
1) Pay the $175 cancellation fee
2) Pay for both Verizon and Cingular service for the next 3 months (Note for reference: This costs less than #1, but would prevent me from getting texts since I can't forward those)
3) Return the Cingular phone and cancel the service
I would much prefer to keep the phone I just got (Samsung Blackjack vs. old standard LG flip phone) but I'd feel really stupid paying for 2 contracts at once. I could try to get rid of my contract on
http://cellswapper.com but then I lose my number that I've had for ~6 years, which sucks.
So OOT, is there some magical fourth option that I haven't thought of? Are there any Verizon insiders who can hack their systems and set me free? Is there anyone who wants to tell me what a [censored] I am?
p.s. There was a little trick a few months ago where you could get out of a Verizon contract due to their increased text messaging rates (
link) but all sources I could find say you had to do that by March 1, 2007. Obviously, being an idiot, I didn't know about it then.