Check out UCAN's new consumer resource to help prevent unsolicited or SPAM text messages!

T-Mobile begins charging all customers $1.50 for the privilege of receiving your bill in the mail. Oh by the way if you were already paying $1.99 for the privilege of receiving a detailed bill the $1.50 will be added to that total.  Are they also going to start sending it postage due?

UPDATE: Sept. 11, 2009 - T-mobile has withdrawn the $1.50 billing charge.

My wireless phone plan, from 1997, has no monthly charges. That is why I jumped at it and have held on to it. I accepted the terms of the Pioneer Plan and I have kept my end of the contract, for all these years, along with thousands of other San Diegans. I wish I could say the same for Sprint.

UCAN's Executive Director appeared on the Dr. Phil show on January 31st. Learn more.

Britney Spears has declined to appear on the Dr. Phil show, but recently UCAN's Executive Director, Michael Shames, was drafted to help Dr. Phil explain to his viewers why it is not necessary to use violence when dealing with large utilities. 

The program airs on Thursday, January 31, and you can read the preview for "vigilante justice" here.

Dr. Phil's patient will be a 75-year old granny named Mona Shaw. Shaw received national notoriety and an almost cult-following after she visited a Comcast office on August 13, and smashed up the company's equipment with a hammer.

Hopefully, Michael will have the opportunity to show Mrs. Shaw how to properly complain to a large, uncaring utility with bad customer service.  His organization, UCAN, specializes in resolving difficult utility complaints on behalf of its 33,000 members.

It's a great day when you can turn the tables on your cell phone carrier. Thousands of visits to my post on January 2, have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in waived Early Termination Fees (ETFs). Don't be left out, you have less than a week to use the MATERIAL CHANGE clause in your contract to avoid the dreaded ETF. Your window to cancel expires January 31. When talking to Sprint or Nextel, remember to stick to fact that there was a MATERIAL CHANGE in the contract when Sprint added the Administrative Charge and the Regulatory Charge.

Most of all stay calm, but relentless, when you stick it to the man. Keep your comments coming.

Worth noting - You can download our Cell Phone Buyer's guide (only four pages) and we guarantee you'll never get ripped off on a mobile phone deal again!