They do it purposely so it's a complicated as possible, so lots of people miss out. They make you adhere 100% to their terms, if not you lose.

My advise is to sit down for a few minutes once you take on a contract like that and work out exactly what you need to do and write it on a calender, then when you send the paperwork, send it by recorded delivery. That way, they can't wangle out of it.

Another scam is 18 month contracts. We took one on and now 12 months later we would really like new phones, but have been told that we can't until 60 days before the end of the contract. So, if we do that, we will have actually given them 26 months commitment. They know that everyone will want a new phone within 12 months, so it's win-win for them.

Tossers. Everyone is out to scam you, whether its phones or car insurance or whatever.