I wish we'd go back to subsidized 2-year contracts with one lower price upfront for the phone, the 2 year contract all-in price per month, and then walk away satisfied or walk off paying the $3-400 ETF.
Instead carriers played a funny game to uncouple the phone from the now month-to-month service contract (so they can keep changing the fees, prices, and plans on you with no recourse) but then couple the contract to terms of a 0% APR finance agreement that becomes immediately due in full when you cancel the month-to-month service agreement.
And now we're about to go to charging interest on those finance plans... because the phones are getting more expensive and carriers are starting to realize there's a lot of risk letting a family's worth of 4-6 phones upwards of a $10,000 transaction out the door in a single blink of an eye.
Instead carriers played a funny game to uncouple the phone from the now month-to-month service contract (so they can keep changing the fees, prices, and plans on you with no recourse) but then couple the contract to terms of a 0% APR finance agreement that becomes immediately due in full when you cancel the month-to-month service agreement.
And now we're about to go to charging interest on those finance plans... because the phones are getting more expensive and carriers are starting to realize there's a lot of risk letting a family's worth of 4-6 phones upwards of a $10,000 transaction out the door in a single blink of an eye.