On April 5, 2012 T-Mobile will change the amount of data that a subscriber may consume while roaming off the parent network. Users on a standard data plan allowing for 5 GB of use will only be able to roam with up to 100 MB of data. This change can have a more severe impact than you might imagine because if T-Mobile does not have coverage in your town you may be roaming to another carrier and in that case you could find starting 4/5/12 that your data limits are sharply curtailed.

Some eager eyed deal hunters spotted this change (which T-Mobile have also posted online here) and have been calling T-Mobile asking to be released from their contracts ETF (Early Termination Fee) free.

In most cases if your cell phone provider materially changes the terms of your contract you will have a chance to exit the contract – even if you are in the middle or beginning of its term.

If this change applies to you – and you want to exit your contract early – then call T-Mobile to request the termination without fees due to this change. Depending upon the representative who answers the phone this process may be easy — or it may require several calls. In the past with similar changes those who called early in the process (before word spreads on the Internet) seem to have an easier time.

You are likely to encounter resistance if you have not used data roaming on your account in the past – though sometimes this can be overcome by calling repeatedly or also filing a Better Business Bureau complaint.

Fatwallet via Wayne Schulz