Sprint subscribers who want to get out of their wireless service contracts without paying an early termination fee have until the clocks strike midnight on Halloween to make their escape. A little known loophole in most wireless service contracts allows customers a 30-day window to end a service contract early without penalty after a carrier makes a change in a plan that affects a subscriber's prices.

In the case of Sprint, earlier this month the carrier announced that it would be raising the price it charges for text-messaging, triggering this contract clause. Note however that the loophole only applies to users who do not currently have a text-messaging plan, who send or receive at least one text message a month, and who have not yet paid their October bill (which signals that they agree to the increase).

Source: Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org