Consumer Penalties
Penalties, in the form of fees and restricted user access, exist for consumers who violate terms in contracts. Terms of service are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service.
Certain websites are noted for having carefully designed terms of service, particularly eBay and PayPal, which need to maintain a high level of community trust because of transactions involving money. Terms of service can cover a range of issues, including acceptable user behavior online, a company's marketing policies, and copyright notices. Some organizations, such as Yahoo!, can change their terms of service without notice to the users.
Most organizations reserve the right to restrict a user's access to the service if they violate the terms in the agreement. In serious cases, the user may have his or her account terminated. In extreme cases, the company may pursue legal action.
Other forms of penalties can exist as fees or surcharges. An early-termination fee is charged by a company when a customer wants or needs to be released from a contract before it expires. One example is when a renter leaves an apartment before a year-long contract is over. If tenants rent for a shorter period, or month-to-month, they are instead charged significantly more per month, and are often denied any promotional deals. Mobile phone companies in the U.S., such as Verizon Wireless , are notorious for large early-termination fees, which can be in the hundreds of dollars . Some mortgage companies also chargeearly payment penalties if the homeowner pays more than is due in order to reduce the interest owed and to shorten the remaining term of the loan. The fees typically negate this advantage, at least in part.
Mobile phones
Mobile phone service providers often charge an early termination fee on their service, which is a form of consumer penalty.