A Telephone for Luke

Objectives

  • Learn about certain consumer rights and recourses;
  • Find out how to assert consumer rights.

Description

After reading the scenario involving the cell phone service contract, students are asked to analyze the case based on statutory requirements. At the end of the activity, they calculate the maximum cancellation penalty a cell phone service supplier can charge.

Equipment

Introduction

Tell students the class will be participating in a workshop on the Consumer Protection Act. Ask students:

  • Who has a cell phone?
  • Do you know how much your cell phone costs per month?
  • Who read their cell phone service contract? What does the contract say?
  • What can you do to avoid any surprises with the fees your service provider charges? (Find out about your rights when it comes to cell phone services and know what your service contract covers.)

Instructions

Divide the class into teams of three or four students. Distribute the Student Document and ask the teams to read the scenario and fill out the table.

Bring the class together again and go over the exercise with the Answer Key.

You can wrap up the activity by asking students to do the additional activity, which consists of calculating the maximum cancellation penalty that a service supplier can charge.

Conclusion

Ask students:

  • What are you taking away from this exercise?
  • Have you or your parents ever had problems with a cell phone service supplier? What did you do to straighten out the problem?