[Wyatt]

Judging by your description of the situation, you probably have Verizon. I'm tipped off to that by the two-month difference between the two contract dates you were told. Verizon lets you get a new phone at the discounted price two months before your contract expires. Therefore you can get a new phone in January, but you can't switch providers until March (two months).

Also, assuming you're with Verizon, you were given a $200 discount (at least) off of your phone when you signed the contract. They recoup their losses from giving you that discount through the 22 months that they don't allow you to get a new phone at discount (you repay just a shade under $10 a month for your phone--it's not enumerated like that on your bill, but that is built into your monthly bill). It's a complete logical error to say that they are charging you more for a refurbished phone to replace the one you dropped. Quite to the contrary, if you paid $30 when you signed your contract, you actually end up paying $230 for the phone (thanks to the built-in phone cost recovery in the monthly bill). If they're willing to sell you a refurb for $128, they're giving you $102 off the cost of a new phone. They're giving you a discount of nearly 50%.

Either get a new phone with a new carrier and with a new phone number a couple months early (and pay two bills--still slightly cheaper than cancelling) or bite the bullet and buy a refurb. However, if you intend to switch, be careful about buying a refurb as they might extend your contract without telling you. Make sure they don't do that.

Otherwise, your only option is to switch carriers and pay the early termination fee. Those are your three options: 1) pay two bills and get a new number; 2) buy a refurb; and 3) switch now and pay the fee.

Remember that what you're dealing with is not a "problem" caused for you by your provider. This is standard practice in the United States. "Free" phones are not free and "$30" phones are not $30. You are given a discount which you repay. Accusing the service provider of being unfair in this situation is like being angry at a bank for asking you to repay a loan. They want their money back, and you signed a contract which you are legally obligated to complete. Your service agreement includes language that insists you will not recieve another discount until you are 22 months into the contract (again assuming you're with Verizon). If you didn't like that, you should have cancelled during the 14-day no-penalty grace period at the start of the agreement.

You broke the phone. You got yourself into this situation. They're not screwing you. They're just doing business. If you don't like it, switch to another provider, but you'll find that every cellular provider in the US does business the same way.