A few scummy companies put huuuge termination fees in the case of a customer's death. In one case it was equivalent to 100 years service for a phone setup my grandfather had!

In most cases I bet they get paid - usually whoever is overseeing a loved ones estate really doesn't want to be going to court etc.

This sounds insane, do you have some examples?

So if his setup was $10/mo, the termination fee was $12,000?

It was a $3 per month business VoIP phone number redirecting service, and the termination fee was $3000 if you didn't use the correct termination procedure, which involved knowing a password in a web form only my grandfather knew, or passing a 'my password is my voice' phone login. They also allowed termination by a letter to their HQ, with a $3k fee. I think the fee was more of a "we can only offer low prices if everything is automated, so we charge a stupidly high fee for anything we can't automate".

I don't want to name the company, because the dispute is still ongoing.

On the other hand, if you lose the dispute, you should absolutely post about it here and let everyone know.

Typically your credit cards are cancelled.

If you ever feel like someone doesn't care, just stop paying your bills. *typo fixed

It's a worry all right!