Not any more. An enterprising 24-year-old electrical-engineering graduate has designed another escape route for desperate wireless subscribers.

Bijan Shahrokhi launched http://www.cellclients.com in August. The website acts like a match maker, pairing those who want to exit their contracts with people looking to take one over. There have been 100 transactions out of about 300 listings.

His inspiration came from hearing sad tales about people who felt trapped in their contracts because of hefty cancellation fees that can start at $100 and run up to $720.

"I thought the solution would be to keep the contract alive by developing a method that would allow the original subscriber to find someone to take over the cellphone contract," Mr. Shahrokhi explained yesterday in a telephone interview.

In doing so, they can avoid paying the termination fines. People taking over a contract won't have to pay the usual activation fees to open a new account. And the carriers no longer have an unhappy ex-customer, Mr. Shahrokhi pointed out.

One of the website's first customers, Bobby Macoori, reckons he saved a few hundred dollars. The 23-year-old kinesiology student at York University was looking for a way to get rid of his father's wireless plan after he moved abroad. Someone told him about CellClients.

He wasn't hopeful, at first, as there were few listings. But he had inquiries within two days and, less than a week later, the plan was off his hands.

Such a model has been used in the car industry, where people swap leases online. In the United States, cellphone users have already been swapping plans for a few years through websites such as Celltradeusa.com. But it's a new concept for Canada.

Joseph Paradi, a professor at the University of Toronto who teaches entrepreneurship courses to engineers, believes it is a good idea. He taught Mr. Shahrokhi a few years ago and has become a crucial mentor.

"I think there is a market for this," Mr. Paradi said.

As far as the wireless carriers are concerned, clients are free to transfer their contracts. Some charge fees of $20 or $25, and all require that new contract holders undergo a credit check.

After offering the service for free as he worked out the bugs, Mr. Shahrokhi recently started charging a one-time fee of $14.90 for customers looking to ditch their contracts. The most popular posts include pictures of the cellphone, and cash bonuses.

Now CellClients is his full-time job. Mr. Shahrokhi is funding the startup with his own savings. His office is a shared room in a house near the University of Toronto.

Mr. Shahrokhi, who immigrated from Iran in 2000, graduated from the university's engineering program this spring. He deferred his MBA course at the university's Rotman School of Management this fall for family reasons.

Engineering is a great preparation for becoming an entrepreneur, he believes. "Engineers have a problem-solving mindset, and that's what I'm trying to do with my website."

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071012.wgttickermain12/BNStory/Technology/home

Date: October 12, 2007