Business ProfileforAllstream

We have been with Integra/Allstream for years. Effective January 2024, we experienced a significant rate increase so we reached out to Allstream and was told they could increase our rates since we were no longer under contract. The significant rate increase prompted us to look for other phone solutions. We did receive an option from Allstream on 02/15/2024 but did not accept as we were seeking more cost-effective alternatives for our small business.We decided to go another direction with our phone solution and notified Allstream to terminate all services through them effective 05/07/2024. They informed us we would be responsible for 30 days of billing from the date of notification (05/07/2024) as well as a service order charge of $25.00. They also informed us we would need to pay an Early Termination Fee of $3,669.40 (amounting to nearly 4 months of services) since we are under a term agreement. This notification that we were under a term agreement was a shock to us since they were able to significantly increase (triple) our rates because we weren't under contract. No one from Allstream mentioned any term agreement when we called to discuss the rate increase and potential options. I don't understand how an account can be outside of a contract but under a term agreement? It doesn't seem ethical that a business can have you "locked in" but also have the ability to apply significant rate increases whiled "locked in" to their services. Apparently, this term agreement auto renewal is detailed in the fine print of a ************** Agreement (MSA) that was signed nearly 10 years ago by someone who has since passed away. We have paid for services rendered through 05/07/2024 along with an additional 30 days and the $25 service order charge. We are asking for the cancellation of the Early Termination Fee as this was never brought to our attention. We would like our remaining account balance brought to $0.