HOUSTON -- Changing cell phone companies can sometimes cost an arm and a leg. But a Web site is changing that, KPRC Local 2 reported Saturday.

Jessica Mouser's cell phone service was so bad, she had to go outside her apartment to get a signal.

"The call would be lost or it wouldn't ring and all of a sudden it would make a sound and say, 'You have a message,'" she said.

Fed up with lousy service, she tried to cancel her contract but found out she had to pay a huge fee.

"I said, 'This is ridiculous,'" she said.

So, Mouser decided to boycott cell phones altogether for nearly two years, existing only with a land line at home.

"I really didn't mind at all. There was no, 'Oh my gosh, I'm stuck on the side of the road and I have a flat tire.' There was no big emergency," she said.

But she did not have to give up her cell phone, now that a relatively new service allows customers to lease their phone and contract to someone else.

www.Celltradeusa.com allows cell phone customers to advertise their phone and contracts online.

The idea is the brainchild of two brothers in New Jersey who saw the need among customers in their cell phone store.

"When they find out they have a termination fee, the reaction that we would see from these customers would be unbelievable," Eric Wurtenberg said.

A person who wants to get out of a contract registers on the site and lists the particulars, including phone, cost and months remaining. Potential buyers can then shop the site.

The buyer pays nothing. The seller pays a one-time-only fee.

"Once they want to unlock those e-mails and contact that user, that's when they're charged an access fee of $19.99 to connect," Wurtenberg said.

The two parties may connect on the site, but the transaction must be completed through the cell phone provider. This may require a credit check and other documentation for approval.

For Mouser, the service came too late. But she'll keep it in mind for the future.

"You're not trapped in a contract for two or three years. You're not trapped in a phone that's going to be obsolete in 10 days," she said.

Lou Lucas agreed. He used celltradeusa.com to get phones for his employees.

"It saves me, you know, I'm guessing several hundreds dollars per year each plan. I have it on a limited number of minutes per month and I also don't have to commit myself to a two-year contract," Lucas said.

Most phone providers allow the subleasing.

Verizon Wireless, for example, said even without celltradeusa.com, customers can transfer their contracts if they have someone to assume it, even though it's not spelled out in the customer agreement.