Wireless plans are the new three-card monte game. They’re not always what they appear to be, and more than sometimes that can wind up costing consumers money, quite a bit of money.
Take T-Mobile for instance. Its ”Price Guarantee Plans” were presented as real money-savers. Specifically, the company said in 2017 that the price for those plans would never go up.
But New York Attorney General Letitia James thought otherwise and she has secured up to more than $38 million in value for New Yorkers who trusted T-Mobile.
Her investigation found that from 2017 to 2019, T-Mobile advertised “Price Guarantee Plans” to its 4G customers, promising to “never change the price you pay.” However, in 2024, T-Mobile changed course and began raising the price of these plans by approximately $5 per phone line.
New Yorkers enrolled in approximately 252,957 of these Price Guarantee Plans saw their phone bills increase. As a result of James’ investigation, T-Mobile will pay nearly $100,000 and provide opportunities for affected consumers to receive reimbursements and a freeze on price hikes.
“New Yorkers deserve clear and honest prices, not misleading offers with hidden fine print,” said James in a news release. “T-Mobile misled hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers by promising that it would never raise prices on their cellphone plans, only to do exactly that just a few years later. Consumers shouldn’t have to pay the price for a misleading sale. My office is getting New Yorkers their money back.”
T-Mobile launched its Price Guarantee Plans in 2017 with press releases and an interview with its CEO in which the company explicitly promised consumers that rates would never go up and that their offer effectively “abolishes price hikes.” However, T-Mobile hid terms in fine print on its website that supposedly gave it the right to raise customers’ rates. New York law is clear that using hidden or fine print disclaimers, or contradictory and confusing language, is not an excuse for companies to mislead and deceive consumers.
4G customers may qualify for refunds
As a result of the investigation, T-Mobile must now provide options to receive reimbursements and other benefits to consumers who signed up for Price Guarantee Plans.
Consumers identified by T-Mobile to be on 4G phones can either cancel their T-Mobile plan and receive a refund for their last month’s payment plus a $25 gift card, or stay with T-Mobile and receive a new $250 5G phone for free or a $150 credit toward a more expensive model.
If consumers choose to stay with T-Mobile, the company will not raise their phone plan costs until at least 2029. For all other affected consumers, including those who have upgraded to 5G, T-Mobile must provide the opportunity to cancel their plans and receive their last month’s payment back or continue with T-Mobile with the same guarantee that plans stay at the same price until 2029.
These reimbursement options are expected to provide up to more than $38 million in value to affected consumers.
T-Mobile must also abide by all current and future price guarantees and must clearly disclose any limitations on such promises to consumers. In addition, T-Mobile will pay $98,000 to New York.