Joe Dipiero was a happy T-Mobile customer for more than two decades when the company offered him an incredible deal — though perhaps a little too incredible.
When Dipiero decided to set up a separate internet connection for his plumbing business, he naturally decided to go with his trusted carrier. After all, the Dipiero family had been on the T-Mobile family plan for a long time.
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A few months after that internet connection was set up, a T-Mobile sales rep called Dipiero offering what sounded like an incredible deal if he migrated the family’s phone plan over to the business account. According to the sales rep, for just $170 a month, the Dipiero family would get four free iPhones — three iPhone 16 Pros and one iPhone 15 — as well as upgrades to the family’s modems.
“I thought it was too good to be true,” Dipiero told NBC10 Responds.
Despite Joe’s reservations, the Dipieros made the switch. But about a month later, Joe logged into his T-Mobile account and found a bill for $515.90 — more than three times the amount that he agreed to.
‘There’s just no way this is happening’
Dipiero went on to spend several months locked in a battle with T-Mobile over his bill. After struggling to get in touch with the rep who sold him the plan, the rep eventually told Dipiero that the $515.90 bill was an error and that T-Mobile was “looking into it.”
However, Dipiero was shocked when the next month’s bill came with a $821.59 charge.
“I was like, ‘There’s just no way this is happening,’” he said.
When he told the sales rep he was ready to send back the phones and cancel the plan, the rep told him not to pay the bill, assuring Dipiero that T-Mobile was “taking care of it.’” But the rep was wrong. Dipiero then started receiving repeated text messages from T-Mobile threatening to shut off his phone for non-payment, which the carrier eventually did.
“And at that point, I lost it,” Dipiero recalled.
Sick of getting the runaround, the Dipieros reached out to NBC10 Responds for help. When the investigative team reached out to T-Mobile for comment, the company once again said it was “looking into it.”
Two weeks later, T-Mobile said the matter had been forwarded to the company’s Care Team. A senior manager then reached out to Dipiero and said T-Mobile would take care of everything.
Dipiero’s next bill, coming in at -$334.45, reflected that promise. That negative balance was the result of T-Mobile clearing the previous bills and crediting the Dipieros’s account for fees paid during the ordeal.
While T-Mobile told NBC10 Responds that it could not share customer details, the company did provide a statement.
“If customers make changes to their account after their initial account setup without working with our Care Team, there could be impacts to their promo eligibility,” T-Mobile said in its statement.
The Dipieros, however, only worked with the sales rep that sold the plan to the family and were never advised to speak with the Care Team.
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T-Mobile’s alleged overbilling is well documented
This is not the first time T-Mobile has been in the news over accusations of overcharging customers.
In 2024, a T-Mobile customer was overcharged $5,704 over 23 months after he canceled six business lines, according to the U.S. Sun. When the customer raised the issue with T-Mobile, the company said it would only give the customer a refund from the last 90 days.
Now, nearly two dozen frustrated customers have launched a class-action lawsuit in California against T-Mobile, claiming the company has been charging customers a hidden fee disguised as a government-mandated charge.
The fee in question is called the “Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery Fee,” which the company introduced in 2004 and costs $3.49 per line each month. T-Mobile allegedly bundled this charge in the “Government Taxes and Fees” section of its customer’s bills.
How to fight back against overbilling
When facing unexpected charges, consumers aren’t without recourse. Several federal and state regulations provide specific protections against deceptive telecom billing practices.
The FCC’s Truth-in-Billing rules require carriers to describe all charges in plain language and refrain from providing misleading descriptions of charges. State consumer protection laws often provide additional safeguards, as many state attorneys general actively investigate telecom billing complaints, with the power to secure refunds and penalties for violations.
If you find yourself in a similar situation as the Dipiero family, here are a few steps you can take to address the issue:
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Contact the company responsible for overbilling and let them know about your issue
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Document all communications with the company’s representatives
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Request written confirmation of any promised promotions or rates
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If the company isn’t helpful, file complaints with the FCC or your state’s attorney general
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If all else fails, contact your local news outlet to expose the company’s overbilling
As the Dipieros discovered, media pressure can be effective when consumer complaints fail.
“I think you guys did an awesome job,” said Dipiero of NBC10 Responds’s assistance.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
