T-Mobile dropped some big news last month, announcing that it would be retiring legacy plans. Because of this change, T-Mobile also shared that it would be shifting customers to new and more expensive plans, which, as you can imagine, caused quite an outrage.
Raising prices on customers is one thing, but T-Mobile has promised multiple times over the past decade or so that rates were guaranteed. While tempers ran high, one customer chose to take things into their own hands, and escalated things to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
This needs to be addressed
Fierce Network shares the news of a T-Mobile customer by the name of Alex Gerwer, who not only filed a complaint with the FCC, but also got T-Mobile’s legal department involved, along with the California Attorney General (via Android Authority). Gerwer even took it further, linking with the attorneys handling the Oddo v. T-Mobile case.
Just like Gerwer, we all have questions. Over the past ten years, T-Mobile has offered a couple of promotions that ensure no price changes for customers. It was a time when AT&T and Verizon dominated T-Mobile, so the latter needed to do something different to lure in customers.
The Un-carrier initiative called the Un-contract promised this first, and at the time, it was something you could trust. Then later, T-Mobile introduced Price Lock, which, just as it states, was a feature that would keep prices locked without any changes. Fast-forward, and we’ve seen T-Mobile make several changes that increase prices for its customers.
You’re free to leave
Whether it’s comfort or just better pricing, T-Mobile is betting that customers won’t have any problems with this. While the increase isn’t welcome, the price for T-Mobile still remains competitive, with some options still coming in below its competitors. Of course, if you want the best bang for your buck, we recommend going with an MVNO.
Just in time, Mint Mobile started offering its $15/month unlimited plan. We’ve seen this promotion before, but honestly, it’s just so good if you’re thinking about jumping ship from T-Mobile. Not only are you going to be on the same network if you switch, but the pricing is unmatched at the moment.
Of course, after the promotion, the unlimited plan jumps to $30/month but that still isn’t bad at all. Naturally, you aren’t going to get all the same perks as T-Mobile, but the core elements are there and that just might be enough for some people.
What does the future hold?
T-Mobile needs to be held responsible here. People put faith into the company when it wasn’t as great. People signed up for prices that won’t change. We knew that changes would be coming once Mike Sievert stepped down as CEO, but this new T-Mobile so far hasn’t been impressive at all. We’ve seen the FCC lay down some hefty fines before, so it will be interesting to see how this all turns out.