Angry T-Mobile customers have filed a class action lawsuit against the carrier's decision to raise prices on plans that were advertised as having a lifetime price guarantee.
“Based on T-Mobile’s representations that the rates offered in connection with certain plans were guaranteed to last for life or as long as the customer wanted to remain on that plan, each plaintiff and the class members agreed to these plans for T-Mobile’s wireless mobile telephone service,” according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. “However, in May 2024, T-Mobile unilaterally terminated these legacy telephone plans and transitioned plaintiffs and the class members to more expensive plans without their consent.”
The complaint, filed on July 12, names four plaintiffs who live in New Jersey, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. They seek to represent a class of all U.S. residents “who entered into a T-Mobile One Plan, Simple Choice plan, Magenta, Magenta Max, Magenta 55+, Magenta Amplified or Magenta Military Plan with T-Mobile that included a promised lifetime price guarantee, but whose prices were increased without their consent and in violation of the promises made by T-Mobile and upon which plaintiffs and the proposed class rely.”
The complaint seeks “restitution of all amounts obtained by defendant as a result of the infringement,” plus interest. It also seeks statutory and punitive damages, and an injunction preventing further “unlawful, tortious, fraudulent, deceptive and unfair conduct.”
“T-Mobile will never change the price you pay”
The allegations in the lawsuit will be familiar to those who have read our previous articles about the recent price hikes of up to $5 per line. In January 2017, T-Mobile issued a press release announcing the “Un-contract” promise for T-Mobile One plans. “Now, T-Mobile One customers will keep their price until THEY decide to change it. T-Mobile will never change the price you pay for your T-Mobile One plan,” the company said at the time.
The price guarantee was also hyped by then-CEO John Legere during a press conference in Las Vegas. But apart from the announcement, T-Mobile unveiled a major caveat that effectively nullified the promise. T-Mobile said in an FAQ on its website that the only guarantee was that T-Mobile would pay your final monthly bill if the carrier raised the price and you decided to cancel.
Many customers saw the prominent Lifetime Price Guarantee, but not T-Mobile’s contradiction of that promise, and signed up for plans thinking their prices would never increase. The “Un-contract Promise” was offered on certain plans between January 5, 2017 and April 27, 2022.
T-Mobile began offering another guarantee, called Price Lock, on April 28, 2022. It was originally even more watertight than the Un-contract, and customers who took advantage of it apparently weren’t affected by this year’s price increases.
But T-Mobile then created a confusing situation with Price Lock. The stronger version of Price Lock was offered from April 28, 2022, through January 17, 2024. It was replaced by a weaker version that is still called Price Lock, but is essentially the same as Un-contract. Customers who signed up for Price Lock on or after January 18, 2024, don’t actually have Price Lock, but they can get their final monthly bill covered if T-Mobile raises the price and they decide to cancel.
Following the price increases, several T-Mobile customers contacted Ars to express their displeasure. One customer said he canceled and tried to get his last month’s bill paid, but T-Mobile refused to issue a refund. The Federal Communications Commission told us it had received about 1,600 consumer complaints about the price increases as of late June.
Complainants in class actions
The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs and many other customers were persuaded to switch plans based on promises made in the January 2017 announcement and afterward.
“The experiences of the named claimants [are] not unique. Numerous wireless customers were motivated to switch to T-Mobile based on the press conferences and videos first promoted at the Las Vegas Trade Show,” the lawsuit states. “T-Mobile's extensive print and television advertising also motivated customers to switch to what have now become legacy plans that T-Mobile customers can no longer maintain.”
