T-Mobile breaking promises to seniors who were offered price-lock guarantee for life on 55+ rate plans

As a final action on my part regarding T-Mobile’s lack of honesty and integrity, I have written an email to Mike Seivert, CEO.  For what it may be worth, here’s the text of my email:

Dear Mr. Seivert,

My name is XXXX.  Up until a few days ago, my wife and I were part of the T-Mobile family in that we each had our cell phone service through the Magenta 55+ Unlimited plan.  We signed on to the plan at your store in North Myrtle Beach, SC in November of 2020.  The process of switching was easy, and the folks in the store were very helpful.  One of the main reasons we made the switch from Verizon to T-Mobile was that we were PROMISED that our monthly rate would NEVER increase as long as we maintained the plan.  We made no changes to our plans at all, and we paid through autopay every month.  $90 each month, including taxes and fees and "Netflix on us".  We always got good service, and we enjoyed the benefits of the plan.

Then, several months ago, I received a text informing me that our rate would be increasing.  I thought it had to be a mistake since we had been promised that the rate would never go up.  I called your customer support several times and was basically told this:  "Yes.  We did promise that your rate would never increase, but we now find that with the cost of everything going up we must impose a small rate increase".  That nonsensical reply angered me.  So ... I went onto the T-Mobile community site to find out if I was the only one who felt I had been lied to.  The answer was a resounding "NO"!  It seems that many senior citizens were in the same boat as my wife and me.  Again, I reached out to customer support for help, but the rate was increasing and that was that. 

My next steps were to file complaints with the FCC and the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.  Each of those received a written reply from T-Mobil which was laden with lies and "blowing smoke".  No where did the reply say that we had been promised that rates would not increase.  I continued the battle through those two entities and with the SC Attorney General's office.  T-Mobile stood fast in it's denial of the promise that it had made.

Eventually, I came to a conclusion:  It's obvious to me that T-Mobile has decided to trade its integrity for the few dollars it would get from seniors who had been promised a stable rate forever.  That's when it dawned on me that I didn't want to fight this decision any longer.  Honesty and integrity are important in any relationship, and I don't want to do business with a company where those virtues are meaningless.

The bottom line is this:  I have now severed my relationship with T-Mobile, and I've switched the service for my two cell phones to a competitor.  They seem to honor and treasure their integrity.  Please know this:  It was NEVER about the money!  It was about an agreement between me and T-Mobile, and a promise that your company decided not to keep.  Most of the folks involved in this issue will be dead in a few years, and the added income to you would be negligible anyway.  The true colors of what you stand for have become abundantly clear for me, and as I told one of your reps, if you came to me with a promise of free service for the rest of my life, I would not do business with you.  Integrity is highly important to me.  I have an expectation of integrity of those I do business with, and your company has not met that expectation. 

I hope the results are worth it to you.

Manofintegrity wrote:

levi1111 wrote:

File the complaint with the FCC using the link provided in one of the posts. It was easy. Maybe the FCC can pressure them to honor their promise and a lawyer will pick this up and file a class action suit. 

When I called, the agent tried to get me to change and then offered to pay the lasylt month if I chose to leave. The minute I do that, I break the contract and cannot hold them to their contract going forward. I will hold out, pay my bill so their is no lapse and hope the FCC and or a lawyer can help hold them accountable. 

I filed with the FCC weeks ago.  Also with my state Dept. of Consumer Affairs and AG.  All of them are responsive, but they all say they’re simply acting as a “go between”.  They forward the complaint to T-Mobile, then T-Mobile is required to respond to them and the complainer.  The responses have been mostly lying and blowing smoke … which the agencies see as a reasonable reply.  They’ll end up doing nothing.  As for a class action suit, the attorneys will be the ones who make the $$, and we consumers will get a check for $22.58.  In the end, T-Mobile lied to us, and … at least for me … I’ve decided that is enough to make up my mind.  I’ll let all know how my service with Patriot Mobile is, but the process of moving my phone and phone number so far has been wonderful.  I’ll receive sim cards later this week, and I’ll activate my phones.  At that point, I’ll contact T-Mobile to request that they credit the final monthly bill.  I’ve already stopped the “autopay”.  Good luck to all, and I’ll post a “review” on this forum later.

Done!  Yesterday I received my two sim cards from Patriot Mobile.  Within a short while, I have used my T-Mobile app to obtain a porting code, used it to activate my two lines with Patriot Mobile, deleted my T-Mobile app, called T-Mobile to ask them to credit my final bill (as they have promised we can do if we move), and am now fully “hooked up” through Patriot Mobile.  Their reps are VERY cordial, my account website is clear and concise, and their prices are fair.  With T-Mobile I was paying for two lines on their Magenta 55+ plan, which included Netflix basic.  My monthly bill with Patriot Mobile will be about $12 less than my T-Mobile bill INCLUDING paying for Netflix basic on my own.  AND! … my Patriot Mobile sim card package contained a copy of the US Constitution!  So far, the process has been reasonably straightforward, and I’m happy to have walked away from a company that has ZERO integrity.  Sayonara T-Mobile!

I also went through this when they dropped the credit for using your credit card. Now that costs me $10 more a month. They want us to use our bank accounts for the credit, are you kidding? They just had a breach not too long ago, I don’t want them to have my bank information, just ridiculous.

I checked my account this morning, now $70 a month for two lines for the 55+. I looked further and I saw that the next billing cycle is now going to be $80 a month! Totally ridiculous!

I will be looking at Consumer Cellular, seeing better plans there but will also check all the other forms of plans out there.

T-Mobile did NOT keep its word regarding my plan. I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile's 55+ Plan IN 2018 which GUARANTEED that the rate would NEVER increase while I had this plan. T-Mobile broke the agreement by raising my monthly fee by $10. I am thoroughly disgusted by T-Mobile's action which shows the company's untrustworthiness and betrayal towards its customers many of whom have this same plan and also have complained to T-Mobile. T-Mobile only needs to check its Community site to see the reactions of many of these dissatisfied customers. Shame on T-Mobile. Shame on those T-Mobile individuals who decided to betray their customers.

levi1111 wrote:

File the complaint with the FCC using the link provided in one of the posts. It was easy. Maybe the FCC can pressure them to honor their promise and a lawyer will pick this up and file a class action suit. 

When I called, the agent tried to get me to change and then offered to pay the lasylt month if I chose to leave. The minute I do that, I break the contract and cannot hold them to their contract going forward. I will hold out, pay my bill so their is no lapse and hope the FCC and or a lawyer can help hold them accountable. 

I filed with the FCC weeks ago.  Also with my state Dept. of Consumer Affairs and AG.  All of them are responsive, but they all say they’re simply acting as a “go between”.  They forward the complaint to T-Mobile, then T-Mobile is required to respond to them and the complainer.  The responses have been mostly lying and blowing smoke … which the agencies see as a reasonable reply.  They’ll end up doing nothing.  As for a class action suit, the attorneys will be the ones who make the $$, and we consumers will get a check for $22.58.  In the end, T-Mobile lied to us, and … at least for me … I’ve decided that is enough to make up my mind.  I’ll let all know how my service with Patriot Mobile is, but the process of moving my phone and phone number so far has been wonderful.  I’ll receive sim cards later this week, and I’ll activate my phones.  At that point, I’ll contact T-Mobile to request that they credit the final monthly bill.  I’ve already stopped the “autopay”.  Good luck to all, and I’ll post a “review” on this forum later.

reedb wrote:

Manofintegrity wrote:

Just a quick note to let all know that I’ve pulled the trigger.  I am in the process of awaiting the arrival of two sim cards from Patriot Mobile.  When I get them, I’ll activate my service for my wife and me.  I wish you all the best in your dispute with T-Mobile.  I have decided that it is their lack of integrity as a company that is most important to me.  I told one of the reps I spoke to that if T-Mobile offered me free service for life, I would not take it.  At my age, I can choose who I deal with and why I deal with them.  Honesty and integrity have gone out the window for T-Mobile.  

Take care,  and good luck!

If you don’t mind checking back in here I would love to hear how it goes with Patriot Mobile. 

Will do!

File the complaint with the FCC using the link provided in one of the posts. It was easy. Maybe the FCC can pressure them to honor their promise and a lawyer will pick this up and file a class action suit. 

When I called, the agent tried to get me to change and then offered to pay the lasylt month if I chose to leave. The minute I do that, I break the contract and cannot hold them to their contract going forward. I will hold out, pay my bill so their is no lapse and hope the FCC and or a lawyer can help hold them accountable. 

Manofintegrity wrote:

Just a quick note to let all know that I’ve pulled the trigger.  I am in the process of awaiting the arrival of two sim cards from Patriot Mobile.  When I get them, I’ll activate my service for my wife and me.  I wish you all the best in your dispute with T-Mobile.  I have decided that it is their lack of integrity as a company that is most important to me.  I told one of the reps I spoke to that if T-Mobile offered me free service for life, I would not take it.  At my age, I can choose who I deal with and why I deal with them.  Honesty and integrity have gone out the window for T-Mobile.  

Take care,  and good luck!

If you don’t mind checking back in here I would love to hear how it goes with Patriot Mobile. 

Just a quick note to let all know that I’ve pulled the trigger.  I am in the process of awaiting the arrival of two sim cards from Patriot Mobile.  When I get them, I’ll activate my service for my wife and me.  I wish you all the best in your dispute with T-Mobile.  I have decided that it is their lack of integrity as a company that is most important to me.  I told one of the reps I spoke to that if T-Mobile offered me free service for life, I would not take it.  At my age, I can choose who I deal with and why I deal with them.  Honesty and integrity have gone out the window for T-Mobile.  

Take care,  and good luck!

Manofintegrity wrote:

You’re much more trusting of government agencies than I am. 
Besides, I’m coming to the conclusion that if a company has to be forced to keep their word, maybe I should just vote with my feet. 

I am just like you, a realist - everybody is “in bed with everybody” and WE (the People) mean very little to the government (except for paying taxes) and to big corporations.  Even though the probability of any government agency (say the FCC) bringing a case against T-Mobile may be .000000001, it is not ZERO - maybe Lady Luck would be on our side this time. Regards.