T-Mobile will pay more than $38 million in refunds and perks to New York customers who were promised their 4G plan price would never go up.
T-Mobile has agreed to pay more than $38 million in reimbursements and other benefits to New York customers. State investigators concluded the company broke a promise never to raise prices on certain 4G plans. The deal was announced Tuesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James. It covers about 252,957 plans.
The plans are called Price Guarantee Plans. Customers signed up between January 2017 and April 2019. The attorney general's office found T-Mobile marketed the guarantee as a pledge that it would never change the price. Covered customers saw their bills rise in May and/or June 2024.
Investigators said the 2017 marketing and executive interviews claimed the guarantee "abolishes price hikes." They said T-Mobile later pointed to website fine print to justify the increases. James said New Yorkers deserve "clear and honest prices, not misleading offers with hidden fine print."
What you receive depends on whether you leave or stay. Customers still on 4G phones can cancel and get a refund of their last month's payment plus a $25 cash card. Customers who stay get one of two options:
The freeze applies to customers who remain with T-Mobile. T-Mobile will also pay New York $98,000. Many of the covered plans have more than one line.
The 2024 hikes were not limited to New York. PCMag reported that the May 2024 increase added $5 per line on older offerings, including Simple Choice, ONE and Magenta plans. T-Mobile has also faced a federal class action in New Jersey, filed in July 2024, over a different price lock tied to its "Un-contract" promise.
The Federal Communications Commission also demanded answers from T-Mobile about its plan changes, according to Android Headlines. Analysts cited in that report estimated the plan migrations brought in roughly $576 million in extra annual revenue. A T-Mobile spokesperson said the company was glad the matter was resolved and remained focused on delivering value to customers.
T-Mobile must send notices to all affected customers within 150 days of the settlement. If you signed up for a price guarantee plan in New York in that 2017 to 2019 window, watch your mail and email for the notice. Read it before deciding whether to cancel or stay.
The material does not say exactly when notices will go out within that 150 days. It also does not explain how to claim a benefit or how long you will have to choose. The notice should spell out those steps.
If you had a T-Mobile price guarantee plan in New York, watch for the notice and compare the refund, the phone offer and the price freeze.
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