Remember when T-Mobile raised prices on plans that came with a “price guarantee” back in 2024? A lot of you certainly do. For customers in New York, at least, there’s finally some payback.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with T-Mobile, over those Price Guarantee Plans, which T-Mobile sold to 4G customers between 2017 and 2019 with the promise that prices wouldn’t change. In 2024, T-Mobile started raising them by about $5 a line, pointing to fine print that said otherwise. The AG says about 252,957 plans in New York were hit, and the settlement could be worth up to more than $38 million for those customers.
So what do you get? If T-Mobile identifies you as still being on 4G, you can cancel and get your last monthly payment back plus a $25 gift card, or stay and grab a free $250 5G phone or a $150 credit toward something nicer. Stay put, and your price is frozen until at least 2029. Everyone else who was affected, including folks who already moved to 5G, can cancel for a refund of their last payment or stay with a price guarantee through 2029. T-Mobile also has to honor its price guarantees going forward and spell out any limits clearly.
If this story feels familiar, it should. The price hikes kicked off a wave of frustration and legal action, as we covered when T-Mobile customers filed a lawsuit against the carrier for breaking its price lock guarantee. That separate federal case hasn’t gone customers’ way, with a judge sending it to individual arbitration, which makes this New York deal one of the few concrete wins so far.
The bad news is that this only covers New York, and T-Mobile didn’t admit any wrongdoing. If you’re in New York and were on one of these older plans, watch for a message from T-Mobile about your options. If you’re elsewhere, you’re out of luck for now, but it’s fair to wonder whether other state AGs will take a closer look.
Source: EINPressWire