Some T-Mobile customers may finally get something back for those unexpected price hikes

T-Mobile’s unjust 2024 price hikes are now coming back to haunt it, and you, as a customer, might finally be entitled to some relief in return. That’s exactly what New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office announced earlier this week, revealing that it has secured a settlement with T-Mobile that could deliver more than $38 million in benefits to affected customers in the state.

Here’s a quick refresher to get you up to speed: Between 2017 and 2019, the carrier giant promised that it was putting an end to price hikes for certain cellular plans. The price lock campaign was aggressive and compelling, and it convinced users that their monthly rates wouldn’t increase unless they decided to make changes themselves. It took the unpredictability out of wireless bills. Fast forward to 2024, and the un-carrier forgot all about its promise.

It started raising the price of those protected plans by roughly $5 per line, pointing at fine print to justify its actions. This directly affected more than 250,000 plans held by New Yorkers. For a family of four, that would be $20 more than expected in monthly phone bills, which equals $240 more in bills every year for essentially the same service. This, of course, didn’t sit well with customers, and complaints were made. That’s how we’re here now!

According to Attorney General James, subscribers deserve clear and honest prices, and not misleading promotions with hidden fine print. She added:

T-Mobile misled hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers by promising that it would never raise prices on their cellphone plans, only to do exactly that just a few years later. Consumers shouldn’t have to pay the price for a misleading sale. My office is getting New Yorkers their money back.

The Office of the Attorney General claims that under New York law, such hidden disclaimers couldn’t excuse misleading promises made to consumers, and as a result of its investigation, the carrier now must provide refunds and other benefits to eligible customers who were directly affected by the price hikes.

Here’s what affected T-Mobile customers can get

This settlement only applies to T-Mobile customers in New York. There are a few ways you can go about this, and it depends on whether you’re still using a 4G phone or if you’ve upgraded to a 5G one.

If you’re identified as a customer who’s still using a 4G phone, you have two options:

1. Cancel your T-Mobile plan and receive a refund for your last month’s payment plus a $25 gift card.
2. Stay with T-Mobile and receive a new $250 5G phone (not specified) for free or a $150 credit toward a more expensive model.

If you choose to stay with T-Mobile, the carrier will not raise your phone plan cost until at least 2029.

Those who’ve upgraded to 5G also have two options, though they’re not as attractive:

1. Cancel your T-Mobile plan and receive the last month’s payment back.
2. Stay with T-Mobile with the guarantee that the plan will stay at the same price until 2029.

The refunds, gift cards, credits, and new phones together are expected to provide more than $38 million in value to affected customers.

T-Mobile has yet to announce official information surrounding the claims. We’ll be on the lookout and share more information as it’s available. We’ve also reached out to T-Mobile for clarity.

Whether similar settlements come out of other states remains to be seen.