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T-Mobile to penalize tech-inept with BS paper billing fee

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 6:24PM EST
BGR

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As fully immersed in technology as younger generations in the US are these days, we sometimes forget that there are still generations and demographics in this country who simply haven’t latched on to tech the way we have. The spunky bunch above who have gathered around a laptop to check out BGR simply aren’t representative of older generations and let us not forget the countless people in this country who cannot afford computers. The simple truth is that there are a magnitude of reasons why someone might not own, use or even know how to use a computer. Apparently however, T-Mobile thinks its poor and elderly postpaid subscribers should be penalized for being unwilling or unable to embrace a digital lifestyle.

According to Tmonews, starting September 12th T-Mobile will begin charging a mandatory fee to customers who have not opted into paperless billing. Notices to that effect will go out with this month’s bills. The fee will reportedly be $1.50 per line, so if you have a family plan with five lines you’re looking at an additional $7.50 each month. For nothing.

Forget the fact that T-Mobile’s online billing system is weak and confusing at best — the simple fact is that paperless billing isn’t for everyone. Carriers charge enough fees without piling on with garbage like this. Now, we’d love it if T-Mobile was doing something like this in an effort to be more environmentally conscious but it is blatantly obvious that this is not the case. If a carrier wanted to encourage subscribers to go paperless for “green” reasons, it would reward those who oblige by giving them a nominal discount, not penalize those who cannot or do not oblige for whatever reason.

If this new paper billing fee becomes a reality and you or someone you know is affected by it, we strongly urge you to contact T-Mobile and the FCC to voice your objections.

UPDATE: The author of the original post emailed us to let us know about a correction to his report. The $1.50 charge is apparently going to be per account, not per line. We still think this stinks — it’s just not quite as pungent now…

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.