After a recent Change to Win report alleged unscrupulous (and potentially illegal) selling practices at T-Mobile retail stores, numerous T-Mobile customers have contacted BGR to share stories about the exact kind of behavior detailed in CtW’s report.
At the heart of the matter is the practice of “bill cramming,” or T-Mobile sales reps signing customers up for services and insurance they don’t want and haven’t agreed to. The Change to Win report claims that the bill cramming is a result of T-Mobile sales associates being pressured to meet unrealistic sales metrics; regardless of the motive, T-Mobile customers seem to be encountering this behavior on a frequent basis.
The practices of signing customers up for services they don’t want has seen AT&T in serious trouble before, and it’s the same practice that landed Wells Fargo in the crosshairs of federal regulators. According to the customer complaints below, it seems like T-Mobile is doing exactly the same thing.
A T-Mobile spokesperson declined to comment on these complaints.
“T–Mobile added the JUMP! Insurance on some devices without my consent. When I called about it, they said it was automatically added to new devices. Also, when we went to upgrade the iPhones 6s to 7, the girl told me that T–Mobile was giving us a Tablet for free. I asked if I had to pay anything and she said no, that it was going to be a credit on my bill and that it had FREE data. In October, they charged me $35 – $10 = $25/mo for 6 GB data. The JUMP! was added as well.I called T–Mobile and told them the girl told me it had FREE data. They told me that it was not possible that the girl said that. So they said I could change to the 2 GB version for $20 – $10 = $10/mo. I had given the tablet to my young son so I said yes to the 2 GB, otherwise I had to return the tablet. But the JUMP! insurance hasn’t been taken out even thought it looks like they are giving me credit for the past months.”
“I have been a T Mobile customer for over 10 years and the pressure from the customer service representatives and the sales people at the dealership is bad. When we purchased our phones 2 1/2 years ago we were told the jump was mandatory. I explained we didn’t have that much extra for 5 phones to add jump but was told to get the phones I had to add on jump. We purchased 5 more phones about 3 months ago and went thru the same thing. Jump had to be added per sales rep.”
“My mother lives in Myrtle Beach, SC and I convinced her to switch to TMobile because I worked for them in Cincinnati, OH. When she signed up she got home and opened her bag to get her phones and under the phone boxed and paperwork she found 80 dollars worth of accessories that she didn’t know about. Apparently the person in the store “bundled” them and didn’t tell her about them. When she called the store they told her they were “free” out the door. Which is the truth, they were free walking out the door. But they added 9 dollars a month to her bill.”
“I was bamboozled. I was told I had “Unlimited Everything” for $50 a month. I was with Metro PCS paying a flat $40 a month( no taxes or fees) for what I’m getting at T-Mobile. $50 for the privilege of the SAME THING I WAS GETTING at Metro for $40. T-Mobile charges me 1.67 a month for some glass cover (which no one told me about) paying the same amount for memory card (which I thought I was paying set price). $9.00 more for insurance (which no-one said anything about). I got no paperwork, just a phone box in sack. I still have no idea what I’m paying for. If I could back out of this mess, I would, but I have no idea what the limits are. I’m now paying almost $80 a month for the same thing I was paying $40 for at Metro. Not happy at all.”
“In November of this year I went in to ask about a promo they were advertising on TV and sending me emails the promo said add 2 lines free I inquired with 2 tmobile salespeople in person I asked them both to define free so there wouldn’t be any misunderstanding. They both said you will ONLY pay the taxes and you will pay $4.71 a month for the phone until it’s paid in full and the phone was $99.00 dollars so I said what about the tablet they said the tablet is free for as long as you keep your services active.
Next bill come out I’m charged for the 2 lines that was suppose to be free so I called about my bill I got more lies I went back to the store where I made the purchases I was told well when you got the lines it was right at my billing cycle but you will be credited for the lines next month so I said do you think I’m going to believe anything you guys say when I have the text message saying congratulations on your 2 new free lines and you’re still trying to charge me. So we went back n forth finally I said I will be reporting this to the FCC and the BBB.”
These complaints line up exactly with the complaints issued to the FTC, which T-Mobile gets the most of out of all the mobile carriers. You can see all the complaints, released under the Freedom of Information Act, on the FTC’s website.
Do you have a T-Mobile horror story? Email chrismills at bgr dot com!
