For T-Mobile CEO John Legere, poking fun at Verizon and AT&T is seemingly part of his job description. Whether he’s picking up their disgruntled customers on Twitter or coming up with Trumpian nicknames, respect for the competition certainly isn’t a maxim at T-Mobile HQ. The company’s latest stunt actually puts money behind Legere’s Twitter account, however, as T-Mobile is offering an extra discount to any AT&T grandfathered unlimited customers who want to jump ship.
As we noted last week, AT&T has hiked the cost of its grandfathered unlimited data plan for the third time in two years. The grandfathered plan is a longstanding thorn in AT&T’s side, and since it can’t formally kick customers off the network, it has been pricing them off the plan instead. Legere noticed the move a week later, and decided to offer any AT&T grandfathered unlimited customers an extra incentive to switch.
Hey look! @ATT screwed over some of their most loyal customers…AGAIN. They hiked prices on GRANDFATHERED unlimited plans for the 3rd time in 2 yrs. News flash:
1. That’s not how “grandfathered” things work.
2. That’s not how to keep customers happy. https://t.co/wFwY3bGbTG— John Legere (@JohnLegere) June 14, 2018
The deal isn’t bad: $250 via a prepaid card for anyone switching, and the deal stacks on top of T-Mobile’s existing Carrier Freedom, which will pay off your device payment or early termination fee on a different carrier if you switch. In total, you could be looking at $900 in savings between bill credits and pre-paid cards, although getting that much involves trading in an old phone and buying a new one.
The full details of Carrier Freedom (a longstanding T-Mobile deal) can be found here. The $250 Why The Hike deal starts Wednesday, June 20th, and run for a limited time. To qualify, you need to have a current and up-to-date Data Unlimited for iPhone on 4G LTE with VVM feature plan with AT&T.
Of course, as much as Legere likes to poke fun at the competition, T-Mobile is no stranger to quiet price hikes or shady activation fees, and its “unlimited” plan does have plenty of restrictions.
