T-Mobile will provide more than $38 million in refunds, credits, phones, and price protections to New York customers after the state attorney general’s office found that the wireless carrier raised rates on plans it had promoted as protected from price increases.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the settlement Tuesday following an investigation into T-Mobile USA Inc.’s Price Guarantee Plans.
From 2017 through 2019, T-Mobile marketed the plans to 4G customers with a promise that the company would “never change the price you pay,” according to the attorney general’s office.
In 2024, T-Mobile began increasing prices on affected plans by about $5 per phone line. About 252,957 plans held by New Yorkers were affected, the state said.
“New Yorkers deserve clear and honest prices, not misleading offers with hidden fine print,” James said. “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.”
Under the agreement, customers identified by T-Mobile as using 4G phones may cancel service and receive a refund of their last month’s payment, plus a $25 gift card.
Customers who stay with T-Mobile may receive a 5G phone valued at $250 at no cost or a $150 credit toward a more expensive device. Their plan prices will also remain unchanged until at least 2029.
Other affected customers, including those who have already upgraded to 5G, may cancel and receive their last month’s payment back or remain with T-Mobile under the same price protection through at least 2029.
The attorney general’s office estimates that the refunds, devices, credits, and price protections will provide more than $38 million in total value to consumers.
T-Mobile will also pay $98,000 to New York.
The investigation found that T-Mobile promoted the plans with statements suggesting customers would not face future rate increases while also including language elsewhere that purported to reserve its right to change prices.
As part of the settlement, T-Mobile must honor current and future price guarantees and clearly disclose any limitations attached to those offers.
