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FTC Accuses T-Mobile of Knowingly Charging Customers for Fraudulent Services
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T mobile is the worst carrier ever
I thought verizon was bad with their excessive charges, convoluted policies and the useless drones that always found a reason as to how they cannot help you. Their policy can best be described as "bend over and say thank you when we're done".
T mobile exceeded them. The petty minded sheer animosity of the so called reps was appalling. The managers abysmal attitudes and outright revilement of the customer illustrated where the reps got their attitude from. The entire t mobile viewpoint can best be described as "What the ******* do you want?"
Our phones were repeatedly charged texting messages when we had phones that couldn't even text! We neither sent nor received them! I found a website that you could enter a phone number into and the text would be charged to that phone number. I even provided this information to them and their reaction was "so? you made the texts." After fighting with them and getting nowhere I told them I was going to quit and the manager's response consisted of "you'll be back eventually".
When I quit they, of course, send you to the happiness rep whose entire job consists of showing you that kittens ride rainbows out of their @ss. I told her emphatically that while she was nice the rest of support were miserable wretches that I sincerely hope suffer cardiac embolisms while riding on a tilt-a-whirl and even if she gave me free service for life I would still never use t mobile again and additionally I would make it my job to spread the word wherever possible about how crappy t mobile is in hopes that one day I can pisss on their grave.
They are worse then ATT, verizon and any of the others. Amazingly, Sprint has been excellent in service and I've had them for 5 years now. Problem charges? Removed instantly, no arguments. Couple days late on payments? no problem. Late 5 minutes with t mobile and they were calling every single phone to say they would cut the service off by the end of the day. There are loan sharks with better policies.
I thought verizon was bad with their excessive charges, convoluted policies and the useless drones that always found a reason as to how they cannot help you. Their policy can best be described as "bend over and say thank you when we're done".
T mobile exceeded them. The petty minded sheer animosity of the so called reps was appalling. The managers abysmal attitudes and outright revilement of the customer illustrated where the reps got their attitude from. The entire t mobile viewpoint can best be described as "What the ******* do you want?"
Our phones were repeatedly charged texting messages when we had phones that couldn't even text! We neither sent nor received them! I found a website that you could enter a phone number into and the text would be charged to that phone number. I even provided this information to them and their reaction was "so? you made the texts." After fighting with them and getting nowhere I told them I was going to quit and the manager's response consisted of "you'll be back eventually".
When I quit they, of course, send you to the happiness rep whose entire job consists of showing you that kittens ride rainbows out of their @ss. I told her emphatically that while she was nice the rest of support were miserable wretches that I sincerely hope suffer cardiac embolisms while riding on a tilt-a-whirl and even if she gave me free service for life I would still never use t mobile again and additionally I would make it my job to spread the word wherever possible about how crappy t mobile is in hopes that one day I can pisss on their grave.
They are worse then ATT, verizon and any of the others. Amazingly, Sprint has been excellent in service and I've had them for 5 years now. Problem charges? Removed instantly, no arguments. Couple days late on payments? no problem. Late 5 minutes with t mobile and they were calling every single phone to say they would cut the service off by the end of the day. There are loan sharks with better policies.
Not sure about recently but I know that back around 2012-early 2013 this was a huge issue for T-Mobile customers. We would have people getting charged out the wazoo for $9.99 "premium charges" or "subscription charges" every month and T-Mobile explained them as things that the customer signed up for (though probably unknowingly). They would usually remove the charges after a customer complained.
Now whether or not T-Mobile knowingly did this and pocketed the charges is another story. It wouldn't surprise me though. A slick and unethical way to boost revenue.
Now whether or not T-Mobile knowingly did this and pocketed the charges is another story. It wouldn't surprise me though. A slick and unethical way to boost revenue.
Yep, I know firsthand that T-Mobile can be crooks. I tried out their service because their site showed excellent coverage in my area as well as places I would be. Zip. Nada. I was told I should be completely refunded by one rep. I called back and was hassled into paying for a month of service. I eventually filed a claim with my card because it got ridiculous!
And their whole "un-carrier" tagline is the most laughable attempt at a "fake it till you make it" mentality. They won't allow their unlimited sims to be used in ANY device (only phones). They over-exaggerate their coverage. They promise things they can't deliver on. They still hassle you to keep your service when there is supposedly no contract. Sounds like any other carrier to me.
And their whole "un-carrier" tagline is the most laughable attempt at a "fake it till you make it" mentality. They won't allow their unlimited sims to be used in ANY device (only phones). They over-exaggerate their coverage. They promise things they can't deliver on. They still hassle you to keep your service when there is supposedly no contract. Sounds like any other carrier to me.
When I was on AT&T a few years ago I kept getting charged for receiving text message jokes (I never would have signed up for something this stupid and I closely guard my phone number). AT&T only refunded some of the charges and they said that I had to sign up for some monthly service (with fee) to block these types of charges. That's one of several reasons I switched to Verizon. Not that they're much better. But we're all pretty much hosed when it comes to wireless carriers right?
What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in on this forum is now dumber for having read your post. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul for saying SPRINT is good in any shape or form.
Really unfortunate to hear this. T-Mobile runs its pricing and features structure the way all of the carriers should have always done it (i.e. no hidden, permanent phone subsidies, easy to unlock phones or get out of contract, not to mention their ridiculously good international roaming), but that obviously doesn't make them immune to shenanigans elsewhere.
I've personally had really good experience with them (and abysmal experience with AT&T), so thus far there's no reason this behavior affects me directly, but it is good to see the FTC actually sort of occasionally doing their job as a watchdog and going after malfeasance.
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Until then, they may all have problems, and I certainly am not going to give T-Mobile a free pass for doing sleazy, unethical things--they should get just as hammered by the government for it as anybody else--but saying they're all the same makes it sound like you've never actually read what signing a contract with each of them entails.
I've personally had really good experience with them (and abysmal experience with AT&T), so thus far there's no reason this behavior affects me directly, but it is good to see the FTC actually sort of occasionally doing their job as a watchdog and going after malfeasance.
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When AT&T or Sprint gives me unlimited international data roaming, stops charging me the phone subsidy once I've paid off my device, and lets me buy my device outright, unlock it, and switch to another carrier without penalty at any time, let me know. Then you can say that all carriers are the same.
Until then, they may all have problems, and I certainly am not going to give T-Mobile a free pass for doing sleazy, unethical things--they should get just as hammered by the government for it as anybody else--but saying they're all the same makes it sound like you've never actually read what signing a contract with each of them entails.
AT&T and T-Mobile have both charged me for these "services" at least once. Just call them up, ask to remove it. Not a big deal. T-Mobile's customer service is easy to work with.
ATT and Comcast pull similar stunts with their new customer internet and cable service discounts. You see the adds all the time saying new customers get cable and internet for something like $30-50 per month for the first 6 months of service. But then you get your bill and even though you specifically asked if you would be receiving their introductory discount, your bill is around $20 more than it should be. They bank on you not noticing this, or at least not noticing it right away (easy since so many people have autopay set up right from the start). When you call them, they are quick to apologize and refund you the money and fix your bill. This is to make it look as though it was entirely by mistake. The friendlier they are with you, the less suspicion they raise. It's basically win win for them though- if you call them, they just have to refund you the money that they got to keep in their bank accounts collecting interest for an extra few weeks. And if you don't notice, they get an extra $20 from you every month until your intro period is over and then they can start charging you their insanely inflated normal customer price. You have to imagine that if they do this to every one of their new subscribers, a fair number of these false charges are likely to go unnoticed.
Asside from the international data roaming, you just described my Sprint plan. Can I say theyre all the same now?
These charges don't exist on T-Mobile anymore, and they've gone as far as issuing refunds for such charges.
My question is why now? Why after they actually take action at fixing the issue? The FTC's hands smell like Verizon and AT&T's wallets.
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They unlock a phone for you? Oh wow, that's rich. Do you have any more?
My question is why now? Why after they actually take action at fixing the issue? The FTC's hands smell like Verizon and AT&T's wallets.
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Asside from the international data roaming, you just described my Sprint plan. Can I say theyre all the same now?
They unlock a phone for you? Oh wow, that's rich. Do you have any more?
Asside from the international data roaming, you just described my Sprint plan. Can I say theyre all the same now?
Wait -- FREE INTERNATIONAL DATA ROAMING AND TEXTING, and 20cents/minute international roaming calling. And free international texting from the US.
That, and they have great 4G/LTE service in the SF Bay Area, compared to Sprint's ridiculously lousy EVDO 3G. Sprint sucks.
You're thanking the FTC for singling out the currently most customer oriented/customer friendly US cell provider?
To be sure, I do believe the FTC should keep a close eye on all of them, but in this case I can't help but wonder if there are other motivations at play here, or some undue external influences brought to bear here.....
Looks like T-mobile isn't such a customer friendly company. They talk like they are but when the rubber meets the road it takes the FTC to make things happen. Same thing can be said about Sprint. They talk about being the most customer friendly company, but if you look at Sprint forums, all you get are customer after customer complaining of poor service and lack of helpful feedback from customer support.
I have ATT and I once had an issue where I was charged $10 by one of these premium message things. I called customer service and they credited my account and then blocked charges from going through. Now i know for a fact that I will never get charged by premium messaging companies again.
Where is T-mobile when it comes to helping their customers? Oh yeah, getting the FTC after them for taking advantage of their customers, thats where.
I have ATT and I once had an issue where I was charged $10 by one of these premium message things. I called customer service and they credited my account and then blocked charges from going through. Now i know for a fact that I will never get charged by premium messaging companies again.
Where is T-mobile when it comes to helping their customers? Oh yeah, getting the FTC after them for taking advantage of their customers, thats where.
Sure. A guy got into an argument on the internet. He actually accomplished something as far as persuading the other side to his viewpoints!
I can keep em coming all day.
Besides, the accusations that the FTC has leveled at T-Mobile dont have anything to do with what your plan is.
Excuse me. I will be more clear regarding the semantics of these charges: Can we please wait until the case has been adjudicated in the FTC's favor in the US District Court before we congratulate them on their diligence?
And on the issue of substantial evidence, I will say two things. First, this is a point on which we'll have to agree to disagree. Second, I hope you don't end up on the jury of the case if I am ever a criminal defendant...
Which is why I said aside from the international data Because I dont have that
And hang on, are you people actually defending a cell carrier? The only non-evil cell carrier I know of is Ting. You certainly wont find any of the milk of human kindness left among the major carriers.
Uhhh... they proactively set up a refund program, months before this announcement by the FTC, guaranteeing refunds to all customers, current and former, who were assessed these fees, no questions asked. How is that not consumer friendly?
could they have set up the program knowing that they were going to be targeted by the FTC? hmm.. considering that they made hundreds of millions of dollars, it takes a long time to accrue that kind of profit from $10 premium texting charges. This is the equivalent of GM doing recalls prior to getting investigated for their faulty ignition issues.
Now if T-mobile would have done something about it within the first year of this happening then yes I would consider it customer friendly, but 5 years later... not so much.
They do get convicted, only it's not called "convicted". They're also not people, only they have similar rights. There's no reason to trust T-Mobile any more than AT&T, despite their own marketing saying that they're "on your side".
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Just barely not hosed enough for us to keep buying their service :/
