T-Mobile's 'Smartphone Equality' Program Ends Credit Score Requirement for Loyal Paying Customers

[kazmac]

T-Mobile sure has some nice plans in place (not sarcasm.) I can only hope folks get the superb service with their systems and company I was promised but did not receive.

I will be emailing John Legere once the phone is on the way back to them.

 

[tatonka]

When did Christopher Walken become the CEO of T Mobile ..

 

[AppleFan78]

My goodness there are a lot of stupid people who won't even give T-Mobile a try because you think they have bad coverage.
I've had T-Mobile since back when sidekicks were popular and I can tell you hands down that whenever you enter a non covered area, you end up on att's towers and still have coverage. They have had roaming agreements for a long time. And because roaming fees no longer exisit, its a win win.
Now stop your complaining and go save yourself some money by switching. .... Unless you like giving half your paycheck to Verizon just so you can check your facebook every 20 minutes.

I live in the largest city between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg (Altoona, PA), and it's EDGE or nothing for MANY miles. On top of that, even though AT&T has great coverage in my area, friends with T-Mobile that visit always complain about coverage. They say there is either zero service or it's just very unreliable. So much for the AT&T crutch to help out.

I sent an email to Mr. Legere about 18 months ago; great guy. He had a couple people from corporate contact me by email, including a phone call, trying to help with my concerns about coverage. As much as they tried to help, and Legere agreed there shouldn't be such a HUGE gap in coverage around my area, nobody had any good ideas when we'd see anything other than EDGE for at least a year. Well, a year has come and gone, and it's still EDGE. Much smaller college towns have LTE coverage, but we're still nothing but EDGE. If you want a usable T-Mobile signal, you have to travel at least 40 miles away.

Meanwhile, Sprint was the 2nd carrier here with LTE behind Verizon. It isn't blazing fast, but it's fairly reliable, and their roaming on Verizon seems much more reliable than T-Mobile's roaming on AT&T. I also have unlimited everything with no throttling for $45 per month on Sprint's network (Framily Plan).

 

[deannnnn]

People like this guy? Something about him really turns me off. Makes T-Mobile as a brand look so unprofessional.

Clearly people here feel otherwise and that's totally fine, glad it seems to be working for their company but I just am not feeling it.

 

[JackieInCo]

People like this guy? Something about him really turns me off. Makes T-Mobile as a brand look so unprofessional.

Clearly people here feel otherwise and that's totally fine, glad it seems to be working for their company but I just am not feeling it.

He doesn't project that professional image that you would expect. I agree with you about that something that turns you off. It's his style of speaking and appearance over all.

 

[Ping Guo]

You pay more because you have access to more towers. I don't know many industries where one business gives you more for the same price as someone who gives you less.

I'm not sure what hidden fees you are talking about, but all the carriers have the same taxes and surcharges.

Regarding the lure of the free phone, I'm not sure what you're talking about here either. Verizon and AT&T do have a couple of free options, but they are just basic phones.

Lastly, Americans have had the option to buy their phone outright for many years. They choose not to because they demand the free and cheap phone.

Nothing you've written makes any sense.

North America and Canada have the most expensive cell phone plans in the world.

Carriers bundle "unlimited" features like SMS (which cost them virtually nothing) in expensive plans that offer unlimited data and minutes.

AT&T just added a $0.61 "Mobile Administrative Fee", and such hidden charges, roaming charges, early cancellation, etc., are part and parcel of on-contract plans.

The phones being sold for $39, $99, $199, whatever, are subsidized prices requiring you to sign to a long contract. Paying in installments ends up costing much more than paying upfront for an unlocked phone.

Even if you buy the phone outright from a carrier, it will be LOCKED to their network, preventing you from switching carriers or switching SIMs when you travel.

Buying a phone on-contract is a mistake. Any plan that you can't cancel that month without additional fees (prepaid) is a mistake.

Please show me some numbers, some evidence that on-contract mobile plans offer any advantage to consumers. They don't.

 

[bnw99]

Too bad T-Mobile coverage sucks... therefore... we don't care.

my tmobile coverage is awesome...so yes we do..

 

[JackieInCo]

my tmobile coverage is awesome...so yes we do..

Mine is excellent as well. I could never get LTE at my house on AT&T and Verizon but i can get it here on T-Mobile. They are amazing here in Denver.

I can now get the Samsung phone for zero down or an iPhone for $99 down. I'm thinking of getting the Samsung edge and then next year I'll get the 6S. I'll stay on the S releases.

My T-Mobile speeds are amazing.

 

[unplugme71]

Exactly... I think this is a very smart move on their part and should not only build loyalty to their brand over time, but puts a "hurt" on the competitors that will still be saddled with a horrible credit scoring system.

I have always wondered why after buying over 20 new cars in my lifetime (and a lifetime of car payments paid on-time every month of my adult life) that they always pull a Credit Report to see if they can find some $20 credit card payment that maybe was a month late or just recorded improperly to evaluate my new car credit-worthiness? If I were selling cars, I could care less about how someone deals with their unsecured Credit Cards - all I would be concerned with is how they prioritize and handle their car payment history.

Same reason I have not switched Car/Home insurance carriers in 30 years (and pay more as a result - as a matter of principle). The first thing insurance companies do now is pull a Credit Report to determine insurability/premium... Seriously??? They are not extending me ANY credit - I have to pay my all insurance premiums in advance! Scam.

This does not even get into the convoluted "scoring" BS System they have developed which is designed to get people in debt and keep them in debt. Massive scam by the banking/insurance industry.

That said, I have an Excellent Credit Score personally and have never owned a Cell Phone, so I do not have a dog in this fight.

Because failure to pay credit cards shows a bad repayment history. If you miss a $20 payment one month, the next month could be $40, then $200, then $500. Next thing you know, you are missing car payments and mortgages.

Now if you only had 1 miss in 5 years, I would think they wouldn't ding you for it if you use the same bank each time for your car loans.

I had 7 loans with Honda/Acura Financial Services. After my 2nd one at 20 years of age, I was considered a "preferred customer" and got the best auto rates possible. But applying for credit card or a chase auto loan 2 years later didn't give me that same advantage.

I try to use a preferred bank going forward to build that history and trust, but I don't expect the status if I miss a payment that's my fault.

 

[tomtendo]

Mine is excellent as well. I could never get LTE at my house on AT&T and Verizon but i can get it here on T-Mobile. They are amazing here in Denver.

I can now get the Samsung phone for zero down or an iPhone for $99 down. I'm thinking of getting the Samsung edge and then next year I'll get the 6S. I'll stay on the S releases.

My T-Mobile speeds are amazing.

Putting money down on a phone is comical to me. If you can't pay for a phone for it's normal price (on contract), then you should not be buying a phone.

 

[JackieInCo]

Putting money down on a phone is downchuncomical to me. If you can't pay for a phone for it's normal price (on contract), then you should not be buying a phone.

Millions of people do the same thing worldwide when they sign a two year contract on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. I guess they shouldn't be buying a phone either? They are paying for the phone month by month, they are just paying a down payment in advance.

I bet you've done just that.