T-Mobile will provide up to $38 million in total value to New York customers after raising prices on plans it had promised would never cost more.
Under the New York-only settlement, the wireless network operator will also pay nearly $100,000 to the state. Eligible customers, meanwhile, can choose options such as a last-month refund plus a $25 gift card, a free $250 5G phone or $150 credit, and/or a rate freeze until at least 2029.
“New Yorkers deserve clear and honest prices, not misleading offers with hidden fine print,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement announcing the securing of the reimbursement.
The agreement is the result of an investigation by the New York State Office of the Attorney General into marketing that ran from 2017 to 2019 when T-Mobile sold “Price Guarantee Plans” to users on its 4G network and promised that it would “never change the price you pay.”
The company later dropped that pledge and, in 2024, raised prices by about $5 per phone line on roughly 252,957 of the New York plans.
T-Mobile must now reimburse New York residents who were affected by the price increases, specifically those customers in the state who signed up for a Price Guarantee Plan between January 2017 and April 2019 and who were still enrolled in the said plans when the 2024 price hikes took effect. The company is also required to honor all current and future price guarantees and clearly disclose any limitations.
The specific benefits available to each user depend on their current service and hardware; T-Mobile is expected to contact eligible customers directly with instructions on how to select their preferred settlement option.
Sources: Office of the New York Attorney General, Full Assurance of Discontinuance, The Daily News