Furious T-Mobile customers consider legal action over shocking price hike [UPDATED]
Update from March 17, 2025:
A T-Mobile representative has reached out to PhoneArena to provide the following statement:
There are no changes for customers with Price Lock on their account, they are not impacted.
-T-Mobile, March 14, 2025
It's important to note that despite that, some people still found T-Mobile's advertisements misleading. Also, a user reports that they allegedly previously had a Price Lock guarantee on their account but now they seem not to have:
They said that my account is “expired” and they don’t see a “price lock guarantee” despite being a customer since 1/22/17 when they announced the uncarrier promise on price lock on 1/5/17.I avoided the full price hike the last time when they weaseled into a loophole that even though I was on the price lock, the lock didn’t apply to watch or other device lines so was stuck with a 2 per watch increase.Now they are taking the position there is no guarantee lock.
-heeJooooo on Reddit, March 2025
Keep in mind that the above is a quote from a public forum. If you find yourself in a similar situation, given T-Mobile comment, the right call would be to talk it out with a representative and see what's up.
The original story from March 13, 2025, follows below:
If you're on one of the older T-Mobile plans, you've probably received the dreaded message that set the internet on fire yesterday, March 13. The fact that the Un-carrier seems to have un-promised its 'price lock' pledge has done it for some people, and many are considering (or already acting on) taking legal measures.
A growing Megathread on Reddit accumulates all the reactions from disappointed (and rightfully so) or frankly furious T-Mobile customers affected by the price increase. At first glance, a $5 increase may not seem like a big deal to some people, but people with more than one line are in trouble, as the price increase is per line.
And that's not all. There's a broken promise here, according to the majority of people who hopped on one of these plans because Magenta advertised the prices won't rise. And the frustrated users won't just stay and watch, some of them are taking action.
The user also shares an ongoing class action lawsuit against T-Mobile alleging false advertising.
Meanwhile, people are furious with the broken promises made by the Un-carrier, and many T-Mobile users are looking into switching to another carrier:
Anyone who isn’t grandfathered into ridiculous discounts should switch to an mvno. They are extremely competitive these days with prices way below MNOsI pay $15/line for unlimited priority data and 15 gb hotspot. Between my 6 lines (2 were free on T-Mobile) I will save about $1200 a year
-Top-Ocelot-9758 on Reddit, March 2025
This customer is not the only one debating whether to switch, as many other Redditors in the Megathread are either considering switching or have already done so.
Customer since 2015, Magenta plan. Just cancelled and switched to visible by verizon. $25/mo so far so good. Didn’t even have to talk to anyone, did it all online.
-Nicecrumb264 on Reddit, March 2025
Meanwhile, another user points out an interesting theory, referencing new trade-in promotions offered by T-Mobile starting last month. They say that before, customers on these legacy plans would get $100-$300 trade-in discounts towards an iPhone 16 but then all of a sudden a $500 trade-in discount emerged for them. According to the user, people hopped in (well, it's a great discount) thinking that their current rate will remain the same...
Customers will now be forced into 1 of 3 options.Pay off the entire balance of their phone in full, the full $800 and forfeit their trade-in credit. Most can not.Refuse to pay the additional MRC and get sent to collections.Try to uphold their end of the deal, pay the extra rate plan charges for 24 months. T-Mobile did not uphold their end of the deal. When these finance agreements were put in place, customers were under the impression that they would be paying whatever their current rates were. This was not the case.
-Interesting_Box_7460 on Reddit, March 2025
Of course, in response to this, a few other Redditors report to have filed complaints as well.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile seems to have known exactly what response its latest move would get. That's how we started suspecting something big was coming days ahead of the announcement of the price increase. In the meantime, T-Mobile employees in stores are nervous about being eaten alive by angry customers and are just as upset as the other people from T-Mobile's move.
It seems people are facing a few choices: go the legal route by filing complaints and possibly joining a class-action lawsuit, switch to another carrier for a better deal, or stay with T-Mobile and accept the $5 price hike. Of course, for those with multiple lines - some reporting 10 or more - this could mean at least a $50 increase, which is a significant hit in today's economy.
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