T-Mobile makes an unpopular change to seasonal suspensions that will cost subscribers more
What has happened to T-Mobile? Actually, that's a pretty easy question to answer. With CEO Mike Sievert apparently more interested in the well-being of the company's stock instead of the company's subscribers, making sure that every nickel and dime goes right to the carrier's coffers is job one for the company's chief executive.That explains why a T-Mobile subscriber just received a notice stating that T-Mobile’s policy regarding temporary suspensions and promotional offers has been updated.
T-Mobile now wants you to pay your full monthly recurring charge when you seasonally suspend your account or line
According to a post that a T-Mobile subscriber put up on Reddit, as of October 10th those starting a seasonal suspension of their account or individual line will be charged the full recurring charge each month. Previously, those suspending their line(s) for a seasonal suspension had to pay $10 per line per month. The change is included in a T-Mobile support page about account suspensions. According to T-Mobile, accounts on seasonal suspension will face the following:
- The account will be billed the plan's regular monthly charge, including any data add-ons or additional features.
- AutoPay discount will be applied while on suspension when an eligible payment method is used.
- Suspending and restoring your lines is available through T-Life app and myT-Mobile.com.
T-Mobile subscribers can seasonally suspend their accounts or individual lines twice a year for a maximum period of 90 days each time. As we already mentioned above, "You can suspend individual lines of an account, while other lines remain active." Keep in mind that if you previously had a seasonal suspension on your line within the last 12 months, you will not see the option to seasonally suspend your line on My T-Mobile until the 12-month period has ended.
Mike Sievert, the current CEO of T-Mobile. | Imnage credit-T-Mobile
As you might expect, T-Mobile subscribers were not happy about going from paying $10 per line per month for a seasonal suspension to paying the full recurring charge. One wrote on Reddit, "I’ll just port my number to Google voice and come back when I feel like it now when I’m out of the country for extended periods of time. Makes it a no-brainer as opposed to previously paying $10/month."
Another T-Mobile subscriber said, "Ye pretty nasty change. They are getting very greedy." Another commented, "Wow, how low can they go ?" And while Sievert has been CEO of T-Mobile for four and a half years, I'm sure that he's the one referred to in this statement from a T-Mobile subscriber: "The new T-Mobile there's no bottom when it comes to the new guy! If it means profit for them."
T-Mobile has made several changes to its policies that are designed to bring in additional revenue
A T-Mobile subscriber might use a seasonal suspension when he/she is traveling and is going to be out of the country for a long time. This used to save T-Mobile subscribers on an extended trip out of the country some money. Not anymore. Whatever reason you have for suspending your T-Mobile account or line, you won't be saving money by suspending your service temporarily like you used to.
There is a pattern of squeezing nickels and dimes from T-Mobile subscribers. The decision made by the carrier to reduce the trade-in discount offered to customers on Military and veteran, First responder, and Age 55+ plans is leading some T-Mobile employees to plan a walk out on Friday, November 29th at 11 am PST/2 pm EST. In addition, employees are upset that these same plans aren't getting certain benefits that other plans receive including a BOGO deal for a free line and a more affordable plan to buy certain smart devices.
Another unpopular change made prevents those paying with a credit card from using AutoPay to save $5 each month. Adding up all of these changes will result in higher revenue figures for the wireless provider as T-Mobile executives continue to work hard to keep the stock price moving higher.
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