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mr__ed's avatar
mr__ed
Explorer
May 07, 2023

T-Mobile Gripes

I signed up for T-Mobile 2 months ago. The service is good, but I feel
i was conned by the store employee when he gave me some false info. I was told I would receive a free Samsung Galaxy A14 5G smartphone. I got the phone and even though I wasn't technically paying for it, I learned it was being paid off gradually in small increments, and wouldn't be totally free and unlocked for 2 years. That's an interesting ploy to keep a customer on their plan for 2 years. The store employee never mentioned this. I do understand now why they do this. It's reasonable to assume that a person could sign up for the service, get the phone, and then cancel and keep the phone.

2nd Gripe. According to their advertising, I expected to receive a gift card after signing up. Nothing happened. Upon asking customer service what was going on I was informed that I needed to sign up for a higher cost plan ($20 more/month). Ihis was never mentioned in their advertising, nor by their employee. My current plan is sufficient for my needs, and paying #20 more/month would effectively negate the gift card (worth $200).

I'm usually more careful when dealing with businesses, and don't usually get scammed. I let my guard down on this one, although I do understand why T-Mobile has this practice. I would have stayed with my previous carrier (Verizon), where I was paying only $35/month for generally good service, but my smart phone was getting pretty old and I t6hought getting a free phone from another cell company was a good idea. LESSON LEARNED. BTW, the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G is a great device, and I'm happy with that, at least. Plus the T-Mobile cell service is also working well. I'll just continue on and won't let a simple error ruin my life. :C
  • OP here. I agree with all the comments. I just kick myself for not sticking with Verizon, where I had been for years, and paying only $35/month for good service. As I get older (almost 79 now), my thinking ability isn't quite as sharp; besides, having had a stroke doesn't help. I'll just need to chalk this up as a bad experience and continue living my life as well as I can. Thanks for all the comments. :C
  • This has been my understanding with all the three mobile carriers. The reason you sign a term contract is to pay off the phone you received up front for no cost, or at a reduced rate. They lock the phones to their network until the contract is fulfilled, or cancellation fee paid.

    Whereas mobile services that operate on month-to-month basis don't give a free 'unlocked' phone, as you could simply go to another carrier.

    I stopped signing mobile contracts over 15+ years ago and either bring my own phone, generally bought from Ebay, or buy carrier's phone outright. This is why Visible owned by Verizon can charge $25./month with unlimited 4G/5G data/calls/texts for mobile service only.
  • My last upgrade renewal was in r July 2012, Verizon and Ramona got the new phone on her line, 16 months ago, i ported my number to Visible dropped the second line, and I'm paying $25 month for my phone on Visible, a year ago i got the T-Mobile home internet gateway unlimited data 4g 5g service $50 month, and I'm very happy with both, the Verizon phones were costing me over $140 month, att internet was $39 month, now i pay $75 month total
  • OP here. On a POSITIVE note, I'd like to say that T-Mobile's service has been very good thus far, plus their customer service people have been very courteous and helpful when I had questions (and, I think they're US based). Additionally, I like my Samsung Galaxy A14 5G phone; quite an upgrade from my old Samsung J3 model.

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