T-Mobile Responds To Lawsuits That Its ‘Price Lock’ Is Meaningless, With A New Meaningless ‘Price Lock’ Offer

In the wake of the Sprint T-Mobile merger, data suggests that wireless carriers immediately stopped trying to compete on price (exactly what deal critics had warned the Trump administration would happen when you reduce sector competition).

Recently, T-Mobile imposed another $3-$5 per month price hike on most of its plans — including customers who believed they were under a “price lock” guarantee thanks to a 7-year-old promotion promising that their price would never change. But when users explored the fine print of that agreement it indicated that by “price lock,” T-Mobile actually meant it would pay your final monthly bill if the carrier raised the price and impacted customers decided to cancel. In other words, bullshit.

T-Mobile was flooded with complaints and lawsuits over the practice, but it has so far faced absolutely no accountability for lying to users. Now T-Mobile is back with yet another, new “price lock” guarantee that in no way locks in your pricing.

T-Mobile’s previous, shitty plans at least had “taxes and fees” included. This new promotion doesn’t do that, ensuring that T-Mobile can impose all manner of dodgy fake fees to jack up the advertised price and ignore its promise to not raise prices:

“This will make the plans cost more initially than customers might expect, and it gives T-Mobile wiggle room to raise prices during the five years of the price guarantee since it could increase any fees that are tacked onto the new plans. The fine print in today’s press release describes taxes and fees as “exclusions” to the price guarantee.”

U.S. telecoms have a long and proud history of imposing all sorts of bullshit and fake fees — many disguised to pretend they’re coming from government — to jack up the below the line costs. The Biden FCC and FTC had been taking some steps to combat that, but the second Trump administration has effectively abandoned consumer protection entirely. You know, for populism (?).

So instead of cracking down on telecoms that lie about pricing, FCC boss Brendan Carr spends his days harassing companies that aren’t racist and sexist enough, and bullying media companies that don’t kiss Donald Trump’s ass.