This is definitely not good news for T-Mobile, which had promised customers they would get the iPhone when the merger with AT&T was complete, but which was left stranded after regulators pulled the couple apart: A handful of small regional carriers will soon not only be offering the iPhone to customers, they’ll be selling it for less than their major competitors. [More]
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Change In T-Mobile Plan Deletes Deceased Daughter's Last Voicemail To Parents
By 3.23.12
The parents of a teen girl who died last summer had been hoping to hold on to the last voicemail she recorded before losing her battle with cancer. Unfortunately, when T-Mobile pitched its voicemail-to-text service to them, no one mentioned that it would delete their late daughter’s message. [More]
T-Mobile Layoffs Mean 1,900 Fewer Call Center Reps To Answer Your Complaints
By 3.23.12
Struggling T-Mobile continues to limp along in fourth place among U.S. wireless carriers, announcing today that they’re making some major restructuring measures to try to slash costs. The company will be eliminating an overall 1,900 call center positions, reducing call centers from 24 to 17 over the next three months. So good luck trying to get through to a rep with your next complaint. [More]
T-Mobile Customer Demands Refund For Two Years Of Too-Slow Data… And Gets It
By 3.21.12
When Sam was having problems with his T-Mobile smartphone, he did what he thought he was supposed to do: call up support. The agent on the phone couldn’t restore his phone’s Internet connectivity, but they did try to upsell him on some new services. He’d rather have the services he was already paying for working, thanks. When he took the phone to a retail store for help, he learned the real cause of his problems: he’d been wandering around for two years with an old 2G SIM in his 4G phone. He thought that he should have the extra cost of a 4G data plan refunded to him, and T-Mobile acquiesced… but only after he launched an executive e-mail carpet bomb. [More]
Your Annual New T-Mobile Phones Were Just A Beautiful, Forbidden Dream
By 2.24.12
Every year since 2007, Jim and his wife have celebrated the arrival of their federal income tax refund by going to the T-Mobile store, renewing their contract, and picking out shiny new phones at the new-contract discount. Year after year, they’ve done this, even though they’re renewing the 2-year contract every year. This was just part of what made being T-Mobile customers so awesome. Until, suddenly, the carrier stopped being as awesome, and insisted that the last five years and all of those discounted phones were all a dream. [More]
T-Mobile To Invest Money From AT&T Debacle In LTE Network
By 2.23.12
When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. And when life hands you $4 billion in cash and wireless spectrum because your merger with AT&T couldn’t pass regulatory muster, you build out a 4G LTE network. [More]
T-Mobile Asks FCC To Stop Verizon Wireless Spectrum Purchase
By 2.22.12
Still stinging from being left alone at the altar by AT&T, T-Mobile USA apparently doesn’t want to see any of its fellow wireless carriers making multi-billion dollar deals if it can’t. [More]
Part Of T-Mobile Cell Phone Tower Disguised As A Palm Tree Impales Man's Car
By 2.16.12
The sky was falling in El Paso, or at least that’s how it felt for one man when a metal palm frond fell from a T-Mobile cell tower disguised as a tree, and sliced into his vehicle. Now might be a good time to mention that it’s common practice to hide ugly cell towers in such a way. But still, that’s one dangerous palm tree. [More]
T-Mobile Reportedly Planning To Impose Limits On Roaming Data Capabilities
By 1.31.12
Customers traveling out of the range of T-Mobile’s network might be seeing some changes to the limits they can stretch their roaming data coverage. Documents reportedly leaked from T-Mobile reveal the company is planning to cut subscribers off at certain data thresholds when they’re outside the network. [More]
Void Your Mobile Phone Warranty: Move Somewhere Humid
By 1.26.12
Until recently, Israel was a happy and loyal T-Mobile customer of almost a decade. He’s also that person left who’s still using a BlackBerry. He sent his phone in for a warranty exchange, dutifully checking the liquid damage sensor first to make sure his phone hadn’t been dunked. But TMo charged him a fee for water damage anyway, because the real moisture sensor is buried inside the phone, and told a different story. Because Israel had dared…. to live in Miami. [More]
FCC Chair Calls AT&T/T-Mobile Failure "Reminder Of The Benefits Of Competition"
By 1.11.12
In less than a year, AT&T went from swallowing up T-Mobile USA for for $39 billion to owing T-Mobile’s German parent company $3 billion in cash and another billion in spectrum because that deal slammed into the regulatory roadblock at the FCC and the Justice Dept. Speaking for the third year in a row at the Consumer Electronics Show, FCC chair Julius Genachowski defended his agency’s actions against the deal. [More]
EECB Scores Hit On T-Mobile, Saves Customer $400 Charge For Phone UPS Lost
By 12.30.11
When Jeffrey received his replacement smartphone from T-Mobile, he packed up his old one, used the enclosed prepaid UPS label, and dispatched it using a UPS drop box. From there, the phone disappeared. One customer service rep after another assured him that the lost phone situation would be resolved…and then a $300 charge for the phone appeared on his bill. It was time to escalate. It was time to use a powerful tool he learned about from this very site: the executive e-mail carpet bomb. [More]
T-Mobile Waives $1000 In Roaming Charges, Then Un-Waives Them
By 12.22.11
While visiting the Philippines with her grandson, Esther had a family emergency and needed to use her T-Mobile phone. She expected a larger than usual bill when she got home, but didn’t expect it to be more than $1,200, including data roaming when Esther doesn’t have data service on her phone in the first place. A friendly customer service representative told her that she would only have to pay $296.14 due to a billing error. Then T-Mobile turned around and told her that yeah, they needed the entire $1,200. [More]
AT&T Cries "Uncle," Pulls Plug On Plan To Buy T-Mobile
By 12.19.11
Faced with regulatory hurdles too tall for it to leap, AT&T has announced that it has pulled the plug on its proposed plan to purchase T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion. [More]
More Signs That AT&T Could Pull Out Of Deal To Purchase T-Mobile
By 12.19.11
While AT&T has publicly said it is considering ways to restructure its plan to purchase T-Mobile USA for $39 billion will end the Justice Dept.’s suit to block the merger — and the FCC’s plan to put up regulatory speed bumps — a news report claims that there are new signs that the Death Star may be looking to retreat. [More]
Think Your Mobile Payments Are Protected? Depends On Your Carrier
By 12.14.11
Just about any new cellphone or tablet allows the user to make digital purchases that are subsequently charged to their wireless account. And while the four major wireless providers — AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile — claim to provide ample protections for customers, our pals at Consumers Union have found that users may not be getting fewer protections than they would for purchases made using a credit or debit card. [More]
AT&T Mulling Over Revisions To T-Mobile Deal To Appease Regulators
By 12.12.11
We’re guessing that when AT&T announced it was going to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion that it didn’t expect the deal would receive such jeers from the regulators at the Justice Dept. or the FCC. But with the former ready to go to trial to block the merger and the latter saying it will hold its own hearing if the DOJ fails, AT&T now appears to be looking at the Darth in the mirror. [More]
AT&T Once Again Brings Up The Rear In Consumer Reports' Cellphone Satisfaction Survey
By 12.6.11
For the second year in a row, AT&T’s wireless service finds itself at the bottom of the ratings in a customer satisfaction survey done by our cohorts at Consumer Reports. [More]
