The Washington State Attorney General, found that T-Mobile's new no-contract plan was in fact a contract and there was deceptive advertising that lead consumers to believe that there no annual contracts or hidden charges when in fact there is an Early Termination Fee (ETF) and balloon payment if yo want to get out your T-Mobile plan when you buy a phone.
So if you bought an HTC One and don't like it or realized that although the iPhone 5 is better deal than other carriers, you can get out paying for the phone and the T-Mobile Mobile contract if follow the guidelines by the Attorney General that follow.
T-Mobile Agrees to Change its Plans & deception
T-Mobile agreed in a court order that it will clearly communicate the limitations of the new no-contract plans and will allow customers who were duped into the plan to end the contract with no penalty.
The Attorney General noted that the ads that said "no restrictions,” “no annual contract” and no requirement that the consumer “serve a two-year sentence.” Yes but, those new plans do not include a phone. Instead, there is a 24-month contract is for the phone that must carry a wireless service agreement with T-Mobile for the entire 24 months— or pay the full balance owed on phone if they cancel earlier which is a lump sum to pay for the phone in full and the ETF.
No Questions Asked Refund and Early Termination with ETF
People who bought T-Mobile service and equipment between March 26 and April 25, 2013, can get a full refund for their phone and end their monthly contract by:
- Cancel their service plan within 30 days of receiving notice from T-Mobile -and
- Return the working device or telephone with in 14 days of cancellation to the T-Mobile location where it was purchased (i.e., to the store in which the device was purchased or, for web and telephone sales, by UPS delivery).
- For UPS delivery the customer must bring the phone to a UPS location. It will then be delivered to T-Mobile free of charge.
- T-Mobile will cancel the customer's service when requested, and will provide a refund to the consumer for any payments made for the telephone or device plus any down payment made upon receipt of the consumer’s equipment.
T-Mobile's Response
We have a call out to T-Mobile to find out if you get any refund for your phone contract. Say for instance if you bought a phone on April 14 with a $50 a month contract and return it on May 1, do you also get back $25?
We also asked if there is restocking fee. We'll let you know when we get a response from T-Mobile.
UPDATE: May 13 2013: We received answers to our questions from T-Mobile.