T-Mobile (TMUS) recently landed in hot water after it announced a new round of price increases, which pushed some customers over the edge.
Last week, T-Mobile warned customers that it will be increasing monthly prices for some of its older phone plans by $5, which will take effect on April 2.
However, customers that have a Price Lock guarantee or who faced a price hike for an older phone plan last year will not be impacted by this price increase.
Related: T-Mobile customers plan to switch after latest announcement
“While some of our competitors have announced multiple price increases – 10 in two years between AT&T and Verizon – for the first time in nearly a decade, T-Mobile is making small adjustments to prices on some of our older monthly service plans,” said T-Mobile on its website, where it announced the price change.
According to a leaked memo from T-Mobile, which was obtained by CNET, the price increase is due to “rising costs over the past several years.”
The move from T-Mobile came after it increased prices for older phone plans (One, Magenta, and Simple Choice) by $2 or $5 per line last year.
In response to the latest price hike, some T-Mobile customers took to social media to express their frustration with the change, with some even threatening to switch phone providers.
T-Mobile attempts to win back customers
Amid the backlash, T-Mobile quickly aimed to lessen the blow for customers by launching a limited-time deal last week that offers select accounts a free voice line, which can be claimed through the T-Life app.
A T-Mobile store in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
In order to qualify, customers must bring their own device to use with the line, pay a one-time $10 Device Connection Charge and have less than the maximum amount of voice lines on their account. Customers with two or more free lines are not eligible for the deal.
In addition to this deal, T-Mobile also recently just launched another free line offer.
According to a T-Mobile customer who took to Reddit, T-Mobile is offering a free line to customers who have Go5G Plus and Go5G Next plans. Also, customers who add a new line can receive $1,000 in bill credits, which will be applied over 24 months.
Related: T-Mobile customers are leaving stores over frustrating policy
The customer was informed about the new deal after they reached out to T-Mobile to inquire about the free line offer that was introduced to select customers last week.
“I contacted T-Mobile because I haven’t seen the discount for the free line from the t-life app yet and while trying to talk to a rep this free line offer popped up,” said the customer in the reddit thread.
In the comment section under the post, some T-Mobile customers even claimed that they received text messages from T-Mobile that informed them of their eligibility for the new free line offer.
T-Mobile recently announced record profits
T-Mobile’s new offers to customers come after the company raked in a record-high net income of $11.3 billion last year as it added 3.1 million new postpaid phone customers.
More Retail:
Target’s latest policy change sparks massive boycott threatBounty, Tide, Dawn owner issues stern warning about its pricingGameStop makes a drastic move amid weak sales
During the last few months of 2024 alone, T-Mobile increased its net income by 48% year-over-year. It also generated total service revenues of $16.9 billion, a 6% increase compared to the same quarter in 2023.
Despite increased profits, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert recently doubled down on the company’s plan to continue increasing prices for its older phone plans (also known as legacy plans) this year.
“There are legacy rate plans out there that are very outdated that we still can address at scale,” said Sievert during an earnings call on Jan. 29. “And so we began this program last year. It went very successfully, and we’ll continue it this year.”
Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast
