FCC asked to investigate T-Mobile?s deceptive business practices

Pressure is growing on regulators to address T-Mobile’s misleading and fraudulent business practices. Change to Win (CtW), a coalition of labor unions, is calling on the FCC toinvestigate T-Mobile’s false promises and to look into three specific company practices regulated by the Commission:

• T-Mobile’s representations that it has no contracts when, in fact, customers’ month-to-month service contracts are often linked to two-year equipment financing plans, with the result that a significant number of customers enter into contracts with financial penalties for early termination.

• T-Mobile’s representations that it pays customers’ early termination fees (ETFs) when in fact T-Mobile only reimburses eligible customers with a Visa prepaid card after those customers jump through several hurdles, causing frequent delays or denials.

• A pattern of fraudulent enrollment practices that result in unanticipated charges for customers.

The request for an FCC investigation includes detailed evidence of T-Mobile’s fraudulent and anti-consumer behavior which result in “unexpected obligations for the company’s subscribers—too often leaving consumers with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unanticipated charges, at the mercy of aggressive debt collectors and with little recourse to dispute charges.” A broad coalition has already sent aletter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, outlining T-Mobile’s deceptive practices and asking for a formal investigation. USA Today reported that New York Attorney General Eric Shneiderman is also investigating the complaints against T-Mobile’s advertising practices.

Read CtW’s reporthere and its FCC investigation requesthere.

Request for Investigation of T-Mobile US (Change to Win, Jan. 27, 2015)

Unmasking the Un-Carrier: Deception and Disparate Impact at T-Mobile (Change to Win, Dec. 2015)

T-Mobile accused of false advertising; New York AG investigates (USA Today, Dec. 8, 2015)