By Y.M. Lowy

T-Mobile customers across New York may be eligible for a refund from T-Mobile after the company raised prices on cellphone plans that customers had originally signed up for with a promise that their rates would never increase.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the settlement Tuesday following an investigation into T-Mobile’s “Price Guarantee Plans,” which were offered between 2017 and 2019 with the promise that the company would “never change the price you pay.”

But in 2024, T-Mobile began raising prices by approximately $5 per phone line, affecting nearly 253,000 plans across New York. The settlement will now give affected customers several ways to receive money back or other benefits.

Affected customers using 4G phones who choose to leave T-Mobile can receive a refund for their final month’s payment, along with a $25 gift card. Those who stay with T-Mobile can receive a new 5G phone worth $250 at no cost or a $150 credit toward a more expensive phone. If consumers choose to stay with T-Mobile, the company will not raise their phone plan costs until at least 2029. 

Other affected customers, including those who have already upgraded to 5G, can choose to cancel their service and receive their final month’s payment back. Those who remain with T-Mobile will have their current plan prices protected.

The Attorney General’s Office estimates that the refunds and other benefits will provide more than $38 million in value to affected New Yorkers. T-Mobile will also pay $98,000 to New York and will be required to honor its current and future price guarantees.

“New Yorkers deserve clear and honest prices, not misleading offers with hidden fine print,” Attorney General James said. “T-Mobile misled hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers by promising that it would never raise prices on their cellphone plans, only to do exactly that just a few years later.”

The T-Mobile settlement comes just months after James’ office secured refunds for New Yorkers who were charged improper fees by Nissan dealerships across the state, another recent effort by the Attorney General’s Office to recover money for consumers.

Affected T-Mobile customers will now have the opportunity to choose from the refund, phone credit, and price-protection options available under the settlement.