You might have been a little too hard on T-Mobile or maybe it's the reason some changes have been walked back
T-Mobile customers on legacy plans were shocked to learn last week that they'd be coerced into transferring to pricier new plans. T-Mobile apparently wanted to migrate customers automatically but customers were to be provided with an option to opt out or go back to their old plans if they had already been switched, though it wasn't clear if they would be able to stay on their old plans indefinitely.
Regardless, T-Mobile subscribers were fuming about the change and wondering what happened to T-Mobile's promises of not raising prices. Some clarity has now emerged regarding the matter and it indicates that T-Mobile is not necessarily the villain we were making it out to be.
T-Mobile had positioned the move to newer plans with enhanced features as a way for customers to get more out of its services. It told CNET that only a small number of customers would be impacted. How small you ask? Well, The Mobile Report has the answer.
According to the outlet, only 1 percent of T-Mobile customers will be affected by the change. This implies that only some customers on the affected plans (Magenta, One, Magenta 55+, Simple Choice / Select Choice, and Simple Choice Business) will be moved to newer plans. That's a relief, as previous reports had suggested that all customers on older plans would be shifted to new plans.
T-Mobile is well aware of the backlash the report about the automatic migration caused last week and is now training its teams to handle customers who might contact customer care and retail departments about any potential changes to their plans.
According to an internal document seen by The Mobile Report, customers will be notified before any changes are made.
While it's certainly reassuring to hear that T-Mobile will be forthcoming about the changes and it intends to move only a few customers to new plans, given the string of controversial changes the carrier has introduced in recent times, it's hard not to be skeptical about its every move.
In this case, the internal document that first disclosed T-Mobile's plan to migrate customers to new plans, which, for some customers, would have been $120 more expensive than their existing arrangement, did imply that all customers would be moved and has now been deleted from the internal systems. That's not very confidence-inspiring now, is it?
Previously leaked document had implied all customers on older plans would be moved to pricier plans
And then there's the looming question: what's the guarantee that T-Mobile won't make unfavorable changes to other plans or compel Sprint customers to move to more expensive plans?
After all, even if a small number of customers are being moved to new plans, the fact that it's an opt-out change instead of an opt-in change suggests the company may end up taking advantage of those who don't read every email and text they get carefully.
Also, the latest report makes you wonder whether T-Mobile had always intended to move only some customers to new plans or if this amendment was made after the fierce online criticism.
In any case, no changes have been made so far and are expected to take place next month. It's not clear how long customers will have to switch back to their old plans once they are moved to a new one.
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