T-Mobile's decision to crack down on an employee benefit could mean it sees bad times ahead

T-Mobile has been making some changes that have upset customers. Those paying their bill at a T-Mobile store must pay an additional $5 plus tax. Earlier this year T-Mobile had those using AutoPay stop using credit cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay to get the $5 monthly discount. Now, to use AutoPay, your T-Mobile account must go through a debit card or a bank account. Now, T-Mobile is upsetting employees not by making a change but by cracking down on company rules.

The Mobile Report has obtained a screenshot of a post that was sent via T-Mobile's internal communication hub called "T-Nation." The post points out that company employees had been traditionally allowed to take a 75% or a 20% discount on lines of service used by family members and friends; of course, most chose to give their family members and friends the larger discount. And employees could select the 75% discount on all of these lines without getting any negative feedback from T-Mobile.

But now T-Mobile is being stricter with the discounts. The post points out that only members of Team Magenta, their spouses and immediate family/IRS-qualified tax dependents can now receive the 75% discount. Other friends and family members get the 20% discount. While in the past T-Mobile left it up to each employee to give the appropriate discount to friends and family members, employees will have to show that the family members getting the larger 75% discount on their wireless service actually qualify to receive it.

Those found to have abused the system will no doubt be disciplined by the nation's second-largest wireless carrier. The post itself says, "This is more than a friendly reminder." It seems strange that T-Mobile would crack down on this company benefit with the firm doing as well as it is. The next earnings report is due next Thursday. During the first quarter, it once again led the industry in net new phone postpaid subscribers at 538,000. That was a higher number than AT&T and Verizon combined.

It makes us wonder if T-Mobile is battening down the hatches in preparation for some bad times in the wireless industry that it sees on the horizon.