So there has been a lot of hub-bub about T-Mobile’s new no contract plans and the UN coupling of phone and contract. The advertising media claims no contract; no need to buy a phone out right, the heavens will open up and shine down glitter, bacon, and all things wonderful.
BUT
It’s not all coming up roses for the Pink sheep of the carrier world. Let me preface this rant with this: I have T-Mobile, and I have used all the major carriers and this has been the least painful experience. I recommend T-Mobile to anyone who asks me, and I will continue to do so with these new plans.
Now, for any tech follower these plans are just shining a light on what we already knew. A decent chunk of your monthly plan premium is for the phone that you got for such a low price. This has always been a marketing ploy by carriers and I commend T-Mobile for pull the wool up if you will on this horrendous abuse of the public’s trust. I do however want to clarify a few things seeing as T-Mobiles literature is pretty fluffy and light on full details. After asking some people the all important question (for me at least) Can you finance a phone on a pre paid account. The way things are worded and the general thought on the interwebs (specifically G+) is that yes you can since the plans are not contractual and separate from the phones. I am a skeptic and this seems too good to be true, so I decide to go straight to the source.
So I fire up a chat session with a T-Mobile rep. Now I have a copy of the conversation in full, barring any personal details posted at the end. But here are the clarifications I have gotten from my enlightening conversation with “!Rizalie M”
· T-Mobiles Customer plans may be more transparent, but their reps still try to sell you some weird not published or out dated plan, unless you call them out on it.
· T-Mobile does not really acknowledge Pre-Paid users.
· You MUST be on a POST PAID plan to finance a phone.
· You CAN cancel you plan at anytime… IF:
o You have a 0$ on your plan (your payments are up to date)
o You have PAID OFF YOUR PHONE.
· You can suspend your account for 10$ a month if you want to keep paying off the phone monthly but not use the phone
· Customer Service reps still don’t understand the product they are selling.
Now, for 70$, plus monthly payment for phone; you can get the latest and greatest device, and all you can eat mobile data, messaging, and voice. BUT you only get 500MB of Tethered data, with each additional 2GB for 10$ a month. This brings clarity to the murky grey world of Tethering. If T-Mobile’s networking robots noticed a not mobile device on their network they will throw up a page politely asking you to contact them to add tethering services if you do not have them, or if you have used your allotted amount. Now 500MB a month will cover the 99% who tether occasionally, and it is admittedly pretty easy to get around, and if your reading this blog there’s a pretty good chance you already know the work around, so I’m going to leave that alone; But kudos for putting that out there and making it obvious.
So in short, T-Mo is being pretty up front about their plans, and there really is no ETF, you just have to pay off that phone first. But if you bring your own device (Nexus 4 anyone?) you can get a unlimited HSPA+/LTE data, Unlimited Voice, and Unlimited data for 70$. Or if you’re not a big talker and can live with 100 minutes a month, and use less than 5GB a month, you can get away with a 30$ a month Pre paid plan; This is my choice, and with the aid of a little VOIP action for extended conversations I can safely say that T-Mobile is the best carrier to have [if you have coverage]. But please please PLEASE. Find someone who has T-Mo and hangs out in the same rough area you do and find out what kind of signal strength/speeds they are getting. Because of T-Mo’s less than stellar infrastructure they tend to suffer outside of Major Metropolitan Areas.
VMPM
WH
You have been connected to !Rizalie M.
Douglas DuCote: Phone purchase
!Rizalie M: Hi Douglas!
Douglas DuCote: HI!
!Rizalie M: Thank you for contacting T-mobile Live Chat Service, this is Rizalie M. rep ID 1450992. It is my pleasure to help you out about your concern. Is this about the line ending in XXXX?
Douglas DuCote: Yes, well kind of
Douglas DuCote: let me go ahead and explain my question in full
!Rizalie M: I see, how can I help you?
!Rizalie M: Sure!
Douglas DuCote: So i am looking at picking up a secondary, and most likely a tertiary device. I do a lot of tech reviews and will be reviewing new devices here soon.
!Rizalie M: Got it.
Douglas DuCote: I usually am forced to buy outright, but T-mobiles new plan/phone purchase arrangement seems like that is not 100% true anymore
!Rizalie M: We're very sorry you feel that way.
Douglas DuCote: Basically i want to finace the phones, while keeping my current line and plan
!Rizalie M: I see.
Douglas DuCote: From what ive read i can put a deposit down based on credit rating, and then pay monthly for the rest of the phone correct?
!Rizalie M: Yes, correct. That will be for our postpaid account.
Douglas DuCote: So its not with any account
Douglas DuCote: just the post paids
!Rizalie M: Yes, correct.
!Rizalie M: You need to switch to postpaid to get this program.
Douglas DuCote: so i would be forced to pay essentially double
Douglas DuCote: for less data
Douglas DuCote: and more minutes, which i never use
!Rizalie M: May I know if you're planning to get a new phone with a deposit only?
Douglas DuCote: I was hoping to do so yes
Douglas DuCote: and then swapping my sim cards in
Douglas DuCote: sim card*
!Rizalie M: You can switch your prepaid account to postpaid, then we will have your prepaid cancelled.
Douglas DuCote: but even at 60$ i would lose 3gb of data, and gain more stuff that i dont use
!Rizalie M: Then you can choose plans especially data plan for affordable prices.
Douglas DuCote: and realistically that is too low of a data cap since ive already used more than 2 gb
!Rizalie M: Least price for our individual plan is $50.00 a month before taxes.
Douglas DuCote: for 4.5GB less data
!Rizalie M: If you need more GB, our data plan is flexible cause you can add more upto 12.5 GB.
Douglas DuCote: how much is 5GB of data post paid
!Rizalie M: Every additional 2GB is $10.00 a month.
Douglas DuCote: so for... 80$ a month i could get 6.5GB of data
!Rizalie M: Yes, correct.
!Rizalie M: Did I answer all?
Douglas DuCote: Or, for 70$ i could get unlimited data
!Rizalie M: For $70.00 that will be unlimited talk, text and 4.5GB.
Douglas DuCote: but on your website here:
Douglas DuCote: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/individual-plans.aspx
!Rizalie M: $70.00 is for unlimited without the talk and text.
Douglas DuCote: the unlimited option says " Adds Unlimited Nationwide 4G data on T-Mobile's network "
!Rizalie M: Yes, you're at the right page.
Douglas DuCote: But you just said it was only 4.5GB of data
!Rizalie M: You mentioned $70.00, I explained that this amount is with the talk and text bundle.
!Rizalie M: The $70.00 for the data plan is the charge without the talk and text.
Douglas DuCote: but the plan details clearly state unlimited minutes and messaging
Douglas DuCote:
Unlimited Talk + Text Plan
$50.00
+ 500 MB
$0.00
+ UNLIMITED Value
$20.00
Per month for 1 line(s)
Douglas DuCote: from your webpage
!Rizalie M: TI see, it now.
Douglas DuCote: but its actually ADDITIONAL for minutes?
!Rizalie M: Yes, it is an add on of $20.00 to get the unlimited talk and text.
!Rizalie M: I'm sorry I'm looking at the different page.
Douglas DuCote: So if i were to do that plan
!Rizalie M: Therefore that will be $70.00 for 500 mb with unlimited data and talk and text.
Douglas DuCote: and bought a phone on a monthly contract
!Rizalie M: If you wish to get this plan you need to call us cause we need to speak with you directly.
Douglas DuCote: and then canceled the service a year later
Douglas DuCote: what would the cost be
Douglas DuCote: aside from the montly cost of the phone
!Rizalie M: It's okay if you cancel it as long as you are willing to pay the balance of the phone and your account charges.
Douglas DuCote: so there is a contractual requirement on the service line
!Rizalie M: No contract for the line.
!Rizalie M: For the phone you can pay the unpaid balance once you decided to cancel it.
Douglas DuCote: but i cant cancel
!Rizalie M: Alright?
Douglas DuCote: and then continue paying a monthly amount on the phone
!Rizalie M: If you want to remain the account, you can suspend it temporary then pay for the unpaid balance of the phone.
!Rizalie M: Your monthly bill for suspended line is $10.00.
Douglas DuCote: I am planning on moving to an area with little to no T-Mobile coverage
Douglas DuCote: in about a year
!Rizalie M: I see.
Douglas DuCote: so i would have to use another carrier at the time
Douglas DuCote: but i would have to pay the remaining balance of the phone
Douglas DuCote: or suspend my account for 10$ a month, while paying off the phone monthly correct?
!Rizalie M: If you want to keep it active you can suspend it for maximum of 3 months then if you need more extention you need to call us after 3 months to extend it.
!Rizalie M: Yes, correct.
!Rizalie M: Did I answer all?
Douglas DuCote: that about sums it up
Douglas DuCote: so yes
Douglas DuCote: thank you for your time.
!Rizalie M: Yes.
!Rizalie M: You're most welcome. I just give the service that you pay for. We are commited to serve you better.
!Rizalie M: Thank you for your continuous patronage of T-Mobile services. May you have marvelous night. I'll go ahead and close the chat in 60 seconds if you haven't disconnected it by then.
Thank you for using our online help. You may now close this window.
Clearly T-Mo has not fully briefed everyone on how the new plans work, and there was a bit on confusion on the reps end of what was going on. But it answered a few important questions, and makes for an interesting read.
