Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- T-Mobile’s controversial new policy on bill credits has gone into effect.
- Going forward, you will no longer receive the bill credits remaining in your promo period if you pay your equipment installment plan off early.
- This policy was expected the change on July 1, but the carrier activated the policy a week early.
Last week, it was discovered that T-Mobile was planning to make a change to the way it handles bill credits for device promotions. Customers are now finding that the new policy has already gone into effect.
For a bit of background, T-Mobile runs device promotions in which customers can pay off their devices over time through an Equipment Installment Plan (EIP). These customers are also given discounts at are offered in the form of bill credits. Even if you paid off your device early, you would continue to earn the bill credits offered for the entire promo period as Recurring Device Credits (RDC). The report from last week claimed that T-Mobile would change its policy so that customers would stop receiving bill credits once their device is paid for.
This adjustment to T-Mobile’s policy was expected to go live next month on July 1. However, as spotted by Reddit user lsuarez94, it appears the new policy of ending bill credits went into effect on June 21. This means that enforcement of this new policy is starting about a week earlier than most people expected.
The new policy change likely only affects devices purchased after June 21. Existing customers who purchased a device likely won’t be affected. We have contacted T-Mobile for clarification.
The move has been a controversial one with many commenters on Reddit up in arms. One Reddit user said:
This really should be against the law. Credits are credits. What other reason is there except to keep you in a contract and make it untenable to leave.
Another user laments the action, stating, “One by one, the reasons I joined T-Mobile are disappearing.”
There are a few guesses as to why the carrier is making this adjustment. One is the possibility that the company wants to prevent customers from buying promotional devices, only to pay them off and then sell them. Another potential reason could be Mint Mobile’s unlock policy, which would make it even easier to sell off promo devices or quickly switch to another carrier. It’s also believed that it could be an attempt to nudge customers to opt for T-Mobile’s Go5G Next plan.
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