T-Mobile promised in 2017 that it would “never change the price you pay” on a group of 4G-era plans, then raised them by about $5 a phone line starting in 2024. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on October 20 that her office had secured up to more than $38 million in value for New Yorkers in a settlement with T-Mobile USA, Inc. The money comes only after a choice: cancel and get a month’s payment back, or stay with a frozen price.
A 2017 price pledge and the 2024 increase
The attorney general says T-Mobile launched its Price Guarantee Plans in 2017 with ads promising rates would never rise, while fine print reserved the right to raise them. The agreement puts the offer period at January 2017 through April 2019, on plans sold as T-Mobile ONE 4G.
In May and June 2024, according to the agreement, T-Mobile raised prices for some New York customers on those plans by about $5 per line, an average of $12 per account. Twelve dollars a month adds up to $144 a year for a household on a plan sold as price-locked.
James said New Yorkers deserve clear and honest prices, not misleading offers with hidden fine print. T-Mobile also agreed to pay the state $98,834.75 and to state the material terms of any future price guarantee in its advertising, with any time limit in the same sentence as the guarantee.
Which accounts get the cancel-or-stay choice
The agreement sorts accounts into two groups. Both must be billed in New York, have signed up for a T-Mobile ONE plan between January 1, 2017 and April 30, 2019, and have stayed on that plan through the 2024 increase. The split is whether at least one line is known to T-Mobile to be running on less than 5G service.
Accounts with such a line are the “upgrade eligible” group. Accounts where every line is already on 5G, or where T-Mobile’s device information is incomplete, fall in the second group. That sorting decides whether a phone is on offer, so a household with an older 4G handset sees a different menu than one that already upgraded.
Notice goes out by email to every address T-Mobile holds for a covered account, and by U.S. mail when there is no address or the email bounces. Anyone on a 2017-era plan who changed email addresses since then has a reason to update the account before the notice goes out.
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What each path pays
An upgrade-eligible account that cancels gets the last month’s recurring charge back plus a $25 cash card, which has no expiration date and no fees. One that stays gets a free or discounted 5G phone for each line not on 5G: devices valued up to $250 are free, and any other device comes with a $150 credit. No switching, transfer or activation fees apply.
The second group has only two options. Cancel and T-Mobile pays the last month’s recurring charge; stay and the price is frozen. For both groups the freeze holds the monthly recurring charge on the current plan from rising until no earlier than May 30, 2029.
The word reimbursement covers less than it sounds like. Money back arrives only if the account closes, and it equals one month’s charge. Customers who keep the plan get a phone or a credit and a frozen price. The benefits listed in the agreement do not include a refund of the increases already paid since 2024.
Why 252,957 counts plans, not people
The attorney general’s release says roughly 252,957 Price Guarantee Plans held by New Yorkers saw bill increases. The agreement itself defines 252,957 as the number of New York consumer enrollments in the plans during the offer period, “many with more than one line.” It is a count of plans, not accounts and not individual people.
The $38 million figure is a ceiling. Divided across 252,957 plans it works out to roughly $150 a plan, but the agreement sets no per-plan payment, and the listed benefits run from one month’s charge to a phone worth up to $250. What T-Mobile actually spends depends on how many accounts cancel, take a phone or simply stay.
Customers who dropped the plan before 2024 do not meet the definition, because both groups require staying on the plan through the increase. A plan counted in the 252,957 therefore does not guarantee an account is on the notice list.
The notice deadline and the election window
T-Mobile must send the notice no later than 150 days after the October 20 effective date, which falls on March 19, 2027. The first bill issued after that date carries a reminder. Customers then have 45 days to pick, and accounts sent the mailed notice get five more days.
If the notice goes out on the last allowed day, the choice window would run to May 3, or May 8 for mailed notices. T-Mobile owes the state two reports, at 30 and 90 days after the notification date, covering its notice efforts and how many customers took each benefit.
New Yorkers who believe they were missed can bring a complaint to the attorney general through the office’s online complaint page. The release does not say how the refunds, gift cards or phone credits are delivered, so the first bill after a customer’s choice is where the money would show.
Waiting on a T-Mobile notice about the frozen price?
A choice between canceling and staying lands in an inbox by March 19, 2027.
The notice starts a 45-day clock, and the release does not say how refunds, cash cards or phone credits are delivered. Someone who changed email addresses since 2017 may never see the notice, and then has a payment to chase.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
