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Robert Nazarian
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After a slight delay, T-Mobile just unveiled their 3rd and final installment of big announcements to further shake up the mobile industry. Last week brought a new Simple Starter Plan for day 1 and day 2 was that LTE tablets will be priced the same as Wi-Fi-only tablets. Day 3 is all about overage charges.
T-Mobile will no longer charge overages to their customers, which is a pretty good announcement in itself, but John Legere and team are taking it one step further. They are encouraging AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless to do the same, and they have created a petition on Change.org.
Overage charges for 2013 totaled more than $1 billion, which isn’t chump change. 20 million Americans were hit with these charges, and you guessed it, all from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless. These carriers all offer plans with lower amounts of minutes, texts, and data for those that can’t afford more, and then turn around and charge them for the overages. T-Mobile, on the other hand, will throttle data speeds when a customer goes over their data caps instead of hitting them with extra money they probably can’t afford.
The petition titled “#AbolishOverages @ATT, @VerizonWireless and @Sprint!” was actually started by T-Mobile CEO John Legere, and can be found here. Full presser is also below.
T-Mobile Abolishes Consumer Overages, Challenges Other Wireless Providers to Follow Suit
Legere Starts Petition for Consumers to Call on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to End Overages
BELLEVUE, Wash. – April 14, 2014 – T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) today shifted the national conversation on wireless to a new level, unveiling its latest Un-carrier move – a campaign to eliminate overage penalties, one of the most reviled wireless industry practices. While abolishing overages for all customers on T-Mobile consumer plans, its CEO has also laid down a challenge to the nation’s largest carriers, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, to do the same.
More than 20 million Americans were hit with punitive overage charges in 2013. And these penalties from the three largest U.S. carriers take more than an incredible $1 billion out of consumers’ pockets every year.
“Today I’m laying down a challenge to AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to join T-Mobile in ending these outrageous overage penalties for all consumers – because it’s the right thing to do,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “Overage fees are flat out wrong. Agree with me? Join me in putting this challenge to all the major national carriers by signing my petition on Change.org. Right here. Take one minute to be a part of this consumer movement.”
Last year, T-Mobile banished annual service contracts and began phasing out overage charges with the launch of Simple Choice. T-Mobile’s stance against annual service contracts is now well known by consumers, and today it’s taking on the even more unpopular and unjustified practice of slamming consumers with surprise bills in the form of overages charges.
“Charging overage fees is a greedy, predatory practice that needs to go,” continued Legere. “Starting in May for bills arriving in June – regardless of whether you’re on Simple Choice, Simple Starter or an older plan, we’re abolishing overages for good. Period.”
Traditional carriers’ entry-level plans lure customers in with a low monthly fee for a fixed amount of domestic minutes, texts or data. Once consumers go over those limits – even by a little – they’re hit with much higher rates, often dramatically higher. These plans are purpose-built to drive customers over that invisible line into massive overage charges. The result has been a culture of fear, worry and surprise every time the wireless bill arrives. For example, an individual on AT&Ts entry-level plan, advertised at $45 per month, will pay $125 if he uses just the average amount of data for a U.S. smartphone user (1.5 GB per person).
“The worst thing about these overage fees is that they’re often inflicted on those who can least afford them,” added Legere. “As an advocate for consumers, we’re putting a stop to that. I personally won’t be satisfied until we obliterate this shameful practice from the entire wireless industry.”
To give a voice to U.S. wireless consumers, Legere has started an online petition at Change.org/AbolishOverages calling on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to end overages. You are invited to sign the petition and add your voice to the growing movement to rid the wireless industry of domestic overages once and for all.
Come comment on this article: T-Mobile says no to overage charges, and John Legere starts petition for all U.S. carriers to do the same
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