T-Mobile hidden fees class action overview:
- Who: A group of 23 plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against T-Mobile USA Inc.
- Why: The plaintiffs say the company charged them deceptive hidden fees.
- Where: The T-Mobile class action was filed in a California federal court.
A new class action lawsuit alleges T-Mobile has been charging a hidden fee to its wireless customers by misrepresenting it as a government-mandated charge.
A group of 23 plaintiffs filed the class action complaint against T-Mobile USA Inc. on Oct. 29 in California federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.
The complaint alleges that T-Mobile has been charging a deceptive “Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery Fee” (RPTR Fee) to its post-paid wireless customers, while misrepresenting it as charge handed down by the federal government.
According to the plaintiffs, the RPTR Fee — introduced in 2004 and increased multiple times since — currently costs customers $3.49 per line per month.
The T-Mobile hidden fees lawsuit claims the company disguises this charge by grouping it with legitimate government taxes and fees on customers’ bills. The plaintiffs allege that the fee is neither mandated by government regulation nor justified by actual operational costs. Instead, it is allegedly “a concoction designed to increase T-Mobile’s revenue and pad its bottom line.”
Plaintiffs accuse T-Mobile of refusing arbitration
The plaintiffs also allege that T-Mobile’s Subscriber Agreement fails to properly disclose the fee’s amount, frequency, or per-line application.
The agreement also states that T-Mobile can unilaterally adjust fees without notice, the lawsuit says.
“Consumers have been duped into paying these hidden charges for two decades,” the T-Mobile hidden fees lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs claim that T-Mobile violated its own mandatory arbitration agreement. In 2023, the plaintiffs say they filed individual arbitration claims through the American Arbitration Association, seeking resolution for disputes over the fees. However, T-Mobile allegedly refused to participate or pay arbitration costs, leading the AAA to close the cases.
As a result, the lawsuit seeks to represent all current and former T-Mobile customers charged the RPTR Fee. The plaintiffs are suing for violations of the federal “Truth-in-Billing” rules and state consumer laws, and are seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
Meanwhile, last month, T-Mobile confirmed it suffered a data breach amid a series of telecom breaches. The data breach was caused by Chinese threat actors accessing private communications, call records, and law enforcement information requests.
What do you think of the allegations in this T-Mobile class action? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Alex Winnick of Winnick Law PC, Evan Murphy of Murphy Advocates LLC and Maurice Mitts of Mitts Law LLC.
The T-Mobile class action is Carrie Beets et al. v. T-Mobile USA Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-09344, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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1,077 thoughts onT-Mobile class action alleges telecom provider charges hidden fees
I will never again use T-MOBILE AFTER BRINGING ACCOUNT TO ZERO EVERY MONTH THERE WERE UNEXPLAINED EXTRA CHARGES
Please add me to this…i’ve been with T-Mobile for some time now.
I’m not satisfied with the amount of money they are charging me.
I have been involved in 2 data breaches with TMobile. After this 2nd one I had to lock the debt card I was using fir my auto pay causing me to not only be late with that bill but also several others. They have now increased my bill by $10 because I’ve had to use a credit card for my auto pay. I spoke to them today & they refuse to allow my discount if I don’t give them my debt card info again but I just recently had to have my debt card locked again because someone tried to access it again. This is becoming very frustrating, and expensive. I also had to have my credit card locked so those auto payments are late, so it is also becoming expensive. TMobile told me I would lose my $5 per month discount because I changed my card, even though it was their fault for being irresponsible with my information. When I went on line, that didnt add an extra $5 to my bill, they added an extra $10; which they refuse to compensate me for. I am still being scammed and ripped off from their 1st mishandling our my account & i even had my car repossessed because I missed 3 payments that were coming out of the same debit card. By the time I realized the car payments weren’t being made, my car was repossessed and I couldn’t afford the charges to get it back out. I was notified several days ago, they sold my car. So im going broke & TMobile is still making money…..can someone explain how this is fair??
Was with mobile their service is so bad and they charge foe servic u don’t use
I’ve been a customer for over 20 years and they keep upping my prices and charging me hidden fees. I need to be apart of this lawsuit but 500 dollars is not sufficient enough for all the charges I had for over all these years.
Two different times we had issues with T-Mobile. They didn’t tell us about promo fees when we signed up for a family plan. $102 was added to our bill that no one told us about. Since it’s a 2yr contact we’re stuck. I had to shut my phone off because it was too much for me to afford. This was a 3rd party location in Massachusetts. They pretty much lied, tricked us and screwed us over.
Also my kids mother was charged for 3 different smart watch fees when she only had 1 watch. She feels due to her being deaf and disabled she was taking advantage for over 2years. When I asked for help with this matter. they said can only go back 30 days , then 90 days. I said no this isn’t right. They wouldn’t help us. No one would help us.
Been with them over 18 years and they refuse to explain exactly what these fees are. They only state that they are fees and charges for fees the government makes them to “comply with government mandates, like E911 or local number portability.” And “charges imposed on them by other carriers for delivery of calls from our customers to theirs” and for other charges like leases for network facilities, “operations and services we obtain to provide you with services”. So we are already paying 911 state and local fees and now we pay them again? And now we pay separately for their facilities? I thought that was what the fee for each line was for??? The fraudulently charged us for 10 lines (7 phone, 1 data and 4 watch lines) for almost 2 years until I went on social media and finally got someone to listen and understand we only had 4 phones and 2 watches!!! These guys will just keep charging even when someone calls to ask questions and push back on charges. I’m switching companies after 18 years because they are thieves!!!
I am still with tmobile over 18 years and still being over charged when I was told my rate would stay the same I was locked in. Please add me
i was over charge on different months
I have been with T-Mobile since 2014 and have experienced these charges.