Forum Discussion
what's up with T-mobile removing autopay discount for credit cards?
I just literally signed up for a new plan - debit cards have fees for providers too - accessing my bank account isn’t a good approach from a security perspective (noting that T-mobile has been hacked...
That was announced months ago. It is because credit card companies charge a service charge that is based on the percentage of every transaction, which eats into T-Mobile's revenue. Removing the auto pay discount for credit cards negates that.
Here's my response to T-Mobile on this change sent snail mail to the customer relations address. Hopefully enough people will take the time to complain and have it changed back:
Good day T-Mobile Customer Relations,
I have an issue with your new auto pay policy forcing me to switch from a credit card to a debit card or bank account to continue to receive my $10 per month discount.
I understand that you are a business, and this change is a business move to bring in additional revenue without the added credit card company charges. From a consumer standpoint this is a bad idea. I don't want a business having access to my bank account either through a direct withdrawal or debit transaction. Too many businesses have security breaches. We see the headlines where the company says basically, "Oops, we had a security breach but here's a year free credit monitoring." And we're supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy.
If money goes missing from my bank account through either of those transaction types, the money is gone and it's up to me to deal with my bank and show that I did not authorize it. It takes time and energy to prove someone else did something wrong before I get my money back and I'd most likely be charged with a stop payment fee from my bank.
When I pay with a credit card, I'm safer from fraud. I elect to pay you a certain amount every month and you charge my card. If there's fraud or money has been incorrectly charged to my account I call the credit card company, explain what happened, possibly fill out a form, and the charge is removed. Problem solved. I may need to have a new card sent but the process is smooth, including activation of the replacement card.
You have already realized the benefits of having customers use autopay by the time savings, cost savings, consistent revenue on time, increased revenue by people more willing to purchase with the card already on the account, and other ways too. Now you appear to look greedy, and it makes me want to go back to paper billing and spend 50 cents on a stamp each month and mail you a check as I have free checking from my bank.
Please cancel this change or revert to the credit card autopay with discount.
Thank you for your time,
