what's up with T-mobile removing autopay discount for credit cards?

scottm_dj wrote:

T-Mobile is on the roll lately (insert sarcasm) with three very unpopular policy changes.  First was the Netflix debacle which isn't really their fault but certainly affecting their customers-- although somehow I still share an account with someone not in my household and I've never received a message which is possibly because I pay for premium but who knows and who cares.  I'll cross that bridge if they ever flag me-- but it really pisses me off to no end that as T-Mobile customers we can't get the same cheaper "extra person" charge like a regular customer can simply because of the third party payment system!   Netflix needs to update that completely outdated thinking process. Then TMo brass made the apparent recent change to *only* allow their top account (Go 5G or whatever) to the cushy phone deals, effectively screwing Magenta Max customers with a plan less than a year old & forcing them to upgrade their account just to take advantage of the promos.   Take a look at every single current phone deal terms and conditions if you don't believe me.

 

Finally, the most egregious and most likely to get them in the hot water...is a company with an outright TERRIBLE track record of data breaches forcing their customers to a debit or bank account transaction only. That's not going to fly with a lot of people including myself-- has this company ever heard of network security and how important it is?.   I don't know if anyone's mentioned this but you should be able to change to a debit card to satisfy this stupid requirement but just pay your account off prior so it doesn't draw anything at the time.  If that doesn't work, several sites are banding together to substitute the processing fee they're trying to save with a huge mailing fee for the penny pinching company by everyone changing their account bill to a paper version.  Finally, I've heard if you are persistent enough (threaten to jump ship?) the T-force people will give you at least some sort of credit  (couple months) on your bill to allow you to keep the credit card active.  But... I have a strong feeling this ridiculous policy is going to be rescinded cause it's already been delayed like 3 months...but we'll see what happens now that i finally see the "warning" on my next bill.   I know I'm going to be very vocal when it comes to the cycle it hits me on you can bet on that.

 

Original "uncarrier" CEO John Legere would never let any of this slide that's for sure... it's a travesty what's happened since he's left.

 

In case you wonder just how bad their security has been (IE pathetic!), here's a scary reminder!

 

Best of luck to everyone.

 

I am so disappointed with T-Mobile, and I fully understand that there is a cost to doing  business, but don't tell to switch the way I do my AutoPay or lose a $40 per month credit. I have been paying with my American Express for years. There are a number of reasons, and I am not giving T-Mobile direct access to take money from my Checking Account or even supply my Debit Card…nope, not happening T-Mobile. I will take my 9 devices and move on, or back to AT&T. I am curious to see how many others will say adios to T-Mobile??

This sounds like a threat to me??

T-Mobile: ACTION NEEDED by 08/15/2023. We're making changes to the payment methods that qualify for AutoPay discounts. To continue receiving your $40.00 AutoPay discount, you must update your payment method to a debit card or a bank account. To keep your discount, please visit t-mo.co/AutoPay23 to update your payment method by 08/15/2023.

T-Mobile is on the roll lately (insert sarcasm) with three very unpopular policy changes.  First was the Netflix debacle which isn't really their fault but certainly affecting their customers-- although somehow I still share an account with someone not in my household and I've never received a message which is possibly because I pay for premium but who knows and who cares.  I'll cross that bridge if they ever flag me-- but it really pisses me off to no end that as T-Mobile customers we can't get the same cheaper "extra person" charge like a regular customer can simply because of the third party payment system!   Netflix needs to update that completely outdated thinking process. Then TMo brass made the apparent recent change to *only* allow their top account (Go 5G or whatever) to the cushy phone deals, effectively screwing Magenta Max customers with a plan less than a year old & forcing them to upgrade their account just to take advantage of the promos.   Take a look at every single current phone deal terms and conditions if you don't believe me.

Finally, the most egregious and most likely to get them in the hot water...is a company with an outright TERRIBLE track record of data breaches forcing their customers to a debit or bank account transaction only. That's not going to fly with a lot of people including myself-- has this company ever heard of network security and how important it is?.   I don't know if anyone's mentioned this but you should be able to change to a debit card to satisfy this stupid requirement but just pay your account off prior so it doesn't draw anything at the time.  If that doesn't work, several sites are banding together to substitute the processing fee they're trying to save with a huge mailing fee for the penny pinching company by everyone changing their account bill to a paper version.  Finally, I've heard if you are persistent enough (threaten to jump ship?) the T-force people will give you at least some sort of credit  (couple months) on your bill to allow you to keep the credit card active.  But... I have a strong feeling this ridiculous policy is going to be rescinded cause it's already been delayed like 3 months...but we'll see what happens now that i finally see the "warning" on my next bill.   I know I'm going to be very vocal when it comes to the cycle it hits me on you can bet on that.

Original "uncarrier" CEO John Legere would never let any of this slide that's for sure... it's a travesty what's happened since he's left.

In case you wonder just how bad their security has been (IE pathetic!), here's a scary reminder!

Best of luck to everyone.

Hey T-Mobile Community:

I'll be honest, I just received the email today and my discount is $40 so I was a little torn with the decision.

It's fair to say that debit card transaction fees are cheaper than credit card fees. It's also fair to say that your credit card company will back you before your bank will with a breach. And given all the breaches that they've had, I wouldn't put any trust in using a debit card or bank account with T-Mobile.

On a side note, a lot of people also have to weigh the option if the credit card they're using to pay their cell phone bill is covering their phones for insurance. I personally use my business credit card that's a MasterCard that covers all my phones which saves me over $50 a month in fees compared to what I have to pay for insurance via T-Mobile.

This is definitely not T-Mobile sole reason of switching the auto discount so I think everyone is right about them being cheap or having money issues. Their reason for saving fees is sad because it doesn't give flexibility to the customer, which was the most important thing to T-Mobile when the previous CEO was at the helm. 

I have been a T-Mobile customer for over 20 years, but there is no way I would provide them with direct access to my bank account. I'm sure that's what they are counting on in order to remove the offered discount. Instead, I will be taking my business elsewhere, thanks for all the fish. 

I will be switching to Veizon. Love T-Mobile but credit cards are a cost of doing business. The management is stupid. How many customers will they lose for makng this decision.

I guss they don't care. Have them send you a bill then you wirte a check and send in the payment. Has management caculated the labor cost if everyone did this?

Not smart!

Oh I completely understand that those charges/cost of doing business is ultimately paid by the customer! Right after I commented on this subject I got a call back from a supervisor and they are taking note of all calls which he told me is about 70% of the calls they're getting are people that are considering moving to other carriers. He told me directly that they're not on board with this decision either and they think that there is a very good chance that corporate May reverse this decision. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen. However I was just told that about 10 minutes ago. I also told the supervisor that I understand that a lot of other cell phone companies don't allow the discount unless you pay with your checking account. One of the good things about T-Mobile though was that they honored the whole grandfathered in agreement. Up until now. I agree that protections with a debit card are very similar to a credit card these days. However, the benefits that you can get with a credit card such as free insurance by paying your bill you're not going to get with your debit card. Then that leaves you having to pay $18 through them or another third party. I believe that's what it all comes down to, of course that's my own opinion! Hope you have a great day! 

erockandyou wrote:

So here's my thought on the matter and the representative that I just got off the phone with agreed with me as much as he didn't want to! Yes, they are charged a fee as a merchant if somebody use their credit card, as somebody stated above that is the cost of doing business...

The cost of doing business definition is any expense a business incurs while in the process of conducting business. Businesses that don't cover their costs of doing business aren't profitable and tend to go out of business. 

Other than that I agree. I face the same decisions you do, and the best course of action for me was a new no minimum checking account with no overdraft protection while maintaining a balance sufficient to cover debit card expenses. Most debit cards these days offer the same protections against fraud as credit cards do as well as debit card controls if that card is issued by Visa or MasterCard. Somebody's got to pay those credit card rewards/benefits - rest assured it's us in the long run one way or another.

FWIW, AT&T just partly joined the war on credit card autopay discounts:

 https://tmo.report/2023/07/att-slices-credit-card-autopay-discount-in-half/

They’re losing $5 per line also.

So here's my thought on the matter and the representative that I just got off the phone with agreed with me as much as he didn't want to! Yes, they are charged a fee as a merchant if somebody use their credit card, as somebody stated above that is the cost of doing business! The reason I believe they are removing this option is because a lot of credit cards nowadays offer cell phone protection if you pay with the card. Which is the main reason I use the credit card that I do. By them removing this option, I have two choices. One is to continue paying with my credit card and pay an additional $5 per line or my other option pay directly from my bank account and receive the discount. However in doing so I will lose my insurance through my card and would then need to buy third party insurance or their insurance at $18 a month. I told them I believe it's a very shifty business move, I've been with T-Mobile for 10 years and they have really been going downhill especially in the last year to a year and a half. I'm looking at different options now. I talked to a supervisor as well and there is no way that they will waive it. They would rather lose a customer! That says a lot... 

Poor decisions on T-Mobile. Been a long time customer, and now going to start looking else where. People trying to defend T-MOBILE by pointing the finger at other companies either work for T-Mobile or just don't comprehend the fact that trying to shift blame or try to justify their decisions because someone else may have done it, does not excuse bad practices towards THEIR consumers. It has nothing to do with their competitors, so stop bringing up Verizon or AT&T and hold T-Mobile responsible for their bad decisions towards THEIR customers who they are clearly going to start losing.