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

DaveSoCal wrote:

syaoran wrote:

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.  

You fail to see the very real risks to subscribers.  Continuing the autopay using cc discount plus a simple credit card payment fee of 2.5% or a flat convenience fee of $3 would have been a much better idea.  

Consider the following:  For low income customers for whom the monthly autopay discount is very important.  This change is especially harmful to customers who may not have bank accounts/debit cards or have bank accounts with frequently low balances.  A data breach exposing banking information to criminals would hit these customers especially hard.  Even when fraudulent charges are disputed, banks may continue to make checking account funds unavailable to customers for several days causing considerable hardship.  
 

When I asked a T-mobile "expert" in an overseas call center about data security, he replied that T-mobile had secure ways for customers to send bank account numbers to T-mobile.  What?!  If T-mobile doesn't even  understand the problem, how can customers entrust such sensitive personal data to them.
 

 

That why I am moving on out!!! 

 

 

 

fireguy_6364 wrote:

HNDAV4 wrote:

So is it total BS, sure. But as it seems other carriers are doing it or thinking about it, well, it could be worse. Like paying Comcast, but don’t even get me started about those guys...

 

 

yeah Verizon started this years ago.. for them if you want the discount you must use a debit card/bank info or their own Verizon CC card..

 

i think ATT is one of the last bigs to still do the CC card discount..but if im thinking right that also depends on which plan you are on.

 

and dont get me started with Comcast lol.

I agree with the other commenters that point out your continual defense of T-Mobile with (They did it too!). I also agree that you sure seem to be working for T-Mobile.

tomwil wrote:

jlfliberty wrote:

My new carrier is are USA all the way.

 

Mind sharing what USA carrier you went with?

 

Yes I would, but quick port off temporarily to one with non T-Mobile lines and two T-Mobile line to temporary jump and eventually to two wholly owned American Companies with two more to go. if you check out Wiki, you will find the American Companies. I see you are a helper. You defending T-Mobiles security breaches and money grab?

tomwil wrote:

jlfliberty wrote:

You defending T-Mobiles security breaches and money grab?

 

No, I am just as upset as everyone else on losing the discount and having my bill increase artificially.  Just weighing options and seeing what others have considered / done.

 

My misinterpretation and appology. Companies offering decent deals Mint (US) appears to be in process of being purchased by T-Mobile, so who knows. (Visible (Verison subsiderary)) is US and (US Mobile (uses T-Mobile and Verison) are both US companies offering decent deals.

I agree completely with the lack of safety when using debit cards/direct debit, I still can and will continue to use my credit card.  But another way to view this could be that I've had years without an increase on my already competitively priced plans throughout a period of high inflation.  That couldn't last forever.  

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 was happy since I changed to T-Mobile...  Until Now.   It's just common sense to NOT use your debit card for automated payments to prevent security issues AND a credit card gives me flexibility since my balance can vary a bit each month.   I never thought about leaving till this change.  Does anyone know if Mint requires a debit card or bank account?   

In the meantime, here's a hint I use.   I opened a secondary checking account when I was in my 20's.   I only use it to pay bills through the bank's online payment service or automated bill payments where I didn't have much choice.  I do not have a debit card linked to it (yeah, the banker looked at me funny until I explained what I was doing) so there's no risk of a stolen debit card emptying the account.  Each pay period, I move the money I need over for bills to it.  Other than a minimum I keep in there to prevent any fees, that's it. 

fireguy_6364 wrote:

cant just toss TMO under the bus when it comes to the hacking without pointing out that ATT and V also got hacked..

Right, but give me the choice to pay using a method that doesn’t jeopardize all my personal money. 🫤

This is so stupid, who in the hell provides their bank account number to company that got hacked and we had to change our credit card numbers, not changing my bank account number for their stupid security system. 

I guess when the new iPhone comes out in a few months, will just change carrier and get a new phone somewhere else. 

Be wary of giving out debit card info. It is a direct link to your checking account. If Tmobile gets hacked, your entire checking account can be wiped out. When Home Depot was hacked years ago, our contractor had paid for his supplies with his debit card. The BIG bank that the card was thru would not reimburse him and kept directing him back to Home Depot. HD would then direct him back to the bank. It was 10K worth of his money gone. Even tho the financial institution is supposed to be responsible for any fraud on both your CC and your Debit Card, you will feel much more pain if it's on your Debit. This will mean that you won't have any money in your checking account to pay your other bills. Then you will have to fight the bank to get the money recovered. Also will have to deal with all the other things that may have come back with no payment since there was no money in your checking account.