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

fireguy_6364 wrote:

jlfliberty wrote:

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.

funny how that is the first thing people jump to when they dont agree with what is being said.. or the fact that you jumped in on this when i was responding to another poster that pointed out pretty much the same thing i have been saying..TMO isnt the only one that has done this..

 

my point since day one of this was yall need to put in a tad bit of research before posting.. as an extra example...TMO is currently looking into purchasing Mint..one of the 3 fully American companies you just mentioned. which now puts you down to 2 fully American companies.

 

 

anywho...side note for anyone in here..most banks have bill pay..personally have never used it but one would think that their security for such a thing would be higher than just dumping your bank info or debit card info to a company...anyone use the bill pay options and have any info on how it works etc? might be the work around if it has higher security

(funny how) a kid who steals goes right to that (they did it too)

(TMO) So???????????? Whats the point, then it's okay in your world, veiw point? Don't get it.

(most banks have bill pay) Maybe you missed it, bill pay is not T-Mobile Autopay so you lose in my case $240 a year. ?????????????????????????

You doth protest too much, that’s the glaring give away others speak of.

nope.. i just understand that i have zero influence on how a company will make their decisions. this is by far one of them..change is inevitable and you can either work with it or move on..that simple. Bill pay would be shockingly through your bank account..which is what is now required or via a debit card..so the bill pay portion of the bank is the part in question here..does it give more security than just tossing in your bank info or debit card or is it exactly the same? if its higher security then that might be the only work around. which mind you..so far im the only one to even bring up in here as a even a remote possibility...in 6 pages..

only down side is no points or kick backs like you would with a CC. well and the unknown of how secure it actually is or not.

leog1013 wrote:

 

Yes, they're performing a money grab and could care less about your banking information concerns. Look around out here and you'll see who the schill's are for T-Mobile by all their responses loving T-Mobile. Ignore them, no truth in those T-Mobile cheer leaders..

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... 

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.

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.

 

They all get hacked and it's usually around the same time.

https://firewalltimes.com/verizon-data-breaches/

https://firewalltimes.com/att-data-breaches/

https://firewalltimes.com/t-mobile-data-breaches/

BlueSkies wrote:

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. 

Tmobile is in the process of buying Mint mobile.

JD-STL wrote:

@gramps28 why the constant defense of TM?  They don't "all" get hacked.  No wireless carrier has been hacked the way TM has.

Just stating facts. They all do get hacked. And some of those hacks for all three were employees hacking other employees emails to get access to unlock codes to sell.