Are you a T-Mobile customer with a grandfathered rate plan that you've had a death grip on for a while now? If so, you'll want to keep an eye on your mailbox in the coming days, as it appears that T-Mobile has started alerting some customers that it will be replacing their grandfathered plans with newer offerings.
T-Mobile has confirmed to Engadget that, in an effort to reduce complexity and cut down on the number of rate plans in its systems, it will be replacing the grandfathered plans of some of its existing customers. Most of the details of this decision are still up in the air, but T-Mo says that most folks will receive a new plan that's comparable to or better than their grandfathered plan at a similar price. Customers that are affected by the switch also have the option of leaving T-Mobile without an early termination fee until Feb. 1, 2014. The carrier's full statement is as follows:
"Maintaining thousands of rate plans is the norm in the industry, but we think it creates unnecessary complexity. Simple is better, which is why we're reducing the number of older plans in our systems. We're giving customers on these plans the opportunity to choose a plan that best meets their needs. For the vast majority, their plan will provide similar or better features at a comparable price."
One T-Mobile customer has already been alerted to the magenta carrier's decision and has posted the notice of change online. The letter explains that the customer's old plan will be "retired" in November and replaced with a new "Select Value" plan that includes unlimited talk, text and 4G data for $45 per month.
Losing a grandfathered rate plan is always kind of a bummer, especially if you've been holding on to it for a long time. The good news here is that at least T-Mobile is giving its affected customers some heads-up about its changes and providing them with new offering that appear to be exclusive to those that are losing their grandfathered plans. With the switch scheduled for November, expect more details on T-Mobile's plans for these grandfathered customers to emerge in the coming weeks.
Via Engadget, TmoNews, Howard Forums
