When it comes to carriers there are no quarters to be given, it’s a dog-eat-dog environment and that’s the way they like it. It’s not unusual for carriers to throw shade at each other’s practices, and today we have Verizon venting about the Un-Un-carrier antics of its big rival, T-Mobile. In fairness, old magenta has brought some of this on itself by performing U-turns on promises or slip-sliding extra fees on customers’ bills.
In a blog post, Verizon has posed the question asking “What else is the Un-carrier going to Un-do?” and posts a timeline showing where it believes T-Mobile has dazzled consumers with catchy announcements before ‘Un-doing’ them at a later date.
Here we go:
Jan 5, 2017: Announces taxes & fees now included in plans.
Aug 6, 2018: Launches Essentials plan. This is essentially a way to bring back taxes and fees (that sure didn’t last long).
Jan 22, 2022: More fees, please. Fees raised on both consumer voice and data lines (sure seems like a lot of fees for a carrier that cut them out a few years ago).
Mar 21, 2022: Connect plan launches without taxes included. But wait, didn’t you say just a few years ago you were doing away with taxes and fees? What gives?!
May 5, 2022: Price Lock. Touted as a win for customers, it promises customers will never see their bills increase. Sounds great if it wasn’t one of the ways they sweetened the pot to get their merger complete.
June 3, 2022: Assisted support and upgrade support cost jumps to $35. Ok, so your plan price may not change, but your admin fee has gone up and it now costs $35 for support? Seems like just another name for a fee.
2nd Half 2022: what else will they Un-do?
Naturally, Verizon goes on to say that it is the only carrier to offer customers both the best network experience and value and that by providing up to $90 in value-added services each month, customers can save a bundle by switching to it.
Why did Verizon post this on its blog?
Well, T-Mobile announced a new offer giving users up to $1,000 if they switch to the Un-carrier from Verizon or AT&T. Users will get $200 per line that they switch over to T-Mobile (5 lines maximum) and also enjoy the benefits of the recently announced Price Lock that guarantees that there will be no price increases for both current and future customers. This would appear to have hit a nerve with Verizon, hence its blog post.
Which one is best?
That’s something that only you can decide, taking cost, benefit, coverage, and your needs into consideration.
