BBB National Programs – which grew out of the Better Business Bureau – has said that the T-Mobile price lock guarantee is no such thing, and called on the company to stop advertising it.

The move follows the company increasing the prices of some older mobile plans by either $2 or $5 per line …

T-Mobile price lock guarantee

T-Mobile’s price lock was introduced in January, to replace the previous Un-Contract Promise.

Starting January 18, 2024, customers activating or switching to an eligible rate plan get our Price Lock guarantee that only you can change what you pay—and we mean it!

The company has been promoting it in ads for its 5G Home Internet Backup service, launched earlier this month.

BBB says it’s no such thing

BBB National Programs Division monitors claims made in national advertising, and has a fast-track challenge designed to remove false claims from the air as quickly as possible.

AT&T used the scheme to challenge the ads, saying that a true price-lock would lock in the price for an agreed period of term – or for as long as you keep the plan – while T-Mobile’s scheme doesn’t do this. All it does is let you exit the plan, with T-Mobile picking up the tab for your last month of service.

This complaint was upheld.

In each of the challenged advertisements, the description of the “Price Lock” policy appears in text below the claim and states, with some variation, “Get your last month of service on us if we ever raise your internet rate.” NAD found that a disclosure that “Price Lock” does not lock the price but gives consumers one month of free service if certain conditions are met contradicts the main message of the “Price Lock” claim.

To avoid conveying a misleading message, NAD recommended that T-Mobile discontinue the “Price Lock” claim or modify it to explain, as part of the main claim, that “Price Lock” is a policy that promises customers a free month of home internet service if T-Mobile raises the monthly price and the consumer promptly notifies T-Mobile that they are cancelling their service.

T-Mobile has agreed to comply.

Image: T-Mobile and 9to5Mac