A T-Mobile class action suit seeks payback for allegedly disguising fees as regulatory charges. An expert says the charge may have cost you “hundreds of dollars.
TikTok user and legal expert Angela Kim Cenedella (@thelawyerangela) has exposed many price-jacking techniques over the years. Now, she’s addressing a recent lawsuit against cell service provider T-Mobile.
According to Cenedella, the suit alleges that T-Mobile has been couching a charge on its bills to appear as if it’s a government fee. It isn’t.
She discussed the suit in a video posted on Wednesday. So far it has over 690,200 views.
The T-Mobile class-action suit
“A class action was just filed against T-Mobile for allegedly hiding fees from you and then trying to trick you about the name of the fee,” Cenedella states in the video.
“See, they call this the Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee,” she claims. Cenedella states that the fee is “not even in your subscriber contract,” and isn’t “even revealed to you until your first bill.”
“It’s written to sound like a government fee, a pass-through fee, a regulatory fee,” she claims but the lawsuit alleges that the fee is a for-profit “cash grab.”
“It’s not tied to any specific regulation or any government fee it’s just meant to boost their bottom line, allegedly,” Cenedella says.
The lawsuit alleges that the charge is intentionally listed next to an itemized list of government fees and taxes to appear as if it is a state or federal fee.
“Allegedly to confuse you,” she says.
Even though the fee is only a few dollars every month, Cenedella claims that it can cost consumers hundreds over the years.
“They should have disclosed it to you in a way consistent with our consumer protection laws,” she concludes.
‘Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee’
So, what is the fee?
On its website, T-Mobile states “This fee is not a government tax or imposed by the government; rather, the fee is collected and retained by T-Mobile to help recover certain costs we have already incurred and continue to incur.”
“The Regulatory Programs component helps defray costs for funding and compliance with government mandates, programs, and obligations.”
In basic terms, the fee passes on T-Mobile’s costs onto its consumers.
As of Feb. 19, 2022, the fee for voice lines is $3.49.
According to USA Today, the lawsuit states “T-Mobile’s Subscriber Agreement lacks any mention of the RPTR while omitting how ‘much is charged, when it is charged, and that it is charged per line.’”
In addition, the suit alleges, “The fee is disclaimed in the ‘Government Taxes and Fees’ section to disguise it as a government charge, passthrough fee, or another regulatory-mandated fee.”
Do other services charge the fee?
Per FCC regulations, all cell service providers must contribute to the Universal Service Fund, which helps to fund several government telecommunications initiatives.
While some providers pay this contribution themselves, most of the major providers adjust for it by charging their subscribers.
According to Money, “Prepaid service providers like Cricket and MetroPCS absorb the cost, the Big Four carriers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon) pass that cost along to you.”
“Wireless customers pay about $5 billion annually in Federal Universal Service Fund surcharges, the Tax Foundation estimates,” the article states.
However, the suit only names T-Mobile due to what it alleges as deliberate obfuscation on its bills.
The Universal Service Fund
Per the FCC, The Universal Service Fund helps finance four initiatives: Connect America, Lifeline, E-Rate, and Rural Health Care Support.
Connect America “provides support to certain qualifying telephone companies that serve high-cost areas,” to ensure competitive rates.
Lifeline assists low-income consumers in paying their monthly telecom bills.
E-Rate provides TelCom and internet services for education.
And Rural Health Care Support assists “rural health care providers to pay rates for telecommunications.”
Viewers weigh in on T-Mobile fees
In the comments, users said they’ve noticed extra fees tacked onto their T-Mobile bills.
One user wrote, “I was paying over $267 per month for two lines! It was outrageous!!”
A second viewer commented, “Extra fees brought [my bill] to about $160 a month.”
Other viewers asked when and if they could join the suit.
“Please update me when I can sign up,” one wrote.
Another added, “Need to know where to file!”
@thelawyerangela Send this to your friends who have T-Mobile #tmobile #lawsuit #classaction #classactionlawsuit #cellphone #iphone #consumerlaw #bills ♬ original sound –
LAWYER Angela
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The Daily Dot reached out to Cenedella via Instagram and TikTok Messenger for further comment. We also reached out to T-Mobile via email for comment.
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