Here’s how T-Mobile used to describe its old Price Lock guarantee (thank you, Archive.org):
As of today, new subscribers can receive something that’s still called Price Lock, but the terms are different:
The old Price Lock was purportedly a passive guarantee. Subscribers allegedly didn’t need to do anything to keep the rates they started with.1
The new Price Lock (1) doesn’t lock in prices, and (2) requires active involvement from anyone taking advantage of it. Most people don’t memorize or monitor the detailed terms of their phone plans. If T-Mobile raises prices on plans covered by the new Price Lock policy, I doubt many customers will remember they’re eligible for a bill credit if they leave.
The new policy is fine. But it needs a name change.
Footnotes
- I say “purportedly” and “allegedly” because T-Mobile flirted with weaseling out of this sort of guarantee. T-Mobile recently toyed with automatically migrating subscribers away from price-capped plans unless they actively opted out. The company ultimately backed down.
