T-Mobile Assesses Hidden Fee Disguised as Government Charge, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

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A proposed class action petition claims T-Mobile has illegally charged customers a hidden fee that it falsely represents as government-mandated.

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The 13-page T-Mobile lawsuit alleges that although the wireless carrier claims not to charge hidden fees, the company has tricked consumers into paying its monthly “Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery” charge by intentionally using unclear and misleading language to disguise it in customers’ bills and subscriber agreements.

For one, T-Mobile bundles the charge—which costs $3.49 per line each month—in the “Government Taxes and Fees” section of a consumer’s bill, the class action suit says. The company also describes the fee as a cost for “funding and complying with government mandates, programs and obligations,” the case adds.

These representations create the impression that the fee is a required government charge or regulatory-mandated cost, when, in truth, it is “nothing more than a disguised revenue grab,” the complaint contends.

The suit alleges the company has violated federal billing regulations, which require fees included on phone bills to be accompanied by a “brief, clear, non-misleading description” of the service rendered.

What’s more, T-Mobile’s subscriber agreement makes no mention of the charge and fails to disclose the amount of the fee and that it is assessed monthly on a per-line basis, the filing asserts.

“T-Mobile’s [Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery fee] scheme has enabled, and continues to enable, it to effectively increase its rates without having to publicly announce those higher rates,” the case argues. “And consumers have been duped into paying these hidden charges for two decades.”

The lawsuit looks to represent any current or former T-Mobile post-paid wireless plan accountholders charged “Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery” fees within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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