T-Mobile USA review: Sales fiasco!

Sharon N of US
To: T Mobile customers 

Originally US Cellular customer-taken over by T Mobile.

July 29, 2026
I was sitting at home relaxing.  6pm in the evening, I got a phone call from Mark [protected] (Sales Dept; with a foreign accent).  Mark told me that because I was such a great customer with T Mobile that he could offer me $53 a month as a senior discount from my present bill of $86 a month.  I am also eligible for an upgrade of my Samsung A15.  According to him, I would be upgrading to a Samsung S26 ultra.  I was skeptical that this was a scam and told him so.  He sent me an email from T Mobile with my info to prove that he was actually calling from T Mobile.

During this conversation, I was directed at his instructions to the T Life app to place this order for the upgrade.  The choices were the Samsung S26 Ultra and an Iphone Pro Max 17.  I tried clicking on the Samsung but it would not populate.  He advised me to click on the Iphone and he could do the adjustment for me to get the Samsung.  He advised that the phone cost would be $513.  I asked him more than once what this would cost me right then.  He advised that the cost would not happen right away.  It would be divided up into 24 months and I would be charged in increments.  We finished the transaction and I asked him again if this would be charged right away.  He again said NO.  I wrote his name and phone number down and we ended the call.

The very next day, $513 WAS CHARGED TO MY DEBIT CARD.  Being the first of the month, this is the money is from Social Security which I needed to pay my bills.  I immediately called Mark about this.  He tried to convince me that I should have understood that the phone would be charged to my card.  After repeating our conversation to him, I asked for a supervisor.  I spoke with Kevin who identified himself as a Senior floor manager.  After I explained the above info to him, he apologized for the "mistake" that Mark made in giving me the incorrect information he gave me. Mark said I needed to return the phone, once I received it and THEN my $513 would be returned to my account.  I told him, this is not my mistake but your company's (Mark's) error.  I should not be penalized for this.  Kevin also said he would offer me 2 months of free service to compensate for this "mistake".

The phone came the next day.  I took the phone to the T Mobile in town.  I explained the above situation to a service rep at the store.  He said I would need to speak with the store Manager who was not there that day but I could find her at the store the next day.  The next day, I called to find out if the store manager was in.  I was told she was there but in a meeting at 11am.  I left my phone number for her.  At 5pm, I came into the store as I had not gotten a phone call from anyone.  She listened to the above info and said she could not do a refund nor take the phone back there at the store because I would be charged a $75 restocking fee. While I was sitting in the store, Mark called me on my cell phone.  He advised me to take my phone from the rep I was speaking to and go home.  He would call me back and tell me what I should do.  I asked him, "Why should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth after all the trouble and the charges you have cost me?"

The store rep printed me a shipping label.  I sent the phone back the next morning.  Tracking says the phone was received Friday, August 8th.  

I called customer service about my $513 because now I am afraid if my bills paid automatically, it would overdraw my account.  The rep (Ellie) could see that the phone had been returned but the money had not been returned to my account.  She said I would have to wait another 10 business days for the refund.  I told her "that was UNACCEPTABLE! It did not take them 10 business days to remove it from my account, this money needs to be returned immediately".  

The refund happened on August 13th. I called to inquire about the 2 months I should be receiving free for all this trouble.  No notes were entered nor any adjustments made to cause the free service.

I only owe $21 to finish paying off my original phone.  I will pay off this amount and will terminate my service with T Mobile.  If Mark calls you, if anyone from the sales department calls you, or if you see the phone number [protected]  labeled T Mobile, HANG UP!  I was advised that these sales reps get a commission from the service and devices they sell.

When cellphones first became popular I worked as a customer service rep, an evaluator for customer service, a trainer or customer service reps, a lead on the floor and a manager in customer service.  We were well trained and were given the ability to right wrongs and help the customers.  We did not have smart mouth reps because they would either be re-trained or fired.