T-Mobile drops plan to charge for paper bills
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 | 6:18 PM ET
The Associated Press
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T-Mobile USA has dropped a plan to begin charging customers $1.50 US per month to get a paper copy of their bill in the mail.
The wireless phone carrier recently informed its 33 million customers that the fee would go into effect this past Saturday and would apply to anyone who didn't sign up for a paperless billing plan, in which bills can only be viewed on the internet.
In Canada, charges for paper bills have recently become common practice for wireless providers.
After an outcry from customers and threats of legal action in the United States, however, T-Mobile changed its mind. In a statement posted on a company web page, T-Mobile said it had decided not to implement the fee, "for now."
"Instead, we'll be taking more time to determine the fairest way possible to encourage people to go paperless."
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose office had issued T-Mobile a warning over the planned fee, said in a statement that the company couldn't legally impose new charges without giving customers the option of ending their service contracts early.
"My office will not sit back and let a company change its prices under the guise of "going green,'" he said.
T-Mobile's main competitors, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Nextel, all offer customers a free paper copy of a basic bill but impose charges if customers want a paper copy of a more detailed bill with itemized calls.
T-Mobile USA, owned by Deutsche Telekom, has also been charging $3.49 for a detailed paper copy of a bill and will continue to do so.
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