T-Mobile USA, Inc. Unauthorized Enrollment in EasyPay and Illegal Appropriation of Credit Card Information Bellevue Washington

I have had T-Mobile FlexPay since September 2007. To open the account, they required a first month payment by credit or debit card. This payment was a ONE TIME authorized payment only. All subsequent monthly payments were made manually, online, using their One-Time Payment feature, for which any card of your choice can be used.

In June 2008, T-Mobile, without my consent without notification, enrolled me in their EasyPay automatic debiting program. To do this, they appropriated the credit card number I used when I opened the account, which was expressly authorized for a one-time payment only. (They need no credit card on file because it is a pay-as-you-go plan which automatically cancels your service after a period of non-use)

Had T-Mobile bothered to NOTIFY me that they were enrolling me in their EasyPay plan, I would have told them the card they illegally assigned to the automatic payment was not even in existence anymore. No merchant can assign your credit card information to a new method of payment or to ANY charge you did not previously authorize. At the time I gave them my credit card, EasyPay was not even in existence. I asked T-Mobile to send me the credit authorization I consented to that allowed for any "future enrollment in automatic debiting programs." They said that they would have to do some research and get back to me.

After I deactivated the EasyPay enrollment--that they never notified me of and that I never consented to--I noticed a NEW, $4.99 fee the next month on my statement. This fee was added without any notification and is apparently a monthly penalty for NOT staying enrolled in EasyPay. Needless to say, as this is a prepay plan, I decided not to pay for this month and to cancel my account altogether.

Unauthorized use of a credit card is a crime that apparently is not enforced with companies "too large to be charged."

I am thankful that I do not have committed contract with T-Mobile and that I can just quit when they decide to engage in bait-and-switch tactics and illegal appropriation of my credit card information.

In summation, T-Mobile enrolled me in a payment plan I never received notice of and never consented to. Then, when I deactivated this unauthorized enrollment, they added a monthly $4.99 fee to my account as a penalty.

These practices have become more and more common as consumer rights continue to fade in the face of the growing monopolies in banking, telecommunications, cable television, insurance and other industries.

Ettringermedia
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.