Electronics

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T-Mobile Intros Honest Pricing

Last week, T-Mobile announced something novel in the postpaid cellphone industry — the price you see advertised is the price you will actually pay on your bill — all taxes and fees included! And they did this by absorbing those charges not raising their prices.

For years, it has been an obnoxious game played by cell providers, cable companies, and rental car companies to grab your attention with a seeming low price, but then jack up the bill with all sorts of junk fees and taxes. And the real costs were never fully disclosed even in the mouse print of the advertising.

To dramatize the deceptive nature of these pricing ploys, T-Mobile released this short video:



To demonstrate how fees and taxes inflate customers’ bills, TMO offers a comparison.

TMO comparison


But lest you think that T-Mobile has completely found consumer religion, plans other than T-Mobile One still play the old game.

*MOUSE PRINT:

taxes and fees extra

Nonetheless, hats off to T-Mobile for taking the first step to bringing transparent pricing to cell service.

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Can You Drench Your iPhone in Water?

A new TV commercial by Apple depicts a senior citizen leaving his iPhone on loud in a puddle of water next to the swimming pool so he can hear dramatic music as he dives off a high tower.

iPhone sitting in water

Here is the commercial:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La4HRfL5tV4

At the end of the commercial, the man finally dives into the pool causing a splash of water to hit the iPhone. And miraculously, it still keeps playing music.

water splash

What you probably missed in the commercial is the very faint disclaimer at the very end.

*MOUSE PRINT:

iPhone disclaimer

In case you still can’t read that, it says “Liquid damage not covered under warranty.”

So why does the ad seemingly tout the waterproof or water-resistant properties of the device if they are not willing to stand behind it? We asked Apple, but all a spokesperson would say is:

“iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are splash, water and dust resistance. The entire enclosure was reengineered to make the very first water resistant iPhone, enabling it to handle mishaps such as spills and splashes.”

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When is “Sold by Amazon” Not the Same as “Bought from Amazon”?

Mouse Print* reader Chris L. recently purchased a $1,900 piano from Amazon and was offered three months of online piano lessons for free as part of the deal.

Amazon piano

When he didn’t receive an email with his promotional code from Amazon for the free piano lessons, he contacted customer service via chat. An hour and 20 minutes later, nine representatives later, and a bazillion bogus excuses later, he finally extracted a promise that he would be sent the appropriate promotional code for the piano lessons. But, he never received it.

Finally he received an email explaining the real reason he never got the free piano lessons — he got tripped up by the fine print.

The original offer and the terms and conditions used magic words that most people wouldn’t understand had a very specific meaning.

MOUSE PRINT*:

amazon piano

********
Piano terms

Although our consumer purchased the piano at Amazon.com, he did not buy it from Amazon.com. He bought it from a third party marketplace seller found on the Amazon website and the order was “fulfilled by Amazon” meaning that Amazon shipped it out for the seller. The promotion, however, required that the piano be “sold and shipped” by Amazon alone.

Would anyone ever catch that nuance? And why was it promoted on a page where the offer didn’t apply?

Fortunately for Chris, the actual company providing the free lessons, Skoove.com, provided him with three months of free lessons after he sent them proof of purchase.