I’m in a co-dependent, abusive relationship with T-Mobile.

Dear T-Mobile,

Thank you for the brand new, free HTC Sensation. I’m very excited to get this phone, and I never expected to get it for free. After all, you’re selling it for $550!

All I wanted from you was to get the contract-renewal price of $199. But see, when my husband called you to renew our contract and order his new phone, you sent his new phone attached to my phone number instead of his. So I couldn’t get my Sensation. It seems like it would be easy enough for me to get my new phone attached to his phone number, and then we’d just switch… but no, that would be too simple because I need to have the data plan.

So the lovely gal in the store spent an hour on the phone with customer service, customer loyalty, and about four other of your departments, all trying to convince them to make a simple switch on the computer: change that phone to my husband’s phone number.

But no, you wouldn’t do it. You said we had to wait for the new phone to arrive, send it back, and start over.

Do you know why we didn’t order my HTC Sensation over the phone when we ordered my husband’s phone? Because we knew if we ordered it over the phone it would take a few days to get here, and I needed my new phone NOW. Not in a few days.

But since you refused to correct the error, we were forced to cancel our whole contract. The plan was to walk down the mall to Verizon, sign up for a new contract and get a phone that I could start using right away.

The only reason we didn’t is because when we called to cancel, you miraculously discovered that lo and behold, we were eligible for a free phone! Oh, and a discount on the data plan for 2 years! Suddenly you realized that you were about to lose customers of 15 years so you finally decided to do something about it.

But here’s the thing, T-mobile. That just cost you a lot of money. A new phone, plus several hundred dollars in data plan discount. It wouldn’t have cost you a thing to just switch the dang phone to my husband’s line so I could get my new dang phone on the day that I needed it.

I’m glad you’re sending me a free phone. I will love it. And I’m glad to get a discount on data. But no discount and no free phone will give me back the time I’ve spent, and you can’t erase the anger I feel towards you.

This is not the first time you’ve pulled this trick on me, T-mobile. Get me so mad I’m ready to quit, then shower me with gifts to get me to stay. This feels like an abusive relationship to me, T-mobile, and eventually I will walk away.

Sincerely,

~Krista