Over the past year, traditional phone carriers such as Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T (T) have either scaled back discounts or increased prices for older phone plans, which has caused many loyal consumers to cut the cord on their services and seek cheaper options.
During the first quarter of 2025, Verizon faced a net loss of 289,000 total postpaid phone customers. Analysts flagged that the steep loss was Verizon’s “worst result on record.”
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T-Mobile attracted 495,000 new postpaid phone customers during the quarter; however, that number is 6% lower than the amount it gained during the same quarter in 2024. Its postpaid churn (the number of customers who cut their phone service) spiked by 5 basis points year-over-year.
Related: Verizon’s generous offer for customers isn't going as planned
While AT&T added 324,000 new postpaid phone customers during the first quarter, its postpaid churn increased by a whopping 10 basis points.
Amid this alarming consumer trend, all three phone carriers have been rolling out competitive deals, along with lower-priced plans to win back customers and keep them away from rivals.
AT&T has rolled out generous trade-in offers for new customers looking to snag an iPhone 16 or Samsung Galaxy S25.
Most recently, it introduced its new AT&T 55+ Plan, which aims to attract older customers. The plan offers customers age 55 and older one phone line for $40 a month and two phone lines for $35 a month, with autopay and paperless billing discounts activated.
AT&T customers raise red flag about a major issue
As AT&T continues to roll out new deals, some customers are starting to regret switching over to the company due to higher-than-expected monthly bills.
In a recent post on Reddit, an AT&T customer alleged that the phone carrier has added extra charges to their monthly bill and has “lied” to them for months.
“We got pulled from T-Mobile with a deal and have had nothing but horror since. AT&T has kept sneaking in deals we haven't asked for or agreed to and [we] have spent hours of our lives in stores to only be told we have to call the help line, spent hours on hold to be told we have to go in store, and we can never go back to T-Mobile because we had a grandfathered-in Sprint line. AT&T has done nothing but lie to us. And doesn't seem to want to help in any meaningful way,” wrote the AT&T customer in the post.
Related: AT&T quietly issues stern warning to customers
They claimed that AT&T attracted their business by offering them a lower monthly price than what T-Mobile offered; however, AT&T failed to send them all of the phone replacements they were promised.
In the comment section under the post, some AT&T customers flagged similar pricing issues with the company.
“I’m in the same boat as I switched over from T-Mobile as well. AT&T quoted me a different price than what I’m paying monthly,” wrote another AT&T customer.
“I’ve had issues with them as well. Always some pricing issue. I usually use the live chat. I called this month since the bill was the same as last month but I was told it would be cheaper. They said it’ll be starting August, we’ll see. I’d rather not switch, but the pricing stuff is quite frustrating. We were paying for something I had no idea about,” said another user.
AT&T risks losing more customers
The backlash comes during a time when many Americans across the country are seeing their phone bills creep up in price.
According to a recent report from Doxo, the average amount 94% of Americans spent on phone bills per month last year is $121, a 2% increase from what they spent monthly in 2023.
More Retail:
- Costco quietly plans to offer a convenient service for customers
- T-Mobile pulls the plug on generous offer, angering customers
- AT&T makes generous offer to older customers
If AT&T frustrates customers, it risks losing their business, as the company faces a growing threat.
Cable companies have surprisingly seen an uptick in phone customers this year. They have been offering customers bundle options on TV, mobile and internet, which allow them to save money on these services.
According to a recent report from MoffettNathanson, Spectrum, Comcast, and Altice USA added 886,000 new phone customers during the first three months of 2025, up from the 804,000 they added during the same time period last year.
Related: T-Mobile announces free new perk for customers after major loss
