feT-Mobile To Dangle “Risk-Free” 14-Day Trial For Verizon Customers

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T-Mobile already offers to pay off early termination fees for new subscribers who want to leave their current wireless provider before their contract expires, and in a new, direct attack on Verizon’s huge customer base, the magenta-loving “un-carrier” is offering to pay for folks to return to Verizon if they’re unhappy with T-Mobile after a couple of weeks.

The new promotion, which kicks in May 13, openly calls out Verizon’s “Never Settle” ad campaign, telling consumers to “Never Settle for Verizon.”

Usually to get T-Mobile to pay for you to switch providers, you need to trade in your old carrier’s phone right away. But under the Never Settle Trial, current Verizon Wireless customers would switch to T-Mobile and hold onto their old phones during the 14-day trial period. If they’re happy with T-Mobile when it’s done, they trade in that old Verizon device and T-Mo will reimburse them for up to $650 in early termination fees or unpaid device balances.

If the user decides to go back to Verizon, T-Mobile says it will pay for any associated fees with moving that account back to Verizon.

Payments come in the form of prepaid cards, and none of this happens right away, so whichever way you go you will be out of pocket until you get reimbursed. Even then, that money won’t be in your checking account.

“Last week, I said we would hit right back at Verizon — I meant it,” explains T-Mo CEO John Legere in a statement. “T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network is the nation’s fastest. Not faster for the price … just faster, period… I’m so confident in our kick-ass network experience that we’re footing the bill so Verizon customers can give T-Mobile a try.”

Verizon has consistently charged the most for its wireless service, but the company maintains that its network is the best in the U.S. And while AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have all been engaged in promotional pricing and free data offers, Verizon has been the most reluctant to do so.

Earlier this year, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said the company has avoided engaging in short-term promotions and that it understands the risks.

“[T]here’s going to be certain customers who leave us for price, and we are just not going to compete with that because it doesn’t make financial sense for us to do that,” he said at the time.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist