Advertising Review Board Finds T-Mobile Failed to Fix Misleading Savings Claims

The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) has ruled that T-Mobile did not comply with recommendations to stop misleading cost-savings claims for its wireless plans.

The case, brought by Verizon, centered on T-Mobile ads claiming customers could save up to 20 percent compared with rivals. NARB upheld earlier findings that the claims were unsupported and said revised ads still suggested savings came from plan prices alone, despite relying on bundled third-party services.  

T-Mobile argued that it had made substantial changes to its advertising, acted in good faith, and that several challenged advertisements had already been discontinued. T-Mobile also asserted that its new claims were “materially different” from those previously reviewed, and therefore NARB should not conduct a compliance inquiry.

NARB concluded that T-Mobile’s new disclaimer language was not sufficiently clear to put reasonable consumers on notice that the price comparison included the cost of ancillary services beyond basic cellular service.