RestockingFees
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T-Mobile lauches new individual and family plans right on schedule
As rumored, T-Mobile overhauled its individual and family plans today and simplified your options to just three tiers of voice service. Individuals can choose between 500, 1,000 or unlimited minutes, with unlimited text messaging adding $10 and data add-ons ranging from $10 for 200MB to $60 for 10GB. Family plans come in 1,000, 2,000 and unlimited minute varieties while the sharable data and text services cost twice as much as their individual counterparts. There are some odd restrictions, such as the inability to add texting or data to the mid-tier plans and no choice for unlimited voice service without SMS tacked on. We do, however, like the overage-free data options that simply drop to 2G speeds when you reach your plan's threshold instead of shocking you with huge fees at the end of the month. We can also confirm that restocking fees have been bumped from $10 regardless of device to $50 for smartphones, $75 for tablets, and $25 for USB modems and "basic phone devices." Check out the sources for all the details and fine print. Update: Just a few hours after debuting its new individual and family plans T-Mo unleash a pair of new no annual contract choices. $50 gets you unlimited voice, text, and 100MB of 4G or 3G data while $70 pushes the high-speed data cap to 5GB. And, just like the on-contract options, these are overage-free. PR is after the break. [Thanks, Neal]
Apple will drop restocking fees on January 11
A rumor out of 9to5 Mac suggests Apple will drop its 10 percent restocking fees starting January 11. These fees were assessed when a customer brought a product back within the 14-day return and could get quite expensive, especially for the high-end MacBook Pro notebooks or Mac Pro desktops. The reasoning behind this rumored policy change was not divulged, but Apple may be following in the footsteps of Best Buy, which got rid of its restocking fees this past holiday shopping season. This new no restocking fee policy may also explain why some Apple stores were covering their windows last night. Signage promoting this new policy would need to be set up by employees working under the cover of night. Coincidentally, this January 11 date is also the same day Verizon Wireless is hosting an event, we assume to announce the CDMA iPhone. [Via Engadget]
Apple will drop restocking fees on January 11th
9to5 Mac reports that Apple will drop its 10 percent restocking fees on January 11th. We've confirmed with our own sources that this is true. January 11th happens to be the day that Verizon will hold a mysterious event in New York City, presumably for the Verizon iPhone. While this certainly isn't incontrovertible evidence that the Verizon event is actually more of an Apple event, this definitely adds some tinder to the flaming rumor mill. Then again, Apple could merely be following Best Buy's lead, with the 1.11.11 date pure coincidence. Either way, we're fans of open return policies for expensive products, so if you ask us, it's more of a good thing.
Best Buy nixes restocking fees
With just five days left for Christmas shopping, Best Buy has enacted a most welcome plan to get you in the door -- effective immediately, it's abolished the infamous 15 percent restocking fee that the company traditionally charged for a wide variety of product returns. The Consumerist reports that computers, tablets, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, GPS units, in-car video systems and audio equipment will no longer carry the fee, and that iPhones (which incurred a 10 percent restocking fee) are exempt as well. Only special orders will still carry the charge. What's more, the company will allegedly refund any such fees charged since November 17th. Bravo!
