New York sues T-Mobile of alleged fees for unwanted services and charging illegal taxes and selling used phones as new devices

New York’s Department of Consumer Protection has sued T-Mobile allegedly sold used phones as new devices, charging illegal taxes and charging fees for unwanted services.

The lawsuit says there were more than 2,000 violations of the city’s consumer protection law which were revealed in consumer complaints and a year-long investigation by the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. It found deceptive practices in stores across the five boroughs. The city said in the suit that dozens of customers in New York complained in the last three years about buying what they thought were new phones from the prepaid brand that were actually used. Some verified with the device maker that the smartphones had been activated previously.

Other customers said they were enrolled in a phone-financing program that inflated the price of their device without their knowledge, and that in some cases their credit scores had been ruined, according to the suit.

Stores tacked on fees which were illegal taxes, the suit alleged.