Everybody hates their cell phone company, but you might be interested in a particularly outrageous story of T-Mobile ripping off a college student for more than $2,000.

Here are the facts in a nutshell:

In January 2008, Hannah, a college sophomore at home on winter break, went to T-Mobile for a new cell phone contract. She told the salesperson that she would be sending quite a few text messages per month, and calling a mobile phone in South Africa frequently. The representative sold her a 2-year contract, and told her that text messages over her allowance would cost 15 cents per, and calls to South Africa would cost 69 cents a minute.

When Hannah returned to college three weeks later, she found that her phone didn’t work from her dorm room or at many spots on campus. She complained to T-Mobile but as she stood outside in the cold, where her phone would work that day, the customer service rep said “my computer shows that you have excellent service where you live. If you cancel you’ll have to pay a $200 penalty.” She kept the phone, often having to stand on the street in order to use it. On good days the phone might work if she stood pressed into the corner of her room with her head against the window.

She kept track of the minutes she spent on calls to South Africa but toward the end of the year her bills started coming in 50% higher than she expected them to be. She called T-Mobile asking for help. In several calls, the only advice she got was a suggestion that she increase her text message allowance for an additional $5 a month.

Finally, just last month, on another call to T-Mobile’s customer service, she learned that in September 2008 T-Mobile had increased her rate for text message overages from 15 cents to 20 cents, without notice to her. And, in November 2008 T-Mobile had increased her rate for South Africa calls from 69 cents a minute to 99 cents a minute, also without notice. But most amazing of all, she learned for the first time that if she had been offered an international calling plan at $5 a month back in January 2008, she would have been charged half the international rate all along.

Had she been provided the $5 international calling plan, her international calls from January 2008 through the present would have cost $1,978, including the $5 monthly fees. Instead, she was charged $3,949. T-Mobile pocketed a neat $1,971 for failing to inform her of all her billing options.

The text message increase put another $30 in T-Mobile’s pocket.

Hannah asked for a refund of these overcharges, and again asked for release from her contract without penalty. T-Mobile said no.

Hannah is my daughter and pays her cell phone bills with her own money. I sent a letter to the president of T-Mobile. “Brian,” of the president’s office, then called Hannah. He stated that the store where she had entered into her contract was an “indirect dealer” and authorized “just to sell their products.” He further stated that it was her responsibility to search the website to learn about rate plan options. In other words, T-Mobile’s sales agents and customer service representatives had no duty to provide complete information, even when help was requested by a customer! He offered her a choice of a $500 credit or release from her contract without the $200 penalty.

I am incensed that T-Mobile misled a college-age customer in the first instance, failed to offer meaningful help when she called for assistance, and raised her rates without notice. I am appalled that T-Mobile doesn’t send automatic notifications to customers advising them of less expensive options when overage charges occur, particularly in the hundreds of dollars month after month. I am amazed that they are now asserting that their own representatives have no duty to provide complete and accurate information, even when asked for help.

In this tough economy, preying on financially vulnerable groups such as college students is especially reprehensible. If you’d like to share this story to warn others, or if you’d like to include these details in a related article you’re working on, please feel free to contact me at any time. I’d be happy to provide backup documentation and permission to use my name and details. And of course, if you are a consumer action advocate who can contact T-Mobile on Hannah’s behalf, I would be extremely grateful.

Best regards,