Sunita SomvanshiT-Mobile’s $200 Gift Card That Never Arrived — Now a Federal Lawsuit
A California customer says a store rep confirmed $200 per new phone line at the time of purchase. Months later, T-Mobile said the promotion never existed.
A class action complaint filed against T-Mobile USA Inc. in California alleges the company advertised $200 gift cards for each new phone line purchased — and then denied the promotion ever existed after customers made qualifying purchases. The case, tracked as Case No. 5:25-cv-03031-JLS-DTB in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was originally filed in Riverside County Superior Court by Purya Ghrabeti and later removed to federal court by T-Mobile in November 2025.
The plaintiff, represented by the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman P.C., is seeking restitution, injunctive relief, and a jury trial on behalf of California consumers who purchased new lines or devices under promotional promises they say were not honoured. As of the latest available information, the case remains a pending complaint. No ruling or settlement has been issued, and T-Mobile has not issued a detailed public statement on the specific allegations.
Case Timeline
From Store Visit to Federal Court
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What the Complaint Says
The court filing alleges this was not an isolated incident by a rogue sales associate. Rather, it argues a broader pattern: that store staff were permitted or encouraged to advertise promotions that corporate policy would later deny, in order to inflate sales figures. Ghrabeti says he found similar complaints from other consumers online after his own cards failed to arrive — a point his legal team uses to support class certification.
The plaintiff’s attorneys cite violations of the California Unfair Competition Law (Business & Professions Code §17200) and the California False Advertising Law (§17500). California is a frequent venue for consumer protection class actions because these statutes allow individuals to pursue claims even when individual damages are relatively small.
Legal Claims Breakdown
Four Allegations at the Heart of the Case
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Consumer Tool
Did a Telecom Promotion Work Out for You?
Use this guide to understand your situation and what steps are available — based on documented consumer protection processes.
Industry Context
Telecom carriers routinely use prepaid debit cards, device rebates, and service credits to win customers from competitors. These promotional rebates typically involve an online claim submission, an activation period, and a waiting window of six to twelve weeks before fulfilment — conditions that are not always clearly communicated at the point of sale. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) maintains consumer information resources specifically covering promotional offers and rebate practices in wireless contracts.
T-Mobile, which serves over 120 million U.S. customers according to its investor disclosures, has built a significant portion of its brand identity around customer perks. In 2025, the company’s T-Mobile Tuesdays programme offered substantial cumulative value to subscribers. Separately, the company has projected service revenue of $80.5 billion to $81.5 billion for 2027, per its financial guidance.
This is not the first consumer dispute T-Mobile has faced. A separate California lawsuit alleged the company changed prices on plans marketed as long-term price guarantees without customer consent — a distinct set of claims that remains in its own legal track. According to T-Mobile’s February 2026 Capital Markets Day Update, the company has shifted its primary reporting metric to postpaid net account additions, moving away from postpaid phone subscriber counts. Promotional incentives tied to new line activations are directly linked to that account growth metric.
If You Have a Dispute
Consumer Documentation Checklist
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The class action complaint filed by Purya Ghrabeti against T-Mobile USA Inc. was covered in the sections above. The alleged events of June 2024 — the store visit in Menifee, the promotional promise, the purchase, and the subsequent denial — were outlined based on the court filing. The legal claims under California consumer protection statutes, the transition of the case to federal court, and the industry context of telecom promotional practices were also reviewed. The case remains pending. No court ruling or settlement has been issued.
