Several users in various online forums have recently reported that FreedomPop has automatically updated their free plan to a paid plan costing $3.99/month. Customers have stated that they received an email giving them the option to opt-out of the upgrade. Those that didn't see the email or respond to it, had the upgrade forced upon them.
BestMVNO obtained a copy of the email via a SlickDeals thread.
The email being sent comes with the subject line "FreedomPop News," which is not exactly eye catchy and does not clearly relay the significance of the email. It states to subscribers:
"Good news, you qualify for FreedomPop's Pro 500 MB plan which includes your current 500 MB of high speed data PLUS our new VIP customer service and data rollover. Your account will be upgraded to the Pro 500 plan at your next billing cycle at which point your new plan price will be just $3.99/month.
If you would prefer to keep your existing Basic plan, please use the following link and make selection to continue with existing plan:
my.freedompop.com/sprint-planNote: If you have multiple accounts, please make sure you are logged-in the correct account. You are required to do this step for each account.
- FreedomPop Support"
The FreedomPop free plan that customers seem to be getting upgraded from appears to be the one that uses the Sprint network. That plan includes 200 minutes, 500 text messages and 500MB of data. FreedomPop also has a free plan on the AT&T network that includes 200 minutes, 500 text messages and 200 MB of data. It doesn't appear that those on the AT&T based plan are receiving the same email and account upgrade.
It is not known why FreedomPop is forcing the upgrade on select customers. BestMVNO has reached out to several representatives from FreedomPop for comment but had not yet received a response at press time.
My daughter is a current FreedomPop customer, and says that she isn’t surprised that FreedomPop is pulling this. She doesn’t have credit card info on file with them (because she doesn’t yet have a credit card), but will monitor her email account closely to make sure she isn’t one of the targeted customers. (Once she has a full-time job, she plans to switch to a paid plan from another provider.)
FreedomPop is garbage and should be avoided. Trust me…you do not want them to have your credit/bank card info.
Avoid them. I made a mistake and ordered 2 Sims. Then I went online and made sure I was on their free plan. I didn’t even take the Sim cards out of their packaging, and then forgot them in my winter jacket. Until my wife checked my credit card statement and found 15$x2 charges each month. Getting money back is impossible. Getting a live person to talk impossible. Ended up disputing charges through credit card company. That went smooth ( I guess credit card company had dealt with this issue before) so avoid, check your cc statements. The only way to use them is with a free plan and a prepaid Visa or similar.
They have always been fast replying via DM on twitter. Once had an accidental charge and they reversed it right away.
I recommend freeUP mobile. 1000 mins or text. And it’s free
FreedomPop has been taking money from my account