The T1 Phone (a gold cell phone bearing President Donald Trump’s name) feels about as real as Bigfoot these days. It’s been close to a year since the flashy announcement that the Trump family was going to manufacture the very best, most American, most gold-plated phone ever. But there’s no phone in sight, and it’s increasingly looking like there never will be.
But if it never arrives, what happens to the $59 million that Trump Mobile raked in thanks to 590,000 suckers plopping down $100 each as a deposit? By now, you should know how this works. Those folks are likely out of luck. Why would you ever give money to the Trump family on spec? They are just going to run away with it.
After kicking the can down the road for months, Trump Mobile appears to have stealth-added some terms and conditions in April, intended to address the whole pre-order deposit problem. And if the Wayback Machine is accurate, these seem not to be updated terms but rather terms that may have never existed before April 6.
If you’re one of the people who gave away your $100, these terms will not engender confidence that you will ever get your gilded monstrosity of a phone. First, a pre-order deposit “does not guarantee that a Device will be produced or made available for purchase.” You should also know that the “deposit does not lock in pricing, promotions, service plans, taxes, fees, shipping costs, or other commercial terms.” However, that statement is just a few lines down from a banner urging people to “LOCK IN YOUR T1 PHONE PROMOTIONAL PRICING NOW,” with a link to the order page.
The deposit also isn’t for a specific phone but for whatever phone Trump Mobile finally releases, if any: “Device specifications, features, software, hardware components, storage capacities, bundled accessories, colors, and configurations are subject to change prior to final sale. Images, prototypes, beta demonstrations, and marketing renderings are illustrative only and may not reflect final production units.”
They had to get that in there, given that the illustrations of the nonexistent phone keep changing. At first, the phone was going to be “All-American,” all the time. However, the mock-up image appeared to be Samsung’s Galaxy 25 Ultra in a case. Notably, Samsung’s phones are not made in America. But the company has walked back that whole part anyway. If Trump Mobile cancels the phone, they say they will issue a full refund. Of course, if Trump Mobile never cancels the phone and instead pretends that it is a going concern, that route to a refund is seemingly closed off.
Oh, and here’s another fun little thing. Other terms of service on Trump Mobile explain that disputes are subject to arbitration and courts in Palm Beach County, Florida, which have exclusive jurisdiction over enforcing arbitration decisions. But the terms and conditions no longer have an arbitration provision, so your only relief would be to file a lawsuit in Palm Beach County, Florida. An entire lawsuit to get your $100 back, and it can be filed only in the county where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate lives? Good luck on that.
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