‘He said it was free’: T-Mobile customer agrees to ‘free’ screen protector on iPad. Then she sees what the worker charged her

When someone offers you something for free—and it's not free—what do you do?

One T-Mobile customer says an employee offered her a free screen protector. Not only was it not free, she says she was charged almost $200 for it.

In a pair of videos, user Stephany (@sste.ph) shows the screen protector being applied to her iPad, and how much was charged to her account after. The clips have drawn over 4 million views on TikTok

"Now why that one's different?" Stephany asks the T-Mobile employee as they are rubbing the liquid screen protector into the surface of her new iPad.

The 36-second video only captures the employee installing the screen protector, with little discussion other than the poster asking if the screen protector will come off or break.

In a follow-up video, Stephany shows that she was charged three times for the screen protector, even though she says the employee told her it would be given at no charge.

"I got charged three times, even though he said it was free," she says in the video. "So $45, three times. If T-mobile tells you, 'This is for free,' it's not free. Not at all."

Stephany says commenters telling her to check her account to make sure it was free revealed how much she had been charged.

"If it wasn't for y'all, I would have no idea," she says. "The total was $179. Crazy."

The Daily Dot reached out to Stephany via TikTok direct message, and to T-Mobile via email regarding the video.

What is a liquid screen protector?

Most people who have had devices with large, expensive-to-replace screens are familiar with the idea of the traditional plastic screen protector that sits on top of the screen. Rarely seen without an air bubble or two, the film functions as a barrier between the real glass of the screen and dirt, debris, and fingerprints.

One step up is glass screen protectors, which often bear the brunt of impact from drops, scrapes, and other incidents that could shatter your screen.

By absorbing and dispersing the impact, glass screen protectors will shatter so that the screen of your device underneath does not.

Liquid screen protectors are a liquid silicon dioxide applied directly to a device's screen. This creates protective surface similar to what is achieved by a glass screen protector.

How do they work?

Liquid screen protectors are applied as a liquid that bonds to the surface. The layer protects the screen underneath from scratches, debris, and even cracks without having air bubbles. It can also be applied to curved screens.

It can last up to two years and can be removed at any time using a remover from the manufacturer.

'NOTHING is free.'

Several viewers advised that anything described as "free" in a retail store is something to heavily question.

"I worked for a phone store and I promise NOTHING is free," one commenter wrote. "Everything is all commission, phones run for $200 and get sold for $500 with 'free accessories'. Ask for ALL receipts."

"The “free” items are always put on your bill," another commenter worth. "Sometimes in weird installments like $3.50."

"I don't believe them when they say free either or in there words 'on us,'" a commenter wrote.

Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post ‘He said it was free’: T-Mobile customer agrees to ‘free’ screen protector on iPad. Then she sees what the worker charged her appeared first on The Daily Dot.