Consumer Cellular
Is This Your Business?2.2
3.9
Overall Score
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Knowledgable Consumer Hightstown, NJ
Terrible!! If I could give it a zero stars I would.
There is so much small print items it is to the point of misleading. Customer service is no help whatsoever, seems to take pleasure in saying no, we can't, and twisting or manipulating words to disguise unauthorized increase in cost of plans as a 'benefit'. Additionally, many important features commonly available on traditional services even prepaid, such as hotspot, are NOT available unless you buy a Consumer Cellular phone.
The data usage shown on the phone is very difference then the data usage that Consumer Cellular alleges to have been used and their effort to improperly so-called upgrade data service, falsely asserting it is to avoid overage fees. In fact, Consumer Cellular does not have any overage fees thus there are no overage fees to avoid. This advertisement is false and misleading with the intent to defraud the consumer.
Additionally, consumer cellular ignored the credit check initially successfully run for Easy Pay, and attempted to unlawfully run a second credit check upon my return to complete activation of service.
No one and customer service voluntarily supplies or offers relevant service information or account information unless asked, and then attempts to not answer or skirt around an actual answer in an attempt to avoid supplying affirmative relative service information.
After 1 month of their so-called free service promotion period, I have no desire to use such a disreputable service.
Aarp is clearly getting kickbacks as they only mimic and support only CC NOT the customer.
CC targets seniors who do not understand what their rights are and vulnerable to predatory companies which is exactly what consumer cellular is-a predatory company.
Do yourself a favor and stay away from Consumer Cellular and encourage your elderly loved ones or even not so elderly, to stay away from Consumer Cellular it's not worth the rip off and deceit that is this predatory company.
4 years ago
Mary Whitehall, NY
This company is a rip off, i would not recommend this company to anyone. I was with consumer cellular for 10 yrs never had a problem, til a week ago when i switched to spectrum amd cheaper, i paid my bill of 34.00 for the month of april, on april 12th is when i went to spectrum for cell services. Within a few days I get a bill from consumer stating i have to pay 28.00 more for the of april, of course i called consumer and ask why i got a bill of 28.00 for april when i paid this month of 34.00, they couldn't give me a reason. Told them. I am not paying another amount for April when i already paid my monthly bill. They have done this to few other's i know, I'm very happy with spectrum cellular have great plans and cheaper. For anyone looking into consumer cellular think again they will rip u off.
4 years ago
Karen Philadelphia, PA
They suck. I changed my due date for payment. The representative on the phone did not mention that they would prorate 4 days and add it to my bill. I found this out by going on line and noticed the new due date with the substantially larger amount that was due on the new date. I figured I would be ok with paying the new higher amount on the new due date as reflected on the web. However, they took money out on the 6th of March which made other items in my bank account to bounce and took my bank account to a deep negative balance. Then on the 10th (the new date) they attempted to take an amount again. There was no money there due to the negative balance so they shut the account off. When I spoke with them about it initially they could not explain why that happened. Like a good con man they got better with explaining away their transgression. "Mame if you have the copy of the bill for the new due date maybe we can help you." This is the third time burned by them. They are never wrong, fraudulent, and I hope they go out of business. Horrible customer service I believe because the large part of their client base are senior citizens and they figure they can get over."
5 years ago
Rick Thomas Carmichael, CA
Service is OK, not great. A lot cheaper than Verizon. Their billing, on the other hand, is a little draconian. If money gets a little tight and you can't make a payment right on time, they'll shut you off, even if you WERE current. I've been shut off for owing as little as $35. I also can't get downloads via text.
5 years ago
Anonymous Topeka, KS
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! I was trying to move a number from Straight Talk. The agent at Consumer Cellular did not do his end correctly. My Straight Talk time ended; therefore, I would have to pay another month of Straight Talk to get the phone number pulled to Consumer Cellular. There was a promo for a free month, which I LOST due to their errors. By the time my phone was set up, the promo was over. I was sent 1 SIM card that they did not even know had been sent according to their records so I had to wait for another. I spent OVER FIVE HOURS trying to talk to a live person who it ended up could not fix anything unless I paid another month with Straight Talk first. If I did not pay the additional month with Straight Talk I would lose that phone number. NIGHTMARE ON CONSUMER CELLULAR STREET. They do not have great customer service. They do not make things easy. FALSE ADVERTISING on television.
5 years ago
Diane A Denton, TX
Called In December to switch from Sprint to CC. Was told I had to pay $150 for 3 phones. I didn't have it then. Called back in February, and they advised I could only get 2 phones on payment plan? So I've called 3 times this weekend to get the 2 phones. Every time I call it's a different answer. Need credit check, which in December they didn't need? Was initially told $100, to send. Now it's $174 because you have to pay taxes on total cost of phones. Very deceptive and misleading. Their customer service reps need consistent training. One time I called, I got a new agent who kept putting me on hold? I was going to switch because they are cheaper, but at what cost? Reading these other statements, especially from children who's parents have died, really is disgraceful. I think for now, I will stay with Sprint.
5 years ago
Consumer Cellular is HORRIBLE Bell, CA
ZERO STARS! Buyer beware! I switched to Consumer Cellular and paid in full for an iPhone XR 3 months ago. Connectivity has been awful unless it's connected to WiFI, I discovered this while traveling. Phone calls in the Bay Area were dropped at least 75% of the time. Customer service has been HORRIBLE After my 12th call, and third message for a supervisor to call me and help, it was discovered I was given the wrong SIM card. This poorly trained customer service rep sent me a new SIM card in hopes of my reception improving. Per this rep, Consumer Cellular should have given me a SIM card that works with the At&T towers, instead they gave me one that works with the T-Mobile towers. T-Mobile is not readily available where I live or in the Bay Area. The new SIM card took 7 days to arrive, and again it was the wrong card. This time (14th call) the phone was totally dead. They had disconnected old card, and new card was not compatible. At this point, because I had ZERO cell service, I asked to have correct SIM card overnighted, they refused, quoting, once again, policy and procedure that was worthless in helping fix their mistake.
I am now without cell service until new SIM card arrives, and based on past experience, we don't even know if this SIM card with work. I asked if I could cancel service and switch my 3 month old iPhone to another carrier such as AT&T or Verizon. The supervisor at Consumer Cellular told me I had to own the iPhone with them for 180 days before switching carriers. Keep in mind, I paid for this iPhone in FULL, it's MY PHONE, but I am not allowed to switch carriers? I am left paying for service that does not work at all, and have to wait another 3 more months before I can leave Consumer Cellular
If you value your time, need working cell reception, and competent customer service, you will choose to take your business elsewhere.
5 years ago
Totally Bummed Anderson, IN
Well, I saw all the advertisements, and thought I would call and see what the deal was. After waiting for more than 5 minutes, I finally got a Customer Service Rep on the line. She was very amenable and fairly knowledgeable, and I ALMOST got signed up for their service. The clincher was when they asked for the last 4 of my SSN and then tried to run a Hard Credit inquiry against my credit. It didn't work She asks me for my full SSN....and hesitantly I gave it to her. She comes back and says that they can not verify my credit status, so I will have to give them my credit card and they will auto bill me. Now, I know what my credit score is (over 800) and there is no reason for them to require me to be on auto billing, so I asked to speak with a supervisor. She politely says that they can not over ride the system, and it will do me no good. So I hurriedly check my score to see of something had happened, and surprise, same old great score. Now I get to the manager. He rehashes the same thing that the lady had stated, but I insist that there is something wrong with a system that requires someone with a credit rating of over 800 to be on auto billing. I ask if that is actually a requirement, and he states it is not, that it is solely based on credit references. So I am back to why then is this happening? The supervisor then tries to put in the information in case there was something entered in error, only this time he actually asks me for my credit card information as well. Still didn't go through. It turns out that since I have "locked" my credit accounts on all three of the Credit Bureaus, and they validate against Equinox, they can't validate the credit status because they are not just running an inquiry, they are trying to do something else (what, exactly, I don't know, but the way they were running it was not a credit search, more like a opening of a line of credit, which was locked). The supervisor says, "ah, that is it. You need to lift your lock on your credit." Which I say no way. Bottom line, this whole episode left a bad taste in my mouth and I did not get their service. If this was the example of the kind of service I was going to receive, I wanted no part of it. I can't believe that I am going to say this, but I am running back to AT&T. AT&T may not have the best prices, but they at least know what the heck they are doing.
5 years ago
Anita Privett Austin, TX
Only two bars of service in my home. (I live in Austin, TX). GPS service is unreliable. You cannot count on the phone to find and display the place you want to go. Also, away from WIFI and need a definition? The phone may offer to find the information later and send you a notification when it is ready. Customer Service always has something to suggest but it doesn't help unreliability. of cell data connections.
5 years ago
Bob S West Columbia, SC
This carrier sold me their flip phone that couldn't send or receive images in a text & their tech dept said there's nothing they could do about it so I was getting ripped off paying for service they wouldn't deliver & stuck with a useless $50 phone so I quit using them. Now they're pestering me constantly for a $15 unpaid balance with collection agency threats that I twice told them I refuse to pay for crappy service but they're just too retarded to get it & won't sit down & shut up so they've got me annoyed enough now to punch back at these arrogant morons. These retards must have already spent more trying to collect this bill than it's worth. There's many other carriers way cheaper than these clowns, I wouldn't recommend these guys to anyone!
5 years ago
Dale Gruenke Sheboygan Falls, WI
Our phones and Hotspot device were purchased from US Cellular. Their phones and devices will not work on AT&T or T-mobile's network and vice versa. When we tried to switch to Consumer Cellular, none of our phones or devices worked. Their customer support staff told me to get in my car and drive close to an AT&T tower 5 miles away so the phone would work. It wasn't until we talked to US Cellular to have our numbers ported back to US Cellular that our US Cellular rep told us their equipment doesn't work with AT&T or T-Mobile, nor will AT&T or T-Mobile equipment work with US Cellular service. You would think when you contact Consumer Cellular to switch and you want to bring your own phones and devices, they would ask what service you are using to determine if you will have to purchase new phones /devices in order for their service to work. Nobody explained this when we called Consumer Cellular to switch, and neither of the two different customer support people told us about this. Extremely disappointed that Consumer Cellular would not be up front with this. It would have saved us a day of frustration trying to switch service only to find it won't work with our phones. We will stick with US Cellular as they are much better educated and offer full disclosure of the options you have with them.
5 years ago
Rebecca Schweer St. Petersburg, FL
My ATT Galaxy 8+ was stolen August 2018 and I had a year on my contract. My husband bought a S9+ from Consumer Cellular. To keep my number, I had to stay with ATT. The S9+is defective. I've done 2 master resets with Samsung, taken it to Target for Consumer Cellular employee to "fix" it and a 3rd reset that took over an hour with another employee on the phone. 6 months and it STILL stalls, shuts down, over heats and looses battery life. The refuse to do anything unless I do another master reset! I have lost contacts, photos, passwords and apps, even after backing up to cloud. This piece of garbage is unacceptable!
5 years ago
Uche Ehiogu Cameron, NC
This fraudulent company does hard credit inquiries into prospective customer's credit without their consent. They ran a hard credit inquiry even though I did not request any credit from them. So it was done without my knowing it. I found out when I checked my credit. I called and asked them why they will do this and they could not offer any good reason. To make it worse my phone service have not been operative for the last two days since I bought their service. Their technical support are absolutely mediocre, and of no help to me. I still do not have phone service. I will be switching back to my old service provider. YOU ALL HAVE NOW BEEN WARNED. DO NOT BUY INTO CONSUMER CELLULAR SERVICE!!!!
I wish I had read these other reviews.
5 years ago
Chauncey Kowalsky Vista, CA
We have been with Consumer Cellular going on 6 years. I to this date have NO clue of a bill EVER being less than $30 for EACH phone! Now lets talk "service". I phoned to buy a new phone due to the fact the phone I purchased from Consumer Cellular is a complete piece of cheap crap! Now, in the past 5 years we have had a few problems with our "supposed service" and I got so fed up with C.C. my husband handled it. I went to buy a NEW bigger badder phone and the first guy I spoke to declared I was NOT on my husbands plan! And there was NO telling this KNOW IT ALL anything, in fact , this idiot was so self- righteous, he did NOT even look at our account, had he, he would have seen the MISTAKE done by yet another guy there AT CONSUMER CELLULAR ! All he had to do was take a LOOK! But instead, this well trained brain dead fool, insisted he was NOT even going to speak to me any further! SERIOUSLY! ??? SO HE HUNG UP! THAT'S RIGHT AMERICA, this ignorant little fool hung up ON ME! So, I tried to calm my hot head down and I dialed Consumer Cellular AGAIN! This time I got a complete duplicate of the first idiot I spoke to, this time it was a female! Now I am REALLY PISSED off, this stupid company has more than 1 moron answering phones! Long story short, my husband, (we have been married over 35 years and EVERYTHING we own, have is in BOTH our names!) Well my other half got angry when I told him of what went down with C.C. and all I wanted to do was get a new phone! He called C.C. and guess who answered? The same bimbo nasty self-serving ditz I spoke to earlier whom dismissed my even being a proper customer! My husband read her the riot act and it was well deserved and she actually brought up the account, something she would NOT do when I asked her to! Let me finish this with at NO time was ANY apology entered buy consumer cellualar! Not to this date, and I want to close out our account and do business with a more professional company that actually knows what they are doing! We are going to get rid of this company and move on hopefully this week to a company that appreciates their customers!~ One last thing, our phone bill has NEVER been that $10 C.C. is constantly showing! That makes them LIARS ALSO! DO NOT stay or hire this company, they have NO clue what they are doing! And customer service! It does NOT happen with this company and all their ads on tv are just out and out lies! The 1 star is more than this nasty company deserves!
5 years ago
Debra L Jacksonville, FL
This concept is great however, watch for the fees and taxes which push the final cost up. Also, if anyone wants the flip phone and will be texting stay away. The keys have three letters on each so texting is hard. I did not know this when the phone was purchased.
5 years ago
Christy Johnson Weiser, ID
I tried this company because of their guarantee the first month free. Not only could I not get service I kept getting calls dropped when I could finally get one to go through. Do not use this company. I tried to settle this with them numerous times and they still turned me over to a credit collection agency. I had to go days without service after I tried to switch to them because they sent me the wrong sim card. The correct sim card arrived, and I STILL couldn't get service that was worth anything. They are not number one in customer service, although they make that false claim. I would not recommend this company to my dog. Their representative even told me I still had service with them after I had my number switched back to AT&T months before. I tried to explain to her I WAS NOT with their company and hadn't been for months. She said then she woud shut off my phone. I laughed and told her to go ahead. Of course it didn't work because my service was with AT&T again and had been for months! Very unprofessional of her, not to mention just rude. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY, YOU WILL REGRET IT.
5 years ago
Jerome Santa Fe, NM
I have two cell phones through Consumer Cellular. When I call someone on my phone the caller id states “Cell Phone NM” which is fine with me. My wife’s phone has the name of someone (for security reasons I won’t reveal it here.). In any case when she calls someone it shows the obscure name, no one knows she is calling them, so either they don’t answer, block the number, or other reasons. It has caused problems, which could be serious. Consumer Cellular won’t listen. I called them. Stayed on the phone forever, with some idiot that didn’t belong there. He said that it would take 3 weeks to change the caller id number. That was about 6 weeks ago. No change yet. I give Consumer Cellular no stars (if I could). Looking for some other carrier.
5 years ago
Nadia Sukhova Glen Allen, VA
I needed a pre-paid phone for my mom for 3 days, went to Best Buy and got Consumer Cellular phone which was listed under pre paid phones. when I was following steps for activation, they asked me for my last four of social "to make sure no one else can access my account" ,5 minutes later I had a HARD INQUIRY on my credit. Who would've thought they will pull your credit on pre paid phone??? So I called them immediately, where they said "oh no we are not pre paid phones, we are post paid and that best buy should've never had their phones listed as pre paid". I was calling back and forth between Consumer Cellular and Best Buy with no luck!
5 years ago
Lydia Barker Castle Rock, CO
Fabulous prices. ALMOST all the service I got from AT&T at half the price. CC does not support AT&T wifi calling. Well worth the cut rate price as long as your cell tower doesn't go down! One huge negative: Unless you need the simplest of customer support, their support reps are brain dead. No help at all.
5 years ago
Kim Osprey, FL
There customer service is terrible. Staff is poorly trained. It is extremely difficult to get proper assistance with resolving problems & complaints, even with a supervisor. If you want it escalated you are given the run a round, even by the corporate office. Corporate won't provide you with a viable working number to call, but rather a line with no voice mail that no one answers. Many of the supervisors will give you the polite bureaucratic run a round by repeating themselves over and over and putting it back on you. This company should be ashamed of how poorly it treats it's customer's, including the CEO, who I emailed twice. An FCC complaint was filed and they blew them off too. Horrific company to deal with!!!
5 years ago
Annette Frisa
I don't have any issues.Since signing up with Consumer Cellular, of course my bill went up a little because of the data I was using but it leveled off.
5 years ago
Dave Hobson Gold Canyon, AZ
I agree with all of those who have posted negative comments. I always liked these guys, But not anymore.
When they send you a phone, the vast amount of paperwork includes a card telling you that there are two ways to activate your phone. You can call them and wait on rot, or go online. The kicker is, if you go online, they ask for an activation code. Where do you get the code? After vast research I learned you get the code from the box your phone came in.
Wasn’t there. I called, and after a long time on rot, was told “oh we don’t provide the code for orders shipped. You have to call in”
I asked to talk to a supervisor. That’s not possible they said. Their management is apparently shielded from the public. I was livid. It’s very very poor customer service. The employee did activate my phone. Then, I asked if I could schedule a call back from a supervisor. The rep “put in the request”, and said I should hear back in 24 hours.
Surprise, no call back. I am sure the rep just pretended to arrange the call back, and trashed my request.
I agree with others who have been amazed this company gets customer service accolades, because they are the epitome of customer no service.
Do not buy from this company!!!!!
When I have time. I will write about issues my wife had with them buying me a Christmas gift. Their promises mean nothing. And they truly don’t care.
5 years ago
Anastasia Richmond, VA
I ordered two phones with plans this afternoon. I provided my credit card info and even the last fiur digits of my social security number, which seems odd. The rep told me the order had gone through and I received an e-mail confirmation. Fifteen minutes later, another e-mail told me I must call the billing department to "verify your order". ??
I phoned, was kept waiting 15 minutes, transferred twice, and finally the billing rep told me that to "activate" my order, the company would need photocopies of:
my drivers license,
a utility bill, and
my credit card.
Note, they already had all the credit card info plus the last four digits of my social security number.
In other words,
****THESE PEOPLE ARE NOTHING BUT SCAMMERS, PERIOD. ****
It's one of the slickest scams I've come across, but a scam nevertheless.
5 years ago
Rhea Douville Paradise, CA
Consumer Cellular cut off my service for non-payment after my house burned down in the Camp Fire in Paradise. I did not get a bill, and I also did not get a notice telling me they were going to cut off service. Is it just too much to send a text to the phone I purchased from them? And for the record, I have been a customer of Consumer Cellular for many years and have never missed a payment. In the middle of calling the insurance companies, the utility companies, FEMA, Red Cross, and a whole host of other people on a long list of things to do when your house burns to the ground, I neglected to send Consumer Cellular a check for $28. A payment for a service that didn’t get service in most areas; on a phone that would not hold a charge for longer than two hours. But this phone was a lifeline to me, even though I had to drive to a Wal-Mart parking lot to use it and then drive back to my temporary housing situation to charge it.
When they cut me off, the only call I could make was to their customer service number. I was in the parking lot of a grocery store, and unless I stood in one specific spot, I would lose service, and subsequently my place in a very long line of callers. I was on hold in that spot for such a long time; I was worried about my phone going dead.
Wouldn’t you think that a company who sells phones and phone services would have a way to call people back instead of making them wait? Even the DMV has that service. The DMV!!!
So I finally get through, and the girl tells me my service was cut off for non-payment. As if $28 meant anything to me. So I said okay, let’s just get it paid right now, because I really need the claims adjuster to be able to reach me. Then I told her I wanted to pay the next month so I don’t get cut off again. I wasn’t sure where my mail went, but I was certain it wouldn’t be going to the mailbox in front of my burned out house.
I have since dropped this company as a non-service provider, but just received another bill from them for $23. When I called their customer support line, I was told that the second payment made, on the same day in the grocery store parking lot, was to reinstate service. Now, I’m getting angry. I called again and talked to a supervisor, who said that the second payment was for services because my next statement was only two days away. So the bill is for those days that were not covered by the second payment? The one that I thought would go to the next month? Now I’m confused, and I don’t care about the $23, but it speaks volumes about their touted customer service awards, which you have to listen to ad nauseam when you are on their endless hold.
Comcast and Verizon both provided free services to subscribers and non-subscribers during this devastating time.
Good job Consumer Cellular, be sure and include my $23 in your next profit statement.
5 years ago
Judith Wampole Orick, CA
SENIORS BEWARE!!! I got this phone for my terminally ill husband as he doesn't use phones much. His phone won't work as phone is dead and didn't charge no matter how many times I tried. They are aware that phone doesn't work and still being billed. Called AGAIN just to be told oh well. I cancelled the service but had to pay 29 when I just paid my full bill on November 28th how can I already owe another month plus pro-rated amount of $5.73. They are ripping off seniors. All parties need to notify the Federal Trade Commission and report this company. There are laws that protect all ESPECIALLY seniors. I'm not done with them yet. Also will be filing a claim with the Better Business Bureau for the money they took for services not rendered. Customer service is liars, flakes, uncaring, incompetent a huge waste of time as your issue was not resolved. Even when "SUPERVISOR" gets involved. The supervisor said she's was writing everything in the notes. The idiot this morning said there were no notes in there from any calls except the 12/13th call that I made AGAIN from my Verizon phone which is awesome service and great working phone's. Also if you can't use your phone they will give you credit. CC cheerfully charges whether you can use it or not. You must be proud of yourself for ripping off SENIORS . SHAME ON YOU!!!!!
5 years ago
Shelli Barnes
What I like about them is their low monthly cost compared to my previous carrier and I get unlimited calls and texts Plus the use the same towers as my previous carrier so I get the same service..
5 years ago
Ed Vandalia, OH
Good luck cancelling. My mother was diagnosed with dementia and called to cancel her contract. It has been 3 months since she has used the phone and haggled on the final payment. They did not budge an inch and finally paid the amount even though I tried to cancel it months before. After the cancellation, I recieve a $5 late fee charge. Again, I have to call and wait 15 minutes to speak to a rep. She waived the fee but I wanted confirmation that the account was closed and NO MORE BILLING OR THREATS OF A COLLECTION AGENCY! I made the the agent stay on the line until I recieved e-mail confirmation that the account was closed and there would be not additional charges. After 20 minutes of waiting...I still do not have conformation. SENIORS BEWARE!!!
5 years ago
Timothy T Mulcahy Cornelius, NC
Switching to Consumer Cellular has been a nightmare for me!! It started by them lying to me about being able to use my own phone. When I went to Target they said I could not use my phone after 2 hours and spending $200 on a new phone. I left feeling deceived by Consumer Cellular. I called them but they proceeded to tell me that they were sorry but could not do anything for me I needed to go back to Target and return the phone--taking no responsibility for what they had told me or their agent Target.
I have had the program for 2 weeks and try to make a call but I get a message that my account is empty and I need to refill it. I am a salesperson for building materials and my phone is critical for my clients to get in contact with me and for me to sell. At the same time I start to receive angry emails from my clients say that my phone will not accept calls. I make my way to a land line and call Consumer Cellular--they tell me there is nothing they can do?? They use AT&T and T-Mobile towers and the AT&T towers are down and will probably back up in a couple of hours or so. I lost hundreds in sales and had a lot of upset customers. Consumer Cellular offers me nothing--or I could go back to Target and buy a sim card that will change my service to T-Mobile. I had no idea that I was signing up with AT&T or T-Mobile--very deceptive. So Consumer Cellular is not a cell phone company--they are a call center that can not help you with anything--I have no idea how they got a #1 rating for cell phone provider--They are not a cell phone provider--they are a call center which offers no support and takes no responsibility for anything that they supposedly provide and they are dishonest. Do not switch to them!!!!
5 years ago
mike heller Toms River, NJ
If I could give 0 stars I would. The service seldom works. Calls drop. Calls don't go through. If you are in any kind of building with a decent roof (grocery store, mall, ect) no reception. Sure the cost is low but if the phone never works who cares. To make it even more special the last few days, absolutely no calls incoming or outgoings worked on any of the three lines I pay for. The website also didn't work. No customer service numbers worked and when I finally got a number that did work (went through at least three of the first ones to come up in a search and they are not working numbers) the customer service was not only 0 help but their attitude was horrible. I strongly recommend that no one gives this company a single cent.
5 years ago
Wow Fort Collins, CO
Today I discovered my cell phone will not dial out, message is "my balance is too low." We have unlimited talk and text. Could not call customer service obviously. Looked online, showing nothing wrong with the account, bill is paid on time. In the afternoon, my husband says the phones have started working. Contacted customer service after work as the phone now magically started working and asked what the deal was. Listen carefully: They were informed when they started work today that there was an outage of the T-Mobile Towers. I don't remember in all my years of having cell phone service with another provide of the phone being "down" and not being able to call out for SEVEN HOURS PLUS. When I asked for credit for this terrible inconvenience (what if there was an emergency?) she retorted: It was only down for a couple of hours (a blatant lie) and the supervisors told us when we walked in this morning no credits will be given for this. The phones were probably not working for a lot longer than 7 hours since I woke up to this, possible all night and half of the next day.
Not reliable service, oh, and if you read the contract, they are NOT RESPONSIBLE if you cannot connect to 9-11. I will repeat that, they are NOT RESPONSIBLE if you cannot connect to 9-11 if their 3rd party service does not work. Shame on you for targeting the elderly. We will be switching carriers from CC ASAP after being with them for 2 whole months. What a scam.
5 years ago
John Waynesville, NC
Even though they had complete records of numerous service problems for the 1st 7 weeks of joining their network that including them having me drive 50 minutes each way to a Target so see a technician who promptly told me he had no idea why they set an appointment as he was no in position to do anything, constant conflicting recommendations from customer staff and it just goes on and on. They refuse to offer any credit saying that I have intermittent service so not credit even though on multiple times customer service reps told they would credit as they was all customers to be 100% pleased. Total BS. Extremely disappointed Moving to another carrier. All talk but nothing to back up their talk. Beware
5 years ago
Ms Debbie Parkton, NC
First the tower service wasn't all that great dropped calls receipents couldn't hear me . There's was a time for a whole month couldn't text couldn't even get a credit issued then cancelled then was charged then had too call get that fixed they said fixed no chared then I still get a bill for $5.93 after I was told I owed nothing wouldn't use them again n don't think anyone else should either n what they tell you at the beginning isn't what got so consumer beware if you don't want to be taken to the bank
5 years ago
CindiDe
CC ads say they have great customer service. I beg to differ.
I wanted to go with CC because it's less expensive than other carriers. I wanted to keep my phone and number so I ordered the SIM card, I unlocked my phone so I could change service. After going through hassels with Target and my current carrier, I was finally connected then found I had lost my internet connection which I need. I don't have WIFI at home so the connection was important to me.
So I called CC to see if I was supposed to have internet.. The girl that I talked to said the only way I can get internet through CC was to get a hot spot.
I was extremely disappointed but decided to go back to my original carrier. After I paid over $100 to connect my service, I called to cancel CC. When I told the guy why, he said I should have been connected to the internet as part of my plan.
Then he had the nerve to try to convince me to go back to CC.
I'll only say that I was not real nice to this guy before I hung up.
CC is out of my life.
5 years ago
Annie Seattle, WA
I'm having a hard time believing this company is not a complete scam. My parents switched our family plan form AT&T to CC this week. First, they programmed the wrong phone number into one of the phones and we had to drive all the way across town to have that corrected—only to later find out that none of us could make or receive any phone calls, and texts were only intermittently being sent/received. Aside form being a complete hassle, it's unsafe to not be able to communicate to the outside world. The saddest part to me, is that this company targets senior citizens, who are less likely to be technologically advanced and/or may not be able to easily get around. There's no contact information on CC's website other than a sales phone number, hence this review. I want to warn as many people as possible to STAY away from this company. This company is the reason why the expression "it sounds too good to be true" was created.
5 years ago
Mary Manistee, MI
My phone stopped working after a couple of months. They kept billing me. After numerous tries I finally reached their awful customer service and got insincere apologies and excuses but no help. Then they piled on late fees and refused to work with me. I am stuck for 2 months of NO SERVICE, late fees AFTER I spoke with them, no retraction of the fees when I attempted to pay, no assistance to get my payment done....just endless fogging and flimsy excuses! Most people expect to get something if they pay, besides pure aggravation and mind games. Worst company ever. AARP should be ashamed for supporting their ripoff techniques to low level ncome members.
On one more phone call, I FINALLY got the late fee reversed...but the empty bills had to be paid. I paid them to go away. I still think no one should use them.
5 years ago
KRH Roanoke, TX
I switched from Verizon to CC about 2 weeks ago. I was thinking why pay $35 a month more for the same service, so I switched. Now I know why, service. CC was awful. They put you on T-mobile or AT&T's network, but you have lower priority than the real T-mobile or ATT customers. I was on T-mobile. Totally sub-par. Sometimes calls didn't go through, or they went straight to vmail, can't group txt, can't txt to an email address, txts sometimes took over an hour to reach their destination. I contacted customer disservice, they said it was T-mobile's fault. Then I went to WV (which isn't quite a third world country) and roaming started, on AT&T. Same garbage. Bottom line, 2 weeks was enough, this 69yo senior switched back to Verizon yesterday. Seniors, don't buy the hype.
5 years ago
Carol Seal Beach, CA
No contracts. Advance warning if you are about to go over your data limit, with the ability to upgrade then switch back after billing. Wide array of plans.
5 years ago
Bill F Providence, RI
When I started with CC, I chose to bring my own phone. First, I had to check to see if it was compatible. On their web page, after you select to bring your own phone, it asks for the brand, model etc. It said that my (AT&T) phone WAS compatible. So, I switched to CC. Only later did I discover several problems, such as not being able to attach a photo to a text, nor being unable to text or call Europe. After well over 12 calls, NOTHING has been resolved. They have recommended several times that I buy one of their phones. I don't like that, as it's akin to bait & switch, which is , of course, illegal. I will be looking elsewhere and do NOT recommend consumer cellular.
5 years ago
Richard Alpharetta, GA
I got my SIM card yesterday, called to get the directions to plug it in, was told that after I turned the phone off and on I’d be all set. I Turned it off and on only to find a text telling me it would be 2 ½ hours before it would work. After three hours (it wouldn’t work till then), I called my brother only for the call to drop moments later. It has been over 12 hours and I still can’t make a call. If this can’t be fixed IMMEDIATELY, What do I have to do to return to Sprint? This is my ONLY phone!!!!
Is this typical of what I should expect from Consumer Cingular?
5 years ago
Renee L. Beahm Lincoln, NE
My wife purchased an Alcatel Go Flip phone. After a little over two months the phone failed one night as it was charging. We returned the phone to Consumer Cellular and they denied the warranty claim saying that the phone had been damaged by water. We have no knowledge of, nor do we think the phone was ever damaged by water. Don't buy phones from Consumer Cellular because they don't honor the warranties. We're being charged for a new phone of the same make because they denied us the warranty return. Interesting thing is, my wife was told they would not honor the warranty the first time she spoke to them about the phone not working without having any idea of what could be wrong with the phone. Upon a return call insisting the phone had not been damaged they came back saying the phone was water damaged after we sent it in. How do we know they didn't damage it upon return?? It is all very fishy, and it stinks.
5 years ago
Cullen Duke Whitney, TX
If possible, I would give a "0" star rating. Consumer's Cellular customer service is no better than any of the industry leaders and I believe is actually worse. I went through a week-long process to port two cellphones to CC after buying SIM Card packages in a retail store as advised by the CC web site. By the end of the week, I had been told a different story by every single CC customer service representative about when and how the data portion of the plan would be activated. In the end, CC was unable to activate the data service at all. A smart phone is no better than a flip-phone without a data plan. So I once again ported (in 1-1/2 hours) the cellphones to a leading cellular provider. I returned to the retail store and was told that I have to obtain the refund from CC. So, I called CC customer service and was told that all but the state sales tax would be refunded to my credit card in a few days after my request was submitted to accounting. 10 business days later, still no refund. So I called CC customer service again and was immediately told by THAT CC customer service rep that there is no refund on SIM Card package purchases, only credit against future service. That despite a prominent label and text on the packaging that says "100% risk free guarantee." I then asked to be transferred to a supervisor who smugly told me that the consumer agreement clearly states that there is no refund on the purchase of SIM card packages. This despite the fact that you first have to tear off the strip with the "100% risk-free guarantee" label in order to read the consumer agreement. This is clearly an immoral and illegal deceptive trade practice. I plan to find a class-action lawyer to sue CC on behalf of me and every other consumer who CC has smugly ripped-off. They are not the slightest bit embarrassed about such a deceptive trade practice.
5 years ago
Thoma zanotti Belen, NM
Popularity has created ways that are too long and a myriad of service problems which may not effect seniors with flip phones but do smart phone callers.
I have been attempting to gain resolution on why my Samsung s8 phones cannot call Europe while a simple flip phone on the same crier can. No one gives call backs and no one appears to have any answers.
Although I was quite happy with cc years ago I c as n no longer recommend.
5 years ago
Catherine Vitale Thorofare, NJ
I have had this service for less than 3 months. The coverage is ok. The problem is they notify you when you reach 75% of your data use that they will upgrade you if you reach your data limit. They do not notify you again at 90% or at the time they are increasing your data. The data does not roll over. So, I was charged for 5 gigs, used .3 of a gig and the data did not roll over. I called them and the Rep's response was "over is over" you have to pay the $10.00. I asked to speak with his supervisor and was informed none was available and they would call me back on the next business day. I was not informed when I signed up for this service that I would not be notified when I reached my data limit or that I would automatically be charged. They do not allow for the consumer to just go with out data till the next billing cycle.
5 years ago
Carol R Logan, UT
I have had Consumer Cellular for four years. Until I took a recent international trip, I was very satisfied - excellent customer service, easy to use web site and account management, good rates if you aren't a heavy data user. If you plan to travel internationally, do not even consider CC as your phone carrier. Because they don't support international texting/calling on the AT&T SIM card, which is better for where I live and travel typically, I had to swap out to the Tmobile SIM, which I did three weeks before leaving on my trip. It was a major hassle. I was told I could then swap back to the AT&T SIM upon return. When I was in Europe, the nightmare began. After using my phone on a few occasions to send/receive texts, all of a sudden I was unable to send texts or make calls. And I was unable to access the CC website, as if it was blocked. Using my partner's phone, I contacted CC and was told it was a "system failure". She said that somehow my international service had been terminated - on CC's end. The rep restored my texting while I was talking with her. It took several more hours to restore my calling. This was very disturbing since the following day I was traveling solo in Europe for another few days and couldn't trust that CC would reliably provide service. Returning to the U.S. it was a fiasco to swap out to my AT&T SIM again, and required a supervisor to resolve the problem. When I sent a letter requesting reimbursement of the significant roaming charges incurred on my partner's phone while communicating with CC to resolve the problem they caused with my phone, I was told that they do not guarantee international service because of international towers, etc., etc. None of the supervisors, nor the "resolution rep", could explain why my partner's cell phone carrier had no problem providing service on the same day and from the exact place where my CC service was inoperable. And why I could connect to his carrier's web site but not CC's web site. At no time did CC accept responsibility for the problem, despite the first rep who took my call from Europe stating specifically that somehow CC had terminated my international service and wasn't sure how/why it had happened. I will be terminating with Consumer Cellular since I will be doing more international travel in the near future. And, because they lost my trust and good faith by failing to acknowledge their responsibility for the problem I experienced.
5 years ago
Nancy Springfield, VT
Their marketing and website are misleading. Sure they don't have a "contract" BUT they fail to state UP FRONT that they will run your credit report and based on that information you will either HAVE to establish autopay OR ELSE...those were the words stated to me tonight by Nancy, a supervisor. The "or else" means no service...too bad, so sad. No where is this vital information stated up front. It's only after a lengthy ("friendly") conversation is the credit report asked to be run...and then the gavel strikes. Some seniors/disabled consumers feel obligated to agree to this...making it a CONTRACT. Whether Consumer Cellular agrees to that terminology or not, means nothing. Because the consumer wants the service and HAS TO AGREE to CC's DEMAND of payment type.
This is NOT the why AARP touts this business, nor should it. AARP does NOT only represent the well off retiree's, they also, and should, represent the low income seniors who are living SS payment to SS payment. And sadly are easily persuaded to give their precious financial information to a stranger over the phone.
Please AARP rethink this affiliation or persuade them to change this policy. Perhaps I will reconsider renewing my membership if you did and were successful. Thank you.
5 years ago
A Laslo Oakland, CA
I have a cellular phone and have the misfortune of being a former customer and employee of this company. There IS a contract with the customer, in spite of what is told to you (see Terms and Conditions on their website). If you do NOT have AARP (their 3rd party affiliate) you are forced to arbitrate and cannot sue them, they do NOT give the REQUIRED FCRA disclosure and run a hard hit on your credit AND have permission to dive into your consumer habits and credit further, they do NOT honor the soldiers and sailors relief act for active duty military members, if they sign you up for AARP they charge $16 instead of $12 the actual AARP charges, they will increase your plan if you go over and charge you the greater rate for the whole month and you are responsible for calling to drop your plan back down again. The reps are disreputable ghetto punks and for every SIM card (or new line) they get credit for a sale (so they love switching out the SIM)and have a lowered talk time, they are held to an avg 5 minute talk time and will often hang up to meet their stats, the minute they end the call they chatter about how stupid seniors are "somebody get me some cyanide", the owner has many disgusting cartoons of seniors on his website, they fail to disclose that you CANNOT change your plan when you go over plan, the two towers they bounce off of give them lower priority than their own customers so clarity and speed are an issue (charging in full minute increments to other cos partial minutes), got to say it Verizon has the BEST reception and network out there. The whole industry is moving to embedded SIM cards that do not switch out so, with any luck, they will be gone soon. Pull up the terms and conditions on their website and call your state attorney general and the FCC and report them for consumer fraud in every state you have used their service in or bounced your signal off a tower. Troll them by calling and keeping their reps on the phone for hours. The reason they do NOT have check by phone is that, each time you do it, they have a contract and they are too cheap to pay for the software. If English is not your first language, notice they ALSO did not disclose that your complaints against them on the State website are automatically ignored since they claim it was a miscommunication (other cell companies spend money for a language line). You fought the war to end all wars, gave us tremendous changes in technology, medicine, education. For Christ sake Gates is a senior citizen. I would say to reconsider and go directly to ATT or Verizon on a plan. Also, if you call to cancel, reps used to take the hit of the cancel against their sales and WOULD FORGET TO PROCESS IT. So you might find you are still with the jerks when you thought you left long ago. So make that looonnngg call to have them explain everything that your service/phone can do and call your regulators FCC, State Attorney General, Senator, Congressman. Become proactive consumers. Dont bother with AARP, they get a cut and dont care. Dont bother with BBB who uprates companies if they respond to a complaint, not if they do anything.
6 years ago
KJS - New York
Horrible!!! Tried to go from T-Mobile (very good) to Con Cellular - Horrible!!! (Reason for change, I wanted to pay less for a data plan). After inserting the Con Cell sim card into my iPhone the iPhone would not go past "Searching" mode. For 3 days, 4 hours a day, Con Cell couldn't get it to work. Con Cell manager says "Your iPhone is not compatible with our network". WHAT??? An iPhone not compatible??? She says, "You should purchase a phone from us"????? WHAT???? I said no way!!! And guess what....they locked my iPhone so I can't simply put my T-Mobile sim card in to go back to T-Mobile!!!! Holiday weekend is shot until I can try to have T-Mobile and Apple to get my iPhone back up and running. Thanks for nothing CON CELL!!! Horrible to due to a senior citizen!!! AARP should be ashamed for endorsing them.
6 years ago
Tony G New York, NY
CC has demonstrated a pattern of abusive billing practices aimed at senior citizens, myself included, who are usually less vigilant.
I was overcharged by $61.60 for the month of September 2017 while I was overseas from August 22th to October 2nd and not using the service.
I had requested a freeze of account on August 17. My monthly bills had never been more than $33.00 before, and the cost should remain constant since I used no data service with less than 1,000 minutes phone calls ($20.00), plus fees and taxes (less than $11.00), totaling less than $31.00.
I tried to reason with CC for many times, the responses I got, however, were self-contradictory, false and absurd!
On August 17, a representative stated that I could not freeze my account, and that I had to do it on the 6th of the following month when a new billing cycle was to start.
On Nov 6th, I requested the termination of the service, but was told "I would like to let you know that as of November 10th your account has been cancelled. Because we will in arrears, you will receive one more invoice through today’s cancellation date".
How could it be "we will in arrears"? Looked into the statements that I received, there was a charge of $23.43 for the period of Nov 7th - Dec 6th, 2016 before the service ever got started (I signed up on Dec 18th, 2016). I was then charged and paid through autopay every month thereafter.
A representative in early October claimed that I was charged for $61.60 for the month of September because I changed my service level.
The representative on Nov 10 claimed said that CC has been "hiring and training" and "would like to apologize for any confusion that occurred." Nevertheless, she completely ignored the issue as how to return the unwarranted charge of $23.43 for the period Nov 7 - Dec 6 2016, and the overcharge of $61.60 (September 2017).
I offered to close the case if CC returns $10.00 for its overcharge. Instead, they sent me another bill at $60.24. There people are just gross!
6 years ago
Aaron Lammers Collingswood, NJ
Do not trust this company! They are a complete scam, I ordered a phone, with an unlimited plan. as soon as I got the phone I realized that their "unlimited" plan DOES NOT INCLUDE TEXT! As soon as I realized this, I called and cancelled my order, and said that I wanted to return the phone. They said that I could return it, so I packaged it right up and sent it back. The phone was in mint brand new condition. They then sent the phone back to me, and refused to accept it. They said the phone was damaged. The phone is perfectly fine. It looks like they just took a little razor blade and just made a tiny little scratch on the bottom of the phone, and now they refuse to return it! That scratch was not there when I sent it back. I never dropped it or anything! I never even used it! I just tried to send a text and then I put it back in the box to send it back. If there is a scratch on it it was either there when I got it or they put it there!
6 years ago
Review Source
Charles Lavery Hickory, NC
I like having consumer services phone line very much. I only pay for what I use each month. And customer services are all Americans and speak clear plan English. I'm glad I switched!
2 years ago
