Consumer Cellular

CC is the worse. They try to scam seniors. We purchased a Grandpad for my parents. They used it for about 9 months and started having problems with it glitching. There was nothing physically wrong with it. My Mom called and the representative told her that they would send her a replacement and to return hers. She received the new one and returned the one that was glitching. She then got a bill for $250 with no explanation. We called and they told us that the Grandpad that she returned was physically damaged and she was being charged for the new one that she received. They returned the old one and someone had peeled the speaker cover from it. They had to do it there because there was nothing physically wrong when we sent it back. We called and were on the phone with several reps and supervisors for much over an hour and came to a resolution that we would just return the new one and they would issue a $250 credit. My Parents are seniors and don’t drive so we weren’t able to return it right away. About a month later we were able to return it. Keep in mind she wasn’t able to use it because they had turned off her service due to the $250 even though during the dispute while the service was on we continued to pay the $42 monthly service bill. Anyway, when we were able to return it we called to have them provide us a return label or at least a return address. They told us that we should return it but they are not issuing a credit because it’s been over 30 days. Meanwhile they never mentioned a timeline for which we had to return it and it wasn’t being used bc the service was terminated for about that long. Last conversation we told them that we are not paying the $250 nor are we returning the device if they are not going to issue the credit. So we sit with 2 Grandpads that are not being used because we have moved on to an iPad that my parents are much happier with. Their customer service is shameful and I can only imagine how many seniors they get over on. I will be writing to the BBB and the owner of CC.

This provider starts out well and good but the longer you stay, they more issues start. From prices changing to data getting slowed down at a lower GB usage than stated to not being able to make outgoing calls time and time again... I have been trying to switch providers and CC has been an absolute NIGHTMARE. First the deactivated my account when I only called to ask about the process of switching providers and eventually deactivating. It then took hours and multiple phone calls to get it back. Then once I began the switch over process, they lied about releasing my number then kept having "Errors" with it. Afterwards, they stated my phone could not be transferred over because I hadn't had it activated with them long enough. When I proved with statements that I HAD they mysteriously had ANOTHER error occur. They then told me "a manager will call about it in 1-3 business day." When I asked to speak to their supervisor for clarity on the issue I was denied and hung up on. Now I'm cell phoneless until they (hopefully) call with I'm sure will be yet another issue. RUN DON'T WALK

Consumer cellular is fine if you are a chubby old lady with piggy jowls. I greatly suspect avoiding contact with them is in your best interest because their phone reps seem to suffer verge dementia. Information is different between reps. One of their huckleberries instructed me to reset my phone and I lost all my photos - it would have been better to provide this info beforehand. I'm not content with reception although my area is loaded with communication towers. I think they'd be better as Toileteers. Consumers is marginal and useful only for the occasional user.

Following Clark Howard's advice, I tried to switch over the Consumer Cellular. I went to their Dunwoody Target location on April 8, 2021, which was the "flagship" store. One guy there who knew less about their phones than I did. I moved two phones, and told him that I'd bring the new phone back the next day, when my wife was available to come in. We arrived at 10 AM, their opening time at that store. Problem was NO ONE WAS THERE. A Target worker did not seem to be surprised. I then tried (unsuccessfully) to get someone from Consumer Cellular on a phone line. No luck. I then called the Target store at Prado. No help there. 48 minites of both of our time was wasted. But, I did get the Target worked to refund my money on that new phone. Then, went back to Verizon to get my old service switched back Total lost time was about 4.5 hours of my time. The frustration and absolute disgust with Consumer Cellular is something I needed to share. SAVE YOUR TIME and give up on saving money. Third world phone service from a company that can't even staff its flagship location lets you know to stay the hell away. William Head

The service was ok basically but I couldn’t use the data away from my home internet service. I decided to switch to another service and cancelled with CC on 3/18/21 but I paid the full month of service. The following month, they billed me for a full month. I called and complained and had to wait two days for management review even though you could look at my Val log and tell there was no activity after the 18th. I got the FINAL bill and was charged another $15!!!!!!! NEVER will I recommend this cell service to anyone. I only had it for 3-4 mos. and was not satisfied. I do not recommend!

I HAVE BEEN WITH CONSUMER CELL FOR 11 YEARS; GOT A NEW DORO 7050 PHONE LAST MONTH, CHARGE LITE DID NOT WORK, MESG. LITE DID NOT WORK , WOULD ONLY RING 3 TIMES AND WOULD FREEZE UP, THEY SENT ME ANOTHER 7050 ALL THE SAME PROBLEMS AND WOULD FREEZE UP, THEY SENT ME ANOTHER ONE IT WOULD FREEZE UP ALEST 2 TIMES A DAY. CALLED AND TOLD CONSUMER TO SEND ME A PHONE THAT WORKED CAUSE I WAS DONE WITH ALL THE JUNK!! THE SUPERVISOR SAID WE CANT DO THAT YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO TAKE THE BATTERY OUT AND LET IT START AGAIN! NOW IS THAT THE WAY YOU TREAT A 11 YEAR CUSTOMER THAT NEVER WAS LATE ON HIS BILL??????????!!!!!!!!!!

Consumer Cellular (CC) plays dishonest bait and switch games and their customer service does nothing to remedy the problem. CC will enroll customers in their basic plan. However, this is when the games start. CC will wait until near the end of a customer's billing cycle and then suddenly post a whole bunch of phone calls that were 'delayed' in being posted. This forces the plan's limits to be exceeded at the last minute and results in automatic enrollment in a higher cost plan. CC also claims to notify a customer when 75 percent of their plan's limit has been reached but this does not always happen. It is impossible for any customer to track their phone usage and stay within their plans limits when such games are played. When CC Customer Service is contacted, the agents do nothing to remedy the problem. CC needs to know that customers are not stupid and do not like being scammed like this!

Worst cellular company on the planet. They are, cheap which is reflected in the quality of their customer care. I tried to move from my carrier to them and the first error was they opened two accounts for me and sent me 6 sim cards for 3 lines! That took 3 calls totaling 57 minutes to resolve. Then I needed to activate my new sim card. I mad 2 calls and gave them the information that they required but neither agent was able to activate my phone. I just finished the third call during which the agent insulted my age (I am 76) and told me that if it was her she would have all the necessary info before calling. I told her that I did and gave it to them twice but did not expect to have to call a third time? I asked for time to get the information from Verizon again and she said, "I will give you 2 minutes, that's it". At this point I told her that their sim cards were going into the garbage immediately and she, hung up on me. Unbelievable, buyer beware this is a ruthless company!!

I purchased aZTE box for $50 to keep my former wire line number but this device from Consumer Cellular allows the number now to come through a cell tower. But the device is defective as the back can not be removed to replace the batteries or sim card. I was treated by a supervisor who "guaranteed" the back can be removed. It can not and she ( a Kayla) said it can and insinuated I was a liar. I asked for a manager and was told no such person and she would not transfer me further up the chain. The customer service is terrible now, having been a customer since 2008. they just do not care. Not worth the savings.

BAIT & SWITCH Based on their website, I had subscribed for a $22.50 / Month 3 GB Plan. I was surprised to be charged $30 instead. Upon inquiry, the customer service rep told me that $22.50 per phone line is only for 2 phone lines. The website does not anywhere show that the charge would be $30 for a single line. CHARGE BEFORE SERVICE CC have charged me the cost of the phone before dispatching the device. LOUSY CUSTOMER SERVICE One has to hold for long times before you get a customer service rep only to be transferred to a different department starting the long wait all over. For a tech company, it is incomprehensible as to why there is no call back option. SOUR TASTE As a new customer, I am left with a sour taste in mouth.

Consumer cellular is very bad in service customers, We lost the phone , Tried to call them , no answer the phone , we tried to chat no ' answer , But they continue to send us a bill asking for payment, They seem do not care what happen to customer , when we lost phone we worry someone will use the phone to do some thing wrong They seem do not care just want to collect money. My case having someone one used ,our phone but I can not find the destination for the call .We call back and forth several times customer service said , any way you should pay by the end of the date you call , Actually we did not use the phone until the date they charged us . It is very bad service , Nerve used Consumer Cellar. Terrible !!!

As a wisconsin resident they failed to tell you that one of there main carriers is ATand T. ATT does not work well in the state of Wisconsin. My reception was terrible!!! I had 50 minute commute to work and never had any decent service. Only in a major metropolitan city could you get decent reception or service. And there customer service, IT SUCKS!

Poor customer service and poor reception. I prefer to check and compare because when it comes to phone companies, none are really that special or unique. They offer us two things, price and connectivity. Price seems ok but not good or great. Secondly, they rely on the ATT network. So my son has service with ATT and when we are doing stuff, we frequently compare coverage or talking at the same place at the same time. We also both have iPhone 6s Plus. I almost always have between zero and one bar. While he has four bars. And when we call someone, mine is cutting in and out constantly and his sounds great. Obviously, there is a difference between how Consumer Cellular customers are treated compared to actual ATT customers. They also try to nickel and dime you constantly. Not great price, poor service, very poor customer service.

Consumer Cellular sucks bought a brand new phone from them 2 weeks ago they never could get my phone activated transferring it from Verizon all they did is point fingers at Verizon and never got my phone turned on so I ended up having to send a brand new phone back to them two weeks later because they couldn't get it turned on they lied to me and told me that when I sent it back it was brand-new that I would instantly get my money back because it was never really used now that they got the phone back as of yesterday today they tell me it's going to take five to seven more business days to inspect the phone because now I won't get my money back until they do an inspection on it and that could take anywhere from five to seven business days which means it could be a couple of more weeks before I get my money back they do nothing but lie lie lie they teach their people their customer service representatives to lie to you I do not appreciate it it's definitely not good customer service and their service sucks I've heard nothing but complaints they even admitted to me that they get back a hundred refund situations per day what does that tell you I certainly don't doubt that that's the only truth they did tell me is they have to process hundreds every day of refund must be a reason y'all don't waste your time

Everything was a hassle, including: *they input the wrong number for porting which made everything take forever *hold times to speak with someone are extreme (hours long), and there is no other way to contact them, and they require calls for everything. *I bought a phone from them that doesn't work right. Because they messed up my number repeatedly, I didn't realize this within the 30 day period and they wouldn't take it back/ make it right *poor coverage (though that's not really their fault - they're just AT&T) *using my social security number for password, ID. That may be more convenient than remembering another password, but it sure seems risky for identity theft reasons. *they didn't mention the taxes and extra fees, so these many hours are wasted because I'm just switching back to my original carrier - there was zero savings and this isn't worth it. So now I'm on hold waiting for someone at Consumer Cellular to answer the phone to cancel my contract with them. Basically, this is a rinky-dink company that is crap. The only good thing I can say is that all the representatives were pleasant people.

NOT WORTH THE HASSELL!! My 80 year mother living in a senior living facility bought basic flip phone in July from Target. She's had nothing but issues with the phone freezing up, getting really hot and not working for days. She's called customer service multiple times they finally told her to take it back to Target to have it looked at. We went to target and they reset the phone by removing the battery and restarting, it still continued to freeze weekly. She called customer multiple more times. On October 2 2020 I called customer service with her and was walked through taking battery out to reset it again. We were told if it happens again she could get a replacement phone we just had to call back. I called today October 17th as her phone froze again yesterday and she could not use it or an entire day. I was told that we had to repeat the battery removal rest, wait 24 hours before we could call to see about replacing the phone because the prior resent was longer than 10 days prior. We were NEVER informed we had a 10 day limit and I asked what do we do when its happens again! I was told just call as they made a note in her account that she's had issues from the start! Since she lives in a senior complex, I don't have easy access to her right now with covid, and can't see her daily and can't keep dealing with her new phone not working and this has been going on since July! So I contacted my phone carrier AT&T this morning. In 5 minutes, They added her to my account for the same price as Consumer Cellular $20 a month and are overnighting me a new flip phone for her for only $10! Now that's real customer service!!! So long Consumer Cellular wish I could say it was pleasant dealing with you!

My husband and I have experienced so many difficulties, lack of integrity, honesty, fraud, and blatant unprofessional problems with Consumer Cellular, we have moved to another cell phone company that values their customers. We reached out to the executive staffed multiple times with no response and no resolution to our problems. Their entire team should be retrained in ethics, leadership and integrity working with clients, and retrained on their system to research and properly help a customer before upsetting customers and speaking untruths on a recorded line. Very terrible company and there are thousands of consumers reviews that have experienced the same issues as we have. Their awards are joke.

My Doro 7090 But now add to your list of problems with this phone and service: The replacement telephone sent to me (my new phone had to be returned within 10 days of arrival because guess what....Yup! The phone FREEZES up all the time.) So when the replacement phone arrived, I was surprised to see some sort of weird black and white modern art picture showing on the monitor on the outside of the phone. I just ignored it for a week since it did not interrupt making phone calls. But when I recently sent that phone back to CC to cancel service entirely, they shipped it right back to me saying that the display window on the cover WAS CRACKED!! So that means when I saw a black and white weird modern art photo, that was actually the defective crack in the monitor making the pixels create an ugly photo. Consumer Cellular sent me a DEFECTIVE PHONE to begin with!!!! And now they expect me to EAT the loss of $50.00!!!

I've been with Consumer Cellular for years and have rarely called. I've ordered new phones from them, and had questions on invoices and everything has been handled well enough. Now, their Customer Service has declined to where they must be putting reps o the phones with zero training. I ordered a new phone from CC on August 17. The order has been totally screwed up and the reps I've spoken with each give a conflicting story on what the policy is and have offered zero help to resolve the problem . When the new phone I ordered from CC was shipped from the CC warehouse in Portland, OR I began tracking the shipment for its arrival. On the promised delivery date, I could see the phone had been delivered to a wrong address. I called CC immediately to see if they could intercept the shipment and have it redirected (CC ships with USPS.) I said I needed my phone - the CC rep could see that the phone had gone to the wrong city - could they redirect that phone or recall that phone and send me a new phone. "No" I was told: "You have to wait for PO to attempt delivery several times, and then the PO would return the phone to the Portland warehouse." I said this could take weeks - or even months. The CC rep said there is nothing else they can do except wait for the undeliverable phone to come back. The CC rep said I could buy another phone and they would try to ship it to me again - this time they would try to get the shipping address right. And then when the mis-shipped phone finally came back to them, they would credit my account. This was over $800 I would be out - waiting for a phone and waiting for CC to try to get my address right. This was not a reasonable solution. The next day, I went to Target to buy a CC phone . This way I'd have a working phone right away, wouldn't have to wait weeks for the first phone to be returned to Portland and then reshipped to me, and wouldn't have to pay for a second phone that CC might ship to the wrong address again. The Target tech guy was great and got the same phone I had ordered. He went to activate the new phone The Target rep had a problem completing the activation and had to call CC. The CC rep said I cannot buy another phone or activate another phone - I have to wait for the phone that was shipped to the wrong address to be returned and then CC will ship it to me again. The Target rep could not believe what he was hearing and neither could I. We kept on putting the CC rep on hold so the Target guy could talk to me and ask "what is this guy talking about?????? I've never heard of anything like this." Both myself and the Target rep tried to speak with the CC rep because the CC policy of me not being able to buy or activate any phone until the misshipped phone turned up - it didn't make any sense. Finally, after about 40 minutes Target and I gave up, and I left the store without a new phone. The next day - Sunday - I received some emails from friends asking what's wrong - they have been trying to call me and my phone's not working. I tested my phone - "No cellular network". I called CC again. After trying to figure out what was wrong with my old phone (an ASUS) the CC rep said "did you try to buy a phone at Target yesterday?" I told her "Yes - but we could not activate it because the CC rep said I could not buy a new phone, I had to wait for that phone that went to the wrong address to go back to Portland and then be shipped out again" This CC rep said "That's crazy. I don't know why he told you that. You can get a new phone whenever you want and as often as you want. and we will activate if for you." This new rep said that the CC rep from yesterday had de-activated my old phone (my ASUS) - so now I had no phone at all. She said they were showing the Target phone as partially activated. I told her I did not buy that phone because the CC rep would not allow Target to complete the activation. I said I have to have a working phone and that I needed my old phone. She said re-activation would take up to 48 hours. So they can instantly deactivate a SIM card without telling the customer, but it takes 48 hours to reactivate a paying customer? She said there is nothing she could do. This must be the phrase that CC customer service reps practice again and again - because all 4 CC reps I spoke to kept telling me "there is nothing I can do." This all sounds unbelievable, I know. It's unbelievable to me that any company would ship goods to a wrong address, where they can see the "Ship To" address is not as on the original order, and then tell a customer of many years "there's nothing we can do". I can't switch my service today - I need phone service like most of us do. But I'm leaving Consumer Cellular after many years : I had to hold in excess of 30 minutes to speak with a rep each time, then when you get a rep - they don't know ANYTHING so they make stuff up, their "policies" are unbelievable - I can't buy a new phone??? I have to wait for the PO to send back a misshipped phone???? they deactivate my SIM card??? I must have spoken with the anti-customer service department.

Consumer Cellular has absolutely NO CUSTOMER SERVICE for its consumers. Nearly 4 months into the pandemic, they still tell you to expect a 15 minute wait for a customer service representative because of "high call volume. I've twice waited over an hour before giving up. I tried to get a temporary password sent by email in order to access my account, but the web page refused to accept my cell number when I entered it. I tried getting help from the chat service, but was placed #88 in a slow moving queue. I simply am unable to obtain help in real time in downgrading my plan from the automatic upgrade for exceeding 250 minutes of usage on a busy month. High call and high chat volume? Consumer Cellular has had 4 months to work this out! There's a HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE with people who NEED JOBS! Instead of HIRING people to staff your costumer service department to meet the demand, Consumer Cellular continues to spend aggressively on TV ads showing satisfied older customers. if every one of those old folks in the commercials answered a customer call as often as I see them on TV , I bet there would be no wait for service. I'm one of those older customers and I can't afford to spend a hapless hour waiting for help each time I get up the energy to try again! I will find another provider with a real customer service department.

My husband uses a flip phone and does talk only, no data or texting. Consumer Cellular was recommended by AARP and the price was right. Their highly recommended Link flip phone is a piece of crap with little or no adjustments. My husband can't hear the default ringtone and there are no options to change it. After 6 days on the plan, there was no service. He could not make or receive calls. Upon calling the 2 customer service numbers, and the corporate headquarter's number, we got a recorded message on all 3 numbers that said "the number you have called is no longer in service". Online chat showed there were 480+ people ahead of me and after a couple minutes it would time out. By all appearances the company simply shut down. I will be contacting my credit card company tomorrow to try to recoup the money wasted on the phone. I would NOT recommend this company to anyone. The price looks good but you don't get any service for it.

I realized how dishonest their customer service agents are early on and cancelled my service within 2 days and returned the phone in its original package. Rude responses from undereducated personnel that place your call on hold for long periods of time hoping you will give up and hang up. I received a notice 6 days ago that they received my returned phone and a credit was issued for $10 less than I was charged originally. When I called to ask why they told me it was the shipping charge and could not be refunded. They charged me extra for speedy shipping service that took longer to get to me than promised. I asked to speak to a supervisor and got a rude supervisor that also refused to give me my $10 back. I told them that I would file a formal dispute with the credit card company and did exactly that. Chase gave me the credit and charged back the merchant. BUT!!! It is 6 days after getting the email promise for the refund and I am still waiting for the credit I was promised in the first place. They are IMPOSSIBLE TO DO BUSINESS WITH!!! Don't buy anything they offer. You will regret it. I know have to submit another formal dispute to get the original credit I was promised on their email 6 days ago!

I am a 77 year old man that purchased my first smart phone from Consumer Cellular last October. About a two weeks ago I had to start wearing hearing aids. The hearing aids that I purchased have Bluetooth capability. After several days of use, I began to lose Bluetooth capability with the Samsung Galaxy S 10+ phone which I had purchased from Consumer Cellular. I know that I had a 30 day "no questions asked" return period, however, I have a warranty and the phone is not yet paid for. There is a compatibility issue between the phone and the hearing aids. Consumer Cellular has no way to help me and I don't believe that is right. When I bought the phone I was let to believe that an android was as good as an Iphone...which it apparently is not. There should be someway for Consumer Cellular to help me. Consumer Cellular has been outstanding in every other respect!

Their customer service is terrible. Their phones only work for 6 months and they do not honor their one year warranty. The Moto 7 phone that I purchase from them stated to act up after a few months People could not hear me clearly so I called customer service. After being on hold for 20 minutes and spending an hour and a half on the phone with them they said that the phone was under warranty and they would send me another phone. They did, then two weeks later they told me that there was a small scratch on the top right corner and because of this my warranty was voided. How a small scratch can damage the sound quality is behind me. Called them back and they did not have an answer of how a small scratch in the right hand corner would void the warranty. She did say that this happens a lot with people and that the phone must be in “Box new” condition and was going to charge me for another phone. I would send it back but how can you trust them again I did use the phone for two weeks. DO NOT USE THEM. Buyer beware of Consumer Cellular, it is a company that does not honor its phone warranty, Does a bait and switch. Not to mention that their coverage is not real good!

After 2 days I cancelled. Immediately after signing up and getting off the phone with them I noticed I had a $10 charge on my credit card. When I turned right around and try to call them back I was put on 30 minute holds. When I tried from another phone that was not known to Consumer Cellular I was put through immediately. My husband also tried this out with his work phone. It is clear that Consumer Cellular put current customers in the back of the queue and takes calls from new customers immediately. They denied doing this when I mentioned it to them but it is clear that they do it. Terrible customer service!

Purchased this product in Target. We told the Target representative what we were looking for, data plan that would cutoff after the specific amount of time purchased. As a BBBS (Big Brother Big Sister) I was trying to help out my little sister and purchasing a phone for monthly service that had a cap and would not let her go over. Representative said Consumer Cellular can do that. I did this because I did not want to have to monitor the service and she could pay for it out of her monthly stipend. Well that's not the case and when I found out and called Consumer Cellular they told me I had to write a letter to the Company as there was no one to talk to about this. Net, Net this company did not honor Target's representatives mistake and my little sister has to pay the consequences. I have Verizon and now I definitely would never recommend anything else but Verzion. They have always worked with me on any and all issues that have come up.......and have always been very happy with the outcome. CONSUMER CELLULAR is not customer oriented and is only out for them selves. Disappointed Customer

Buyer beware!!! I had service with this company for over 6 months. On 02/24/2020 I phoned their customer service for a simple question. After 20 minutes waiting to speak with a person, I left my name and number for a call back that I have never received. I also tried to do an online Chat, and that is not working either. On 02/28/2020 I ended my service with them and went with Verizon. They are still taking money out of my banking account even after the emailed me on 03/04/2020 to tell me they did this. I am contacting the Attorney General and AARP because they are taking money from me for services never received.

Terrible customer service. Everything is great unless you have a problem with your phone. My Dad’s phone, which apparently is known for having issues, repeatedly stopped working. We went through the troubleshooting steps multiple times being told several times that if this step didn’t work, they would activate the warranty. Had to make trips to one of the FEW customer service stores, make many frustrating, multi-step troubleshooting attempts over the phone and when there was finally nothing left to do they refused to replace the phone due to a small scratch on it saying that could have been the cause of the malfunction. This company markets toward seniors. They put my 77 year old Dad and me through exhaustive, complicated troubleshooting efforts then found a loophole to keep from replacing a phone that they admitted has problems.

My iPhone 11 did not show when I had voicemails. After numerous calls to Apple and Consumer Cellular, Apple told me to get a ticket number. When I called and asked for this, I was told that they would send a new phone and I was to return my phone. I returned the phone in the package that arrived with the new phone. A week later, I received the old phone back, saying there was a scratch on the screen and they would not take it back. There was no mention of the phone having to be in Like new condition when returning. When I called and spoke with a supervisor on 2/27, I was told they would review the recording and determine if I had been told the phone needed to be like new. They would call me back within 2 DAYS! No call back. After waiting on hold, being cut off, and finally talking to another supervisor, I was told even if I wasn't told about the old phone needing to be in like new condition, I may STILL BE RESONSIBLE FOR BOTH PHONES; but I would have to wait up to another 24 hours for a call back. They are unethical, misleading, and obviously don't care about resolving any issues. The new phone has issues as well. I can't hear when talking on the phone without using a speaker or blue tooth. T

Do not believe a word of what any of these people tell you. First, the service is not reliable at all. The customer service is terrible despite being in the USA, which by the way is the ONLY factual thing these people have said to me. Case in point.. I asked directly if they had an affiliation with ATT. The answer is no....but of course this is NOT true as they partnet with them on the towers. My service went out today and 5 hours later, after being told I would get a refund of some sort, turns out, you guessed it to be a LIE. Spent 1. 5 hours this morning trying to get it fixed, then another 4 in the Target store making the same attempt. Dont waste your time or money with these folks, you will regret it. If I could give less than 1 star I would.

Really terrible service! I purchased what proved to be a clearly defective, non functioning phone. That could happen to anyone. After two months of repeated calls to their "support team" , I was finally told they would not honor any warranty on the phone because it was a "service issue". The bottom line was I had no recourse besides throwing the phone away and buying a new one. When I finally spoke to a "supervisor" there was no solutions offered, with the attitude that it was my problem not theirs. At least he admitted that he couldn't explain the problem, and didn't have any technical knowledge about the problem, which was pretty obvious. Essentially, dealing with this company reminds me that you get what you pay for. I would never recommend this company or its products to anyone.

Consumer cellular is inexpensive. In the past I received good customer service. Not anymore; it's always a long wait. Today I asked for a 'call-back-in-line' and it's clear that I'm not going to get a return call today. The other day I waited 35 minutes and gave up. Nobody is around if something goes wrong during the week-end. I'm not going to switch, but wish they would improve wait times for help.

Purchased a used flip phone from them and it arrived with problems. They would not take it back and offer a refund promptly. Wanted me to try this troubleshoot thing and then another for almost a month of having a non usable phone while paying for service! Waited on hold to troubleshoot with them and beg to return it for 20-50 min. each time. Manager offered to call me at an agreed upon time to check if the latest hoop they wanted me to jump through with this defective phone did any good, she never called me and again I was waiting on hold for anyone to answer for almost an hour. This company doesn’t care about your time or inconvenience. They will not reimburse service charges while you cannot use the defective phone. Horrible customer service! Horrible products! Horrible hold times! Not at all worth the frustration of dealing with this business.

I only gave it one star because there is a no star rating! Their customer service is a bag of rocks. They signed up my phone wrong, so I had to go back to Target to get another sim. Consumer Cellular said they would have to take time but I'd be up in 4 hours. NO Not up at in 4 hours, called and the woman that answered said she didn't know what was wrong. Then she said she needed the sim taken out and read to her. I knew this was on my account from when I was in Target. Both the electronics guy and CC Customer service said they had the new sim. The woman on the phone not only didn't know, she could not get her boss/supervisor to the phone, said I'd get a call back in two days. TWO DAYS???? WTF?? Needless to say I'm back at ATT. I might have to pay twice the money and for the SIM card but I know I have 24/7 customer service with no run around!! AND A WORKING PHONE!

I purchased an android phone for my wife and specifically told the rep we needed and ATT sim card. After three calls, we found a rep capable of assisting who diagnosed that we in fact had a Tmobile card. Purchased a new card a special mailed to Abilene (cost, another $10 for mailing). Earlier this week, I purchased a flip phone for my mother-in-law. It arrived today in Abilene, but also did not work. Wife spent from 1:30 until 4:30 working with CC and then Target to get the phone functional. By 7:30 pm, I called to see if we could exchange at Target. Told, "no". I asked if I could return it and purchase an working phone at Target. "Yes, but you will need to get the approved mailing packet and that will take three days". Word of warning - don't ever buy a phone directly from CC. Get one at Target and make sure you can make and receive calls before leaving.

signed up online and they sent me a sim card to use in my phone. I was extremely busy so I didn't insert the sim card and in about 1 month I received a bill for multiple calls to no number I ever called. The worse part was that when I called Consumer Cellular they only were concerned with how I was going to pay my bill even after I repeatedly told them I never installed the sim. After several months and more bills for calls I never made, I got through to corporate and they appologized after an investigation, and refunded my upfront payment. This is a scam and it's perpetuated on the elderly. Better check every month's bill for unauthorized calls.

Horrible. Beware, you get what you pay for. I am tech savvy, but thought what the heck, "Let's save $60 from my monthly cell bill". I read some professional reviews and thought it would be ok. I wish I had seen this site with real user reviews. Oh well. Anyways, a huge mistake switching to CC. You are not getting real AT&T or TMobile Sim cards. Tried both with them (I wanted the AT&T sim, but they first sent me TMobile ones.) I know these a cut rate sim cards, because we had AT&T for a zillion years and my phone said "5Ge" (yeah, I know that's not real 5g) , but with CC AT&T sim card it only said 4Lte. We had 3 lines - 2 in Chicago area, 1 in Cincy area. In Chicago area we had dropped calls and sounded like we were under water. In Cincy area the phone barely functioned. This experiment only lasted 30 days. We are back to AT&T on my old account. One last thing, I don't think CC is good for senior citizens either. If phone doesn't work for us, it's not going to work for them.

I've owned this phone for a little over a month. I bought it in a Target store where the Techs set up ready for use. I found that they know very little about the phone. In fact one tech told her supervisor that she didn't know to fix the problem I was having. Neither did the supervisor. I've returned to the store countless times to have them fix problems only to leave with the same issue. My phone never rings but the calls go to my voice mail. I phoned the headquarters in Oregon to set things straight - they set up a date and time but I had to wait even though I was on time. This phone is a piece of junk and I will be changing it for something better.

Buyer beware because the phone number they give you may not have cleared. I can't make a call to a landline phone number that has caller ID because it shows the previous persons name. I have called Consumer Cellular 4 times about the problem and the answer is always the same we can fix that. ( Call #1) We will fix it within the hour. (Call #2) We will have it corrected in 24 hours. (Call #3) It will be corrected within 30 days. (Call #4) It will take another 90 days) They did offer to give us a new phone number, but they would not guarantee that it would be a good (clear number) number either. I'm really tired of hearing that I understand your frustration. All I want is this corrected and all I get the run around. This is their mistake and they don't seem to care.

My mother cancelled her service with this scam company in Sept of 2019 and paid the remaining balance. They have since sent her more bills threatening her to pay them or they will report her to the credit companies for failure to pay. She didn't know better and paid it AGAIN and now she's out $90 because they threatened a little 80 year old woman. I'll be on the phone with them AGAIN to cancel this scam again. My lawyer said if they bother her again to save all the bills and will take them to court for the suffering they have put her through. Threaten an 80 year old woman? This company needs to be fined and investigated.

We have reached out on multiple occasions to Consumer Cellular Service Supervisors, have sent 2 letters to John M, the CEO of Consumer Cellular, and Greg P, the COO of Consumer Cellular to resolve a very serious matter amicably regarding two defective phones that presented my 72 year old husband to be without a working cell phone. On February 2019, my husband and I purchased a Doro phone at Best Buy through the Consumer Cellular offer. A week after we purchased the phone, we noticed the keys were sticking and adding additional numbers. This was frustrating and annoying, but we dealt with it. In September 2019, the keys were still sticking adding additional numbers, and we began to experience additional problems with the Doro phone - we were not able to access voicemail, and the outside display screen became a tie die of black and white and no longer displaying the caller’s phone number. We telephoned the Consumer Cellular customer service in August 2019 and described the issues we were having. They walked us through a series of trouble shooting with no luck. We were told that Consumer Cellular no longer dealt with Best Buy and we would need to wait two weeks for a Consumer Cellular rep to call us back regarding our one-year warranty. We waited two weeks and with no follow up from a Consumer Cellular rep, we telephoned back and for the second time a supervisor walked us through a series of trouble shooting with no luck. Phil, a Consumer Cellular supervisor stated he would submit a warranty replacement and we would receive our phone in one week. A few days later we received a voicemail from a Consumer Cellular rep that stated they needed to trouble shoot again for the third time before submitting the warranty. Brian, a Consumer Cellular supervisor finally agreed to ship us out a new phone. When we asked why the phone had not been shipped as promised by Phil, we were told Phil didn’t process the claim correctly. When we received the new phone on September 30, 2019 within hours none of the keys would work and my husband was not able to call out or receive calls. We telephoned customer service who walked us through trouble shooting steps and the phone started to work again by taking the battery out. When we asked for a replacement due to the phone being defective within hours after receiving it, the phone rep informed us that we would not have any additional problems and they could not replace the defective phone. The very next day, the keys on the phone were not working again and my husband was without a phone as he couldn’t receive calls or call out. When I returned home from work, we were both so upset, we immediately telephoned Consumer Cellular and they walked us through a series of trouble shooting steps again and stated we’d have to call back in two weeks. We started the process all over again of trouble shooting on multiple calls, being promised a phone was being shipped out, only to call back and be told a second time the Supervisor had not processed the claim correctly and they would need to trouble shoot again. Since receiving the 2nd defective Doro phone on September 30, 2019, my husband has to take the battery out multiple times a day for the phone to work. We had hope writing to the CEO and COO would have reviewed this matter and resolved the issue quickly, but we have not heard from the corporate headquarters. It’s pretty obvious that the phone warranty and Consumer Cellular’s Customer Service guarantee are not being honored by their company’s actions and procedures which put senior citizens in danger without a phone. We also found alarming that multiple Consumer Cellular Supervisor’s were very aware of issues with the Doro phone and stated that on the phone call. Consumer Cellular’s process that requires repeated trouble shooting multiple times over multiple days leaving a senior citizen without a working phone is very unsafe, unprincipled, and dishonorable. The only way Consumer Cellular would honor the phone warranty was for Consumer Cellular to ship us out a new (defective) phone, make us wait weeks through a trouble shooting processes, and then fraudulently claim the original phone had internal damage and charge us $50.00 for a 2nd defective phone that they will not allow us to ship back to them for a refund. We took pictures of our original Doro phone that had no signs of damage externally and even the white tab to detect water damage was in perfect shape. Consumer Cellular’s monthly charge is the most economical within our limited budget. However, we are so very upset with the way we have been treated by Consumer Cellular. We wanted to resolve this matter with them amicable if possible. Obviously, every senior citizen needs a reliable working phone for emergency reasons. We are between a rock and a hard place, we’re stuck with a 2nd defective phone, and Consumer Cellular will not work with us.

Consumer Cellular offers a program advertised that if you cancel within the first 30 days there is no charge (It’s their try it before you buy program). I switched from Verizon to consumer cellular and the voice mail and text did not work. After numerous calls and hours on the phone with them to correct the problem and even switching to another carrier they offer, problems were not fixed. Text problem remained after their internal carrier switch. I cancelled within the 30 days and went back to Verizon where everything functions normally. Consumer Cellular has sent me a bill for $28.43 even though I had a $20 Credit with them from buying my original sim cards at Target. There should be no bill at all, in fact I should have gotten a $20 check (which I did not really expect they would do) sent to me.

I initiated international service and it was not in place after I arrived overseas. I was unable to send E-mail throughout my trip. The person who installed the new SIM card at Target was blamed for this, I had been told that international service was in place. After receiving a text, international service was in place, but I remained unable to send E-mails. Upon my return I replace the original SIM card and was told that I would have service on the phone within 24 hours. 48 hours later I called and was told that it would take 72 hours and I had to respond to a phone call to re-instate service, this after 2 phone calls about this had taken place. Wi-Fi calling was sketchy, on a T-mobile SIM and I've used them in the past without problems. Consumer Cellular "cannot guarantee" international service" after you complain. And, they refuse to make adjustments in my bill. As it stands, I'll be +5 days without service, and the phone did not work in New York city for E-mails or calls. I regret switching and would encourage anyone who needs more than a flip phone to avoid them.

Been without Voicemail for 10 days +. Called Customer Service and they said that AT&T and T-Mobile were both upgrading their towers in the area and they had no ETA for when upgrades would be finished. Called a week later and they said the same thing except that they thought the upgrades would be completed the next day and to call back. Now, four days later, I still have no Voicemail. The system asks for me to set up Voicemail and Customer Service warned that if I did, I would lose all previous messages on the system! A good company would have sent out a notice to its customers and kept them updated on such incidents. THIS IS A COMPANY TO STAY AWAY FROM!

I had heard good things about Consumer Cellular so I thought I would pare down my cell phone cost and give them a call. The agent was very nice and said she would send me a new sim card. She then took my information. The next day, I slipped, fell & broke my back. I was laid up for 6 weeks and could not fiddle with my cell phone or anything else. As soon as I was able, I phoned Consumer Cellular and requested that the agent activate my cell phone. I gave her the information she needed from AT&T and she put me on hold. She came back to the phone and said that the Portal was too old and I needed to speak to a service manager who would call the next day. ONE WEEK later I called again to inquire what had happened with my account. I had already received a bill and no service had been rendered. She said she might be able to refund $9.00 and put me on hold to see what she could do about the service issue. She came back to the phone and said that AT&T has the phone "locked" - They do not. She said that she could either have a mgr call or send out another sim card. She did neither. It has been 2 more weeks now and nothing but emails regarding a past due 2nd bill. NEVER AGAIN

Spent 5 hours on the phone trying to activate my phone on their network - brought my phone from another carrier . Firstly, Consumer Cellular took over my number earlier than they were supposed to, leaving me without service for 2 days. After the 5 hours, i went through two "supervisors" . Their best customer service was that i either needed to wait 5 more days without service for them to mail me a new SIM or drive to my nearest Target store to get a new SIM. Cameron, the last "supervisor" was pretty rude, and refused to escalate the call to expedite a SIM to me. Considering Consumer Cellular touts their value to senior citizens, this 68 year old, physically challenged senior considers they have no value to me and zero customer service...... a 15 minute hold time to get assistance in the first place is not acceptable, add to that over a week with no cell.service and reps who refuse to escalate your request for fair treatment, i now feel i made a huge mistake switching to Consumer Cellular, and thats before i even HAVE a cell phone signal with them! SENIORS, BEWARE !!

This has to be the worse service I have ever encountered. We switched our business phone over Sept 4. WE STILL HAVE NO SERVICE> We are out of business for almost a month. They play the blame game. Noel (a "Supervisor") of Porting Dept. had to be the rudest customer service person I have ever encountered. I hope they taped that call and listen to it. I am sure she will loose her job by the way she spoke to me and my Husband. She was on speaker and he heard it all. Every time I call about phone service still not working they say, Oh it will be 7-10 days. 4 weeks and still no resolution. Shame on Consumer cellular. We will be not only filing for reimbursement , we will be cancelling our service. I will tell everyone I have recommended CC how we were treated and the lack of follow thru on their part.

We have been customers for a number of years. The customer service Department is horrible. We have attempted to purchase devices from consumer cellular and always had a problem, so we don't even bother anymore. This is a no frills service and you get what you pay for it's inexpensive, but you get terrible customer service. Lots of attitudes too from young representatives. You're fine until you have a problem after that, I don't know what to say.

I have NEVER had any billing issues, they are tops in keeping you notified if you're getting close to exceeding your plan & they genuinely care about there customers

My 87 year old aunt came to visit from WVa and ought a consumer cell phone an service. The closest target to her is like 4 hours away. Anyways, the lady that sold hervthe phone and service plus sold my 88 year old dad a phone an service. The lady is a liar. She told us they has a 30 day back guarantee plus told my aunt for 30 she would get unlimited talk, text and data. Not one time did she mention 2gm or mbs. My aunt tried to cancel the service on the 6th of sept, bought it 8/20. Then told her all had to be returned and canceled incperson. She sent me all the info and i was lied to by customer service office of consumer cell and also lied to by target customer service. Will nerver shop at that store and will bad mouth both businesses every time i'm asked about them. You both rip old people off and hope you all have many sleepless nights. May karma get y'all back one way or another. Useless businesses.