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GreatCall

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4.4

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mary fellini

This has been a new freedom for me. I spend a lot of time in the summer on a small boat and was happy to have the security of Great call with me. i did a test call from our mooring and received an immediate response. Price is competitive.

7 years ago

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George Newberger Akron, OH

The electronic equipment and response are very good,but attachments are not.I'm an active 90 year old who cuts my own 1 acre lawn and plants and cares for 60 Dahlia plants I can't have the great call on a lanyand around my neck.The wrist band is a very insecure attachment for the 5 star. It has fallen off many times.I lost my original unit when the band broke when working in the woods. I got a replacement but the new unit has to be removed from the wrist band to place it in the charger which is an added task I like the fact that the unit works away from the home, but as I indicated the attachment equipment has some serious design flaws.

8 years ago

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mk305 Fowler, OH

Great coverage, great price. My mother in law was able to learn how to use the phone.

5 years ago

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Lilly Fort Lauderdale, FL

It is very easy to use and convenient. Customer service has always been friendly and patient.

5 years ago

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Maggie Fullerton, CA

It was easy to set up on line and the customer service was also a pleasant experience.

5 years ago

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Janice Phinney

GreatCall gives excellent service. My only negative is the on/off button on the Lively. hard to turn on.

5 years ago

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H. Myers

The phone is reliable, easy to learn/use, and the company's customer service is exceptional.

5 years ago

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Bernice Zeckzer Lake Elsinore, CA

I had to call them today and they were very good in helping me and talking me through it.

5 years ago

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Virgie Clark Milwaukee, WI

I never have any problems, everything is clear and has large numbers. The price is good.

5 years ago

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Rhoda Rogers Greeley, CO

I wear it every day, and when I needed it it was there and I was responded to appropriately.

5 years ago

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Jeanne Mckay Norco, CA

I'm an older person, and I don't know how to use iPhones or iPads, but this is easy to use.

5 years ago

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Harold King Port Jervis, NY

I could never get ahold of customer support when I wanted to. The phone is not as easy to use as they say it is. I always push the wrong button.

5 years ago

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Bill Sirk

Easy to use! The customer service department was very knowledgeable and helpful to me.

5 years ago

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R.S Roseville, CA

I'm not a high-tech person so it's good that it's very easy to use and has good sound to it.

5 years ago

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Faye Ellenburg

I use it when I am travelling, I have no problems with it and it's good for my purposes.

5 years ago

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L.N

I only wear it when I go outside sometimes, but it's been working just fine for me.

5 years ago

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Ruth Fiero

I haven't had to use it yet, but it's always there when I want it and I know I can rely on it.

5 years ago

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Janice Burns Montello, WI

I've never had any trouble with it. I like that it is louder and easy for me to hear.

5 years ago

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Anonymous Massapequa, NY

I only had the cell phone service with them but any question I had was readily answered.

5 years ago

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Lucille Boonville, IN

The two main things that I like are their phones and the price. We only really use it when we are gone or in the car.

5 years ago

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Barbara Schirmer Rush, NY

The buttons are bigger which makes it convenient. It's always been very reliable and handy.

5 years ago

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Ruth

I appreciate the large size keys, the volume, and personal caring customer service

5 years ago

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Rcihard Tucker Belmont, NH

I'm 83, so I was suckered by slick senior-directed ad's to get a Lively phone. Compared to my older flip phones the Lively phone is NOT senior friendly and it is slippery and difficult for old hands to hang onto. The Lively wouldn't work well here(poor signal) even though I was told I "was covered." I complained to customer service and was converted to the older Jitterbug phone, which I was told would work better. I bought a Jitterbug from Great Call, and found out that it too stunk on signal reception. So, I cancelled my membership, decided to stick with my landline phone, and decided to sell my two Great Call phones. And now the Jitterbug phone turns out to be defective and now won't turn on(even with a new battery). I called Great Call and explained my problem. I was told that to get the defective phone covered under warranty I would have to renew my membership. Which I will not do! Clunk, two phones in the garbage can. Great Call....NOT SO GREAT AT ALL! SENIORS, STAY AWAY FROM GREAT CALL, IT'S TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE(long wait times), AND THE CRAPPY PHONES THEY PROMOTE.

2 years ago

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J.D. Los Angeles, CA

This is not my rating for GreatCall; it's my rating for Lively. The company changed more than its name. For one thing, the first bill from Lively was more than it had been with GreatCall. Then there's another. Without going into great detail, the Jitterbug cell phone that came from GreatCall and that I'd used for a while stopped working. I filled out Lively's form on their website, telling them of the problem. I heard nothing. I sent them an email. Nothing. I sent another email from another email account. Still nothing. Days passed. I filled out their online form again. Still nothing. I'm transferring my phone number to a different company.

2 years ago

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Mary S. Horseheads, NY

Don't rely on their "fall detection" to protect your loved one. My husband has fallen four times in six months, and not ONCE did it trigger a call for those events. Two weeks ago he fell, resulting in 10 staples in his head and a fractured sternum. Had he not been on the phone with a friend at the time of the fall, he most likely would have bled to death. We are on our third device in two years because they fail. Every time I complain, the tech says, oh, I can give you a month or two of free coverage. That does NOT make things ok when I am relying on this service. As soon as I can find another company, I am switching. Their customer service is also terrible, and I have had nightmares trying to get new devices set up. You can never get back to the person you spoke with (who was going to call you back, and of course, never did.). Don't waste your time or bet your family's life on this vendor. They suck.

2 years ago

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Moonlight Lady High Point, NC

When Great Call switched to LIVELY and forced me to try to switch from a Jitterbug phone that I liked because it was small and uncomplicated, telling me that the phone that I've had for years would no longer work after October of '21, and then, they sent me this BRICK of a flip phone, I just lost it. It's not that I am computer illiterate, I certainly know my way around a computer better than most, and can certainly navigate my husband's smart phone better than he can...but with Jitterbug, all I wanted was what I HAD. I simply wanted a nice sleek, small comfortable phone, with a few features and no bloat. Now though, they are trying to force me to take a phone I do not WANT, and I'm not having it. I cancelled my account, informing them that WE, the consumers are paying THEM, and without OUR DOLLARS, they do under, so what gives them the right to take our choices away from us. They act like we are the children and they are the parents who know automatically what is best for us. Well, guess what. We are NOT children. We are people who have raised OUR CHILDREN and have grand children, most of us, and we don't need people treating us like we're operating on half a brain. I'm no longer going to put money into Great Call, Lively, or Verizon, and I STILL have a very nice landline phone that works even when the power goes out, thank you very much.

2 years ago

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A Naki Atlanta, GA

I ordered the Greatcall (Lively) Jitterbug in April 2021 for my mother. Worst mistake ever! First, they promised my mom could keep her number, but when the phone arrived, it had a totally different number on it. From there, trying to return the phone and to get a full refun has been a nightmare - two months later I'm still dealing with the refund, and I just spoke to the 5th Customer Service Rep who said that I was just unlucky and that they DO have terrific Customer Service! The guy didn't even apologize for the experience I've had, which spoke volumes. Won't go through all the sordid details, but trust me when I say THEY HAVE THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED. It's not worth the frustration and the time you'll spend on the phone if ANYTHING goes wrong. Best advise I can give is: O NOT USE GREATCALL LIVELY.

2 years ago

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Jamie Dallas, TX

Absolutely horrible service and even worse customer service. Two out of three representatives I spoke with were very rude. I purchased a lively mobile for personal security comfort and could not get it to activate. I was advised by a representative to return it and purchase another one. The second unit I purchased had the exact same issue. I live 15 minutes from Downtown New Orleans so it's not like I'm out in the country trying to get service. The second two representatives couldn't care less about the issues I was having. The first one was going to wave the connection fee due to all the problems we had and the amount of time I wasted and couldn't get it to activate. I went through the entire process again with a different device and wasted all that time. I tried once again to activate it before returning it again to the store but I was told the activation fee could not be waived today. This was a huge waste of my time and money on a company who could care less if you become a new customer or not. I'll find another place to purchase from who actually cares about their customers. I highly do not recommend greatcall!!! Very very disappointed and disgusted with them.

3 years ago

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Camille winn Jacksonville, FL

Ordered a flip phone for my 84 yr old mother who lives 2 hrs away and will not let anyone (ANYONE!) inside her house for fear of catching COVID. I was assured it was a very simple set up. It was too difficult for her to activate, so my brother picked it up and sent it back less than 3 wks after receipt. Several phone calls later, I am still waiting for my refund. Each time it's a different story. Seems NO ONE put the info in the acct that the phone was received on Jan 19. Each time, I verify the same information with the rep and each time, they give me the same story. But I'll keep calling and one day, I'll get my refund. Can't believe this company is still in business - incompetent, inefficient and dishonest.

3 years ago

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Coni Foss ,

I have worn the Lively plus for several years. I have just had a nasty fall on my face in asphalt. Broken nose, broken finger, badly messed up face with cuts and bruises, as well as painful. Lively did not activate. A couple days later when I could think a little more clearly, I called Great Call support. I was very rudely told that the unit had to be on the outside of my clothing to be effective. Picture this: this 1.5"X2.5" unit on a heavy black cord, flashing a green light , hanging on my chest. People might be wondering how I escaped from the home. I commented that there was nothing in the advertising or information that came with it, and why wouldn't I be informed of this restriction. The person, certainly not gentleman, said he would cancel my account right now and hung up on me as I was asking another question. I have been a customer for many years and do not deserve this ultimate rudeness. Yes, I am going to immediately switch to another company.

3 years ago

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Zoe Herrod Pearland, TX

Terrible equipment, even worse service. First numbers were locked out - our granddaughter's phone somehow registered the number as spam - took more than a week to correct that. For the past three weeks, you can call out, but the person on the other line cannot hear you - service department says they don't know how to fix that. We bought a new phone and tried to transfer the number to the new company; Great Call said we had to wait until the end of the billing cycle. Now there is an "issue" (Hailey's technical explanation) with the transfer, and we will have to wait at least two more business days with a phone that doesn't work.

3 years ago

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April ,

My mother and father both had the old jitterbug flip phones, recently we bought the new lovely flip phones. Everything works great except when my husband and I call them they can hear us but we can’t hear them. When they call us we can hear them just fine. And when other people call them they can hear them. I called great call, they said everythingvwas fine on their end, so we called Apple as we have the new Apple I phone pro. Apple said there doesn’t seem to be a problem on our end, we even called our provider Verizon and they spent along time with us and said nothing is wrong on their end. Still this is not resolved. My parents are both 80 years old and I sure would like to be able to talk to them.

3 years ago

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DCwriter Bellevue, WA

Please note that my experience is based on the fact that I'm hearing impaired, which has made it even more of a challenge to work with Great Call. I've had their flip phone for many years without a problem, and although now I can't hear much on it, I carry it for emergencies. Have had no problems with the phone for the many years I've had it. But the Lively is a different case. The first time I used it, I bent over and must have set off the alarm that I couldn't hear. The light that flashes was not noticeable in a well lit room, and the dispatcher's voice was not audible. Suddenly I heard someone pounding hard on the garage entrance to my bedroom. Terrified, I ran into the living room, only to see two paramedics coming through the front door with oxygen and stretcher. Then it all made sense. Thankfully the local FD was very understanding. That night, I decided I did not want this unit. I took it off and bent over to put it in its cradle which was on a low shelf next to my bed. Thankfully I saw the light flash. Although I couldn't hear the voice, I repeated over and over that it was a false alarm. I didn't touch it again until I was sure the batter had died. Again, this may be a good unit for others, but I certainly don't recommend it for the hearing impaired who might not be able to communicate with the dispatcher etc.

3 years ago

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Cory Camallieri ,

GreatCall Is LousyCall Understand GreatCall is not a friendly simple service for seniors, but more a “Lousy Call” that offers inept arrogant lame customer service (telephone reps and general operations). One agent lied or reported I must file a police report to change my telephone number, not the norm. The website is confusing and not user-friendly; it lacks some basic simple user features and is temperamental in function. You will generally encounter poorly trained staff people who create problems instead of solving them. Wait times are long if they are not using the auto-call back system, and they usually do not. It is unfortunate “GreatCall-LousyCall” customer service is so terrible because their phone (Jitterbug smartphone) is an inexpensive okay/easy-to-read device with not all the preinstalled junk you find on others.

3 years ago

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William Lusby Pinellas Park, FL

I purchased a Jitterbug phone for my 90 year old, home alone mother, on April 7, 2016. At that time the product did pretty much everything as advertised. The main purpose for the purchase was to give my mom some peace of mind and give me the opportunity to monitor her activities, since I live in St. Petersburg, FL and she lives in Louisville, KY. The system did not work perfect all the time, but usually could be fixed with a phone call to Customer Service (CS) or a simple reset. Several months ago I noticed that the APP formats on the monitoring service had completely changed. Since then I've had nothing but problems connecting her Jitterbug to my cell phone. The first problem had to do with tracking, it pretty much quit working and when it did work, I was usually notified 2-3 hours later. Then her phone began to fail due to age, so I purchased her a new Jitterbug phone on March 14, 2020. When the phone was received and activated I continued to have the same connection problems . After numerous emails ( because it's nearly impossible to get CS on the phone without waiting an unreasonable amount of time) with Customer Service it was determined that the new phone was probably defective. My mother received replacement phone this past Wednesday (4/22/2020) and it was activated on Friday (4/24/20). I then reinstalled the Great Call APP on my cell phone and it seemed to work. However, in less than 24 hours the same issues started all over again. Sent some more emails to CS and have yet to hear from anyone. Its really frustrating and unfortunate that you took a pretty reliable APP and after changing it made it so unreliable. I certainly could not recommend this service to anyone.

3 years ago

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Linda L. Burns/James R. Lambert Jr Spartanburg, SC

I set up my Dad back in March of 2019 with the neck device for his assistance at age 91 at the time. The device has been very helpful until maybe the past 6 months at which time it kept going " dead " on me- I had to call customer service for it to be reset and was advised to place it near a window location. This Sunday, 4-19-20, I had put the device in the charger and my Dad had his Verizon cell phone in his pocket. He fell and could not get up, could not remember any phone #s and finally dialed 911. Paramedics came out to the house after notifying me based on their records, got him up and checked him for possible rib injury. At that time I noticed his call device with Great call was not charged and was red. I called Customer Service for the reset, as I had been doing for the past 6 months, and was advised at that time the device was not useable!!! When I questioned her about resetting as before, she said the device was OBSOLETE and had been OBSOLETE at the time it was sent and paid for back in March of 2019. She said that the company KNEW it was OBSOLETE and sent it out anyway EVEN THOUGH there was a current model available. She said she was getting A LOT OF CALLS from other folks with the same situation. I AM FURIOUS that was my 92 year old father was subjected to possible harm because this company OPTED to clear out their stock knowing full well it was not the current model AND that it was going to fail without ANY ANY ANY notice to my Dad or myself, his daughter, creating a unnecessary issue for his health and wellbeing. Now we are sitting here waiting on " the CORRECT device " and my Dad is having to rely on a cellphone that he has trouble dialing due to his hands. I think this company preyed on innocent seniors, probably in certain age brackets, with the belief they probably wouldn't be around much longer and have now created the issue of high concern that this next device may be obsolete and we will not be notified. I plan to notify AARP, Consumer Protection Agency, as well as, a very aggressive attorney that deals with consumer issues. In addition, you have certainly been reaping the benefits of our monthly draft payment without question because we thought you were a company of honor. I hope all of the other clients that your customer service representative told me about will read this review and we can band together to be refunded all of our payments that were made in good faith only to find out there WAS OBSOLETE equipment being shipped out. Linda L. Burns on behalf of my wonderful Dad, James R. Lambert Jr.

3 years ago

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Stephen Danielson Lincoln, NE

I have owned a Jitterbug Smart 2 phone from Great Call for several years. They sent it to me to replace a Jitterbug Flip phone that I had a lot of trouble with. I like the Smart 2 even less. Among my complaints about the Smart 2 are the 5 Star button that cannot be disabled. I often call 911 unfortunately when I meant to hit the Home icon next to it. The Home icon usually takes me to somewhere else and seldom to Home or nothing happens when I touch it. When I try to use my voice to write a text, any hesitation between words causes the phone to want to send the text whether it is ready or not. The phone can only be charged with the cable that is too short for most uses. Informative texts are too tiny for me to read oftentimes. I have tried to get Customer Service to help me with these and other problems, but often they say that the phone was designed to be that way and can't be modified. Maybe, they need to think about these and other issues when and if they ever develop a new phone model. Steve

4 years ago

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Steve Brandon, FL

This is a company that does not tell you the truth. It seems like they know the will deal with seniors so when you question there actions they want to answer by saying OH! maybe you did not hear or understand it. After they (sales person) being asked multiple times if there is and restocking fee or do I have to pay to ship the phones back. The sales person said no. They say they record all phone calls. When asked to play back. They say they will review it and refuse to let you hear it. Very bad company. They should really be looked into by the BBB. I received the phones on 3/19/2020 evening. They take $85+ the next day without my permission. I call to return the phones. I stay on hold for about 25 minutes. Then to be told I have to pay to return them and also pay a restocking fee for each phone. Then was told I will have to wait 15 days for my $247.91. Plus another few days for it to show back up in my bank account. They said if I would have refused shipment I would have not have to pay the return. BUT the box was left at my front door. It was not handed to me. Be very careful with this company. Record your call if you want to deal with them.

4 years ago

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Tracey Davidson Dawsonville, GA

I was a customer of Great Call for 8 years. I purchased the button for my 84 year old Mother. My Mother used the device a total of 3 times during the 8 years I was a customer. I paid extra each month for fall detection and for 24/7 Dr. Advise. My mother has fallen through a plate glass door, fell on concrete on top of a birdbath, fell so hard in her living room floor that it knocked her out. The button never worked. The doctors on the 24/7 assistance never called her back the one time she used this service. All this company cares about is the money. I never received a refund for any monies I paid. I was promised a $5.00 refund but just like their service, it never happened. I would not recommend this company to my worst enemy. They are horrible. They promise services that are never happen and lie over and over.

4 years ago

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Kevin John Charleston, SC

I'm writing about my deceased fathers experience with GreatCall wireless. He had poor cell phone reception through his duration as a customer of GreatCall. I'm also going to talk about my experience. My father passed away about 6 weeks ago, it took me a long time to get his estate set up and get the legal right to handle his final bills and affairs. I've been calling all of the banks, services, companies and institutions in which he had accounts i.e. Insurance companies, cable providers and other services in order to cancel them. I called GreatCall today to cancel his account and asked them to backdate the date of his death because he obviously was not using the phone after he was deceased. They refused to do so and offered me no explanation as to why. For his insurance, cable/tv/internet bills and every other service they were happy to honor this request as long as I submitted his death certificate and my letter of appointment. This policy by GreatCall is incredibly scummy - it seems they really want that extra $45 and aren't willing to offer a reasonable request of not charging a dead man for a cell phone plan he's clearly not using. Also and this is the big one - they allowed me to cancel his cell phone plan without any verification of who I was. They also didn't ask for documentation like every other company I've dealt with has. This to me begs the question about security....if I can call up and cancel this cell phone plan without them verifying his identity, what could someone with bad intentions do? Clearly I'll never use GreatCall but I hope others reading this will make the same decision based on these crass, ridiculous practices.

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hi Kevin, we are very sorry for your loss. GreatCall does not require a death certificate but we would be willing to back date the cancellation of your Father's account. Please look for a private message from us, requesting additional information.

Feb. 4th, 2020

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Gary Morris, OK

This phone and service is advertised that one doesn't need to add the emergency service, and I thought it might be a reasonably easy phone to use so I bought one and specified that I didn't want the emergency service. Now what happens is if you don't pay for the emergency service and you accidently allow your finger to approach the emergency key, it immediately dials 911 and there is no way to stop it. I asked them to disable the emergency service which I don't need or want and they refuse to do it. I tried sticking a thick tape over the button, but it still works anyhow. Now anyone who can unlock the phone and press the emergency key can just as well dial 911. It's not difficult, and please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe 911 operators have better things to do than answer spurious calls. I am going to approach my legislators about a law to make these things illegal unless the company can disable the emergency button upon request. I feel certain that this is a scam just to try to force customers to purchase their emergency add-on whether they need it or not, and this after they have advertised that you can refuse it. This is a public safety issue because spurious dialing of 911 can tie up operators who might have important calls to answer.

4 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Reply from GreatCall

Hi Gary, we are sorry to hear about your recent experience. Please look for a private message from us, requesting additional information.

Feb. 4th, 2020

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Gwen Coleman Sherman, TX

I have had a Grest Call device since shortly after I fell and broke my knee cap in 2010. Soon after acquiring the device I went on an extended road trip and while 1000+ miles away from home a red light appeared on the device. Not knowing what this meant I pressed the button to find what I should do. Immediately an agent answered and gave my name and location including the street name where I was calling from. I was so excited with this device and service that I started recommending Great Call to all my senior friends and acquaintances. I decided to get their Jitterbug phone and was equally pleased with the phone and it's performance. When the phone became outdated I got the first Jitterbug smart phone and when it developed a problem that couldn't be fixed they sent me a Smart Phone 2 at no cost to me. It was well that I had no money involved because this phone gave me problems almost immediately. I called customer service on two occasions and gave them permission to take control of my phone and on neither occasion were they able to fix the problem. Some time went by and then I found that I could not access the Internet on the phone even though I could on my laptop and tablet. The connection icon on the phone showed to be connected but a question mark was superimposed over it. I called customer service and gave permission to take control of the phone. The service tech immediately said you are connected. I called her attention to the question mark and she appeared to be trying to find the problem. after some time she asked to check my router for certain buttons and numbers. Then she asked me to take a picture of certain labels on the router. The pictures were not clear enough to help her so she suggested I contact the router service. At this point she signed off. I checked the phone and it showed that the question mark was gone and service was restored. On further checking I found that several things had changed such as data usage. I am a 92 year old person who no longer drives and seldom leave home so I only used my phone when I am away from home to make calls I did not have an unlimited data plan. I paid for 100 mg of data in case I had need when I was away . I had the phone set to alert me when I had used 97% of the data so I would not go over, Now I find that the data usage alert had been set for several hundred gbs. So i again called customer service and got a different rep who helped me reset the things that had been changed. Almost immediately I get an invoice for $156 and some few cents of data usage. What?? After a few minutes of scratching my head I realized this was connected to the service call. So I call billing and after some discussion they agree to deduct $50.00 and I thanked them and informed them that I did not plan to pay any of the charge. In the meantime I thought back to two previous charges I received for excess data usage, one for $60..00 and one for $40.00 which they agreed to mark off. I belatedly realized that these charges had occurred after my two previous service calls. Within a month I received a call from the billing office asking for payment of the remaining $106.00 I owed. After I explained why I didn't feel I owed this charge and would not pay it.This agent became angry and hung up. .I test my device occasionally to make sure it works. Fast forward to January 2020......I check and it doesn't work. I call customer service and find that service was cut off in November. Sneaky! They didn't notify me. Let me continue to pay a monthly fee as a way to recover the money I do not owe. So for two months I was without help in case I might have needed it. Thank God I didn't. I find it hard to think that a company that supposedly was founded to help the elderly and disabled would be so petty. What happened to this once good business?

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello Gwen, we are sorry to hear of your experience and appreciate your feedback. We would like to look into this further with you, please look for a private response from us.

Jan. 8th, 2020

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Joanne Siegla Vienna, OH

This is unchanged from my previous complaint on Dec 20th -- still -0-!! I have NEVER, ever returned an expensive item without authorization. My late husband did that once, they claimed they never got it, he was out of luck. So I was NOT about to start w/ this phone. I notified Great Call the 1st part of Oct that the phone could NOT be activated, and that I did NOT want it. I never got an answer to REPEATED requests until it was too late to return the phone. Then to add insult to injury, the company billed me additional fees for monthly "service". Rather hilarious considered the phone has never even been activated let alone used. Finally the end of Dec, they "suspended" my service. Ridiculous since that was impossible. I still feel I should not have to pay for this worthless object -- unchanged from my first notice to them on October 9, 2019.

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello Joanne, we are sorry to hear of your experience and appreciate your feedback. We do not have any long-term contracts and service can be cancelled at any time by calling our Customer Service. Additionally, GreatCall does have a 30-day return option, when you call within 30days the information is provided. We would like to look into this further with you, please look for a private response from us.

Dec. 20th, 2019

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Donna San Manuel, AZ

My mother signed up for great call and got a jitterbug flip phone. I have an iPhone and I could not figure out this stupid phone. She decided to go back with Verizon and when she did they refused to port her phone number over which she had had for many years and wanted to keep. We spent hours and hours between calling great Cole and Verizon with no luck. Great call gave her such a runaround it was terrible and we did not end up getting her number back. Not only that but when she went to get her contacts and copy them onto her new Verizon phone they had somehow wiped out all her contacts from her flip phone now she Doesn’t even have some of the phone numbers that she wants had. I would not recommend this company to anyone especially a senior citizen!

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello Donna, we are sorry to hear of your experience and appreciate your feedback. We would like to look into this further with you, please look for a private response from us.

Jan. 7th, 2020

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Mark H Taylorville, IL

As others have stated...I wish I could leave a 0-star review. I cancelled service with GreatCall within 24 hours of activation (ironically because of an issue with the phone, not GreatCall). According to GreatCall's Customer Agreement, there is a 30-day full-refund policy. When I cancelled the service, I was assured that there would be an immediate refund and no further charges. I then received a bill from GreatCall for $51.69, contrary to what I had been told. When I called I was once again assured that the charges would be credited and there would be a $0 balance. I waited for a week to call and just check to insure that the charges were refunded. They had not been. I was once again guaranteed that THIS TIME it would be taken care of and all charges would be deleted. Yesterday (a full 2 months after my original GUARANTEE that I would receive a credit), I received a past-due bill for the full $51.69. Since it is obvious that GreatCall has no intention, or capability, of adhering to their own Customer Agreement, I paid the bill. However, I will do all that I can to dissuade ANYONE from ever using GreatCall. I wonder how many consumers like me have been defrauded by this completely incompetent company. They are either intentionally corrupt or incredibly incompetent. Either way, I encourage anyone who has a Legitimate and Provable case against them to file a formal complaint with both the Better Business Bureau and your State Attorney General's Office of Consumer Affairs, as well as leaving reviews anywhere you can. It WILL help potential customers. While I realize that GreatCall will never honor their Customer Agreement, I felt much better after filing the formal, written complaints. I am also continuing to search for ANY consumer websites with which I can relay my story. Absolutely a terrible company

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello Mark, we appreciate your feedback. As previously advised, because you cancelled withing 24-hours, you have received a full refund for both the activation fee and the monthly service fee. If you do not see the refund on your credit card statement, we suggest you contact your credit card company. Additionally, GreatCall’s 30-day return policy, packaged with the phone and which can be viewed on our web page, , states you will receive a refund less the restocking fee. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Jan. 2nd, 2020

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carol Greenfield, OH

If I could give it a 0 I would. We bought the alert for my father who was independent but a fall risk. The first problem: he has a pacemaker so we couldn't use the location part of it or the fall alert which both work by the magnet that holds the lanyard together although we paid for the service for two months. Second: he had a little bit of memory problem and didn't always remember to recharge it--the battery only held a charge for about a day. I bought it for $79.99 thinking that was the full price for the service. No. There's monthly fee as well. My father felt very confident with his device though and didn't want my brother and I hovering. I checked on him on Monday morning: everything was fine. My brother went over Tuesday evening, he'd been lying on the floor since noon on Monday. He kept pushing the button but the battery was dead. He was in renal failure from dehydration and muscle breakdown from laying in one position (he couldn't get up) for 30 hours! He survived after spending 3 days in the IC, but he was never the same and is now terrified of falling to the point he refuses to walk. I called and complained and cancelled the contract but continued to get bills, then a collection threat! I was so furious I threatened legal action and the calls and bills stopped. But the false sense of security the device gives families and users should be outlawed. When something is made particularly for an elderly person who MAY need help but is independent why in the world would they use something that had to be recharged every day? I'm 20 years younger and sometimes forget to charge my cell. Until they get the battery charging issue fixed, I would warn anyone against this. Get one that doesn't need recharging. Oh, and the fall sensor and locator work on the magnet so it can't be used for anyone with a pacemaker or defibrillator, something they don't tell you when you buy the thing or set up service. We could have killed him using it the first few days until I called about it not working (He fell and sensor didn't go off). On a positive note: the young man who helped me set it up was quite nice. I think if they got the bugs out of it, it would be a great thing. But the battery and magnet issue have to be fixed or the consequences for the next person like my father could be tragic.

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello Carol, we are sorry to hear of your experience and would like to investigate this further with you. Please look for a private message from us, requesting additional details.

Dec. 4th, 2019

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Patti Diamond Springs, CA

My mother had great call ...the devices never worked properly or at all for most of 8 months .every time she called the problem would be resolved and with in a day or a few , no longer working .i live a long way from her and this just came to my attention . I called the co .while I was there visiting ,the problem could not be resolved . They said they could send a new device ,but the new devises do not have the fall alerts . That’s no good ,because she has neuropathy and vertigo...the reason for the devise in the first place ... we cancelled and received less than 2 months back on her bill .i think she should have gotten a full refund .but , good luck with that !

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello Patti, we are sorry to hear about your experience and would like to look into this further with you. Please look for a private response from us.

Oct. 17th, 2019

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DUlrich Wendell, ID

Bought Greatcall device for elderly father in law. Device stopped holding a charge. Called for support was told it needed software update. Update was completed and was told to monitor for couple of days. Now still won't hold a charge and NOW they want to diagnose the problem. The customer support representative acted as if it's my problem that I will have to drive back to the city 100+ miles to diagnose the problem for them. In the meantime my blind and deaf Father in law has been with out his device. I was told before that all I would have to do is call back for a replacement. I think its all an elaborate scam.

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello DUIrich, we are sorry to hear of your recent experience and appreciate your feedback. We would like to look into this further with you, please look for a private message from

Oct. 4th, 2019

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Tim Arcadia, CA

The GreatCall app for their Lively device with fall detection showed my mom was six miles from home in a gravel pit. When I called Customer Service they said they also showed her there but 30 minutes ago. When I asked to speak to a supervisor the rep refused. I called back and had the same experience but for 30 minutes with another customer service person. They were unable to locate my mom. They were awful...belligerent and condescending. When I finally reached my mom she was at home. A supervisor called and the three of us then spent 45 minutes trying to reset the device but it was in some loop and repeatedly said ‘setting up’ please wait. The supervisor offered to send a new device but cautioned that ‘fall detection’ would not be working for an estimated two months. I told him that fall detection was our primary need. He then offered to call back at noon the next day to again try to reactivate the device. I then read about the class action lawsuit by customers who have been harmed by trusting Great Call. I read that many ‘Lively’ devices were recalled with an offer of a Jitterbug phone and a $50 Best Buy card. The supervisor did not call back. We cancelled our subscription.

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello Tim, we are sorry to hear of your recent experience and appreciate your feedback. We would like to look into this further with you, please look for a private message from us.

Sep. 23rd, 2019

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Ilene Metrick Alburtis, PA

We thought great call was a wonderful company since John Walsh was an advocate. After 2 years we have a totally different attitude. Her phone is always muffled and no one can understand her. One time we thought she was having a stroke. Immediately we called her house phone and she was fine. She has had 4 phones and each one is worse than the other. As for her medic alert necklace we were very pleased with the service until 3 days ago. It stopped working and now Great Call wants $15 to replace it. What kind of nonsense is this. When my mom lived in NJ and there was a problem her necklace was replaced immediately. How dare Great Call leave an 88 year old women without her medic alert. I am infuriated and find this unacceptable. John Walsh needs to realize that this company is not what it used to be. It has deteriorated drastically. If you love your family member find another company.

4 years ago

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Reply from GreatCall

Hello Ilene, we are sorry to hear of your recent experience and appreciate your feedback. We would like to look into this further with you, please look for a private message from us.

Sep. 17th, 2019