Consumer Cellular
Reviews and Complaints

starting at approximately 8:30 am on 1 april, 2023, i called to report my home phone base would not allow incoming or outgoing calls. the rep ran me through a bunch of troubleshooting steps. as we were talking the call was dropped. called them back two more time with the exact same routine and dropped call.so, after 1 1/2 hours of that run around i called back a 4th time. i was given a phone number of [protected] and an ID number of 1649519 to start a replacement claim with the insurance/warranty company. long story/short, i was told i'd have to send the old base to them before they could send a used replacement to me. so, after two hours on the phone speaking with five different reps i became slightly angry, hanged up on him and privately described consumer cellular's customer service using as many four letter words that i could think of. and of course the problem is still unresolved. do any of you know of a good cellular company?

for the past week since mar 8 th had troble with service.

take to someone on the 16 th , said re start my phone. very rude. offered to refund me a nickel. slap in the face!

can't get through automated system, aked for call back but on hold! recording ,

recording, than i can't get it.can't can't get it. phone system does not work.

the network drops calls, interference, and no customer service. since adding the 6 digit get can't customer service.

the servie has went down hill in the last few months. no corporate number sends you back to customer sevice.

i was a fefund for not being to usemy phone, interference, dropped calls.

I have been a customer for several years. Here is what happened:

Wednesday. 3/8/23 around 9:30 AM is when I believe my account was hakked. I was at work and sent several texts around 2:30 PM/ Later, I found out they fif not go through. I received a message of a change from Consumer Cellular. I had not accessed my account. Then I could no longer call or receive calls, Your office was closed and I could not speak to anyone. I also could not sign into my account.

Thursday. 3/9/23 - I called as soon as you opened and was told someone had activated mu number with a different SIM card. I was told that a new SIM ca4d would be sent in 3 ro 5 days and I could get my phone number back. I also set up a new PIN.

Saturday, 3/10/23 - My sister contacted me to let me know that sge called my cell phone and a man answered. I Called Consumer Cellular. The PIN would not work. I spoke with an agent who told me everything was blocked and this would not happen again. He set up a new PIN and a security question.

A couple of hours later, my phone was again taken over. Your office was closed and I had to wait until Sunday to call. The PIN number did not eork. I spoke with an agent who told me the PIN number was not correct, there was no security question, AND no record of my other calls. Then she wanted me to drive to Target to have the SIM card pulled from my phone. Ar that point, I decided i need to leave a different carrier/

I do not know how this happened in the first place but it had to be Consumer Cellular the second and third time, probably the first. This let to much damage. Pretty much every account that listed my phone was hacked.

I don't know where to start this company has been terrible from day 1. First off they sell phones on a monthly pay plan so when you find out the phones are garbage you are still locked in unless you want to upgrade and pay more for a more expensive junk phone. The service stinks and they don't care. The reps when you call in are not helpful at all. They have their script they read and don't even listen to you. I finally reached the point I could not take any more so I paid of the balance on phones and cancelled service. They hit me with a large final bill that was more than I had been paying each month. They took money for insurance on the phones and when they broke expected me to send my phone in for repairs and leave me with nothing for God knows how long. So when I called in to complain about final bill they told me they are not prepay which is what I was told in the beginning so I had a higher final bill. The rep I spoke with"well tried to speak with" kept talking over me and not listening at all. I asked for a supervisor which was no better to talk with, she kept repeating the same lines over and over. They are the worst cell service I ever had. Please stay away from them do yourself a favor and go to any other carrier.

I have called the company many times to try to resolve this issue. I am new

to this product and made 11 calls to them to get them to help me login to their

web-site so I could determine my "Data usage", but none of the 11 (8 CSRs

3 sups) were able to help me accomplish this. As a result, I went "over" the

"unlimited" figure and they "throttled" me- -slowed down my service and made

Zoom impossible. I go to 3 classes a week on Zoom so lost out on 9 classes

total that I can't get back. This happened in the billing cycle of 1/13/23 thru

2/13/23. My name is Leonard Perlman phone I am billed on is [protected].

I asked CC to cancel my account and the auto deduction payment effective 11/01/2022. CC is still deducting monthly. Further, upon trying to get into CC website from Thailand, I'm not allowed access. I did manage to send a nasty message to cancel this through you Senior help center. You are still deducting. STOP. You owe me since last November. my account is: [protected]. I currently live permanently in Thailand.

In April of 2022 My wife and I were taking a dream vacation to Europe. I called Consumer Cellular to inquire what I need to do to have phone service in Europe. The customer service agent seamed completely confused as to what I was asking. This terrified me because we were taking very expensive day trips on our vacation and they needed to be able to call us. This prompted me to call again to find out what I need to do to guarantee I will have service in Europe. The agent told us we would have to go to Target to have a chip put in our phones. I questioned this and she said to hold while she checked. She came back on the line to tell me I didn't need to do anything. We went to Europe and couldn't receive or make a single call for the entire month. We were in 3 countries over the month and never received or sent 1 call. We received texts and emails, but only when in the hotel's wifi. Needless to say we were furious. We came back home and I called Consumer Cellular to complain and was told I owed them over 400 dollars for the service I received. I asked what services I would be billed for, and they said data. I would recommend no one use this company. I feel so cheated.

My name: Magda Fatu, my tel.# [protected], My account #[protected]. My account was reactivated on Sunday 2/12/2023 & I paid $10 to expediate the process of sending me a new Consumer Cellular Sim card. My USPS tracking #9470111200843851162232 show that a Pre-Shipment Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item on Sunday 2/12/2023 @ 11:09pm, Portland, OR 97223.

I called the Consumer Cellular Customer Service today at 9:30AM, to ask where is my SIM card, and given the advice by the Supervisor Latisha to wait another day or two! I asked her to contact your Shipping Dept. to find out if they shipped or not and when, and Latisha stated that she cannot contact anybody for my SIM card... just to wait another day!

Please help! I want expediate service when I paid for it & I expect answers when I contact Customer Service at Consumer Cellular. Respectfully submitted today, Tuesday 2/14/2023 @ 10:12AM. Magda Fatu

In reference to my wife's phone # 831-we have had recurring problems that crop up a week before the end of the month for the last 4 - 5 mos.

I have chatted with your staff several times and they had tried their best to fix it but it re-occurs every month. I have had several SIM cards replaced with temporary relief. I tried the SIM card on my own phone and likewise it won't send texts, so the problem doesn't seem to be the SIM card or her phone but it is beginning to seem clear that her number gets blocked from sending messages just about the same time every month. I have been told that we have unlimited texting so I am hoping that this is not false advertisement.

It seems that her number gets blocked only from sending texts by either your company or the network provider(s).

She can call and receive calls and she can receive texts but can't answer them, that's the only problem that needs to be resolved.

Now the problem is re-occurring at the beginning of the month.

Please advise,

Sincerely,

I signed on and was told they were cheaper than my previous provider. I had to buy a phone from them in order to connect to their service. I did so and also enrolled in the warranty program also. That was in March 2022. As it turned out they were more expensive than my previous provider, and early in January 2023 my phone started to malfunction so bad it was almost impossible to use. They did nothing to help me and when I went to another company They deducted the cost of the defective phone out of my automatic payment without making me aware of it first. I want to be refunded for the phone I never wanted and is defective besides. Thank you for your help in this matter.

Before I left for Portugal on December 25, 2022, I contacted Consumer Cellular (CC) three times to figure out what I needed to do to mitigate high charges. I called around mid-November. The woman told me that I needed a SIM card pin number CC would provide and to call back two weeks before I left. On Nov 22, I chatted with a representative on-line (Connor) who said I needed a SIM Card and to purchase it in the country of my destination. Two weeks before I left, I called to find out which rep was telling me the right information. The woman on the phone said that I had a SIM Card number and International Roaming which were both activated and that I was "good to go." I was told I didn't need to do anything more. She said roaming charges could be tricky and to be careful of those. (My primary use of the phone is GPS, texting or calling hotels, and, when separated from traveling companions, texting them.)

I arrived in Europe on the 26th day of December, 2022. On January 1, 2023, I received a text from CC that I was using lots of data on international roaming. I turned off my phone, and when I got back to the room, I got on my CC App, checked billing and had accrued $231 of charges. I'm very thankful for that text, but I was shocked to see that amount in just 7 days. I immediately started a chat with Lynda. She confirmed the charge, and I asked her to shut off the international roaming immediately. She stated that she did and advised me to speak with billing when I returned to the states. Although I still had to make a few calls and texts to hotels, I kept my phone of the majority ot the remainder of my trip and depended on my traveling companions.

I returned to the USA on January 8, and I called CC billing department on January 10 (I believe). The woman was kind and explained international roaming best she could. I explained my confusion based upon my three previous calls. She expressed understanding and stated CC does not have a very good International plan. When I asked why the phone company could not set a warning at, say, $100 instead of $500, her answer was not clear. When I asked why the couldn't come up with a plan that was less confusing or more cost effective, she explained that CC uses other carriers internationally.

I asked for a reduction in the bill, and she said she did not have the authorit to do that, but that once the bill posted, I should call back. She explained that because the charges were international roaming charges, they probably would not be reduced since CC did not charge those. Still, she was sympathetic.

After the phone call, I started to research the internet for similar experiences. I found many. The most recent was dated Nov. of 2022 when a family went on a cruise and within days accrued $500 of international charges even though there was minimal usage, all do to "data" being used. I also found more information about CC's policy regarding oversea's charges and international services.

I called back once the bill was posted. I spoke with a nice woman, but her explanation kept confusing me more. She said I had not turned off the data, and everything was using my data, even when texts or pictures were sent to me which I didn't open, even when I was in a hotel and using wi-fi, etc. However, once I had the international roaming shut off, those texts and pics kept coming and not charges were accrued. I tried to pin her down on exactly what I needed to do to avoid charges when I travel overseas in the future. She provided me some advice (turn off data, turn on ariplane mode). However, when I asked about using my GPS, she said it wouldn't work if I turned off my data and had my airplane mode on. Then she said, if I typed in the address where I was going before I left the hotel, and THEN turned off my data, I could get to where I was going without using data. I was exhausted, and I'm sure the woman on the phone was tired, too. She asked the supervisor for a reduction, and she said she was told no because the charges were from international roaming and data usage. I asked to speak tothe supervisor.

Patrick the supervisor got on the phone. I simply wanted to know how to avoid the charges next time I go overseas and drive and why each representative gave me variations of different ways to avoid costs that was leading to my confusion. He basically said that CC is a domestic phone company. It does not have a cost-effective overseas' plan. Therefore, I should purchase a SIM CARD when I get to the place I am traveling and use that. He shared that customer reps are in different stages of their training and not all have been trained how to answer the question. And this is my point! Only one representative told me this on November 22. Everyone else was trying to tell me how to use CC when I am overseas, when they should have told me to get a Sim Card when I was going overseas. The seemingly confusing and contradictory explanations only caused me to misunderstand, and that led to the "overage" of data. I am so thankful that I received that text on January 1 only because the financial cost could have been worse than the 231 I had accrued in 7 days.

I cancelled service in sept. When they sent me a cheap, crap phone. They continued to charge me after i cancelled. I wasted 5 phone calls & several emails to cancel. Customer service refused to give their complete name or send me customer service notes to my email. I'm still turning this matter into ohio attorney general for fraudulent charges. After 8 yrs. Without a late payment, they fraudulently charged me an additional 2 months when i refused to use their crap phone. They requested a suponea for records! they threatened collection if i didn't pay the bogus charges. Their customer service are well trained in bogus sales notes, dates, & refuse to show any written material in an email. What the f...? never use them, never refer them, they're crooks.

I had been a Consumer Cellular Customer for several years and always experienced good customer service. And I appreciated that their customer service is US based. It really does make a difference.

On September 29th, 2022, I ordered an iPhone 11 from Consumer Cellular over the phone. I received the iPhone 11 on October 3rd, 2022. Unfortunately, the iPhone 11 that Consumer Cellular sent me did not perform well because I could not make or receive phone calls, calls were dropped, I could not do internet searches, my Facebook and Instagram accounts would not refresh, etc. It was for the most part of no use to me during the one week it was in my possession. I did not have these problems with the iPhone 6 Plus I had been using previously.

I just retired to South Carolina from Hawaii…….. and had so much to do to establish my new household….including a terminally ill pet. But I was unable to do so with the iPhone 11 that Consumer Cellular sent me. My neighbors frequently saw me outside my home trying to get a better signal…….but that did not work.

I called Consumer Cellular almost daily between October 4th and October 12th. I was told to “Refresh Network Settings” which I did multiple times…….. but it did not improve the performance of the phone. I was offered no other assistance.

Some of the Customer Services Representatives were professional…but most seemed irritated at my calls. And no one was able to help me troubleshoot the problem. On October 9th, after having the phone for only 6 days, I told Consumer Cellular the iPhone 11 was not working, I needed a functioning phone and needed to switch back to my iPhone 6Plus. That customer Service representative made an appointment for me at Target on October 10th at 1 pm to pick up a “Drawer SIM” for the iPhone 6 Plus. I went to Target and they had no “Drawer Sims” so I had to buy one.

On 10/10/2022, I activated the iPhone 6 Plus that I have had for years and did not experience the problems I had with the iPhone 11. There were still connectivity issues……. but the older phone functioned much better. On October 11th, I contacted Consumer Cellular about returning the iPhone 11. The woman I spoke to suggested I try the iPhone 12 and I agreed. But on October 12th, I decided that I did not want the iPhone 12 from Consumer Cellular due to the previous bad iPhone experience and ongoing connectivity issues. I called and Customer Service Representative, Charlie, said the iPhone 12 had not been sent out. He cancelled the order and I told him I would be changing carriers due to poor connectivity and equipment issues. He was polite and professional. On October 13th, I sent the iPhone 11 back via Fed Ex.

I went to the TMobile brick and mortar store, bought an iPhone 14 Plus, got mobile and home internet service and received excellent customer service. I was told by people at the T-Mobile store that Consumer Cellular does not take kindly to people switching carriers and would often retaliate with delayed porting over of numbers and other tactics. And delayed porting over of my cell phone number is exactly what I experienced. I was at the T-Mobile store for hours due to Consumer Cellular’s delay tactics.

On October 20th, I was alerted via USPS Informed Delivery that a package was coming to me from Consumer Cellular. I called Consumer Cellular to find out what they were sending and they said the iPhone 11 had a small scratch on it and was being returned to me and I was being charged $480. I received no prior notification or documentation of said scratch from Consumer Cellular about this……. which to my way of doing business…is unprofessional.

I treat all my iPhones with great care. They are kept in Otter Boxes and kept clean. I have NEVER damaged any of my iPhones. My iPhone 6 Plus looks brand new. The iPhone 11 that I sent back to Consumer Cellular was not damaged. Perhaps it was damaged en route or after it arrived at Consumer Cellular. But it was not damaged while in my possession.

On October 22nd, the iPhone 11 was delivered to my home and I refused to accept the delivery. I called Consumer Cellular and spoke to a Customer Service Representative who apologized for my being unable to get help from Consumer Cellular with the iPhone 11 during the week I had the non-functioning iPhone 11. She also thought it odd that the phone would be returned……. without anyone from Consumer Cellular notifying me of the return. She asked if I wanted her to “Escalate” the situation. I asked what that was and she wasn’t sure. I was connected to a male supervisor who listened to me. He put me on hold to look at the records. When he came back on the line we were disconnected. I had no way of reaching him……. and he made no attempt to call me back.

This situation was entirely avoidable. If Consumer Cellular Customer Service had assisted me with the dysfunctional iPhone 11 and connectivity issues….I would still be a customer. But instead…….most of the Consumer Cellular Customer Service Representatives chose to treat me as a nuisance and offered no real assistance. I was provided with a phone that did not work for the entire week I had it…….. yet I have to pay for service for that week and Consumer Cellular wants me to pay $480 for an iPhone that did not work well from the beginning and was in fine physical condition when sent back? Why isn’t anyone at Consumer Cellular investigating the terrible customer service I received during the week I had the iPhone 11? Also, if I had known the iPhone 11 was being sent back to me…….. I would have used it for a trade in……… but no one at Consumer Cellular bothered to inform me……. and by then it was too late to do that.

I already have another phone and, on my pension, cannot afford to pay for a phone that I told Consumer Cellular clearly from the beginning was not working. Why is there no RECOURSE FOR CONSUMERS?

Consumer did not provide me with pictures of the "alleged" damage... until I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint...which was useless. Consumer Cellular is behaving in an unprofessional and retaliatory manner.



I know Consumer Cellular has a reputation for excellent customer service. And that was what I experienced…… when I had no significant problems. But once I encountered a significant problem - an iPhone 11 that did not work as it should and connectivity issues - the excellent customer service disappeared. Now that I am no longer a customer and have an outstanding balance, Consumer Cellular is constantly contacting me. Unfortunately, the focus of technology corporations these days is money... rather than providing competent service.

Many people are experiencing significant customer service problems with technology companies. There are websites devoted to the issue. The online “Office Assistants” are not helpful. At some companies…… it is almost impossible to get a live person on the line. Other companies are great until you have a problem. Internet and mobile companies appear to be in some sort of “Customer Service Crisis”. We are all different……..but I do not want to deal with dysfunctional websites, long wait times, Customer Service Representatives who can’t or don’t want to assist me and defective equipment or services. I doubt I will replace my current iPhone when it stops working. For me, all the bother is no longer worth the hassle. Technology companies are not behaving in a professional manner...and no one seems able to do anything about it. It is horrible that anyone, including senior citizens like myself, have to deal with these issues.

Was genuinely helped by a young gentleman named Austin from Ohio. Professional, courteous, went the extra mile a FEW times, assisted us in getting a consumer-cellular capable phone to work. Worked after hours to find answers and assist us with the issues.

Truly wish more customer assistance persons would be like Austin. He set the bar really high for all the others in this business. Thank you!

MichaelF of Burleson.

I never knew that porting your own telephone number was so complicated.

I started the process early last year and still nothing. Consumer cellular keeps giving me the run around. Consumer Cellular say that Vonage gave them the wrong information about my account and so on. I've called Consumer at least 10 times over the pass year, the costumer service talks very nice, but they have NOT done anything to correct the situation.

I'm to the point of giving up and just cancel my service with CC, I haven't used my cell phone service with them for over 4 months.

I was considering switching to consumer seller but quickly learned that a 13 year #1 JD Power rating is a meaningless and questionable marketing babble.

Considering the numerous complaints found.
But it doesn't stop there!
While Consumers Cellular claims you can "bring your own phone" and offers a feature where you can check via entering the IMEI number for phone compatibility, I had no luck. I tried and entered my Samsung S5 LTE4 IMEI but it was rejected it as not being compatible.

When I called them I was told that the "bring your own phones"must be compatible with their service must have VoLTE.

So why are they not showing these few words of information on the site?
Furthermore the person on the other end mentioned: "I can look up of the website what phones they have that are 'compatible'".
That made me a little suspicious. especially since they use AT&T and T Mobile as their service carriers.
So I tried newer phones like a Samsung S20 iPhone 11 etc. entering the relevant IMEI but got the same error message!
I tested further and discovered that any IMEI number from any model, including the ones they try to sell, is returned as "device is not compatible".

Sure! They want to sell you one of theirs!
I call that a scam, misleading people with the offer to bring their own but then claiming they are incompatible and luring them to the sales list.
This is absolutely unethical!

when I try and go onto consumer cellular's website consumercellular.com from India my computer says

"Access denied Error 1020".

Not very helpful, as I want to find out why the messaging service I signed up with them while I am here in India isnt working either. The reason for that there seems to be that my phone keeps trying to connect to a cellular provider here (Vi) which doesnt have any coverage. Occasionally it switches to Airtel which has good coverage but mostly it just tries to use Vi, and doest give me any options to change it.

I have consumer cellular service on my iphone 6SE in New York State

thanks

Martin Brading

I am a new customer of CC but it is not starting off well. I received my new sim card today, Dec. 28, 2022. I am keeping my same number and phone so I just needed the sim card activated. I called Cc and gave the rep all the info needed, followed the instructions on turning my phone on and off and then making a call. Well...I now have no service at all. When she said that she was activating without having the new sim card installed yet I had a funny feeling. The only thing she succeeded in was having my old account cancelled. And to repeat,... I have no phone service at all and cannot call for help. I'm a senior and I live alone...not having a way to contact family or call for help makes me very nervous.

I tried using their home base device for my home phone, ran into multiple problems. Today (12/17/22) I found that no one is able to contact me at home - response to callers is "this phone number is out of service". Since purchasing this service I've had multiple technical problems. Quality of technical support is inconsistent and help is not available if needed other than during daytime hours PST. Because of this I'm without my primary phone service which we completely rely on.

I saved a message from my father he left me just before he died. Now, I resaved it when it was due for automatic deletion until I could transfer it to another device to be saved permanently, but your system deleted it anyway! What the hell am I paying for! This is my service snd my decision to save or delete messages as I see fit! I am so angry I could spit fire right now. Looking for another carrier now. Thanks for absolutely nothing!

Susan Gaylor