Straight Talk Wireless
Reviews and Complaints

Among all the service providers for cell phones this has to be the worst. Purchased the straight talk phone for our daughter last year. By January they disconnected it. After a lengthy conversation, they admitted the problem was on their end. Since then it's happened three more times. Tonight we have spoken with the credit card company and they've taken the payment out and then disconnected the phone. It's very frustrating especially when you talk with representatives that act as if they are reading off a menu. We expect her to get the service owed to her for this month then we will switch to Boost or Cricket. At least if there is a problem, we can drive to the location, and correct the problem in real time with people who speak our native language. The problem with "Straight Talk" is they don't know how to do it. Walmart should be ashamed of the service (?) it's providing with their cell phones. If not I'm ashamed for you. As soon as the month is up, our disconnect with straight talk will be permanent. Stay away from this offer and keep your sanity.

I have been using a straight talk phone since January and up until now have had no problems but now, they are pissing me off! A few weeks ago I was told that I would get a free halloween ringtone but when I went online to get it, it kept popping up that my phone hadn't been put into the system and I needed to call customer service. I called 4 different times over a 2 day period because NOBODY knows what they are doing with this company and all of them are idiots who kept saying problem solved when it wasn't. The only reason I kept calling again was because 1, I was assured my minutes were not getting used up and it was free to call them since they were customer service after all and 2, they kept telling me there was a problem with my phone that needed to be fixed. The 4th time I called I DEMANDED to talk to a supervisor and up till this point I had requested to but was always told that I was not allowed to. This time after over 45 minutes of waiting I got to finally talk to a supervisor and turns out all I had to do to fix all of these problems was to set up my online account, something the very first person should have been able to tell me! So all in all I spent OVER 4 hours on the phone with straight talk being put on hold time after time, talking to idiots that had no idea what they were doing (some of which I could barely understand so that made it all the more frustrating), while not getting the help I needed! But that is just issue #1.

About a week after I had called them I realized that they had not only taken the time I spent on the phone with them out of my minute usage, but they had also deducted more minutes that I hadn't even used. I was assured that my time on the phone with them was free and would not be taken out of my minute usage. They put me on hold time after time after time for over 4 hours so if I had known that they were taking my minutes for this I wouldn't have called in the first damn place! Now as I said I have used this phone provider since January and I have always bought the 1000 minute plan because I have NEVER even gotten close to using that. A few months ago we started using my cell phone as our home phone as well but we're not phone talkers and have still never gone over 500 minutes used. We do not use our phone much at all! Since they are liars who say one thing and do another, I decided to write them an email instead of calling about the situation, since they would no doubt take the rest of my minutes away. I have sent 3 emails to this company explaining my problem and demanding they fix it and give me back my minutes. They have responded to two of my 3 emails and said "We would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any
inconvenience you may have experienced with this issue on accessing our
mobile web." I AM NOT HAVING PROBLEMS ACCESSING MOBILE WEB YOU STOLE MY MINUTES! So a few minutes ago I get a phone call from one of these idiots and when I told her I did not want to talk to her on the phone because they were using these minutes and that they needed to converse with me in emails only, she told me once again to call the 1800 number. When I said a big hell no to that because they haven't left me with many minutes left as is and I know they'll use the rest all up when I call she told me to go to a payphone to call and then hung up on me. I am FURIOUS!

This company is so unprofessional. It makes me so angry how they said one thing and did another and now won't even fix the problem at hand without taking up more of my money and time. They need to get their stuff together and they need to do it quick. If they are going to use your minutes when you call they should tell you that up front so you can email. Not that email helps anything obviously! They don't know the first thing about customer service and helping a customer, they don't know how to fix problems, and they take all of your minutes when they have said you will not get charged those minutes so they're also liars. My service runs up on the 22nd and my remaining minutes they have not stolen yet will hopefully last me until then but I will definitely not be renewing my service. I have heard many stories from people who have gotten horrible customer service from them and I just thought it was weird cause I had never had a problem with them. I will definitely never recommend this company to anyone else ever again (I have gotten at least 10 people to switch to straight talk and that makes me angry that I told them they should switch to what I now know is a horrible company!) and I will only be telling the negatives of the straight talk wireless customer service reps and managers! Because of this ridiculousness they are losing a few very good customers. Not that me and a few of my friends leaving them is a big deal to them, but the numbers will add up if they don't fix their horrible customer service! I strongly urge anyone considering to go to straight talk to reconsider unless they are ok with ### customer service!

I have a straight talk phone. The phone works fine but the company charged my account twice in the same month Sept 16, and then the 23 for $49.64. They have no one who can speak clear English and they transfer you from representative to representative to help you with your valid complaint. I have spent a total of 14 hours over the last 34 days trying to get my money back. I even cancelled the service but guess what ? They charged me again on October 25. I was placed on hold for 42 minutes just today. If you hang up you never get the same person again. You have to start all over again with the story and then they transfer you and then you end up on hold all over again.

I purchased a prepaid phone and $30.00 time card for 1000 minutes. I got the prepaid
card to work quickly with no problems. Despite the few annoying "wrong" numbers and
awful texts from people I don't know, the phone works fine. I bought the Samsung R355.

I have now, about three weeks later, need to buy more minutes and thought to register
online so I could enroll in the automatic monthly refill.

I could never get the website to accept my cell phone serial number with the error
message:

"We are sorry, the Serial Number you entered is associated with another
account.
Please try again with a different serial number or log into "My
Account."

I called their customer number [protected]-CELL (2355) and explained my problem.

The first customer service rep struggled with speaking English so badly I felt sorry for him
and he had no understanding of what I needed. He painfully kept reciting some gibberish
and I just told him forget it and I hung up.

The second customer service rep I spoke with was in the Phillipines by her own admission and
the connection sounded as though she was under water, and bless her heart, no amount of trying
to adjust her phone helped it get any better or clearer. She was nice though. Still, no help.

I then emailed the company and told them of my problems with the customer service
reps and knowing I couldn't get help through their hotline, I received the following reply:

Thank you for your interest in Straight Talk Wireless. We are responding
to your recent inquiry.

We understand that you would like to refill your phone using the
website. In order for you to refill your account online, you will need
first to log in into your "My Account". Please be informed that in order
for you to create your "My Account", you need to provide us with a valid
e-mail address so we can update your file. Once we have your e-mail
address, the system will generate a password and it will be sent to your
e-mail.

To update your e-mail address, please contact one of our customer care
representatives at [protected]. Upon verifying the account
information, we will process your request to update the information. For
your convenience, our representatives are available Monday-Sunday from
8:00 AM to 11:45 PM EST.

Thank you for being a Straight Talk Wireless customer. We appreciate
your business.

Sincerely,

Straight Talk Wireless

I feel like throwing the phone in the trash and going back to the theives holding us all hostage
at the big contract companies, but I will just ignore all these problems and go buy a card and
hopefully I will be able to refill it on my own. These phones can save you money and we all need
to tighten the belt anyway we can.

I would really look into a phone system with complete reviews, coverage, etc. before I bought another one.
I was in a rush and now paying the price, albeit a smaller one that a contract would have me pay.

Good luck!

Well, yesterday I bought a straight talk phone. One with a full keyboard. My phone was working fine yesterday and this morning it stopped. I turned my phone off and then turned it back on it said "unregistered sim". I took the sim card out and placed it back in. I don't know what is wrong with my phone, all I know is I need it fixed, now!

In trying to find out why my phone was not getting signal, I was told by the representative that their phones only work in the zip code they are registered in.
I specifically asked, "So, if I activated my phone in my town and then drive an hour away to visit my mom in a different zip code, the phone will stop working when I leave my zip code?" The representative replied, "That's correct."
I asked why this was not in the fine print on the paperwork that comes with the phone and was told they didn't have to because when the phone is activated by zip code, it will alert them if your phone model is incompatible with the zip code you are trying to register in.
I asked, "So am I supposed to never leave my zip code then, or do I need to by a different phone for every family member I visit so I'll have signal when I travel?" Response: "That's correct."
Also, according to his supervisor, each model of phone works off of a different tower signal, so one style of phone may work, where another will not.
I was not happy with customer service at all. They were unknowledgeble, rude and no matter what question I asked or how many times I asked for them to explain something, they continued repeating the same thing they had just said. They also kept complaining about "static" in the line and asking me to repeat myself because they couldn't understand me. I had trouble understanding them, but not because of static.
The phones are flimsy and break easily and the customer service is horrible. Basically, I am out 150$ on a phone and one month service that I can't use.
I'm not sure if their return policy is purposely complicated beyond comprehension, or if the people in customer service speak such poor english that it cannot be explained properly, but there is not much hope in getting a refund out of them.

I purchased a Straight talk phone from Walmart three months ago. From day one I have had several dropped calls and very poor reception. I can't hear callers and they can't hear me. Called the company today and they had me reset my phone. I made some calls and sent out some texts to see if the problem had been rectified and it has not. Called the company again today and they said I would have to send my phone to them and I would receive a replacement in two weeks. Two weeks? What am I supposed to do without a phone for two weeks..especially since my business relies on the phone? I spent $100 on the phone and it is a piece of junk...and so is the service. Do not purchase Straight talk. Walmart should pull the phones off their shelves! I am switching back to Virgin Mobile...who has excellent customer service and virtually no dropped calls...and good reception. Just thought I would switch to Straight talk when the Walmart salesperson told me they were on the Verizon network and that I would get excellent reception. What a lie! I am very unhappy with Straight talk and am writing a letter to the President of the company, Mr. Fredrick J. Pollack stating my huge disspaointment. I just wasted a lot of money on a junk phone. Stay away from this company.

I've had this phone for 2 months. They ported my number quite quickly and the service is very reliable. Then, it came time for the phone to refill. They were late by 2 days in refilling it and I was out of messages. I had to call them up for them to refill the minutes on the phone even though I was registered for auto-refill. Then this month, the second month I've had it, I had to call up to change the credit card it was under. When I called, they assured me that the 2 phones on the account would be enrolled in auto-refill under this new credit card. Today, a friend of mine spent 2 hours trying to call my straight talk phone, only for me to find out that I had 0 minutes. When I called, they told me that the phones were not enrolled in auto-refill but the new credit card was on the account. I had specifically asked just a few days earlier if the phones were enrolled in auto-refill under the new card and was assured that they were. I did not have the credit card on me at the time and the only way to get a hold of the person with the credit card was through a straight talk phone with no minutes. They could have added minutes without that but insisted that they needed me to confirm that the card was infact mine. This was ridiculous because I had no way of getting a hold of the person who had the card. Finally, I talked to a supervisor and filed a complaint against the person who screwed it up in the first place. The person with the credit card came back and I was able to update the information, but not after this supervisor used a sales pitch on me to tempt me into getting a plan with more minutes. So, straight talk is zero for two in doing its job at refilling. I find this very unprofessional. The customer service is not great. I do love the actual phone service but if this continues, I will have to quit using it.

I purchased a Straight Talk Phone (Samsung T401G) w/a $45 Straight Talk Activation Card on July 16th from Walmart. I used it one (1) time and it never worked again (The phone would not pick up a signal, no matter where I was, the phone never had any bars). I called Walmart and they told me that I would have to purchase another Straight Talk Phone and then call Straight Talk to transfer the phone number and minutes to the new phone. I've called Straight Talk for 7 straight days, 5 of the days speaking to a person that could barley talk english and still have not got service to my new phone. Each time I called Straight Talk customer service, I would get a different explaination as to what the problem is, but yet, I was assured that the problem would be taken care of and would have service in 24 to 48 hours. I was told to call *22890 after 24 hours and this would get the phone activated. It has been 75 hours now and 4 more calls to Straight Talk and still no service. The cost of Straight Talk might be very cheap, but the rule goes with this company, you get what you pay for. Trust me, do not purchase a Straight Talk Phone, pay a little extra and get a phone that will work.

Service worked fine for exactly 14 days - then "no service' today. Spent 45 minutes on house phone with "tech support' - what a joke. He tried going thru his script of options to no avail. Couldn't get the phone to work. I said "seems like a satelite issue or cell tower issue", phone works fine other than "no service". He can't fix, his supervisor can't fix. Gives me a case # and tells me to call back tomorrow to talk to the other department who has the "tools to fix" what he can't fix today. "No there's noone in that department on Sundays." So, I guess I'll be going back to the regular more expensive but dependable service of a regular cell phone contract with a national provider because Straight Talk SUCKS!

Well, about 2 months ago I bought a Straight Talk cell phone! After' a few wks. the phone started going out. The internet wouldn't work. I had just bought $45.00 worth of unlimited minutes as I do every month.
I couldn't even talk on my phone . I had to come up with another 80.00 to buy a brand new one. Needless to say the other$45.oo was history. I can't afford to lose out on money like that, I have 3 kids
one being disabled! So I actually need all the money I can keep! I had spoken to this little old woman
about my problem and she said that Straight Talk Company are VERY good trustworthy people.
She said that they would reimburse my 50.00 that's with tax and all!
All I had to do is be upfront with them and be honest!
All I want is my minute money cuz last month I was out that 50.00. Someone PLEASE help me!
I have to have my phone cuz my daughter has spina bifida! I pray someone is listening and feels compassion!
PLease let me know ASAP!

Thank You,
Ms. Jacquelyn D. Garrison
Feel free to call: [protected]
Hohenwald, TN 38462

i hope you saw my last comments about youre complains...i just want to let you know that everyone is human, everyone wants to have a job and provide a better life to theyre family there is no need to tell crappy things about the customer care center! they do what they were asign to do!...unfortunatley everyone has to do what theyre boss tell u to do!

now my suggestions!
add youre min on the expiration date ASK THE TIME TO DO IT BEFORE THE TIME OTHERWISE URE PHONE WILL BE DISCONECTED AND THERE IS NO WAY TO HAVE THE NUMBER BACK!

remember that when you have problems to make and received calls or maybe text or signal dial
*22890 *22891 and *22801!

LG 200c doesnt provide picture messages! ive got one of does phones! and i didnt knew that i was unable to use the picture messages!

i recomend samsung! its one of the better options that they have i have one of does now!
and just remember u are not the only one whos calling customer cervice and if u have issue with the phone dont call them from ure cellphone otherwise u will need to call them from a different line and u just waste ure time! and if u will call them from ure cellphone dial *611 because if u dial the 1877 number u will be charge!

Straight talk wont let me activate my phone without a airtime card but I don't have one. I bought a service card a they told me that they activated my phone but when I tried to check and make sure they did it said "were sorry but you must activate your phone for more service."

I have bought and returned 6 phones from straighttalk. The phone itself are cheap for the minutes and its hard to get another phone else where because my credit, so that is why I chose to put up with them, but I am so done with the aggravation. Every time I get a phone from them, it either shuts off while I'm talking, or it will not let me call out or receive calls. It will work fine sometime, then all of a sudden it will start acting up. When I call technical support, they sometime fix the problem, but then sometime they don't. I have to keep calling them, half the time I do not understand anything they are saying, or they admit they don't know what to do about my phone and admit they don't understand it themselves. I really think these phones should be taken off the shelves because this company is a rip off. You waste your money on the service cards because when your phone don't work most the time, they do not credit you for the days you missed out on it. And you can not return your cards even when your card dont go through onto your phone. This service sucksssss

Oh my god these people are straight up idiots. We called and spent over an hour to simply change our online password which by the way is not available at their website. We asked to speak to supervisors and was transferred back to the call queue instead of to a supervisor and low and behold I was charged for the minutes too! I filed a better business bureau complaint and I suggest anyone who has issues with them do the same. Perhaps they'll then hire americans or at least someone who has english for a first language and perhaps will then give decent customer service. An hour off my phone to call customer service to not even get help? Pfft.

The company took money off my card, couldnt activate my phone and cost me alot of money and time. I still havent got no money back from them they stold. When I contact them they act like they cant hear me. They speak little english. To make it worse I bought the phone at walmart and the dont even make a effort to care or handle business correctly after all the money I have spent there.