U.S. Cellular / United States Cellular

One of our smartphones was damaged. I went to the local sales office to find out what options we had. I was going to look for a used phone, but after talking to the local us cellular agent I was told that we could replace the damaged smart phone with a flip phone for free. He indicated that I had enough points under my current contract to allow me to buy a new phone at no cost. I also asked if my monthly cost would change... They indicated it would not. I decided to go ahead and get a new flip phone rather than looking for a used smart phone since it would be cheaper. I just received my monthly us cellular bill. The bill was approximately $90 more than my previous months bill. After researching I found that a $30 discount that I was previously receiving on my smart phone that I had replaced with the flip phone was no longer being applied.in addition, I was charged a $40 activation fee. Upon contacting customer service, they did reverse the activation fee, but refused to honor the $30 discount I was previously receiving. I told them that the local office told me that the phone would be free because of my points and that my monthly bill would not change. They indicated that because I had bought a new phone, the $30 discount was no longer available. I demanded that they honor what was communicated to me by their sales force. I threatened a law suit (which I unfortunately can not afford.) I was told to go ahead because I signed the contract and was past the 15 day window to return the phone and cancel the contract. Had I realized my bill would increase as a result of this transaction, I would have definitely returned the phone within the 15 day window, but my bill was sent after the 15 day window. To pay $720 ($30 lost discount x 24 month contract) for a flip phone is absolutely ludicrous. I would have never agreed to that had they been upfront and honest about the cost. I can buy the same flip phone on amazon for between $20 and $50. Not to mention, I could have bought a used smart phone for $100 or less. I asked them to allow me to return the phone and let me buy a phone from elsewhere (which is what I had planned to do before they told me it would be a no cost alternative.) I am now paying $30 more per month and locked in for 24 months for a phone with about 90% less capability... It would be like trading in a cadillac for a kia rio and paying extra money monthly to do so... No one in their right mind would do so! I was misled and scammed. Their points are a scam and their bills are so difficult to read that most consumers have a hard time figuring out where additional costs come from. They did agree (after 2 hours of frustration and yelling on my behalf) to give me $30 off of one of our other phones for a year (not 2 years).in my experience with us cellular, they will probably not follow through on this either. I have to call frequently on incorrect billing. I will still be paying $320 for the flip phone which will be paid out during the second year of the contract. That is not a free/no cost phone. I also asked to buy out of my contract with them so I could take our business elsewhere, but in order to do so they indicated it would cost me over $200 per phone... We have 5 phones with them! Someone needs to protect consumers from the underhanded thievery of us cellular. Their business practices are as shady and unethical as any thief or conman currently sitting in our state penitentiaries. I thankfully have never been the victim of a crime, but feel that what has happened with this is no different than someone walking in and stealing $720 from my wallet! Not to mention, their customer service is horrible!