I transferred services from one carrier to CC thinking I would save money. Well, that did not happen and I found out they are just a pain in the a$$. I contacted them to switch service on 4/1. I did it over the phone. I followed the directions if the representative to a T. I received email confirmation that everything was completed. Two weeks later I get a bill from my "former" carrier that I had to pay for an entire month. I explained that my service was transferred on 4/1. I wasn't and that I needed to contact CC. I did and the woman that answered said I was "in limbo." She I asked her what that meant and she said I was with both services. What? Yes! My former carrier was charging me for a whole month and they were charging me for the two weeks that I was told I was transferred over. I asked to speak to a supervisor and she said to hold then disconnected my service. I couldn't call out or get calls in! I had to drive 45 minutes to Target and they don't have a representative there so a Target employee pulled a pamphlet to get a number and let me use the store's phone. The representative that answered didn't want to talk directly to me, yet use the employee as the middleman. He finally said he wasn't going to do that and she could talk to me directly. The woman accused me if not transferring my phone over correctly. I told her I did exactly what I was told by the man on the phone. She called meva lier! I told her to pull the phone conversation from 4/1 to prove that. She said she doesn't have the authority to do that. I said I wanted to speak with someone who did. I was transferred to a man who, again, accused me of not transferring my phone correctly. I asked him to pull the phone conversation and he outright said, NO! He said there was a not from a representative on that date that I refused to follow directions. If that was true, why did I get a confirmation email that everything was completed. I also received a survey in which I gave the a glowing review because everything seemed to go so smoothly. Boy was I wrong. 3 hours in Target and I got nowhere! I went to my old carrier the next morning and tried to transfer back. I thought everything was going well until I kept getting text messages from two friends wondering why their calls were going straight to voicemail and the voicemail said it was not set up yet. After 2 hours on the phone and another 3 hours in the store again, I found out CC hijacking my telephone number. They told my former carrier now carrier that I would have to purchase another phone and get a new number. I kid you not. I have had the same number for 19 years and my phone for one year and it is 100% paid off. The manager at my current carrier couldn't believe what she was hearing. Anyway, I ended up getting my number back. I was put through He!. I learned my less. Like they say, if it sounds too good to be true, then it's not true. Is that the exact quote? Sorry so long. And they lied to me about the towers they use. I live in the country and they promised over and over that I would get service out there, liers. I told them what cell companies do not provide services there and come to find out those are the exact towers they use.

Approximately 4 months ago from today March 10th 2024 I ordered a SIM card from consumer Cellular and indicated that I would be porting my number to it once it arrived. However, when the SIM card arrived it had a number already attached to it. I then proceeded to contact their customer service line and was told that that account would be canceled and I paid for a new SIM card to be sent and was told that it would be credited to my account after I ported my number into it. Weeks went by and no SIM card arrived although the charge for it did appear on my credit card statement. Therefore, I concluded that the SIM card was never going to arrive so I just kept my same service provider and phone number which I still have today. Shortly thereafter, I started receiving invoices from consumer Cellular for service that was supposed to be canceled and that I wasn't using and didn't even have the SIM card for anymore. I sent them written notifications plus email notifications, and additionally, I utilized their automated system multiple times in an effort to cancel service as well. On March 2nd 2024 my credit card was billed $102.24 by Consumer Cellular which besides being unauthorized and fraudulent, I also did not have a continuing auto pay agreement with them nor did I authorize any type of charges. When I first was going to get the service they asked for a card just to have on file to prove identity which of course I see now was a lie because when in reality they wanted to come back and charge you without you knowing or authorizing it even though you've canceled their service multiple times. This is a highly corrupt and fraudulent and apparently unethical company that is just like so many others. They use slick marketing in the form of stupid and dumbed down commercials to bring in new customers. If you read the reviews on other websites you will see that I am certainly not alone and having issues with Consumer Cellular. After seeing this $102.24 charge on my credit card on March 2nd I called their customer service center and was escalated to their loyalty supervisor/specialist who assured me that this amount would be credited back to my account and even apologized that nobody paid attention to any of my requests I submitted to have the service canceled. He also stated that I'd be receiving an email indicating that these actions would take place. Moving forward to today March 10th, I spoke to customer service again and was escalated to a loyalty supervisor/specialist and was told that they are not going to credit $102.24 back to my account. But that they would so gracefully wave the new charge of $37 to my account which is probably a late charge for a charge I didn't owe for service I don't have and had requested multiple times starting in January to be canceled even after the initial phone rep I spoke with said it would be closed as she would issue a new SIM card but in their system it states that I said I was just going to go buy a new SIM card at Target which is a place I never ever shop due to their extreme wokeness.

Eleven years ago I joined the growing cell phone revolution by getting a motorola flip phone from Consumer Cellular. As speed advanced and phones were obsoleted I bought the latest obligatory model to match the latest speed. Viz Doro 626 then 618 then 7050. I refused to buy smart phones because I have one computer at home and do not have a need to carry the Internet in my pocket. The Doros were very functional durable and private. Then the subsequent flip phones took a continuing deep dive into low quality and dependability. I tried a ZTE brand Avid 589 smartphone that was a Rube Goldberg of chaotic software packed with intrusive websites and Google stuff that incessantly butted into the owners use of the real purpose of a phone which is for making calls. Consumer Cellular refused to give me a refund because I was a week beyond the return date. My next purchase was Verve Snap that purports to be a simple flip phone but is a smart phone in disguise while having a terminal case of psychosis. Here is what I told the supervisor of the returns department:
The Verve snap cannot be carried in a pocket or vertical holster because it has the ring and voice volume sharing the up down buttons which are too big and too exposed on the side of the phone. I solved that problem when I bought a horizontal belt holster where I could carry it with the buttons facing up.
When I press the Contacts button the contact who I had previously dialed comes up and blocks access to the contacts list. I have to power the phone off then back on to access the contacts list. Afterward that second contact blocks access to the list again. This problem repeats even after removing the battery or doing a full factory reset which means reentering my 38 contacts. The phone also randomly brings up the Favorites page blocking access to the contacts. I told her that I want a full refund for selling me a defective phone. She delivered a long speech stating the requirements are that the phone must be returned in pristine new condition as well as all of the literature and original box. I told her that the phone had a small scratch on the plastic bezel. She told me to keep it and she would not give me a refund. When I protested that it was defective she told me that Consumer Cellular does not have quality control nor do they refund phones with defective software. They obviously resell defective returned phones. I will not give them the pleasure of ruining another life. I quickly had my phone number ported to another carrier and had my credit card cancelled while warning my bank to block a.ll approaches from Consumer Cellular. The next day Consumer Cellular billed me for $84.00 though I owed them nothing. If you read reviews you will see that Consumer Cellular has been deceiving millions of people. Recently in the news a man independently sued Consumer cellular and lost. Then Consumer cellular got our corrupt government shills to out law class action suits against phone carriers. Be careful who you vote for.

So after seeing their commercial about best customer satisfaction awards best service ect, ect. Gave them a call. They talked me into signing up with them. They charged me for the shipping of their Sim card after I gave them the IMEI number of my Unlocked Samsung phone I had They said I could use. Received the Sim card, followed the instructions, ended up having to call them for assistance. They asked for the IMEI number again, then after being put on hold numerous times finally told me that my Samsung Galaxy phone was not compatible and outdated. Then they began to put the pressure on to purchase a phone from them, but them telling me my phone wasn't compatible and outdated just made me suspicious because I knew that was B.S. I refused the offer of purchasing any of thier phones, then the Representative asked me the MOST RIDICULOUS THING! "So would you still like to keep your service?" At which time I said "No thank you." Then they asked if I would like to cancel the service. LOL again, I respectfully declined to keep the service and yes cancel.
Well, what ya know, about three (3) weeks later there is a charge on my debit card for $39.00 from Consumer Cellular! This is where the real Nightmare begins. The first representative was Rude, sarcastic, snide, just the most ugly a person could be telling me that there's no refund possible because I didn't cancel my service! I told her that in fact, yes I did, she called me a liar! I called and got another Reprisenative on my other phone and had her listen to the conversation I was having with the other Rude one at which she did. The first one kept asking me if I wanted to cancel my service at which I kept saying I already did. Then she said that I activated the Sim card they sent on a Samsung something 20, at which I was done and hung up with her. Told the other rep on my other phone what had originally happen at which time she put me on hold for a very long time then came back apologized and said the service would be canceled and I would be issued a refund. Well a week goes by and no refund. So I call and ask what's going on with the refund and the Rep says it was just authorized that day and I should see it in the next three days. Another week goes by and nothing. I call and get hung up on now. I am truley discusted and can't describe what a Horrible experience this has been. STAY AWAY FROM CONSUMER CELLULAR!

When you subscribe to Consumer Cellular, you're really subscribing to AT&T as Consumer Cellular runs on the AT&T network. Have had the service just over a month now and am dropping calls like flies, something AT&T is famous for and something that hadn't happened with this phone previously, a Samsung Galaxy S10e with 4 out of 5 bars signal strength. AT&T just happens to be amongst the lowest-rated of all cell carriers in Consumer Reports. You do get US-based customer service when you call as they say, a refreshing change from the Philippines! You'll get agents that are courteous, yet are likely to have limited knowledge. My latest call dropped talking to their customer service, and did I get a courtesy call back? HA!

I thought that maybe after 20 years, AT&T might have finally got their act together, so I gave Consumer Cellular a try. Was I wrong! I can vouch for the lousy quality of AT&T service having been part of the 9/11 rescue team at the NYC Medical Examiners office. I'm the guy who generated those numbers you saw scrolling across the bottom of your TV screens every night. In the months following 9/11, EVERY carrier's phones worked there except AT&T's. How sad it was to see cops coming in from ground zero downtown unable to make or receive important calls. I went to war with AT&T and after 6 months of having to fight with them thanks to their extreme indifference to such an important part of the rescue/recovery of our nation's biggest domestic disaster to date, they finally had a site installer come down and put repeaters in so their phones could work. This actually came inches from being exposed in the media.

I've also never gotten the Visual Voice Mail I was promised when I signed up. Apparently, that doesn't work on certain models, like mine.

Boy would I love to tell Ted Danson my story!

From Droidlife Daily 07/06/2023:
Opensignal Report: AT&T 5G Continues to Lag Behind Other Carriers
>>>>>Opensignal published its latest 5G Experience findings this week, detailing that when it comes to US carriers, you should probably be with either Verizon or T-Mobile, while AT&T continues to lag behind in all notable categories.<<<<<

Bottom line: Consumer Cellular is a front for AT&T catering to old folks that likely wouldn't give a hoot about the crappy quality of AT&T's service.

They say its $20, that's not true, they tack on anything they can to make it $50 or more.
I think they take advantage of costumers that are not as tech savvy and they charge them more than what they are worth. I think my plan for a basic flip phone and basic coverage was $50 (after they added all the tiny fees) then when I had trouble with it (I often wouldn't receive calls or texts for days after they were sent to me), I contacted them.

This is when I saw all the extra tiny fees and I was told that my service (after maybe 6 months) was not 'fully activated', I responded with something like I've been paying for full service and you've not been providing it? So I decided to explore other options.

I found that I could get a prepaid plan with verizon that after credits would be about $35. So, I got a transfer pin for my phone and canceled consumer cellular plan. Verizon sent me a new sims card and I put it in. It was only days later I had problems (not receiving calls but I could get text messages).

It took me 2 weeks and maybe 8 or more different agents, I was at one point on a conference call with 5 different agents (from both companies) and I finally got someone who knew what happened —the pin was still not transferring because the consumer cellular account was not active anymore and to get a new pin I needed to put the old simcard in and get the account temporarily reactivated long enough that I could get a text (with another transfer pin).

4 months later and they are wanting an additional $64 for that account being active all this time. I contact them again and explain the situation. The agent says they will remove the late fees at the very least and I will pay around $42 for their 1 text with the transfer pin. That promise was just not honest because the bill they give me is for the full $64.

These people are for profit and if you think they are not making money off people who don't know much about technology or how these services work, you are kidding yourself.

I think everyone should steer clear of this company, they are not offering you a deal that you cannot get better from Verizon and they will do things like say that your service (which you have been paying full price for) hasn't been fully activated for months.

My new verizon bill is $35 prepaid and it will drop to $25 after a few more months.

I DONT RECOMEND YOU TO USE CONSUMNER CELULLAR THIS SERVICE. THEY ARE RIDICOULSLY HELPLESS. YOU WANT STRESS YOU CAN USE THEM

WELL PEOPLE WHO USE CC I THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT GETTING A DIFFERENT COMPANY I AM COME THIS MONDAY I HAVE BEEN FIGHTING WITH THESE HARD HEADS FOR 4 DAYS MADE A 60 MILE ROUND TRIP TO A TARGET WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO HAVE A STORE DID WHAT I WAS TOLD TO DO BY 20 PEOPLE NO EXAGGERATION EACH ONE WAS DIFFERENT NO CONSISTENCY ON WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS THEY WILL NOT MAKE ATT WHO THEY HAVE CHOSE FOR THEIR PROVIDER WHO I LEFT AFTER 25 YEARS WITH THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR BAD SERVICE AND CAME TO CC. NOW WHILE CC HAD 3 PROVIDERS THEIR SERVICE WAS GOOD NOW THEY HAVE LET 2 GO AND KEPT THE WORST ATT SO IF YOU EVER HAD TROUBLES WITH ATT OR HAVING TROUBLES WITH ATT NOW THIS IS THE REASON WHY. CC DOES NOT EVEN HAVE THEIR WEB PAGE SET UP CORRECTLY YOU CANNOT GET TO CHAT YOU CAN BARELY GET TO YOUR ACCOUNT TO SEE IT AND PAY IT, THEY ARE JUST NOT WORTH THE HASSLE OR THE MONEY AT THIS POINT, NOT WHEN I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND THEN 5 MIN LATER THEY ASK ME THE SAME THING THEY DO NOT LISTEN TO YOU THEY THINK THEY KNOW IT ALL WHEN THEY KNOW VERY LITTLE I AM SPEAKING OF CC RIGHT NOW THEY ARE STUBBORN AND HARDHEADED AND REFUSE TO KEEP AFTER ATT UNTIL THEY FIX THE PROBLEM. THERE PROBLEM FIXER IS A MASTER RESET OF YOUR PHONE I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU OUT THERE THAT HAS EVER HAD TO HAVE THAT DONE BUT I HAVE AND I LOST ALL MY INFORMATION DOING THAT EVEN AFTER THE PHONE BEING BACKED UP TO ICLOUD. THEY SAID THAT ATT IS REQUIRING THAT AND I SAID NO ABOUT 5 DIFFERENT TIMES NOW JUST TO THIS ONE PERSON AND THEY REFUSE TO KEEP PUTTING IN TROUBLE REPORTS UNTIL ATT FINALLY FIXES THIS PROBLEM SO I AM WRITING THIS HOPING THIS WILL HELP SOME OF YOU OUT THERE THAT ARE HAVING PROBLEMS IT IS NOT ONLY ATT CAUSING THEM BUT THE LACK OF CC HELPING YOU GET ATT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Reply
1h

Robyn Moore
I AM SICK OF THIS COMPANY THEY CANNOT FIX MY PHONE THEY CANNOT CALL ME ON MY UNLOCKED PHONE I HAVE BEEN ON THE PHONE WITH THEM 2 DAYS APPLE 1 DAY AND THEY HAVE NO KNOW TECHINICAL DEPARTMENT AND THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON I CANNOT GET ALL MY CALLS AND TEXTS EVEN THOUGH I BOUGHT MY PHONE AT ATT AFTER BEING WITH THESE BOZO'S FOR 3 YEARS UNTIL THEY DECIDED TO LET GO OF TWO OF THEIR TOWER PROVIDERS AND NOW USING UNSTABLE ATT THEIR WEB PAGE IS NOT WORKING WELL YOU CANNOT USE CHAT AND YOU CAN BARELY PAY YOUR BILL CONSUMER CELLULAR REFUSES TO LOOK AT THEIR END OF THIS PROBLEM MY PHONE IS UNLOCKED AND IT SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH CONSUMER CELLULAR AND IT NEVER HAS UNTIL NOW AND NOW THEY WANT TO BLAME EVERYONE OTHER THEM THEMSELVES. THEY CANNOT CALL EITHER OF MY PHONES AND REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT IT IS ON THEIR END THAT THIS PROBLEM IS OCCURRING I AM VERY PISSED AND GOING TO CHANGE PROVIDERS IF THEY CANNOT LOOK INTO THEIR SYSTEMS TO SEE IF IT IS ON THEIR END THEN NO ONE NEEDS THEM. THEY SUCK AT CUSTOMER SERVICE BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO TECHNICAL IDEA OF HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS INFACT YOU CANNOT EVEN GET TO A TECHNICAL PERSON TO RUN AUTOMATED TESTING ON THE PHONE THEY WANT YOU TO SIT THERE FOR HOURS PUSHING BUTTONS GENERAL PHONE FOCUS ETC... TO NO AVAIL THEY COULD CARE LESS IF YOU ARE GETTING YOUR CALLS OR NOT BUT THEY WANT YOU MONEY AND UNFORTUNATELY MY HUSBANDS PHONE IS A BUSINESS PHONE AND YOU ALL DON'T GIVE A DAMN ENOUGH TO EVEN CHECK YOUR END OF THINGS TO SEE IF YOU ARE SCREWED UP I KNOW YOUR SITE IS BECAUSE YOU CANNOT USE CHAT OR PULL UP YOUR PAYMENT SO THEY ARE HAVING PROBLEMS BUT THEY WANT TO MAKE YOU THINK IT IS YOU AND I AM SICK OF IT. MY PHONE THAT I HAVE HAD IPHONE 8 PLUS SINCE 3 YEARS AGO WHEN JOINING THEM WORKED WITHOUT PROBLEM NOW I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS MY HUSBAND THEY CANNOT CALL ME AND AGAIN SITTING HOURS WHILE WE GO THROUGH GENERAL PHONE FOCUS ETC... THESE PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND I AM SICK OF SPENDING SO MUCH TIME ON THEM AND MY BUSINESS CANNOT AFFORD THIS AND I AM NOT GOING TO PAY MY BILL
Reply
22h

SCAMMERS! They assured me my.phone is compatible. I got my SIM card today and inserted it and I can use the internet but I cannot make telephone calls and I cannot send text messages. 15 attempts to chat. Their chat people disconnect for absolutely no reason multiple times. Some of them cannot read. It's pointless to have a chat with someone using the written language when the person in customer service cannot read and comprehend the written word. I finally got a customer service agent that said let's APN. Settings. I didn't know under which APN setting to input them because there are three options and when I asked "Justin" with their chat support which one to use his response was "use the one that says ereseller I told him at least eight times there are two different places where it says ereseller which one do I use? His response was to ask me did I choose the one that said he reseller. So, I took a screen cap of the APN settings and sent it to him so I he would be able to look at it and tell me which one to use because he clearly could not understand when I wrote to him multiple times that there are two settings that say ereseller and asked him which one do I use? Which do I use. Use. I told him I sent him a screen cap and I explained to him why I sent him a screen cap because he could not understand what I was asking him and please tell me which one of them to use... He said you don't need to send me a screencap. Did you input the settings yet and does your phone work? Was I even speaking to a human or was I talking to a bot? If that is the reading ability of the people they have working in chat? I don't even know what to say to that. If you can't read at a second grade level then you shouldn't be working a support in chat.

After 5 hours of this garbage now they tell me that the phone isn't compatible with their service. My phone works with AT&T and T-Mobile. Not a single problem. The only reason I switch just because Straight Talk change the T-Mobile and I get a terrible signal with T-Mobile. So my phone does work on the AT&T network. Their website said my phone will work with them. The customer service agent on the telephone said my phone will work with them. They check my credit score and affected my credit with that nonsense to send me your phone they now say is not compatible with their Network and I must buy a phone from them. Really? This was all a scam to get me to buy a phone from you? Fine I'm going to let the Attorney General of my state handle this because clearly none of your employees give a darn. Let's see what your corporate thinks when the Attorney General of my state contacts you. By the way, I'm elderly and I'm disabled. In my state when you scam the elderly and disabled the consequences are more severe. I am so sick of you people. I should charge you $100 an hour for all the hours you wasted as well as pulling my credit impacting my credit score when you never planned to provide me some service in the first place unless you conned me into buying one of your phones.

I have had so many bad experiences with Consumer Cellular but yesterday's experience took the cake. My tire went flat on my car about four days ago and so a kind stranger put the spare on for me. Because of the pandemic I had to wait about five days to get my tire shipped to the tire shop so yesterday I came out of A department store and my spare was flat. I have Roadside assistance with both Consumer Cellular and my insurance company Progressive. I decided that since I am paying for it I would use the roadside service with consumer cellular. When I called I was on hold for 55 minutes before I reached a representative to only tell me that I had to dial a different number and that I didn't even have roadside assistance on my account. And I know that I did so I probed further and she found it. In the interim I told her that I cannot wait to get This little tire mishap resolved and my new phone from Apple using my Apple insurance and I'm also paying for three Consumer Cellular and that I would be canceling Them! I was so angry that I could have canceled them right then and there if it would not have been an inconvenient time for me. This company is a trash company and all of those TV commercials about them winning best customer service is a lie! When I called that second number I reached a Puerto Rican guy and he was very Unprofessional and curt. He ended up hanging up in my face after he asked me to verify the type of car I had. I verified the car but then I remembered when I signed up for roadside service they never asked me what kind of car I had so I Told him that they never registered what kind of car I had. This smart mouth jerk Said this is a cell phone company why would we ask you about the kind of car you drive we deal and cell phones not cars. It took everything I had not to curse this stupid jerk down to his socks. Because I stay quiet for a second contemplating what to say to him he said well I guess you don't need road side assistance you have a nice day and he hung up in my face. I'm sitting in front of a department store After waiting over an hour With both calls combined to speak to someone and this jerk just hangs up in my face. It's not the first bad experience I had with them and I guess Consumer Cellular allows people to speak to customers anyway they wish. I was livid when he hung up in my face and when I called back I received a different representative and by that time I was so frustrated I just hung the phone up and called Progressive and they got down to business! Someone answered the phone within two minutes and I had an roadside assistance helper in front of me In 25 minutes. Consumer Cellular you are straight trash and I can't wait to get rid of you. I'm laying in my bed right now waiting for 8 o'clock to come so I can get up and get my new tire put on and then the next thing I'm going to do is get my new phone from Apple care and then I'm going to make sure all that is clear and then I'm going to call Consumer Cellular and tell them to kick rocks. It Was a mistake leaving my company to go to Consumer Cellular. I truly believe that at some point a company becomes effective for you and that is when you have to hold 55 minutes just to speak to an agent and then the agent ends up being rude. So if you are looking for a new cell service look the other way because Consumer Cellular is not the one! Too many companies now are blaming their lack of good customer service on the pandemic!