Cricket Wireless
reviews and complaints

Cricket Wireless uses deceptive billing tactics. They bill in advance for services. That is not unusual. But they also bill for two months in advance. Under their Terms and Agreements they will not refund any amount for any service that is pre-paid. So Cricket will send you a notice to pay for two months service in advance and keep the entire amount whether you use one day or the entire two months of service. Typically, when you prepay for anything, you have the right to receive a refund for any portion unused. You will receive a pro-rated amount. What Cricket has decided to do, is keep the amount as a credit should you ever return to their service. This seems illegal to me and essentially doops you into giving up your money to them. I plan to seek assistance from our State Attorney Generals office and hopefully can find grounds for a Class Action Civil Suit. Businesses do not have the right to collect money for services not rendered nor can they disguise their effort to withhold you funds as a credit for future service. Lets face it, after the nightmare customer service experience that you get with Cricket - why would you ever go back?!

When you pay your bill online, there is not supposed to be any additional charges for paying your bill online. However, Cricket charges an additional $1.00 to my credit card account whenever I pay my bill online. False advertising and lying to their customers.

I had discontinued my services with this company due to poor quality, speed, crashes, etc. Removed my automatic debit information and authorization, only for this company to go in 2 months later and debit my checking account, subsequently overdrafting it! For a new month and a month in which no service was on! Not only did they confirm they could see service had not been used, but offered to extend a free month service to try them again. I expressed that a refund to reconcile my account due to their unauthorized charges was the desire, they assured me the request would be submitted to their Billing office for refund, as well as sending a request to my bank to also consider reversing the nsf fees. Hmph! One month, 5 SUPERVISORS and 5 CRICKET LIES later, they had the audacity to call me and say since they could see I was using the FREE MONTH service they extended to try to keep me as a customer, they felt justified in not honoring refunding the unauthorized charges they assessed to my account! Not only does Cricket provide a poor quality of service product-wise, but to justify their error through lies and condescending insults to their customers is a hideous shame!

I recently purchased a Blackberry phone at a local cricket store. I had the presence of mind to ask if all of the features would work and was told "absolutely" by the store employee.
Since then I have had nothing but issues. The coverage is terrible. The internet is as slow as an old dial up system. They outsource their "customer service" to india and 99% of the time you can't understand the person on the other end who will give you some phoney american name like "carl" or "kevin".

After waiting for 38 minutes (yes, I timed it) and after having to carefully decipher what "carl" and "kevin" were saying I was told that they do not guarantee that ANY feature will work on a flashed phone, even the features I am paying for.
So what is the point of selling a feature rich phone in your stores if none of the features will ever work?

Cricket has yet to respond to that question.

Don't buy a cricket phone. Don't use them as your wireless provider. Instead, just throw 60 bucks a month into your toilet and flush it. that is basically what you will be doing with any cricket service.

In the beginning before they started switching their plans around everything was great. However, after they changed their network and their plans everything from my phone to the billing blew up! If that wasn't bad enough, no one at cricket was able to fix the problem which has turned into 9 months of hell. In the store on the phone or even internet chat w company, I have been reduced to making complaints through the Better Business Bureau (which I have never filed a complaint before in my life!). Examples of problems: phone doesn't work out of state on a unlimited nationwide plan (went for fix 5 times), telephone support lies on phone because they do not know how to resolve issues and tell you to upgrade plans, most customer service is outsourced to Philippines, India and Nicaragua - this is not a lie (in 1 3 hours conversation I ended up in each area)- and they can not resolve technical problems (now as of today they can't solve billing problems either), Cricket fixes phone with their quick solutions and you better watch your bill!, watch for getting charged additional $5 for email or web service that you are already paying for...and all this time resolving you think they would apologize - NO, somehow it is your fault for their ineptness - go figure. Even better, go to a different provider and save yourself 100's of hours on the phone or at one of their stores.

I've called cricket wireless concerning my account that i've had for 2 years and for the last 3 months since 10/15 - 12/15/2010... It all started when I transferred my account to another cell phone. After the transfer was completed, cricket deactivated my ring back tones and I called customer service to find out why and they said it was their mistake and told me I had to activate it again. When I activated the tones they would waive the amount and I wouldn't be charged which never happened and I still got charged for it! Then I had my cell number changed and a cricket supervisor told me that I wouldn't be charged and it also would be waived from my account. Once again cricket did it again and charged me for the change of my cell number but not only that i've told them what my balance would be on 12/15/10 and told me it would be an even $80.00... When I arrived at cricket to pay my bill it was a total of $103.26, but all I had was $80.00 even. They told me if I pay only the $80.00 my account would be disconnected till I would pay the rest of the $23.26 by 12/26/10 or my account would be disconnected... For the last 2 years i've had cricket, i've never missed a payment or was short of money to pay!This is getting to be a major pain in my you know what that every month it's always something new with cricket and I will advice everybody in this entire u. S not to buy a cricket wireless account because they really don't care about the customer or even try to help! Even when I called (800) cricket the supervisor told me to call them before paying my account but I shouldn't have to keep calling for the same issues every month or every day that cricket "f" up my account!

I purchased $300 cell phone at one of their authorized dealer locations.It was droid incredible flashed to Cricket. One time I went to corporate Cricket store because I had billing issues and employee asked me where did I get my phone. I answered, at one of your authorized dealer locations. He told me nothing, but reprogrammed my phone, so that I would not get internet service. My phone shortly would not work. I went to the place that sold me that phone and they upgraded me to $55 droid plan. My phone would not work after two days after that, just froze by start and nothing I could do to fix it.
I decided to switch to T-Mobile because Cricket employee reprogrammed my phone without telling me.Why do they authorized someone sell phones if they are against it? I lost $300.

Complaint against
Angel Martinez
Store #8024
Assault, verbal threats, and theft.

I went to the local mall kiosk to see about getting a Cricket Phone, 60 for a used phone $45 a month service and $15 activation...
$45 a month sounded like a decent price.
Suddenly, it is $135.
I ask the kid, hey where s the other $20 coming from?
He was too busy trying to get the account set up on the phone with someone one at that point to answer any questions.
So i asked they shyster looking dude there why my total and his total didn;t add jive.
"oh it is extra taxes on the used phone, federal taxes, not the normal 8.25%"
"plus you pay $3 for paying here"

Umm, no such thing as a federal sales tax on cell phones.
So I made them stop in the middle of porting and told them I didn't want it, and walked away.

I had written my personal info down on a piece of paper, and when I thought about them having my info, i got a funny feeling... so I went back and asked for the paper back.
"Umm, we gave it to your wife"
No you didn't
"yes we did"
No you didn't
"maybe it is in the trash"
Ok, hand me the trash and I'll get it
"no, I gave it to your wife"
No. Give me the piece of paper back.

After 5 minutes of arguing with me about whether or not they had given me back the paper with my info on it, guess what... they had kept my info there on the counter behind the display... It was right in front of me, out of my line of sight, and they just didn't want to give it back.
Why?
I dunno, I have my suspicions. Name Address Date of birth and Phone Number... there is a LOT you could do with that info.
The slimy guy became insulting and verbally abusive, saying he wanted to kick my ###, and I walked away at first, but then I thought, "surely I ought to report this guy."

I walked back and asked him for his first name and store number.
Again he became abusive, stating he was going to kick my ###, and refused.
So i pulled out my iPhone and was going to take his picture, so I could forward that identification of the person with my complaint.

Would you believe the son of a b-tch snatched the phone out of my hand, put it in his back pocket and refused to give it back unless I went outside and fought with him?
I ended up having to get mall Security and an off duty cop involved in order to get my iPhone back from him.

It would have been a lot easier to simple jump across the counter and teach him some manners the old fashioned way, but my kids were there. Turns out this guy was the MANAGER of the kiosk!
This is the kind of slimeballs Cricket employs to represent them...
So I would rather not HAVE a cell phone, or do a prepaid phone than deal with this company.

Took phones in to have flashed. camera on the phones came back blurred. went back to store to inquire about what happened and spoked with James Yu at store 16251 South Post Oak, C1 Houston, Texas 77053. He was very rude and did'nt want to listen to anything i had to say. his worker Diana, was very rude in front of my twelve year old daughter and i dont appreciate this after giving them 160.19 to complete my phone service . i m asking for a refund of my money and my phone should be fixed by cricket. i feel this is a fraud transaction, and question whether they have a license to operate. due the fact that my customer ticket copy does not show the exact money i paid for these phone services. its showing 37.19 and the second one shows zero paid. i do have a copy of my reciept from the bank card transaction and a bank statement show how much money i paid to these people. i would very much appreciate a respond as soon as possible. thank you... Janice Neville

I recently had signal loss with my broadband modem. I decided to take the component in to the corporate store to have them figure out the problem. At the time i was not aware that the modems required a firmware update, meanwhile the so called Cricket agents told me the modem was no longer any good and i would have to replace it. Stupid me buys the replacement. A month later a had an issue with my cellphone and i went in to the corporate store and another agent explained to me that they had their system changed 3 mos. ago and all cellphones and broadband devices needed to have a firmware update administered to them or they will experience problems . Right then my memory flashes back to the month before with my modem. Without further ado i abruptly stop the agent and tell him i would like to cancel my service immediately. Reason for my action is the feeling of being intentionally misled by the previous agent and just really no tolerance for schemers and cons. My word of warning to the rest of you is to question them as much as possible before you pay for any issue arising from their service. If they see an opportunity to get your money due to your lack of awareness they will do it in a heartbeat.

Sincerely,
A little wiser.

I have been a Cricket customer for many years untill they added a $28 hidden fee to my bill. I went to the local Cricket store and they told me I had to go to a corporate store. I drove 45min to the closest corporate store, the manager was not in and no one could help me. I called Cricket and spent 45 min on the phone, I asked for a supervisor and was placed on hold and then hung up on. I have been a loyal customer and always paid on time, but I will not let them steal $28 from me. I paid my $80 bill and then my phone and broadband was shut off the next day. CRICKETS HIDDEN FEES AND EXTREMLEY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE HAVE LEAD TO ONE ANGRY EX-CUSTOMER!

On 06/07/2010, cricket communications debited 27.95 from my debit card for broadband prepaid service, for the first month! The same day 2 hours later cricket broadband support determined the trash that they sell as usb modems wouldnt pick up in the 37738 aree! That they could not offer broadband in that area! The modem never activated, I never recieved 1 kilo bite of service! So I begin trying to obtain a refund! I called every week and have spent about 32 hours on the phone with cricket ans have faxed and faxed all kind of information in. And it is 12/05/2010 and they still havented credited my money back, and sent no refund! So everyone cricket communications is just another internet scam to steal your money! All this was after a 3rd modem was purchased and taken back and they sent me one in the mail I also returned it priority us mail to cricket communications cricket 1251 perry rd. Air west / dock 14, plainfield in. [protected] with delivery confirmation as instructed! They said the 3 modems (Trash) previously bought at walmart and return was a faulty batch so they sent me one and the whole time their broadband wasnt in this area! I also tols support that they sould activate first just to see if it would work before I paid! Oh but no! They are a scam! Its not the amount of money here its principle! Help me get the message out!

I recently attempted to purchase phone service from cricket wireless phone service; but was not able to due so due to services not being available in my area!

The phone attendant asked me if I wanted to have a chicago illinois number, where services would be available!

My old cricket phone number could not be ported, so I was advised to purchase a new phone. Upon not being able to purchase a new cricket phone in my area; I requested that my attempted purchase of phone service being canceled; and the $60.00 of initial start-up be returned to my debit card account!

After contacting your office on numerous occassions through phone and fax; as of this day september 19, 2010, I have not received my refund.

Please address this matter, and swiftly refund my $60.00, thank you!

I had virginmobile (Highly recommend) for over 7 yrs, but needed more features (Virgin has them all now). Saw an ad for cricket and they appeard to have a wonderful plan, unlimited talk/text/web for $40 mo. Their coverage area appeared to be better than virgin's (It's not). Ordered off their website. Very helpful customer service reps, could always get thru. Switched in nov 09. Once they had my money and ported my number over, I couldn't get a hold of anyone! Not via phone, e-mail or chat. Never! Just perpetual hold or not even allowed to hold. Finally, googled a backline number and got india. What a joke! They lie and tell you what you want to hear. Had tons of issues with my son's plan. Took over 4 mo to get it fixed. It was cricket's error, yet they attempted to bill me service charges and fees! I travel alot and their coverage map looks great. I leave my city and I am roaming (In a clearly covered area) and can't use my phone! Every time! I call, they tell me to hit *228 before I leave and that will take care of it. It doesn't. Another call. I need to do it an hour before. I do. Still roaming. Call india again. They tell me they will 'fix it'. I go on another trip and hit *228 2 hours prior to leaving. I leave my city and I am roaming and can't use my phone! They tell me to put money on a 'flexbucket' and then the phone should work. I put $5 on. I hit *228 and leave town again. I can't use my phone at all! Not even roaming. I call again and they tell me they will 'fix it' again. Go out of town again and, roaming and can"t use my phone! I am in a covered area, have 5 bars, have money on my flex bucket and I can"t use my phone! I call india. They assure me it will be 'fixed in 15 mins'. It's not. I also ask for a refund of at least the $5 I put on the flexbucket. They tell me to go to any cricket store and they can refund it there. I call again because the phone still doesn't work and they tell me there is nothing they can do! They also tell me I am out the $5. No one can refund it! What?! I call a 'supervisor' and they tell me they cannot guarantee coverage and the phone may or may not work! They will not refund the 10 days I was with out my phone, nor the $5 I put into the 'flexbucket'. There is nothing they can do. No options for anything!
I switched to t-mobile and they are great! While I was waiting for my lousy cricket plan to be up, I went 5 mi from home, in my own city, a clearly covered area and I was roaming and could not us my phone!
I have filed a complaint w/cricket, the better business bureau and the attorney general of az. This company is complete fraud! Stay away! If you need a no-contract plan, go with virgin mobile. They are great, and I wish I had never switched! Cricket stinks! Stay away!

The only thing good about Cricket broadband is that you aren't stuck in a contract. I've had dial-up, cable, broadband. They all have their cons and Cricket is no better than any other service. The bars on your modem DO NOT matter. You can have four bars flashing at 2/second and it will still take you 8 hrs to stream a movie. The modem control display has worked for me only a handful of times. The rest of the time the display claims that I'm not even connected to the internet "0 sent; 0 received" Of course I have to disagree with them because if I wasn't online then I WOULDN'T HAVE A HEADACHE FROM RELOADING MY PAGE FIVE TIMES! (Note* I have used tech services to check my settings. So when "Cricket" says it must be my settings they are wrong) I'm not impressed with Cricket's Broadband. I have to say that I have good customer service sometimes and HORRIBLE service when I go into the Cricket Store but that has nothing to do with Cricket and everything to do with the individual. What is disheartening is when you think you've found something good and it turns out to be a dud :(

I got internet with cricket and was told at the time I would get a 50 dollar rebate with it well needless to say I never got the paper to fill out when I left so in a few days I remebered and called got no help at all just the run around then in a few days I got a letter with the form all ready filled out sent it in with every thing I needed and find out they sent me a old form so I wont get my rebate and they cant help me what a bunch of B***.S*** I would have never went with them if I had known they were this much trouble!

I have just had it! My service was great for the 1st year but then went to hell! #1... I can rarely get in touch with a customer rep. That speaks english. They have screwed me over on billing, turned my phone off when I just walked into the store and paid it! I save all my receipts and confirmation numbers. When I take the damn receipt in they say they do not have it on record! I canc. My broad band at one time because I was out of town for the month and did not need to use it... They still kept trying for 3 months to charge me for the month I had it shut off! When I go to a local cricket store 1/2 the time they say the system is not working and send me to a "corporate store" that ends up not being that at all! Last time I went to the place they told me that was corp it ended up not being at all! I live in vegas and have no car so you better believe me it's not a treat riding a bike 6 miles in 110degree heat to find the stupid girl behind the counter just lied to me! I call other dealers and they told me she was probably just full of crap and did not want to deal with me and were trying to fire her lazy butt if more complaints... The cow is still there and I did find out she is another damn illegal! I have reported her to the metro police here! Rarely can you get a human from customer service on the line! One day I was one the phone for over 36 min (Yea I timed it) only to get another person that says the system is down but they will check on my problem and fix it asap. Today was the straw that broke the camels back. I paid my bill infull august the 2nd... They shut my phone off today! I had to use a neighbors cell phone and call at least 6 different cricket reps.In my area... Got all to say that I did not pay when I had a damn confirmation number! One lady even hung up on me! All off a sudden my phone by miracle just turned on again! I work as a fill in nurse at a local hosp. And have lost lots of money due to the hosp. Not able to get a hold of me. Best by far was the little jerk at the mall working the kiosk (The I rode my bike all the way to in 110 heat) when I approached the desk he was having a lively little chat with his boyfriend and looked at me and said, "what do you want?" I told him I need to talk to his manager... He called for one... Redialed his boyfriend and kept chatting. I asked in a very loud voice, "when is you manager going to be here"... He rolls his eyes at me and says, "oh, maybe 40min". What the hell! Other big thing is trying to get the main company phone or address... They won't give it to me and say they are not sure? I have so many addresses from researching the internet for the main it's crazy I don't know who the hell to even write to or contact! I used metro pcs before I moved to vegas and never had one problem! I am going to canc. Cricket and go back to a reliable, honest company that does not hire a bunch of non dedicated and uneducated staff! Does cricket hire idiots? I will also be contacting the local 13 news problem solvers and provide them with all the document history, cricket emps names I have spoken with, dates, times, receipts, recorded phone conversations (Love it when they lie to me an say their systems are down and call the next location and they say systems are not and even have friends that walk in to a location or call right after me and all of a sudden system are in order and I have it recorded on their recorder on cell during face to face verbalization)... I have twenty two pages of all of this and proof to back it up! And my charge nurse has on record each time she has tried to call me to find my phone disconnected or some stupid system failure via cricket... The figure of work lost is now 3, 352.78 wages lost

I down loaded the update that they said was now available for my cricket modem, it quit working! I took it 70 miles to the nearest store they "flashed" it (Under protest) they couldn't get it to work in the middle of their service area. Then blamed it on where I lived. Don't bother complaining to the missouri attorney general's office for consumer affairs, they won't do anything. This is the worst customer service that I have ever encountered! If this save one person the aggravation they put me through i'm elated.

I had a Crick cell phone for my daughter and signed up for 30.00 plan for unlimited talk and text. I had it on auto pay without paper bill to make things easier (so I thought for me)! Last month Cricket took out 63.00 and some change. I had talked to someone at customer on June 29th and went over her account and was not notified that her plan was changing and I made no changes to her account. On the first of the month of July however I was charged 63.00 to my account and called and told them to disconnect the phone, refund my money. I spoke to several different people before it was finally understood that I wanted it turned off. I just got 30.88 refund, so if I am being charged this month why is the phone not on, and why have I not recieved my full refund? Not only due they owe me for the total 63.00 and change but also for 4 days on of the bill being due and cancelled service. I call all three dealers here and they never answer. Does someone really work in theses stores? Are they too scared or too lazy to answer the phone? I am at the point were I am going to drive the 30 minutes to one of the stores and embarress them bad. How the hell do you not notify someone of account changes, take money out of thier account and then it takes half a to return half of the money and have the nerve to ask me for my bank record for the payment when dumb ### took it out of my account and can see that it is auto pay and amount taken out? Stupid! I am so glad I switched my daughter to USCellur, who I have been with for 4 yrs with no problem at all and that stupid ### guy who spoke no english tells me I'll come back. WRONG! NEVER WILL I USE CRICKET BROADBAND OR WIRELESS AGAIN, AND I HAVE HAD BOTH AND NOW HAVE GOTTEN RID OF THEM!