Consumer Cellular

Their ad on TV with Ted Danson says you pay less because they don't pay for their own cell towers. Did you know that over 80% of cell towers are not owned by cell companies. So their claim is rather bogus.
I had 2 friends who tried CC but found the coverage spotty in some parts of the country especially in the west and northwest. They both travel a lot so they switched back to T-Mobile and got better roaming if needed. They need unlimited service so CC is more money when you need that.

As a potential customer considering Consumer Cellular, it's important to note the mixed reviews from existing users. While some customers have praised the affordability and customer service, others have expressed dissatisfaction with issues like poor reception, misleading information, and frustrating experiences with activation and phone compatibility. It seems that the level of service and satisfaction can vary greatly among users. Before making a decision, it might be wise to weigh these contrasting experiences and consider your own priorities when choosing a mobile service provider.

Last year we had had Consumer Cellular for ten years, but then they dropped their contract with T-Mobile towers and then only used AT&T. We were forced to get a new sim card and then I discovered I now had only one bar and even though I tried working with them multiple times, they couldn't get more than one bar on my phone (that had been fine before) and then said I needed to buy a new phone (what guarantee would that be to have more bars on a new phone?).

In addition, the other phone (flip phone) couldn't get any bars and they again said I needed to buy a new phone. We bought a new Nokia flip phone (with no rebates from them) but in less than a year, the open/shut mechanism broke and falls shut. We had several flip phones before and never had a problem. It's labeled as a Nokia Consumer Cellular phone with a one-year warranty, but they refuse to honor the warranty and said we need to buy a new phone and we could an extended warranty and pay for that each month.

How many times do we have to buy a new phone? If I have to buy a new phone, it won't be with Consumer Cellular, as they can't provide more than one bar and drops calls.

I have several years' experience with CC. They're an ATT reseller that has carved out a niche exploiting an older and presumably less savvy clientele. I bought my backup phone from them and used them for years, during which time the $20/mo plan came to be billed as $30.49/mo, guess it's that inflation I've heard about.

I used the phone infrequently, but would repeatedly find that the network was not available when I tried to make a call until I contacted support, when all would be made good again. Were they pooling resources for a number of infrequents like myself, only providing actual service when there was a complaint?

Today, the supervisor had no answers for me, not even the customary "I'll check for outages in your area". This time, she just noted that the phone was six years old, and I should probably buy a new phone from them.

Ha, not likely. Already have a newer phone, which I bought online, new and unlocked. I had intended to activate it with CC's "bring your own phone" program, but the CC rep said it was not really unlocked and could not be connected.

That was a lie. The phone was absolutely unlocked and was compatible with both ATT and Verizon networks, as well as others. The CC rep simply lied to my face, since I had not bought the phone from them. These people are clowns.

Verizon connected it with no problem. It remains with Verizon to this day. And Verizon's network is always up. Always.

I'm through with Consumer Cellular.

We'll lsomekne is reading my mmessages getting. All my information, my name is RUth Enriquez my phone number is 6617898906. Also someone has stoe my identity causing fraud under my. Name I need this person tracked down. This people are getting all my informmati9n there seeing. The messages that I write to people. Please help. Thank you,,Ruth Enriquez

My name is Rosecleia Cummings. My Consumer Cellular phone number is [protected]. Since YESTERDAY, March/05/24, I HAVE NO CONNECTION. I had to bother someone else to use her phone to call Consumers Cellular and they put me on hold for several minutes, and no body came to talk to me. It is very FRUSTRATED and DISAPOINTED. I am UNABLE to make or receiving any calls. Now, is 07:02 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and am not able to be in touch with anybody to RESOLVE this problem.

IMO These people are incompetent. I switched from Verizon to Consumer Cellular and they completely botched the whole thing leaving me with no cell service.

They put my number on my wife's phone and could not fix it. They lied to me and told me my phone was not esim capable when I know for a fact that it is. They told me I could pick up a physical Sim card from a local store. This was at 9pm.

In the end I had to take a day off work to get my phones put back on the Verizon network and I was unable to keep the phone numbers my wife and I have had for nearly 5 years.

I would not recommend this provider to anyone.

I was a loyal customer for years. My cellphone service was terrible. I finally decided to switch carriers. I contacted Consumer cellular and was informed that my sons and wives phone number would be locked. It took over a month for consumer cellular to UNLOCK our phones. I was billed by both carriers. I contacted CC corporate and they did nothing. I’m a senior citizen on disability.

I was trying to get some help with my husband’s phone, so I decided to go to consumer Cellular’s website to see if I could figure out why he keeps getting a message that he has no signal because he was dropped by the carrier.

I could not access the consumer cellular website because a page comes up asking me to verify I am human, but you click the box, and over and over it just keeps popping up that box. I use Duck Duck Go so I clicked off Privacy Protection to see if that changed anything, but no. I asked someone I called at Consumer Cellular, but she said no one was saying anything about having a problem, so maybe it was a glitch. Wait until tomorrow and try again. That’s when I went to see what cloudflare is. Apparently it replaces CAPCHA, but there are complaints all over about it not working! How am I supposed to access a website to check phone issues or change a plan when this stops me? Please I would love some answer here. Dolly Hallenbeck, [protected]

Today, Nov 4, 2023 I called to settle my past due bill of $290.57. My last bill was $172. 51. The last bill was for the billing period for September and October. On the aforementioned date, my bill is $290. and change. Another billling cycle was added to the bill for November. Being that my phone service was off as of 11/1/23, I needed a proration on the November bill.

I spoke with a CSR a Supervisor named Wesly and another Supervisor named Tyler, who gave me his badge number #73665. No one wanted to give me the prorated amount for my bill. Tyler, they just wanted to collect the bill. I was told that CC bills AFTER the service is use. Well, I haven't used any service, so why am I being asked to pay for a full month's of service.

I am still without service and was unable to pay my bill.

Jose at at the Consumer Cellular counter in Northridge was very unhelpful. He said he was the manager while the employee was more knoweldgeable and helpful. The employee let me know I had an active protection plan but was not able to reach anyone on the phone since it was a few minutes after hours and said I can come back another day. I went back today. That employee was not there. I spoke with Jose who only gave me a couple pamphlets and would not call and make the call like the employee. This manager Jose should not be the manager. Consumer Cellular can hire anyone to just hand out pamphlets.

On November 1, 2023, we paid our cell phone account in full. A little later on, that day, November 1, 2023, we changed our cell phone provider.

We're informed that the month we paid for, was for the month of October.

So on November 1, we're informed oh, you still have to pay for the whole month of November.

We've been loyal customers of Consumer Cellar since the year, 2008.

Now that really sucks, We're doing our best for our home.

Maybe you're not aware, of what's happening to seniors.

Can you please address this issue?

Thanks.

Hello, I talked to one of your reps one evening, mentioning my phone calls can not be completed since Sept. 23 rd, 23! I was ok w/my Facebook and Messenger working, but now it's downright horrible that I cannot use the calling part of my phone! It's an UMIDIGI Smart phone. Your company had just sent me the new Sim card in early September...My son said the triangle on top of the phone does not show active, it's next to the WiFi symbol, he tried everything he could to make the phone work, also did the Updates, which I had not done. Ok, what is my option now? Go to Target and get another Sim card, the nearest Target store is over 30 miles away...

Charlotte Boggess

ph# [protected] (this is my landline)

e-mail : [protected]@hotmail.com

I closed my account in april. I canceled autopay. It's sept, I am still getting billed. I have called the rude customer service. They want me to set up a code. I told the the a account is closed. I have no codes. My lg in never worked.

They are charging me for a month I didn't use. Refuse to give a itemized bill.

Sent me emails after I blocked them. I tried to give another rude rep. The account number on he email. The guy hung up n me,

I am a heart patient I can't hav stress like this.

I don't want a code or account with them! I want my account closed, nothing owed

At approximately 3:30 PM on Thursday, September 7th, 2023, I called Consumer Cellular customer service for help with returning a cell phone I had purchased from them. The customer service woman I spoke with was extremely condscending and rude. She repeatedly interrupted me when I tried to ask questions and explain my concerns about the return of the phone. It was clear that she had no regard at all when it came to showing respect for a Consumer Cellular customer. My Consumer Cellular account number is: [protected].

Regards,

Philip A. Normandin

I've seen the latest Consumer Cellular commercial, & it's extremely condescending. "Smart enough now?" it asks. Of course, one can't email the company to register one's displeasure with the condescending nature of the latest [censored]ic commercial, but I did call & got hung up on. Bottom line is I'd never use the company as it assumes that everyone is stupid if one doesn't use them for cellular service, & several of my friends (mostly seniors) absolutely agree. And AARP partners with them, so I'd never use AARP either - EVER. Stop treating us as if we were stupid - it's not a good look.

On August 23, 2023, my phone number was ported from Consumer Cellular to Locuscomm.com without my permission. My cellphone was not stolen. CC gave my number away to a hacker. I contacted CC immediately but they have done nothing. I was told they didn't know where my number was. I went into an ATT store and they tracked my number down within about 5 minutes and called the company where it was ported to, Locuscomm.net. Locus told me and the ATT rep that I just needed to get CC to put in a return request and it would be done immediately. They gave me 2 email addresses to send the request to. I waited 2 days. CC did nothing. I called back Locus and they said they would release it immediately if CC made a conference call with me on the line. They won't do that. CC now says they are performing a fraud investigation and will get back with me. It has now been 6 days and they tell me the same thing every day. We are working on it. There is no reason they can't work on the fraud and still return my number to me. The hacker has now used my number to get thousands of dollars on my credit cards using 2-step authentication with my number. I don't have the number to prove who I am and get texts or phone calls. I asked if they would just port back my number so the hacker couldn't use it but they didn't do that. I am self employed and really need my number. All of this could have been avoided if CC had acted responsibly.

I have been trying to get a MotoG play activated since last Friday. 3 C/C techs have verified that the phone is defective and cannot be activated. After 2 trips to Target over the weekend and a conference call with a supervisor (not a rep) I was assured by that supervisor she would get back to me within 24 hours. It is now Weds. afternoon and no response of any kind. I have talked to at least 4 people at C/C and not one has offered to help correct the situation. I am 79 years old and needed that phone as I am disabled and have health issues. I live alone and must have a phone. I had to purchase one from Target while I was there. Can't someone please help me? Gary Merrill [protected] I am even willing to have the $138 I paid for the phone credited to my monthly phone bill.