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Consumer Cellular

How would you rate Consumer Cellular?
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Georgia
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow Yaquita L.
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Zero stars! Poor customer service from the Dallas, Ga target store location to the supervisors at the call center as well as the reps online via chat. Something as simple as an activation code shouldn't be so complicated. I've gone to the store several times with my ID to verify myself but they yet aren't able to assist me. I've been advised again to go back into the store but I'm not sure who is planning refunding me in gas. The rep had my email address incorrect by 2 letters/numbers being transposed so when I Corrected their mistakes they flagged my account as fraud. I'm paying for a service that I can't use and as a 72 year old I'm not trying to run up and down the street in order to find someone that's competent in sending an activation code or giving a temporary eSIM

Date of experience: February 24, 2025
Oregon
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Yeah, I know this is probably a little thing to everyone else, but, it's incredibly annoying when a company tells me one thing, sends me somewhere to go pick something up at no cost and then I find out that I DO have to pay for it and that the agent I had spoken to LIED to me about it being no cost. No, I did not misunderstand them, I know what they told me. I even said that to the supervisor I talked to, who proceeded to scoff at me and laugh because he thought I was being stupid to cancel the account. I hate being lied to by anyone, but when a company does it I see completely red. I worked in customer service in call centers for a good chunk of my lifetime (33 years) but there is no way I could ever work in one again. I'd be fired in less than a month because the young things they are hiring seem to be mostly made up of arrogance and attitude and NO customer service or hardly any at all and I would probably tell off my team manager for being an idiot (it's happened before and I had a real good reason). Cell phone companies can be a pain in the butt to talk to anyway, but I really thought Consumer Cellular would have been a little different since they work more with 55+ customers. I thought wrong, it seems. There is no excuse for how I was treated by their retention team. They didn't even try to retain me, they just told me it was my fault and then laughed at me when I asked to cancel the account. If you have these guys and you have no problems, wonderful. I just know I will be going to someone else for cell service.

Date of experience: March 26, 2025
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Horrible Stay away!
February 26, 2025

This company keeps charging my credit card long after closing my account. Filed a complain with FCC,
Let's see... Horrible "support"

Date of experience: February 25, 2025
Michigan
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Go Somewhere Else
January 3, 2025

Recently I tried to change from Verizon to Consumer Cellular. Unfortunately they do not have a store in my state so I called their Customer Service Number. First off they make you pay upfront $10 to have a SIM card mailed to you. With first class mail this tiny card could have been mailed for under one dollar. On the phone the person told me that my paid off iPhone would be able to be used to transfer to Consumer Cellular. No it couldn't when I tried. On the phone the second or was it the third Consumer Cellular employee suggested that I just purchase another iPhone. Wait you want me to spend around another $1,000 dollars so I can get cheaper (and now I wonder if it is is even better or equivalent cell phone service to what I have now) just to change to Consumer Cellular. No go somewhere else.

Date of experience: November 27, 2024
Ohio
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Avoid this company!
December 4, 2024

Been with this company for at least a few years, had mediocre flip phones that usually broke after 6 months to a year of use on average. This past August I purchased a smartphone that kept randomly shutting down apps like GPS while I was using them. First CC tech support told me to "uninstall/reinstall Google Maps," an impossibility since it's a Google app and the only options offered are "Stop" and "Disable." Then they told me, "Well your phone is defective but you can return it to the place of purchase for up to a year for a replacement." Not true, Target has an extremely limited warranty and would not accept the return. I shut down my CC account in October and they're now after me for $74.31 plus a late fee. I complained to the BBB and the response from CC was very unsympathetic. Insisting on collecting that final bill, and no offer to compensate for the defective phone (which cost almost $100.00).

I don't recommend this company at all.

Date of experience: October 25, 2024
Tennessee
0 reviews
1 helpful vote
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I purchased my 86 year old mother a new phone and had her service transferred from another carrier to Consumer Cellular. When the account was setup I requested both our names be added to the account because we live in different cities and I am responsible for handling any and all issues with the phone/account. The night the account was setup they assured me this was done and I would have full access to her account. Fast forward to today and there is an issue with her account and I call Customer Service and they tell me that they cannot speak with me because my name is not on the account even though when she receives her bill each month the bill arrives with my name on it and not hers. I requested to speak with a manager/supervisor and the individual I was speaking with refused to allow me to speak with anyone else. My mother is in the early stages of dementia and doesn't fully understand the issue or the need to call them and have me added so here we are in different cities and I now have no way to assist with these issues and Consumer Cellulars Customer Service offered nothing in the way of assistance. I will now be looking for another Service Provider so I do encourage anyone in a situation like mine to think twice before setting an elderly family member up with an account at Consumer Cellular.

Date of experience: October 15, 2024
Kansas
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Incompetent and Dishonest
August 10, 2024

They failed to fix my phone within the estimated time, taking 3x times longer than expected. Only after I decided to cancel my service and transfer my phone, were they able to fix my phone in order to transfer it. Twice I had to tell them that I already have sent the proper paperwork to transfer the account to my name after my wife's passing. They overcharge and withdraw money from my account after account closing and refuse to provide the proper refund to make things right. I would not recommend this company to anyone and would leave zero stars if possible.

Date of experience: August 10, 2024
Tennessee
1 review
2 helpful votes
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I tried so hard to go back to this company but they breed angry and disrespectful people for their customer service... I don't understand how they get business. I'm done!

Date of experience: August 18, 2024
California
2 reviews
6 helpful votes
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No paper statements!
August 17, 2024

Their electronic statements are a total waste of my time! My wife and friends agree!
2 step just to see my invoice! What a joke - Quit wasting our time and allow free paper statements!

Date of experience: August 17, 2024
North Carolina
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Call Failures
June 6, 2024

Ported two phones from Verizon to Consumer Cellular. In 27 years with Verizon I've had probably less than five times when either I couldn't make a call or I couldn't accept incoming calls. In six weeks with Consumer Cellular, this has happened over ten times to my Wife and I. Twice worked with support who did something that was supposedly supposed to "reestablish my connection to their towers" but it did nothing. After some other interactions with CC, I came away with the thought that porting another carrier's phone doesn't really work very well, even though they are perfectly happy to take your money for doing just that. I finally had to go back to Verizon, which was actually one of the worst customer experience nightmares of my life. I could write a book about that fiasco, but this is not the time or place.

Date of experience: June 6, 2024
Georgia
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Consumer Cellular shut off my text messaging without warning, and did NOT restore my text messaging after I called and asked them to allow me to send texts where I was promoting my business. I've been allowed to promote my business for years with other companies in this way of sending out texts with links. This is censorship that shouldn't be allowed. They would not work with me when I called them and spoke to the highest level they would allow, which wasn't as high up the chain as I asked. They only stated that if I didn't comply, they wouldn't restore my text messages. Using conservative language, I don't recommend them!

Date of experience: June 26, 2024
New Jersey
1 review
4 helpful votes
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Worst customer service
February 4, 2024

Tried to switch to.this company. Never received Sim card after charging me. They they start taking money from my account. No service. Customer service lies and claims i.had service they could charge foe. I asked for a statement to show the FCC. Watch them, the worst call company!

Date of experience: February 4, 2024
Oregon
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Terrible Customer Service
February 14, 2024

I recently needed help activating a customer's phone with Consumer Cellular. Unfortunately, the customer service was disappointing. The woman I spoke with seemed more interested in laughing at me and asking me personal questions than in guiding me through the activation process. It felt unprofessional and judgmental, especially since I was reaching out for assistance. Despite this, I managed to activate the phone. I hope this feedback can lead to better service for others in the future.

Date of experience: February 14, 2024
Michigan
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Buy a 30 year old flip phone from them,pay $20 to talk and text,a 1G data. Hmm 1G? That's enough to Search the web,to try and quit. The phone throw it and your 1970 tv,to try hit the stupid orange shirt guy,"boom" missed,try again. Or wait till the idiots wearing cardboard on they're backs. Really try contacting them,before you buy. And see how crappy CC is.

Date of experience: February 18, 2024
Ohio
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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Consumer Cellular recently removed the option for me to print my detailed bill when I login online, but still thinks they should be able to pull cash out of my bank account. My chat session was disconnected mid- chat after the rep said he "sent your bill", but he didn't. All I got was a notice AGAIN the my bill was available, & I should log in. But all that show is a total amount due, not the detailed bill I've been able to get in the past.

Date of experience: March 8, 2024
Michigan
1 review
0 helpful votes
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From the day i talked to the first employee, i was lied to, and the lies didn't stop until i left. I was told $35 for 50mg of data, and i would NEVER reach that. I most certainly did hit it, and then they throttled it so slow my phone would time out before i got into my accounts. When you get to that point, they throw you into a higher cost plan without your permission. When i asked to speak to a supervisor for this problem, he had the gull to tell me "usually there isn't any problems, since customers my age don't usually use that much data"! WTH...I did not appreciate being profiled because of my age. I was only with Consumer Cellular for a few months, and now i'm with T-Mobile. I think i'll stay there.

Date of experience: February 21, 2024
California
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
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Their offices close at 6:30 pm Pacific Time. If you need customer service after 6:30, you are screwed untill the next day. Of all the customer service lines I've ever called this is the only one who keeps Bankers Hours (not even a foreign service to answer after hours calls). I ordered a new IPHONE from them, received the phone Friday, today is Tuesday and the phone is still not up and running. Thinking of switching service.

Date of experience: March 20, 2024
South Carolina
1 review
3 helpful votes
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I have had two Verve Snap Flip Phones. The first phone did not keep the blue tooth connection and had to be replaced. The second Verve Snap phone, had the tool bar disappear and had to turn the phone off and back on to reset it. Then I had to take the battery out when the phone would not turn back on. Next, the Verve Snap phone lost the blue tooth connection. Consumer Cellular required a hard system reset.
I backed my phone contacts onto an SD Card, removed the card and Consumer Cellular went through the hard system reset. Reinstalling the SD Card, the Verve Snap phone failed to export the contacts to the SD card. Consumer Cellular will not replace the phone with a comparable phone, just the same junk phone. Their customer service is very poor.

Date of experience: May 16, 2024
Michigan
1 review
2 helpful votes
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I call consumer Cellular to inquire about their cell service! I asked if we could use our current phones, and they said as long as they were unlocked from our current carrier, we could! Our phones were relatively new and didn't need new ones! After numerous hours trying to figure out why our phones wouldn't work they told us that our phones weren't compatible with their towers! WHAT! Your company told us we could use our phones as long as they were unlocked from our previous carrier! Talk to a manager they just apologized and gave me the runaround! They would not give me any kind of discount on new phones or compensate me for their mistake! I was forced to buy new phones because we had already set everything up with their SIM cards and shut off our other service! This is just crazy to me! Why couldn't they just let us know that some phones work compatible, and I would have waited until we need a new phones!

Date of experience: March 10, 2024
Arizona
1 review
26 helpful votes
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Stay away from them. They prey on the elderly.
April 18, 2023

Refuse to honor warranties, take forever if trying to switch and get away from them. "Lose" calls after waiting on lo g hold times for customer service. Check out their Better Business Bureau complaints, too!

Date of experience: April 18, 2023

Overview

Consumer Cellular has a rating of 1.2 stars from 241 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with Consumer Cellular most frequently mention customer service, sim card and new phone. Consumer Cellular ranks 45th among Phone Card sites.

service
145
value
135
shipping
88
returns
78
quality
120