Consumer CellularReviews 242

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.

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!

First sent me a broken cracked lens secondly,the previous owner of the number was a deadbeat.i got a hundred collection agency calls a day.I don't recommend this company at all!

Husband and I have 2 phones with T-Mobile. One rep said it didn't matter what phones we had the sim would fit, WRONG! Called back next rep said now we need new phones AND chargers WITH the block! That's INSANE. Some random phone that I can't even use a generic block in?! Lonny story short saved us only $15 a month and thank god the sim didn't fit. Went to T-Mobile they took us right back and fixed it all and actually lowered my bill!

If you call Consumer Cellular without a pin you will receive no help. Just think you are 78 years old and you forget your PIN. You would think that you could verify my information some other way. No they can not.
I even spoke with a Supervisor who could not help me.

Multiple times phone can't receive or send messages or make and receive calls. Consumer Cellular waives their magic wand and it works again till next time. Never had this issue with Att or Verizon. Condescending reps, can't understand frustration, get defensive vs troubleshooting. Phone is needed! Need landline just to call Consumer Cellular to get phone to work!

Can't support android cellular watches. Get what you pay for, will jump back to a professional carrier soon.

Problem after problem after problem. My phone started smoking so I stopped using it. It was out of warranty so they wouldn't give me my money back. Suggested I buy a new one. I figured it out and replaced the charging cord. Sometimes the phone doesn't work sometimes it does. I still have to finish paying off the phone.

My mom has had Consumer Cellular service for a while now I believe. This problem seems to be a new one, but the issue NEVER gets resolved, which is the ultimate problem in the first place. My mom is 70, and just wants a plain, simple telephone with absolutely no frills, internet, etc. She simply just wants a phone to call and receive calls from and keeps reading articles in the AARP magazines about Consumer Cellular. The first issue that arose was from her phone not being able to go through and reach me. That problem just got resolved and now the opposite issue is happening, where when I use my cell phone to call my mom, it goes straight to; "I'm sorry, but the person you have called has a voicemail that has not been set up yet". Goodbye. Then hangs up. My mom has tried reaching customer service to help resolve these matters. She's spoken to many reps and finally just got the first issue resolved recently. Now, this is happening. I called and spoke to a woman on 1/17/24 and she tried a few things to resolve this matter for us, but still said that this issue is not on their end or my mom's phone. She also suggested that my mom purchase the "Verve Snap" phone, but all they have left are a few refurbished ones selling for $49.99. I asked my husband who works in telecommunications, and he said that there is someone that should be able to help us through CC's service. It is NOT on our end, when I am able to call everyone but my mom. This is so frustrating, especially for some of the older generations of individuals that just want "simple". That particular rep told me that the "VERVE SNAP" is actually being discontinued as well. I don't understand why no one can help us resolve this matter! I might as well convince my mom to try a different service that WILL help her and myself in the future.

Consumer Cellular abruptly shut down my elderly mother's phone service during A bad ice storm blocking her only means to contact someone as she has no land line and lives alone - for no reason at all. According to multiple managers we spoke to they had no answer as to why this was done and simply kept apologizing for it being a mistake. My mother lives in a small rural town and they stated she would need to connect to internet to upload the new e Sim which they sent but in her area there are no Starbucks are businesses with public wifi. My mom had to drive 30 miles to try and connect her phone so that it would work but since she has the new iPhone 15 pro max and it's notorious for not connecting this proved difficult. Here it is two days later and she still has no phone service. Also, they need to better train their agents. Their agent sent my mom a new iPhone because she did not transfer her contacts over and he said it was impossible to do after phone set up. Apple corrected this in a few minutes and had her contacts transferred to her phone but the new phone had already been shipped.

They sent my elderly parent a new sim card for mandatory update. I spent hours trying to get it activated. I was transferred from one incompetent rep to another. Still not resolved. Hard to believe they are still in business.

Switched my cell service to Consumer Cellular which is mentioned in the A.A.R.P. Magazine about a month or so ago. So far, so good,EXCEPT for the one employee, Mar.on Fruitville Pike in Lancaster, Pa. Mar is the RUDEST P.O.S. EVER! Perhaps I were BLACK, he would treat me differently.I currently have 2 lines with Consumer Cellular. Was considering getting 2 more at least for my BEST FRIEND. I AM HAVING 2ND THOUGHTS NOW. The ONLY downfall would be Consumer Cellular.

*DONT SWITCH SERVICES *
I called Consumer Cellular after commercials came on every 5 mins. ( That should have been a clue) I finally called and waited on the line for about 10 mins. When he answered (Matthew) he asked me " How many lines will you need" I told him that I just needed 1 line but that I wanted to switch from my Company and that I had a nervous condition and needed him to listen because I could tell he wasn't listening but reading a script. He immediately got an attitude and said I need to call back another time.
I'm so glad that I didnt switch. This lets me know what I would be dealing with in the future. These people PREY on Senior Citizens and should be banned. Very disrespectful.

Their latest commercial starts off with a man walking in the door and asks if you are smart enough to use their service. Then tells you that you are not smart enough and will need time to become smart. Then he talks down to a customer service representative. Makes me never want to ever lower myself to save money.

Had no cellular twice this week which meant I could not use my GPS or make a phone call. I was out of town and extremely annoyed that I was unable to navigate my way home for at least an hour. This lack of service happened both in a semi-rural area as well as a very urban area. It was also a struggle to switch to them as they don't provide very good support or instructions on how the process should go. The billing is confusing as well. Only had them four months and already regretting the decision. Don't care how cheap they are, I will be switching to another, more reliable carrier as soon as possible.

Since carrier's have gone to 5G consumer Cellular has fallen behind. My phone calls go through but when the person on the other line starts talking it's garbled.

I've called and complained about this and tech support sucks. I'm not the only person in the area where I live having the same issue.

So I have to switch my calling to Internet WI FI calling, and that's BS.

Sorry, but after four years it's time to go. No more garbled talking and having to use WI FI to get through to someone.

This is the worst telephone company I have had to work with {I have worked with Sprint, ATT, Verizon, Spectrum in the past). I set up a home phone for my father with a base that his landline plugged into. I needed an extremely reliable phone because he is 97, blind and lives alone. Problems started immediately because It took over 3 weeks for CC to port his phone number over and with every call from me during this time there was a new excuse. We finally got set up and everything went smoothly for a few months. The reason I left today was that my father's phone has not been able to receive or make calls for FIVE DAYS. We called and computer chatted with CC multiple times daily for four days and they finally just said "ATT towers are out, there's nothing we can do." We checked with ATT and they said that was false and they had no outages. We were never followed up with, nor did the company ever reach out to us to give us a time frame or respond to our concerns. Four days is an unacceptable amount of time to be without a phone for anyone but for a homebound senior, it is nothing short of dangerous.

I bought a Samsung Fold 5 on November 7, December 7, Dead Dead. 9 days still without my $1750 phone and no answer! Save yourself Grief!;

My wife has a Consumer Cellular phone line. Granted it seems to low budget, however there are catches. First of all, my wife has the lowest data account they offer. Yet if she goes over the said data limit she is upgraded per the month she was over in date. Problem, Consumer Cellular continues to price her account at the highest rate for data. She has tried again and again to have thue plan she signed up for via the website. NOT HELPING as her monthly bill remains at the max data plan each and every month UNTIL SHE CALLS customer service to correct the AUTO change.
Second and MORE SO, I tried to switch from VER**** to Consumer Cellular, I had my number transferred then added my EXISTING Note 8 phone only to find AFTER I Cancelled my VERI*** account even though Consumer Cellular clearly stated my phone was compatible, that my phone was not compatible.
In short, I stopped service with VER****, transferred my number and phone to Consumer Cellular - only to find they held back the real truth. I ended up with the same phone (which I want to keep) and a new phone number ONLY AFTER I WENT BACK TO Ver****.
Be warned

They are a fraudulent operation that preys on seniors through lies and deceit.

No matter what you are told by their "customer service" reps, do not believe them, especially if you are purchasing a phone through them. I was told I could exchange a flip phone, which was technically incoherent on so many levels, for a less expensive, easier to use phone for my elderly friend.

I was forced to pick up all shipping charges and then found out they refused the phone because it wasn't "like new". The issue? A microscopic scratch in the charging port ( see photo). Other than that its appearance and functionality were perfect.

Also, don't be fooled by their AARP endorsement. When I complained to AARP, they dragged their feet contacting Consumer Cellular and then weeks later told me there was nothing they could do.

Buyer (especially seniors) be very, very careful with both these organizations. They are not what they say they are.