Consumer Cellular

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: I made payments to Consumer Cellular via online that is true, but I made those payments under the impression that I was making them through my banking account number ending with [redacted] which I viewed on their website when I was paying my bill. The very day I originally contracted with Consumer Cellular for their service I went online on their website and established my checking account number for payment so when I went back to Consumer Cellular to pay my bill I would have the information ready for me to pay. As I stated before Consumer Cellular insisted that I use my credit card to establish my account for the first charge but I DID NOT give them permission to bill my credit card for any billing purpose thereafter.  Instead, Consumer Cellular used my credit card number to bill for services rather than using my checking account number that I had chosen.  Consumer Cellular tried to tell me that I had only placed my checking account number in effect in March, 2016 which is not true.  I placed my checking account number to be in effect the very day that I established my account with them on their website.  At the first of March, 2016 I was closing mu banking account ending with [redacted].  It makes no sense that I would give them that banking account number at that time since I was closing that account and opening another checking account.  That is what led me to see where Consumer Cellular was actually billing me and that was my credit card account because I went on their website to change my checking account number to my new account number.  When I went online to pay my bill the account showing was the account ending with [redacted] on the website.  I continued to pay my bill with that account showing on their website thinking that my payment was coming from my checking account and I was deducting the amount I paid from my checking account every month.  Then recently I went to pay my bill and it showed a zero balance which I knew I had not paid.  That is when I began searching why I had a zero balance. I called Consumer Cellular and they confirmed that my bill was being paid by the checking account ending in [redacted].  I argued with them that that was not true.  When the service representative searched their records she revealed to me that they had been billing my credit card account.  I understand that I may have paid a Consumer Cellular bill via check at one time or another but that has nothing to do with the fact that I never gave them permission to use my credit card for billing only that one time upon the original date of contracting their services.  And as I have said they insisted to me that I give them my credit card number at that time.  Whatever they may try to make you believe they are dishonest in their response to you.  I may at fault that I did not review my credit card charges when I paid my credit card bill but that continues to be irreverent. They did not have my permission to use my credit card for anything after the original contact. I was asked by the service representative what she could do for me after she found that my credit card had been used for billing.  I responded to her that they should give me a credit on my bill for their mistake.  That is when she told me that Consumer Cellular could not do that because I had a zero balance and I asked her, "You are telling me that you cannot credit my account for your mistake on my next bill," and she said no.  That made no sense to me so I spoke with a supervisor who very stern towards me saying there was nothing they could do about it.  That's when I told them that I would report them to the Revdex.com. No matter what they try to make you believe they are lying and I am telling the truth else why would I go through all this. They don't want to credit my account for anything for their mistake and that is unfair.Sincerely,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:I have a pending transaction for $28.22 for consumer cellular today and I have $28.22 withdrawn from my checking acct on June 23 2016 and $29.86 on May 23 2016 and $26.50 on April 23 2016 when I opened the cellular acct so I have done my part of paying my monthly bills and it has come out of my account every month Sincerely,[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Dear Revdex.com,Thank you for contacting us regarding this complaint and allowing the opportunity to respond. We understand long hold times can be frustrating. We are working hard to hire and train new representatives and to handle as many calls as possible as quickly as possible. Mr. [redacted] did not...

indicate what we can assist him with, so we will reach out to him today. He can also contact customer service for non-urgent issues by email at [email protected],JESSICA H[redacted]

February 8, 2016 Revdex.com [redacted] Dear Revdex.com, Ms. [redacted] had service with us off and on from 4/10/2009 until she cancelled on 9/30/2015. I’m not sure what the customer is referring to when she says we wouldn’t give her a phone. I see that she...

called us on 7/29/2015 in regards to billing but we didn’t’ hear from her again until 9/30/2015 when we received a letter stating “I broke my phone the end of September. I don’t want to replace it so therefore feel I shouldn’t pay for the monthly fee. I will not replace my phone. SJS Thank you.” We cancelled the account when we received that notice. In addition, we don’t have free phones to give. Our customer’s do have to purchase a phone from us if they want one. The last payment we received from Ms. [redacted] was on 9/8/2015 in the amount of $20.27. That paid for the invoice dates of 7/18/2015 – 8/17/2015. The customer did not pay for the invoice from 8/18/2015 – 9/17/2015 in the amount of $15.23 or the invoice from 9/18/2015 – 9/30/2015 in the amount of $8.54. There were also two late fees of $10.00 each which accrued before we sent the account to collections. We received a letter from her and responded on 11/25/2015, outlining the charges on the account and also stating that there was usage on the invoices. We also spoke with her on 12/31/2015, sent a second letter on 1/18/2016. This was in addition to monthly statements, collections warning letters, and automated calls. On 1/19/2016 the account was sent to collections. Ms. [redacted] also mentioned the cost of her invoices. Our plans do start out at $10.00 plus tax. This was the plan that she was on. On this plan there are no free minutes included. Customers are billed per minute for what they use at the rate of $0.25 per minute plus tax. Since she rarely used over 10 minutes, this was the best plan for her to be on. At this time the account has been transferred to the collection agency and Ms. [redacted] will need to contact them at [redacted] to settle this debt. Thank you for contacting us regarding this complaint and allowing the opportunity to respond. Sincerely, TINA G[redacted] CORPORATE EXECUTIVE RESOLUTION SPECIALIST

I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint. As long as they keep there end of the deal and unlock the (2) iphone and release my cable co. # I will pay my past due balance the reason I refused to pay it is when I last spoke to them I offered to pay balance owed and they told me they still would not unlock iphones and they said they see no request to get landline # back so they were lying all along > I would like you Revdex.com to follow thru and make sure they do what they had promised please
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

see attached
December 16, 2015 Revdex.com [redacted] Dear Revdex.com, Usage alerts are done as a courtesy and we did send an alert on 10/18, 10/20, 10/29, 11/25. I’m sure the customer received these because she also modified the plan that she was on via the web site. In any case the customer is still responsible to monitor her usage and not solely depend on usage alerts. Something as simple as poor reception could cause her to not receive an alert so the alerts should not be the only method of tracking usage used. We do our best to get alerts to the customer however usage can be delayed up to 48 hours and usage is estimated. Emails were sent to the customer and I have confirmed that they did go through our servers. Here is a copy of the two emails. Sent on 12/12/2015 Hello [redacted], Thank you for contacting Consumer Cellular, I apologize for the delay in our response. I am happy to assist you today. I attempted to contact you by phone; however, I was unable to reach you. I apologize for any confusion caused by this issue. Regarding the "split call" listed on your invoice for the bill cycle of 10/01 - 10/31, the usage for this bill cycle totaled 793 minutes of the 750 minutes available. The call which lists the "split call" was active when the 750 minutes was reached; this caused the first 6 minutes of the call to be included within your plan, with the remaining 27 minutes of the call being charged usage fees for being over the allotted minutes of your plan. Regarding call waiting and call forwarding, these are each features within our service which are provided at no cost. The current balance on your account, $80.96, includes service for October and November, we are unable to separate these charges and payment on your account will be applied to the balance and not a specific invoice. Please let us know if we can assist you further. You are welcome to reply to this email or call our customer service department at [redacted]. Thank you for contacting Consumer Cellular. Best regards, Show all events [redacted] Today 09:10 I've used Google to look up "split call" since I cannot get an answer from Consumer Cellular. It refers to party lines. I don't have a party line, nor do I know anyone who does. I don't have call waiting either, nor call forwarding, just a simple, straightforward phone line used to make and receive calls. The sooner I can get an explanation for the October bill, the sooner I can pay it. In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you would separate my October and November invoices so I can ay for November, since that is not in dispute. Please note that I do not have home Internet, use a public computer, and will not have access to it again until Monday morning. Thanks for your attention to these requests. Sent on 12/5/2015 Hello [redacted], Thank you for your reply, I’m happy to assist you further. I did try calling you today but was only able to leave you a message. I have reviewed your account and do show that we have sent you two separate e-mails regarding your overage charge. I have verified that you were not charged for data overage as you had 150MB and only used .47MB of data usage. [redacted]  [redacted] Your line is provisioned for data and your Connect! plan provides data and text messaging. In regards to the overage in minutes, you were on the 750 minute plan and used 793 minutes in that billing cycle. Regarding the split call, this call was split because it was the point that you had gone over your minutes so our system began billing you $0.25 a minute. You may also view your invoice by going online to www.consumercellular.com and clicking on “View Details” below your current balance. Please let us know if we can assist you further. You are welcome to reply to this email or call our customer service department at the number below. Thank you again for contacting Consumer Cellular. Best regards, Show all events [redacted] Today 07:58 I am still waiting for that support specialist to respond. It's been two weeks. I would appreciate it if someone would explain to me the $10.75 in extra charges on my October bill, especially a charge for $6.75 for a "split call." I have no idea what that is. As I informed you earlier, I was in the hospital when I received a text alert abou usage. A relative was able to upgrade my plan to the next level before the billing cycle ended, yet I'm still socked with this outrageous charge. I was also charged for data usage ($.47) when I don't have Internet access on my phone. Now, because you've lumped together my current bill and a disputed bill, I am unable to pay the current bill while waiting for an explanation as to the overcharges on the previous bill. This is hardly fair. Because I do not have home Internet I will not get your message until Monday, but I hope that somebody will reply so this matter can be resolved. Thank you. [redacted] As courtesy I have rerated Ms. [redacted] invoice to reflect as if she had moved up a plan to cover her usage. It should be noted that the next plan up costs $10.00 more than what she was on and she had $10.75 in overages so there was only a $0.75 plus tax credit that could be applied. Her past due balance is now $45.87 and she has another balance coming due of $34.23. The customer can go on the web and make a partial payment. Here is what Ms. [redacted] sees when she goes to the payment section. She just needs to choose how much she’s going to pay. That does not however stop the invoicing from being valid and past due. Thank you for contacting us regarding this complaint and allowing the opportunity to respond. Sincerely, TINA G[redacted] CORPORATE EXECUTIVE RESOLUTION SPECIALIST [redacted]@ConsumerCellular.com www.ConsumerCellular.com [redacted...⇄ [redacted]  [redacted]

Thank you for contacting us regarding this complaint and allowing the opportunity to respond. This account was originally opened 12/24/2011, closed 10/8/2013, then reinstated on 4/20/2017. While the first month free is intended for new customers, not existing or returning customers,...

because of the length of time between this account cancellation and reinstatement we have gone ahead and applied the credit. I also waived the current prorated bill of $8.99 since the proration was based on the customer’s original bill cycle there was no usage during that short period. The first full invoice that generates for service from 4/22 through 5/21 will be waived under the first month free promotion. In order to add a referral credit, I will need the Consumer Cellular phone number of the customer who referred Dr. [redacted]. That information can be sent directly to me at [email protected] or in a response to this complaint case.

I ask them more then once about sending it back to have it check and repair and they turned me down  or to replace it and they would not do that all they said isthey have to reset it over the phone, I have never heard of that   that is why I want a full refund and I have also  cancel my services with consumer cellular as of 1/13/2018there for I do not need there phone and i  want to send it back for a refund if I don't get it that's fine I have cancel them out and my bill is paid they have very poor service

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:My uncle had to  purchase fro you because he could hardly ever could use the other one. His service was so por hr thought something was wrong withe phone.  The phones aregoood there is just poor servicr
e where he lives.  i have no service on my phone there either.  He is 91 years old, He did not understand that it was the service he thought it was the phone. He never checked about the service in his area.  He should not br charged for minutes he did not ude.Sincerely,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:It is apparent the training this company provides is as bad with the Technical staff as it is with the Corporate Executive Resolution Specialist (and I didn’t really see a resolution you were offering.)  To state this one more time.  From the time you connected the replacement phone on the 23rd of December until the 2nd of January I received NO phone calls – NO text messages – had NO access to the internet.  If you had read my numerous complaints – this was the 1st thing I stated on EVERY call! Now if you look at my bill – during this time you will see 35 calls that went straight to voicemail (as I stated in my calls) and 78 text messages I did not receive (but you chose to bill me an additional $38.71 for data (that I did not use.)  And yes….your techs were calling the phone as well as texting so they could verify this was not working. I understand all about the big company – you have my credit card information so there is nothing I can do about your shoddy service (or your insulting “one time courtesy credit of 4 days service”)  I CAN warn others about how you operate and hopefully save someone else from the same aggravation. And now about the return of the phones and the cord that missed out on the last return – you acknowledged I requested return envelopes on the 15th of January…today if the 22nd and I still do not have them.  Any plans of shipping them *before* my 45 days are over?? Good riddance to you!!
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Under another carrier, using the phone in exactly the same fashion (actually in an increased fashion) data usage is only 566.15 MB over the last 22 days. Also, usage for the period during which I was paying for a handset I purchased from former carrier was also exactly the same and did not go above the 1.5 G limit imposed by the carrier during that period. These exorbitant data charges began after handset was paid off and elevated charges to the level previously charged for data AND handset payment. I categorically reject Consumer Cellular's response and the proof is in my new carrier, who has only assessed 566.15 MB data usage since 28 November 2016 under identical, actually increased, usage patterns. This incident shows Consumer Cellular's attempt to extract monies from me to make up for the shortfall that occurred after paying off the handset.
Sincerely,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:Tina or anyone else when I called and said it was permanently damaged and that I had already gave it to trash pickup ever said I should of kept the phone and returned it. Instead Tina said she understood and said she would make note that the phone would not be returned as I had already gave it to the trash pickup people. All I can say is your Company needs to train better as at my age we do not read all the fine print as I can not read print that size anyway. Sincerely,[redacted]

Revdex.com [redacted]Dear Revdex.com,Thank you for contacting us regarding this complaint and allowing the opportunity to respond. We willnot be providing a credit to the customer. We will only be providing a credit towards the purchase ofanother phone.Per Mr. [redacted]’s first complaint:Send me my $73.50 for the phone which I will return to you. I don't want another refurbished/repaired[redacted] phone that might not work again. You could send me a different smart phone as long as I get astanding guarantee, not just 30 days, that the phone will work and I might be more than happy to comeback to your service.We contacted him and stated we would not give him the funds back but we could put the moneytowards the purchase of another device.Sincerely,TINA G[redacted]CORPORATE EXECUTIVE RESOLUTION SPECIALISTT 800.686.4460 F [email protected]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I may be mistaken about owing 1 payment; however billing me for an additional "final invoice" for $28.42? What is that??? Also, I had alot of problems with this phone initially & you told me I had been sold a remanufactured phone. I believe this is illegal. After some fighting with Consumer Cell, was issued a 2nd phone finally.  I would agree to pay one final payment of $57.34, but no more than that. That would finalize my obligation.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
 
First of all, because they previously told me they would pay for THREE SIM cards, because they acknowledged that without question they had disabled three of them by associating them with the wrong phone. They said they have made note of that in the records and they would refund the cost of all three.   Now, they are back peddling and telling me they will pay for only two.
But in addition, they are the ones who told me I had to take my phone for repair when in fact the only problem was that they had disabled the SIM.   They insisted that had done all they could, but in fact they kept assigning the SIM to the wrong phone.  THAT is why the phone didn't work.    Consumer Cellular only acknowledged that error when I found out that the other phone was out of service and they finally checked their records    So, after repeated attempts to find a problem with reception. now there IS a real problem - probably with a connector that has been taken off and put back on multiple times.   But it was Consumer Cellular caused the problem, it was Consumer Cellular that told us the phone needed to be repaired, and it was Consumer Cellular who continued to confound the repair shops by telling us the phone was in service when in fact they were they were looking at the wrong phone because they has messed up their records! 
Consumer Cellular says it was "my choice" to attempt to repair the phone.   But Consumer Cellular gave me no other options and did not provide any assistance to work with a repair shop.  Instead, they repeatedly told us they showed the phone "in service" and my phone must be at fault.
Suppose this was a car which would not start while I was travelling away from home.  We suspected the car's security and remote monitoring system was disabling the ignition.  But after contacting the dealer several time, they said I must have done something to the car and told me to take it to a repair shop.  Several repair shops each said they thought it was a problem with the car's security code, but the dealer insisted that they were successfully monitoring the car and the code was fine.   So the shops tried everything they could think of to get the car started.  
Finally, the dealer discovered that they had mistakenly changed the code to the car's security system, and were actually monitoring a difference car.   But now it would not start because the repair shops had attempted to fix something that did not need fixing and created a real problem.  
Could the dealer claim that it was my responsibility because I chose to take it to a repair shop as they told me to do?   And that I should pay for all the parts and repairs that were not necessary because it was my choice to attempt to get the car fixed when all it needed was the proper security code?  Would any court in the USA allow them to deny responsibility? I think not.
The technology is a bit newer and less familiar to some, but the analogy is quite accurate.  The SIM card contains a code which the carrier (in this case Consumer Cellular) activates for a particular phone. If they mess that up, the phone will not work. Repeatedly denying that they messed it up was the cause of subsequent damage.  They admit their error. They deny responsibility for the result.  That is not ethical, moral, or legal.
 
Sincerely,[redacted]'

see attachedJune 5, 2017Revdex.com [redacted]Dear Revdex.com,Thank you for contacting us regarding this complaint and allowing the opportunity to respond. Billingdoes start from the date that account is activated however there was no usage on the account so I havewaived the invoice.I’m unsure...

of what the customer is referring to in regards to a purchased phone. We sent her a free SIMcard but I do not see that a phone was purchased from us. If the phone was purchased at a retaillocation, Ms. [redacted] will need to return the phone to where she bought it from.Sincerely,[redacted]CORPORATE EXECUTIVE RESOLUTION SPECIALISTT 800.686.4460 F [email protected]

July 31, 2017Revdex.com [redacted]Dear Revdex.com,Thank you for contacting us regarding this complaint and allowing the opportunity to respond.Consumer Cellular does not charge data if the customer is connected properly to WiFi. Mr. [redacted] used5.02GB of data during the last billing cycle while...

not connected to WiFi. These charges are valid.I recommend that Mr. [redacted] verify the WiFi Settings within his phone and turn off data within hisphone as well. This will help ensure that data cannot be used unless connected to WiFi. If Mr. [redacted]needs assistance with doing this he may contact us at 1-800-686-4460.Sincerely,TINA G[redacted]CORPORATE EXECUTIVE RESOLUTION SPECIALISTT 800.686.4460 F [email protected]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Subject: Re: Revdex.com [redacted] VS CONSUMER CEULLULAR  I bought the phone in Massachusetts at a [redacted] store (the advertising says it will work anywhere in the country)  to use when I was looking for houses in Virginia. When I got down to Virginia it did not work in a lot of places. When I got back to Massachusetts I contacted Consumer Cellular to inform them that the phone did not work while I was there and that I was going to move to Virginia and I needed to return the phone if it was not going to work there. I wanted to return it before the 30 day return policy.   They told me that they would trouble shoot it when I got to Virginia. They were not able to solve the problem. When I cancelled my account I asked for a refund on the phone and they said they couldn't because it was past the 30 day return date. This is a consumer Cellular phone that will not take other providers other than [redacted] and [redacted] is just the store I purchased the phone at. I would try to take it back there but I cannot travel more than 800 miles to return the phone, besides I feel the Consumer Cellular uses false advertising to sell their phone. I would like to purchase a phone that will work here but I can't afford to buy another phone at this time.   I hope these details are not too confusing. Thank you for hearing me out. I hope there is something you can do.                                                           Sincerely, [redacted]