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Fred of Coronado, CA (05/10/08)
tracfone droped my old nokia phone last fall and sent another new technolgy phone claiming the old phone was being droped because of tech issues. i had just bought $100 of units in july 07 whenthis occured. I have a total of 585.5 units of un-accessable units per tracfone.
I contacted the san diego u-can office and they tried to get the units put on my replacement phone or pay me approx. $145 for these un-redeemable units - zero results.
$145 out of pocket; useless cell phone.
Willette of Philadelphia PA (05/07/08)
Well from reading other complaints the same thing happened to me. I needed a phone and decided to get a prepaid phone from Rite Aid. Once I activated it it gave me 20 minutes by doing it online. I decided to get more airtime online but it didn't take. I said well maybe I'll buy an airtime card from Walmart. I purchased one for 200 minutes. I couldn't do that online or by the phone. It said error and to contact that 1 800 number. I then called tracfone. An Indian guy who I couldn't half understand what he was saying. The phone connection was bad and I had to practically repeat everything thing.
Anyway, he said there was an error and he had to speak to his boss. Put me on hold. Took all my information down and said that he would get in touch with me within 24 or 48 hours. I tried again online again because I hadn't heard anything from the jerk. They said it probably was a programming error and to put in the code which didn't work. I called back sounded like the same guy he said hold on that he would have to put me in touch with the corporate office. I asked him what the problem was he couldn't tell me nothing and just stated it was an error and that he would call in 24 to 48 hours again.
I don't know what I was doing to the phone now it's saying service disabled. I didn't even bother about calling again. It's a lost for the phone and I still have a 200 minutes card that I'll give away to somebody. I'm not even going to sweat that. I had a tracfone years ago and it wasn't like this. I've learned my lesson with this. I thought I was the only one but I definitely won't purchase a tracfone again I'm done.
Kenneth of Maple Falls WA (05/01/08)
I bought 250 new minutes for my tracfone and tried adding them to my phone on line. After many failed attemts I called the tech number to reactivate my phone and tried again online to add minutes. Failing again I called the tech number and they gave me a ticket number and said that I would be able to now add minutes. Onoter failure . I called the tech number again and they said that it failed because they did not have a line available in this area. I am out 49.00 and a lot of frustration due to this sloppy system. What measures can I take to recover the minutes and warn others not to be taken in by this bad system.
Loss of $49.00 and no use of phone.
Charles of Stoneboro PA (04/30/08)
I purchased a TracFone about 4 days ago, for the ease of purchasing minutes and no contracts to get into.It has been nothing but sheer frustration ever since. keep in mind that these people must be from a foreign country somewhere and you have a hard time understanding them. So far I have been on my home phone for over 9 hours trying to get my activation and minutes that I paid for. I did get the phone activated after a few hours but have been unsuccessful so far in acquiring my purchased minutes. All the people at Tracfone do is have me punch numbers in over and over again. Then they transfer you to another department and say there is an error or issue. Then the struggle starts all over again because that department has no clue as to what is going on. Then they say they must talk to a supervisor and you are put on hold again.
Then the story repeats itself all over and over again. Then they tell me to call backin 24 hours or 48 hours because there is an error. They give you an administration number to call back with. That is suppose to correct the error or issue. When you call back with that number the person you are talking to has no clue as to what the administration number is. Then it starts all over again. Finally when I was so frustrated I asked to speak to a supervisor. He says there is an issue and then , puts you on hold and tells you to call back in 24 hours, or he transfers you to someone else. I requested to speak to the head boss. He gets on and says there is an error and tells me to call back in 48 hours.
So I ask him to call me when they get the problem fixed and he says they don't call customers. I ask him why and he says because it is company policy and hangs up on me. I call back again and they say I can return the phone to Dollar General Store with no problem. Not true. So I take the phone to dollar General Store and the Manager said that the phone has been activated and it can't be returned. And my minutes will be lost if we don't get them on the phone. The Manager at Dollar General has been extremely helpful. She has been on the phone for hours over the last two days trying to get my minutes for me. She has been going through the same frustrating experience as me.
I had originally purchased 60 minutes which we were unsuccessful in acquiring. The people at TracFone tell the manager that there is a glitz in the system, but if I purchase additional minutes, that all of my minutes will be put on with absolutely no problem. Not true. I purchased 30 more minutes and we are at step one again, and they tell the Dollar General Manager to wait 48 hours to see what happens. She is in the process of waiting fo Corporate from TracFone to call her back. They promised to call her in 2 hours and the problem would be fixed. Not true. They never called back. The Dollar General Manager and myself are at the point of a nervous breakdown over this. The Manager at the Dollar Store is still struggling to get my minutes for me.
I lost $50 for the TracFone and the 90 minutes I purchased. I spent 9 1/2 hours on my home phone trying to get my minutes. The manager at the Dollar Store has spent hours on the phone also.During this ordeal I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown over it. I have never been so frustrated in my entire life, the cost of that is priceless.
Debra of Gaffney SC (04/29/08)
I travel alot and I need a cell phone for emergencies and security reasons. I purchased a Tracfone at WalMart right before Christmas 2007. I immediately began having problems with it. I could never receive minutes I added without having to call Customer Service. This meant 1-3 hrs on a land phone if one was available, entering what seemed like a never-ending amount of very long code numbers. I told the rep from the beginning that the phone was malfunctioning but, no one seemed to listen.
Many times I took the phone back to WalMart and they were put through the same process as I was going through. Then one day the Add Airtime Minutes option disappeared. Now I can't even add airtime minutes!WalMart reps and I went through this seemless torture until April 24, 2008 when a rep decided my phone was malfunctioning. I was told I would receive a new phone in the mail and to mail the malfunctioning phone back. I did not receive a new phone at all but, a reconditioned one.
Guess what, when I tried to activate it, I was on a land phone for 4 hrs talking to a rep who finally told me I would have to send the replacement phone back and would receive another phone. I told the rep that I wanted a new phone, not a reconditioned one. After all, the original phone was new and it never worked. He said he would request a new phone to be sent but, he would not guarantee it. He said a reconditioned phone is really all I could expect. Well, I received my replacement reconditioned phone today and when I tried to activate it I noticed that the Add Airtime Option was missing, right out of the box!
I lost it at that point. I told the rep I was going to report them to the BBB and the complaint would never be resolved so if anyone is thinking of buying a Tracfone and wishes to check the company out with the BBB, my unresolved complaint will be there for all to see. As of right now my phone has begun functioning perfectly. However, I am not holding my breathe. Trust me if you are looking for a prepaid phone try another brand for your own sanity.
The phone only cost 14.99 plus tax, but I cannot even imagine how much time, aggravation, lost business calls from a non-functionig phone, trips to WalMart and aggravation this company has caused me and my Contacts. Buyer Beware!
Rebecca of Hill City SD (04/23/08)
I have had several tracphones over the years - I added minutes from a phone card and it did not double the minutes. When I called tracPhone to report the missing minutes they had me on hold for a total of over an hour. I was told the double minutes were never put on the phone (I have had the double minutes since 9/12/07.
When I asked to talk to a supervisor he could not speak English any better than the previous person I had been talking with. When I asked for a record of minutes for this phone I was told he could not provide me with this information. I have had several problems with the last two phones we have had with this company. I will not recomend TracPhone to another person. I would like to get the information to people that when you buy a TracPhone be prepaired to sit on hold and not speak to an ENGLISH person. All I was told was I'm sorry I cannot help you. - I am the supervisor on call
Chris of Cleveland OH (04/22/08)
I had prepaid service with 80+ minutes and no expiration date until 12/20/08. When I went to use my phone, prerecorded messages informed me that my number was not registered in the area and that I needed to provide a credit card number or PIN number to make a phone call. I called TracFone and was told the minutes on my phone had been transferred to another phone and that unless I could provide the phone number and ESN # of the new phone they could not transfer my minutes back.
Since neither my husband nor I did this I couldn't provide the required info. I requested a refund and was told they don't provide refunds. All my husband and I can guess is that when he purchased a new TracFone and after 6-7 calls and many hours was finally able to transfer the prepaid minutes and old phone number, they must have mixed up the account numbers. But the numbers for his old phone don't match their records. And we no longer have the new phone. My husband was so disgusted with the service he received that he decided to cut his losses to TracFone and returned the new phone to at least get his money back on that.
Loss of money for prepaid service, need to purchase a new phone with another company, loss of time with 2.5+hours on the phone with TracFone reps plus time spent selected a new phone, no cell service for work, emergencies, contact with my children's school and babysitters since I work all over the city.
David of Danville IL (04/21/08)
In April 2006 I purchased a tracfone and a one year phone card with 400 minutes and double minutes for the life of the phone as an added insentive I received 200 bonus minutes. The double minutes worked fine until April 2008 on the 19th I added a 60 minute card and only received 60 minutes. I called customer service and was told My double minute card had expired. I talked to four people the third being someone claiming to be the manageing supervisor, I asked to talk to his boss and he stated that I would have to call back on monday in order to do that. And was promptly hung up on. I called right back and spoke to a woman who had me program some numbers in my phone that reset my phone and was told that was all that could be done for me saturday.
So, I called again today, went through the process again and was told by Jair the manageing suppervisor today that I could not talk to his boss and that he was the last person that would ever speak to me on this subject. I again requested to speak to his boss and he said I had to provide him with my contact information that they might contact me. I informed him that he already had my contact information. I then asked for his name his reply Jair. When I asked for his last name he refused it, so I asked for his ID# with some reluctence and after asking for it several times he answered 59411. He then said sence I refused to give my contact information no one would be calling me and hung up.
So, I called back again I talked to a woman who informed me that they did indeed have my contact information, she also provided me with the address. I thanked her and ended my conversation. It all boils down to they want me to purchase another doulble minutes for the life of the phone card.
at present 19.99 plus taxes and it seems to me they are trying to extort 49.99 plus taxes. Emotional mental durass as I am totaly and permantly disabled due to depresion and seizure disorder (siezures are caused by stress and anxiety).
Betty of Houston TX (04/14/08)
I was emailed an offer to buy 60 min for 19.95 and it was stated that if I entered a code I would get 60 min extra free. I have been billed twice on my credit card on two separate days.
I have a double billing on my credit card of 21.64
Michelle of Apo Aa OTHER (03/27/08)
When attempting to use the website to add additional minutes to my tracfone, the system would not accept a valid mailing address (APO AA). I am living overseas on assignment for a U.S Government agency and while I can't use the tracfone presently I did want to have it for my next return trip to the United States.
After calling the help desk and speaking for over 30 minutes with three differnet individuals who insisted that their system did not recognize a valid military address, I gave up and hung up.
I simply wanted to add minutes to the phone so that when I returned to the U.S. I would have a means of immediately communication.
I find it deplorable that a U.S company does not recognize as valid a bona fide military address.
?
Steve of East Greenbush NY (03/09/08)
After several years my Tracfone prepaid wireless cell phone ceased to operate. I called customer service and they said my phone was an old model which would no longer work with their system because of an upgrade. They sent me a new phone for free. When I tried to activate my new phone they said they could not transfer my 40 minutes of remaining time to the new phone. They gave me 60 minutes instead.
Tracfone gave me a new phone and additional time for nothing. They really know how to keep customer singing their praises. Several people I know have related similar positive experience with Tracfone. Because of their way of treating customers, our family has three Tracfone.
Debra of Grove City PA (03/02/08)
After purchasing airtime and units in December 2007 for my Tracfone it was never updated. I contacted the company via e-mail and the response was to call them at their 800 number to discuss this problem. It was a good thing it was a 800 number due to the time spent waiting with no result. Please help with this matter.
Tracfone was paid for a service that they did not provide. It is frustrating to spend so much time on a product that advertises wonderful service.
Susan of King Of Prussia PA (02/16/08)
On Friday 02/08/2008, I went to Target and bought a TracFone and a $139.99 airtime card (it adds 1 year service to end date, double minutes when added for life of the phone and 800 minutes plus 200 bonus minutes with code). I tried to activate over the internet and it did not work. I called tracfone Twice on Saturday, once on Sunday and twice on Monday. The phone never was activated. I realized that the reciept did not say activation succesful. One of the supervisors that I talked to said he thought that the phone was a problem and I should take it back and they would transfer the card over to the new phone, so I did on Monday 02/11/2008. I got stuck buying a more expensive phone just to avoid the same problem.
I called and got the phone activated and noticed they only put 800 minutes on the phone, no bonus minutes or 1 year plan or the double minutes. I called them back again and the said, no that card was only good for the life of the phone. I told them the phone never had a life as they could not get it activated. They finally gave me the 1 year and the bonus minutes, but not that double minutes for the life of the phone. They told me to go back to Target again and have them call them and tell them I bought the card. When I said this is ridiculous she said well there is a lot of fraud out there. It seems to me she works for the leader of the pack. I am still waiting for the double minutes. (TracFone's favorite line is please hold for 2 or 3 minutes and another 24 Hours, I can't tell you how many times I heard that in the past week.)
$200.00 for phone and card, and over 6 hours on the phone with them in the past week. I lost my voice and it got much worse trying to deal with them.
Don of Quincy MA (02/08/08)
After buying several hundreds of dollars worth of tracfone minutes during 2007, my message service has been pre-paid until 7/2015. Within the past six months the ability to check my messages from a land line has disappeared. The only way I can access this service, which I've already prepaid for, I will need to continue to buy and use my tracfone minutes to access these messages. Three weeks ago I lost this phone, as a result of this change in my service conditions, I was unable to access my messages as I had previously been able to do by simply pushing # and my pin #. Do not buy prepay for any service from this company unless you are willing to have them change the conditions of your service mid-stream. I told the operator that he could tell those in charge that they just lost another customer.
I could not access any messages when this phone was lost.
Karol of Hopatcong NJ (02/08/08)
This whole realm of adding minutes to a cell phone is totally useless. You cannot add minutes to redeem time on the motorola V170 phone itself because this feature has disappeared from the menu. You try to redeem minutes with a pin number on a phone card that you purchase via the Internet and this doesn't work either, even after you follow pages and pages of instructions. You call and ask to speak to someone in customer service and after being put on hold for an eternity you finally ask to speak to a Supervisor. They advertise bonus minutes for your birthday (20 minutes) via e-mail but when you go to redeem them they never heard of you. This goes on and on.
Bill of Alomogordo NM (01/25/08)
I was told service had been terminated for failure to add time. But I had 400 min. through 21/02/2013. This the third time in three months this has happened.
I had to to converse with person from India who spoke with such broken English that it cost many minutes on my phone due to lost time in communicating. This time it was not reimbursed by tracfone - 32mins.
Dave of East Syracuse NY (01/08/08)
I bought a tracfone minute card and I tried to put it in my phone and it disabled my phone. I called them to tell them about it and they helped me a little bit but they told me my phone was defective and I had to send it in. I know it's not, so I tried the pin online and it said that the pin was used already and I had just bought it and it didn't go through. So I called them again and they said it was a bad pin number so I gave up, but I would like to get the minutes on my phone without any more hassles.
I've lost out of minutes for my phone that I paid for.
James of Haverhill MA (01/05/08)
Nightmare with Tracfone. I merely wanted to change from a Motorola picture phone back to my previous Motorola with buttons my large fingers could hit with confidence and that has a decent antenna for our semi-rural location. On my first call to a live person (English is not the first language of these employees) I repeated reams of information, each word of which was repeated back to me. I only wanted my 407 units transferred to the old Motorola. A case number was given to me, and I was forwarded to the credit card people. Why do I need to buy more time when I have over 400 units? Its the way it works. I don't need the minutes, but Ill pony up $20.00 just to get service going again. I get a few minutes into the process, and the system cuts me off. Start all over again. Finally they take my $20.00, tell me to wait 4-6 hours and then use my phone. I do. NOTHING.
I call again three days later when I have enough time to spare for another round with these people. Hundreds of code entry numbers later, taking nearly an hour, I am assured everything will be fine. Wait another bunch of hours, being sure my phone is plugged in. Still NOTHING. Now it's January 4, a week after starting this process. A zillion more numbers later and a dozen more "May I put you on hold for 3 minutes, Sir, while I talk to supervisor?"--and still no service. By now I have talked to Helena, Miriam, Ernest, Judy, Yvonne and a couple whose names I didn't get, not to mention a couple of supervisors. January 5, I get Gustavo. Fifteen digits of entry code later he asks me to try to call a number, and it WORKS!
I have spent nearly ten hours on the phone with Tracfone tech people. I have been without service for nearly two weeks. I had to purchase unwanted extra units. I had to beg for an extension of the rollover date. And my frustration level has been off the charts. Good luck to all of us who use Tracfone in the future!
Sinikka of Arlington TX (12/31/07)
Just got myself a Tracfone. Made my first call which lasted less than a minute. However, 6 units were deducted from my total units (i.e., minutes). Don't have a warm and fuzzy about this service!
Cheryl of Lancaster PA (12/22/07)
I purchased Tracfone minutes that I did not receive. I was told the minutes would show up on my phone. They did not. I was told that my time was redeemed. It was not. My time is not on my screen. I feel I was ripped off again--this time for 200 minutes. I work at night and I travel some dark, lonely roads; and I need my phone for security. Please help me get my money back. Thanks.
This phone was affordable; others are not, and the phone was for my feeling of some security in this unsafe world.
Margie of Milton WV (12/14/07)
I got a message on my phone that if I get air time before a certain time I would get 20 free minutes. I got it on 12-7, and they said within 24 hours I would get my minutes. It has been over a week and still no free minutes.
Jacqueline of New York NY (12/11/07)
I bought a TracFone and additional minutes card that guaranteed double the minutes for each time I purchased phone card. Now I cannot reach customer service from my phone to add minutes (after purchasing another card). I tried five times from their internet site, and each time it failed with Protocol error. I tried to reach customer service on Dec 4, 2007. They were located in Barranquilla, Columbia, but two individuals were very helpful. Now I cannot reach customer service (on their own Tracfone using up the minutes I purchased). The minutes seem to be deducted at more than the amount of time I have used the phone, and they provide no email to reach them-- only a website that does not respond when you click for customer service.
I bought the phone while I am temporarily in Florida and was just released from JFK Hospital in Atlantis, Florida for an acute mini stroke. As a prior major stroke patient, I do not need this aggravation while trying to recuperate at my friend's home. I just thought you should know and maybe your agency can help. Thank you for your time.
Recovering from acute TIA, Thay have caused me additional stress while I try to recuoerate ferom the hospitalization,from which I was released only 2 weeks ago.
Judy of Pittsfield MA (12/11/07)
We went to use our Tracfones which had airtime until 1/18/08 and 1/21/08. A message came on that they were disconnected because airtime was not added in time. We tried to call the company and only could get automated system. What good is that at a time like this? Even if a real person answered, you have trouble understanding them because they speak broken English.
We had a death in the famiy and were not able to contact family members due to our phones being disconnected.
Ben of Coalinga CA (12/05/07)
The most recent complaint is that we added 60 minutes to our phone before the deadline and yet we continue to get calls and messages to add minutes. I called and tried to talk to a representative and he did not speak English or understand English well enough to understand that we had already added minutes and wanted to make sure the transaction had been completed. This is not the first time. It continues to be a problem every time we have to speak to to your Support Service. This time we added minutes on the computer and I have the confirmation in hand that my card has been charged and the new date is May 4, 2008. Something has to be done to give their customers service when they try to communicate with you.
I feel absolute frustration. We will not recommend this product and service to family and friends nor will we continue to use it ourselves when we can make other arrangements for a cell phone. At least then we can call someone and fix whatever problem we might have. We are old, handicapped and can not get out so we thought Tracfone would give us a sense of well being and protection if we needed to reach neighbors or family for help. It has been nothing but a disappointment. We cannot even depend on having service if we need it.
Todd of Syracuse NY (11/29/07)
My Tracfone (model C139) one day mysteriously erased all of its air and service time, and I had recently added a 200 minute, one year time card. Even if I used all the minutes I should still have had over 6 months of air service remaining. But both the time and air service were simply gone! A Tracfone rep (she was thankfully a good English speaker) kindly explained that since I had not purchased an extended service contract for the phone and it was older than one year, they consequently had no records, and there was nothing to do about it except for me to buy a new phone and air time-service card.
It is one thing when a customer loses their phone but another thing when a modern working phone mysteriously erases all of its time and no one at Tracfone can make good on it. From now on I will only buy 60 minute cards to limit my losses should this event reoccur. I'm out approximately $75.
Stanley of Easley SC (11/22/07)
I have twice purchased 300 minutes Tracfone air time with 1 year each for my mother's phone. She only uses the phone for occasional short calls when she is away from home; mostly it is for emergencies. After she makes her calls she disconnects and turns the phone off to save battery power. In both cases all her minutes were mysteriously wiped out after a few months of operation, and there is more than half a year left on her card but no air time remaining. These people are crooks; I thought one time was maybe an error but now it has happened twice.
My mother no longer has emergency cell service.
Julie of Jeannette PA (11/16/07)
I had Tracfone for about a year now. I have had problems with understanding customer service; the employees speak broken English and am put on hold for very long periods of time.
But recently I went on their bundle plans. They automatically take money from my account and are to add a set amount of minutes on a certain day monthly. Three times now out of 5 months, they have charged my account but not added the time. I have contacted them each time after I noticed, and they have added the minutes, BUT I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO keep checking on them and calling! I think its time for me to switch companies.
Gary of Orient IA (11/15/07)
I bought my Tracfone 5 years ago. I recently bought more minutes; I could not put them to my old trac phone. I called and after 2 hours finally talked to a live person--could barely make out his English. He said they would have to send me a new phone; they are shutting all old phones off with no notice. I said I did not want a new phone. They just said too bad. I told them to put my old phone number and my old minutes and expiration date in the new phone. They said they would. I got the new phone in the mail after 2 weeks, with no service, no minutes, and the expiration date on the phone is 01/01/2001.
I have called to complain 3 times requiring 2-plus hours every call. My first call was assigned a case number. The second call I was promised a supervisor would call back: another lie. The third call they promised me my phone will be working the next day. It did not work. They took my remaining minutes off my old phone; it has been out of service now for 3 weeks. I had a knee replacement Nov. 1, and I told them my wife and I needed our phone working during this time, especially. That didn't seem to matter.
Kate of San Diego CA (11/15/07)
I purchased 120 units of airtime card at Target. Units will not add to the Tracfone. I've made multiple calls--now 4 hrs., 37 minutes worth, plus two emails, and no results. My original attempt and call was 10/23/07. Twenty days have passed. They do not respond to my emails, and I can't bear to tackle another go-round of holds on their 800 number. I have sent a complaint to the FCC, to the California Public Utilities, and to the Better Business Bureau--of which, I was amazed to learn, Tracfone is a member. It has done no good so far. t
Then I had a great idea, born out of the frustration of being the victim of theft with seemingly no recourse. DO NOT BUY AIRTIME ON-LINE. BUY THE PHYSICAL CARD AT A STORE WITH A CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD. KEEP IT AND YOUR RECEIPT. IF YOUR MINUTES OR SERVICE IS NOT AS IT SHOULD BE, CALL YOUR BANK AND CONTEST THE CHARGE. They WILL help you! And you will have physical evidence to back you up.
I have been frustrated to the point of a stroke. I spent $29.99 on the card, and lost hours of my life in anger. Then I called my bank!
Esther of New Hope PA (11/12/07)
I made a request of Tracfone for refund of unused minutes. On September 14, 2007 I ordered one year's time for my Tracfone for $105.99. Several weeks ago, I hunted for my Tracfone, which I keep in my purse. I continued searching for the phone throughout my house and two cars, to no avail. On November 5th I called Tracfone to deactivate the phone and for a refund for the unused time. First, the agent I talked with said that nothing could be done for me because it was over two months since I ordered the time. I pointed out I was within two months. He then said that it had been activated, so I was out of luck. The phone was either stolen or lost. I feel that I have a valid request for the refund. It seems unethical to refuse a refund.
Jason of Danville IL (11/09/07)
I purchased a double the minutes for lifetime card for my phone. When acctivating this card. I have had 3 times where the minutes I purchased didn't add double the minutes. The first and second time I called TracFone and they fixed the problem and added the minutes. The last time on November 11th of 2007 I purchased a 60 min. card for $20. The card didn't add double the min. which being 120. I called TracPhone and they told me that I never purchased the card or activated the card.
Sandy of Piggott AR (11/06/07)
I bought the double minute plan with my Tracfone for $ 49.99--only to find out when my other phone quit only 4 months later, the double minute plan is not TRANSFERABLE. What a ripoff! I complained to several different floor supervisors but to no avail; they didn't do anything.I am going to tell everyone I can about this. If you lose your phone or it quits working or you just replace it, you cannot use the double minute plan on the new phone.
Wiley of Chino Valley AZ (10/06/07)
Tracfone upgraded the phone for my area and my old had to be replaced. They sent me a new one at no charge and everything was fine until I tried to contact them to transfer my phone number from the old phone to the new phone, that is when I feel into Tracfone's blsck hole of customer service. Tracfone's customer service is absolutely terrible. Pray to God you never need to call this company for help as they do not hire enought people to handle their business needs. There is always some excuse why the wait times are so long or why they have to bounce you around from place to place and putting you on hold for unbelieveable wait times. Tracfone also hires people who speak with broken english making it almost impossible to work out any problems you are experiencing.
Jessica of Tecumseh MI (10/05/07)
Bought a tracfone and a 60 unit air time card in April 2007, activated the phone, made a test call and then did not use it for a few months until the 10 unit airtime it came with expired.
I had to reactivate the phone via website and then added the 60 unit air time minutes that I had purchased, which I was able to do in AUG. I used the phone ONCE to call home and used ONE UNIT of air time, which left me with 59 units.
Now, on Oct 5, 2007, after keeping the phone charged, phone will not work. Will not make a call and the message on it says UNREGISTERED SIM. It also says there is only 1 bar for connection when before it was all bars.
I went to the website once again to check on my account and it confirms that my phone service is active and my 59 units are good until Dec, 2007.
But no way to make a call now. This phone was purchased for use in the car or away from home, for emergencies. I guess now I am SOL.
Could not make contact with customer service when I phoned and a recorded message said reps were busy - approx 30 minute wait to speak to a rep.
Kent of Helena MT (08/25/07)
Just to add to your growing list of dissatisfied customers, add me. In the few years I've owned two phones, it's been hell to add additional airtime minutes. Today, I've been waiting for thirty minutes for the Internet connection, and frankly, I'm betting I will not get into their site. The phone I call them on needs the ESIN number, probably my phone number, and other junk to convey to them I'm trying to add purchased airtime to the phone I'm calling them from....is this really not a Keystone Cop routine. This will be the last year I try to use them for a cell phone. If the postal service goes belly up, I'll probably not have any form of communication other than bloggers, whom I'll find a way to use to complain. Your newsletter is very helpful.
Hell, just another ulcer for the demise of this once great Nation. I'll be gone, probably, before the ice melts and I'm living here in my Mountainous sea front property. No need to bother with this complaint, but it feels good to make it, anyway.
Denise of Alto, NM (08/24/07)
I purchased an extended plan from this company and have had nothing but problems. At this writing they have "stolen" almost 620 minutes of my airtime, and I am simply exhausted trying to deal with them. This is my business phone number. I marketed over $6,000 of advertising using THIS phone number.
Leland of Camino, CA (08/24/07)
On the menu page of my Tracfone it showed the current, time, date and remaining units (about 100 minutes). I had the phone charging in the OFF mode. When I turned it back on the date became 01/01/01 with no units.
I called up Tracfone and after quite some time was told to buy another Phone and call them back to transfer the minutes if they were able too. They would or could not reset the date and I would have to pay for the phone!! This is unfair and I will try another company.
Beth of Fairhope AL (08/13/07)
I have had a Tracfone over one year. For my birthday, I received my new style phone I immediately called to ask a few questions and to get my service switched to the new phone. I asked if my double minutes from my previous phone transfer to the new phone, because if not it was not feasible for me to change phones. I was assured that this was not a problem and therefore went through this long process of changing all my information over.
I cannot count on two hands how many times I had to input the codes that were about 15 digits long. Not only on the new phone but also the old phone. After about 25 minutes on the phone with this guy, we finally get through the process. Again, I question him on the double minutes and again I'm assured that this was not a problem. You guessed it. I lost all my previous minutes.
Orton Gray of Madison WI (08/09/07)
I bought a tracfone card which would give me one year of service and 400 minutes of time. I activated the card online. Tracfone gave me only 330 minutes of time rather than 400 minutes. I called their support service but they said they could not do anything about the problem.
Tracfone owes me 70 minutes of time or some of my money back.
Jean of Naperville IL (08/08/07)
I had been a Tracfone customer for a number of years always buying the year of service plan as required. This last renewal period i purchased the year of service w/ double minutes for life. But I first spoke with a service representative to determine if the minutes, phone number, and service were transferable should I purchased a new phone. I was told yes they were.
Acting on the information I was given, I purchased a new phone over the internet, activated it on arrival, and the minutes were in fact transferred. The issue arose on the next minute purchase occasion - minutes were successfully purchased, however they were not doubled. On speaking to customer service, I was told that the double minutes for life plans do not transfer with the phone, nor would switching back to my previous phone restore that service.
What I find particularly irksome, is that I did not see this information posted on their website, nor was i told this by their representative.
Financially, this cost me at the very least $50 for the double minute plan, and cheated me out of 400 additional minutes, the equivalent of another $80.
Eric of Schenectady NY (05/20/07)
i got minutes for my airtime tank and it says i have no service. and someone else picked up and my phone didnt ring when i called it.
Anthony of Seattle, WA (05/10/07)
I paid online for minutes ($10 plus tax) and in moments the minutes are supposedly added to your phone. Never happened! The first time it happened I called their 1-800 number, waited 20 minutes on hold and finally, without explanation, they added my minutes.
The second time it happened I didn't have time to waste on the phone with them. When I finally called the 800 number to try to obtain what I had already paid for, their office was closed!
Tereca of Ewung MO (05/07/07)
I signed up for the Tracfone Insider to get 20 free minutes of air time in mid April. You have to buy more minutes to actually get them. Ok, so I bought another 60 minutes, and got a free 90 days extension, but now actual minutes. Now they tell me I have to buy more minutes. Forget it, I went to US cellular for $25 a month.
Roel of Sanford ME (04/21/07)
Unable to load my prepaid Tracfone minutes. Several attempts have resulted with nothing more then me wasting time. I have been waiting 5 days for my purchased time to show up on my Tracfone.
The consequences of this is having a Tracfone with 6 minutes left that I am afraid to use because once those minutes are used the phone number will be lost if I don't add minutes (minutes that the tracfone company REFUSES to grant me.)
Don of Cloudcroft, NM (03/18/07)
I have bought airtime several times in the past on the tracfone website, however, the last time was a nightmare. I intended to purchase 60 minutes of airtime, but ended up with 240 and 6 months of air time at a cost well over a hundred bucks!
I kept getting a "code not accepted" message with another set of numbers to punch in. I finally talked to someone that I could halfway understand, (press 1 for English is not always true) and he said the best he could do was take two charges off my account and I would have to pay for four.
Jennifer of Yellow Springs OH (01/16/07)
After purchasing a Tracfone I attempted to add 120 minutes of airtime. I received a message that the minutes would be added and I needed to turn the phone off and back on. I did so several times and never received the minutes.
After waiting for 8 minutes I finally spoke with a customer service agent who quickly hung up on me. I am assuming it was accidental. I called back and waited another 7 minutes and spoke with another agent who told me he could not add the minutes because there was no way to verify that the minutes were never used. I asked to speak to his supervisor who repeated the same story to me.
We are now out the money that we spent on the phone, because we will never purchase minutes for it again and we are out the money for the minutes that we never received.
Sheri of Paducah, KY (01/05/07)
I have had my Tracfone for over a year now. It has been my only phone.
With a dependable income, I decided to buy a more permanent cell phone plan. I asked that my current Tracfone number be transferred to my new cell phone. I assumed this would take place during the activation process. WRONG!!!! When the new company requested the phone number, Tracphone immediately de-activated my phone.
My new phone will not arrive for almost a week!! In addition to not having a phone, I had just purchased 250 minutes intending to use them and activate my new phone when they ran out. I called Tracfone and was told, "We're sorry, but we cannot re-activate the phone". The minutes I purchased yesterday (250) are GONE.
Ron of Kalispell, MT (01/04/07)
I purchased a Tracfone and used it for a few years. Over time I accumulated over 1,200 airtime minutes and then I lost the telephone. Since my wife also has a Tracfone, I requested that my airtime be transferred to her phone. I was told that only 60 minutes could be transferred.
I incurred a financial loss of about $300 plus an enormous amount of frustration dealing with Tracfone's customer service representative. When I asked to speak with the supervisor, I was put on hold for about 15 minutes before the line went dead. I got nowhere.
Larry of Umatilla, FL (01/04/07)
In September we purchased a 60 minute card for our tracfone, to add to the 80 minutes we had on it. When we tried to activate the 60 minutes, it erased our 80 minutes and wouldn't put in the 60 minutes that we purchased!
We have lost the minutes and the money that we used to purchase all these minutes.
Paul of Columbus IN (12/27/06)
I paid $100.00 for a year of service and a re-conditioned cell phone. I got the phone, but no year of service. Wasted LOTS of time talking to 6 different phone reps, but got no help. They refuse to give me the time I paid for, and won't refund my money. Total loss, including tax, = $105.99.
Ed of Earlsville VA (12/21/06)
This is the worst service I have ever experienced! I finally reached an operator and gave her the case number and after 25 minutes she was unable to help me and disconnected me. I was very patient with her. In fact she explained to me that the promotional offer I referenced had expired. I told her that I was currently on the web and that the offer was up stating that it was good until December 31, 2006. My second attempt also failed. I did not get the minutes promised on the web site and it’s very difficult to add promotional minutes, if possible at all.
Julie of Henderson TN (10/18/06)
On 9/5/06, I purchased minutes on line for my daughters phone - this was the first time I had used the online service - easy I thought! I had some problems activating the minutes - they kept giving me other numbers to try, etc. When I got my credit card bill, they had charged me double even though I only authorized one charge. Now they say there is nothing they can do. I have contacted my credit card company and will never use the Tracfone online service again.
Bob of New Britain CT (07/28/06)
I went to tracfone's website to purchase airtime. I chose the 400 minute card which clearly says that I get 60 days of service with the purchase. The 400 minutes are not the issue, but tracfone refuses to give me the 60 days of airtime. I've complained to them about it 3 times and they give me a bunch of double talk about their terms and conditions. No reasonable consumer would make that purchase and not expect the 60 days of service.
T of Apache Junction, AZ (06/23/06)
As minutes are added to the phone, the company starts calling, within days, to say you are getting low on minutes and need to add more to save a re-connect fee. I renewed my minutes on May 26, 2006 and have until August 26 to add more. Today I received the second call since the added minutes were activated.
The calls are recordings that end with a number to call to stop the calls. However, one cannot get through to stop the calls as 1) There is no phone option for this to select, and 2) Just picking any of the 8-9 phone options gets you the message `due to heavy calling...call back later'. The website www.tracfone.com has no `contact us' site. I called Tracfone seven (7) times before I got through on the 26th.
When my minutes run out this time I will be changing to another phone service.
Julie of Myrtle Beach, SC (05/07/06)
My daughter has a Tracfone and received a text message saying she had 60 "free units". The message said to turn the phone off and then back on. It didn't work.
Then she received another text message for 40 "free units" with the same instructions....still nothing.
This appears to me to be false information and I think something should be done to insure this doesn't happen to her again.
Debra of Indianapolis, IN (05/07/06)
My friend got me a Tracfone, paid about $100 for it, and I purchased a $60 phone card. I should have 119.5 units still available to me.
When I place a call, I get a message from Verizon Wireless telling me they will use a roaming network and it will be some ridiculous charge! This happens even when I try to call my own home. I can't make a call!!
I want my money back but I can't get any response either by email, on-line or the 800 number! There is no address on any of their material.
I've been ripped off!
Feudi of Philadelphia, PA (04/08/06)
I've used Tracfone for a few years but they just lost two customers for good.
I've always had problems with buying Tracfone units over the internet. They cheated me out of double minutes last year and this past week, they cheated my daughter out of 400 units. She is disabled and uses her cell phone much more than I do.
Last year in March 2005, I bought my daughter a year of service with double units for the whole year. Supposedly, any units I buy within that year get doubled, but despite this guarantee if you buy another year of service, with double units, that first purchase doesn't count for double units.
The Tracfone Creeps got me for $129.99 but they won't get me again. I'm going to Cingular.
Nancy of Philadelphia PA (03/24/06)
I purchased additional minutes and after the codes were entered, I cannot call or receive calls on my phone. I called their customer service, everyday for seven days. Each day I was told they would have it fixed in four hours. It is still broken. They would not give my call to a supervisor and will not refund my money. I am going to call my credit card company and put a hold on their charge. Terrible customer service!
Lib of Brownsville PA (03/24/06)
Tracfone purchased a month ago. Transferred minutes, spent 35 min on phone trying to retain cell number which I have had for 3yrs. Problem began: March 17, 06. All my calls intercepted by Verizon Wireless. Voice prompt asking me to use my credit card, calling card, or call collect. Remember, at the time, I had prepaid for 110 minutes of cell time with tracfone. Called cust. service on Monday, 3-20-06.
As of today, 3-24-06, cannot make calls nor receive. Problem not resolved, I lost minutes and two phone calls for work(independent contractor)I also called Verizon wireless, they claim their towers in my zip code(15417) are working fine. My last call to tracfone cust service resulted in a threat by me to file with FCC. Charge No. 1: breach of contract.
Victoria of Ogden UT (02/16/06)
I purchased a target phone and a separate 60 minute card. The timing of the card is not the same as the timing on a regular clock or watch. The card timing ticks at the speed of lightning! I would rather pay for an honest 10 minutes than a 60 minutes that dissapears so quickly.
John of Chicago IL (02/14/06)
On 2/7/06, I attempted to make an online purchase of 60 units of airtime. Being told that the online purchase had been aborted, I made an attempt by land phone to make the same purchase. Again, the automated attendant informed me that the purchase had been aborted, but I discovered that, indeed, 60 units of airtime were now showing up on the cell phone unit. However, I was concerned that I would be charged twice for the same purchase. The next day, I called TracFone to determine if I'd been charged twice, and was told that yes I had been.
They offered to add the additional units, but since my original intent was to only purchase 60 units, I declined, and asked for a refund. The rep said that I'd have to call back and ask for the "refund department" which was closed at that time. The next day I called asking for the refund department. The rep (who sounded like the original rep) asked for the ESN, and said that he'd help me himself. After 50 minutes of being put on and off hold--and told that I'd be transferred to the refund department in "2 minutes", he hung up on me. I called back and spoke to another rep who said that there was nothing she could do about getting a refund to me.
Kathryn of Huntsville AR (02/09/06)
I've had my tracfone for about 5 years and have renewed on a month by month basis. At Christmas I received a renewal card for 1 year. I applied that time to my phone in December 2005. Yesterday, February 8th, my phone had a voice recording that said I was not registered. Yet, when I turn the phone on it says my card expires November 2006 and that I have 29 minutes left.
The customer service representatives insist that I did not have a 1 year card and since I renewed as usual and threw away the card I have no proof. Although, the phone clearly states I have minutes and should not have to renew until the end of the year. Needless to say, I am very disappointed.
Kimberly of Dallas TX (02/07/06)
My daughter has a tracfone. Her friend at school switch out her SIM card and when I called tracfone customer service to tell them what happened they said they could port the number to the new phone but the 219 minutes on the old SIM card could not be added to the SIM card. Tracfone just made $50 free dollars off of me. I asked that the old card be deactivated but they said they could not do that. One day later I called the phone number and the other little girl answered the phone as if it was her own phone number. It has been three days and that phone is still on.
Roger of Vero Beach FL (02/07/06)
Tracfone somehow manages to get away with defrauding consumers regularly: I bought an "Airtime Card" (which is a numerical code to activate a specified amount of phone time) I also took a promo code (a coupon) to gain addition minutes FROM TRACFONE's own website. I went thru the long process of entering the codes... the promo code was NOT accepted. I tried a second time: NOT accepted. OK, now in my business I must perform as I promise, and I expect the same.
What to do? Simple: file an online FCC complaint. TRACFONE IS TERRIFIED OF THE FCC. Tracfone called me right away, and asked what they could do. They ended up giving me twice the minutes they had defrauded me of.
Patricia of Metairie LA (02/01/06)
I bought a Tracfone five months ago, a necessity after Hurricane Katrina as the local landline providers were not able to make sufficient/speedy repairs. All went well until I broke the phone. While I realize there is no warranty for accidents of your own doing, I did not expect them to replace my phone itself. However, their website clearly states that minutes can be transferred to another unit if you buy a new phone. When I called Tracfone customer service after purchasing an identical unit to the one I had, they informed me that minutes cannot be transferred from a broken unit.
They offered a 30 days wait for a replacement and update my units, ONLY in fact if the unit was broken due to manufacturer defect. I had informed them from the beginning that the breakage was physical and my fault. Their website does not provide information that broken phones cannot replaced with another unit by the consumer. In addition, their website also does not show how one could retrieve their voice messages from a standard landline phone or another cell phone. I had approximately 175 minutes remaining on my phone, and a brand new phone that was entirely useless to me as I refuse to deal with a company that, in effect, has stolen my money.
They did not offer a refund for the unit I could not use and in addition it was purchased from Sam's Club who would not accept it back in "used" condition, i.e. the packaging had been opened.
B. of Sarver PA (01/09/06)
On 1/7/06 I realized I had "lost" 350 minutes of my tracfone airtime. Called tracfone x2 - was on hold for 1 1/2 hrs total. They reported that I had called them and told them to transfer my hours to another phone, which indeed was not the case as I only have one phone. I was adamant that I would not lose these hrs. Out of the 350 hrs they only gave me back 320 and had to have another phone number. The customer service is horrible. I could not get a person that spoke English. They had a hard time understanding what I was trying to get across. When I use my hours and am ready to get another phone I will NEVER again utilize tracfone!
Mike of Chesterfield VA (01/09/06)
I have been using a tracfone for some time. Recently I purchased minutes and service. None of the time or service showed up on my phone. I cannot get through to them on the telephone even though I have tried since Decenber 26, 2005. In addition they will not answer my E-mails. They double charged my credit card.
Paul of Broadway, VA (8/31/05):
I purchased and activated a yearly, double-minutes card and a new phone in February. The phone was rarely used. The last time I checked it (19 June 2005) I had more than two hours of time remaining.
When I turned on phone to use it August 1st, it had zero units remaining. The phone had been turned off during those two months. Where did the airtime go?
I wrote to TracFone Wireless, Inc and explained the problem and stated that before I buy more time, I want to know what became of what we purchased so a similar incident can be prevented.
When I received no response to my letter, I called the customer service number. After one hour and three different people I found that Tracfone has a "tough luck-no help for you-we don't keep records and we don't believe you" policy.
Damages: The economic damage is slight. However, I'm afraid if I purchase more time, it too will be stolen. So I am unable to use the phone that I purchased.
Frances of Green River WY (1/13/04):
My phone has been deactivated since my daughter left for NYC in September. Because I had 255 minutes left on my phone, I decided to reactivate with a minimum minute purchase and use up these minutes. Mind you, these had all been paid for.
When I went on line to do this, all of my 255 minutes were stolen. I had rolled minutes over numerous times with no problem, but this time, I was informed that it was a new policy that if your phone was deactivated over 90 days, you lose all of your minutes even though thay were paid for and the company had already collected the money.
I maintain that this is fraud and larceny, especially since I was never notified of this change in policy by anyone. I want them to put these minutes back on my phone so I can use them up and get my money back out of them and then I want to throw this phone in a river and deal with a reputable company.
Paul of El Paso TX (12/12/03):
I have bought 4 different Tracfones. I used them all occasionally at different times. The boxes on all the phones I bought all stated that I would never under any circumstances lose any airtime once it was purchased. It said on the front of the box: "No 'use 'em or lose 'em minute plans".
I just bought a 60-minute card and re-activated a phone that had 64 minutes left over, and it stole all the prior minutes. Now I only have 60 minutes. They have apparently changed their policy and now think that they can take all your old air time if you don't purchase a new airtime card each month.
On the card itself that I bought, it states that the card was governed legally by the terms on the box that the phone came in, and mine states that I will never lose airtime. Unbelievable. I definitely will be taking legal action.
I've been defrauded for the value of the 4 phones, and the price of the 60 minutes of airtime they stole from me. Also this seems to be an excellent candidate for a class action suit. Thousands of consumers are going to be affected by this. It is unbelievable that they are doing this.
I've had numerous other problems with them, such as the phone charging me 2 minutes of airtime for 1 minute, and the phone charging me when I didn't complete a call. TracFone is said to be owned by the Mexican Phone company and that is why they don't care about consumer complaints.
Osiris of Petaluma CA (1/7/04):
I lost my cell phone. I purchased a new one after being told I could transfer the minutes that were in the lost phone. Tracfone representatives now say they will not transfer unless I have the old phone to confirm the number of minutes.
Damage Resulting: Over $100 of minutes lost, plus the wasted expense of buying a new phone ($89).
John of Wilton NY (1/2/04):
We are unable to redeem 30 additional minutes just purchased 12-30-03. I believe that when entering the card's PIN number we missed the first number because it was outside the scratch-off area and was thusly disregarded. At the second attempt this number was included, however I think this has since locked us out of getting this card's time to be included. Our phone now reads only 12 minutes left.
This is used primarily as an emergency phone when driving. If something happens and my wife is hurt in any way because they have failed to follow thru in a timely manner then they can expect that legal action will be brought against all parties that are responsible.
Connie of Hibbing MN (1/2/04):
I started noticing after about two weeks of usage that my New Nokia TracFone was charging one Unit of Airtime about every 15-20 seconds. I called Customer Service and was told that they had to reprogram my phone. Fine, no problem. I did this (I was talking to them via my home phone, not the TracFone). I had started with 120 Units of Airtime when this call for reprogramming began and after it was over I had 81 units. I was not on a call, I just had the phone on. This should not have used up Airtime but it did.
When I mentioned this to the Rep I was then told that "We DO NOT refund Airtime that is lost while on a call to us". I then told her that I was not using that TracFone to make the call, that I was using our land line. I purhased this phone for emergencies only. I do not want it for everyday use. I'd get a regular monthly cell for that if I wanted it. I am not happy with it now continuing to take off one unit per 15-20 seconds, even for a local call in my area.
I answered it the other day for a wrong number and they took off 15 units for 13 seconds. This phone is useless and I think I am going to switch to a Virgin Mobile phone as I know people using it and they have no problems whatsoever.
Damage Resulting: 49.95 for phone, 58.95 x2 for Unsed airtime of 180 minutes so far, 30.00 for airtime still on the phone when I throw it away!!!
Bernard of Redding CA (12/30/03):
I ordered additional minutes for my wife's phone for a Xmas present. This included a promotional bonus of 100 min. The only thing I have received as of today is conformation that my VISA account has been charged. I have tried to contact Tracfone many times via telephone and internet to no avail! If this problem is not resolved soon legal action will follow.
Tina of Miami OK (12/26/03):
I bought a 150-minute prepaid wireless airtime Tracfone card at Wal-Mart in Miami, Oklahoma on 12/19/03. I used the internet (tracfone.com) to add the minutes. The phone showed code accepted but the minutes would not add on to the phone. Tracfone.com had me try it again. It then showed code not accepted. It gave a phone number to call customer service at Tracfone (1-800-867-7183). I tried calling and they were already closed. Now they have shut down my phone showing "prepaid service disabled."
I am not able to use my phone and I have nobody to help me get it connected. I have a hour drive round trip back and forth to work and I have to have a phone in case I would have car trouble.
Joseph of Highland IN (11/25/03):
I have been a customer for over 2 years. I bought a phone and activated service for 12 months on 04/18/03. Recently on 11/18/03 I went online to Tracfone and purchased 300 minutes airtime, activation for 12 months (365 days), and during this time double minutes on all airtime cards redeemed. I paid a total of $168.00.
Since my phone was good until 04/15/04 my purchase should have activated my phone until 04/15/05 but instead it only activated till 11/18/04 cheating me out of 5 months activation service. Upon emailing Tracfone I was emailed to call DRivera to resolve. I was told basically "tough luck" you lose the 5 months because that is the way it is. I asked to talk to a supervisor and was told that would not happen.
I was transferred to their credit card department as I wanted to cancel the purchase as I had Emailed them on the same day the purchase was made but they did not reply for 2 days. I was told no refund. I asked for credit for the 5 months and was promptly hung up on I called back and asked to speak to a supervisor or someone in charge of customer service but was recycled through the same.
This is out and out fraud and false advertising not to mention the extremely poor and rude service they call customer service.
I lost 5 months of activation service that they charge $14.99 a month for. I want a refund of the 5 months charges that they fraudulently received.
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