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Kevin of Papillion NE (06/17/08)
I have had US Cellular service for 4 years. They have the best reception in Omaha. We added lines to our plan at $9.99 a month. Our son has one of these lines. Since he is young the sales lady suggested we get insurance on our son's phone. We did.
About a year later our son's phone was water damaged. We found out that only then that US Cellular has a seperate company called The Signal that handles there insurance issues. So we called The signal and paid the $ 50 deductable and a rebuilt phone arrived in three days. After about two weeks this phone's flaws started showing. One the battery won't stay charged. This is probably because the charger connection is now loose. The volume on the side of the phone doesn't work correctly either.
So we call the signal. We find out they only warrenty their phones for 5 days. If I wanted to exchage this phone, I would have to pay another $50. I noticed on e-bay that this phone is being sold new for $49. If they ask you if you want the insurance, just say no. Its a rip-off. US Cellular used to be a great company. Now I don't think I could recommend them.
We paid $6 a month for a year, ($72) plus $ 50 for a used phone that doesn't work properly. Thats $122 for a phone that can be purchased new for $49 on e-bay.
Michael of Chicago IL (05/17/08)
Recently, several people that I know; including two of my sisters phones starting failing at the same time. The phone started turning off during phone calls and finally neither of these phones will work without being plugged in. The batteries no longer function and will not charge. The reason why I don't think it is random is because it happened at the same time to at least 5 people I know. I want to find out if this is a trend or worse (triggered by U.S. Cellular or due to a U.S. Cellular equipment failure/negligence.
My phone does not work unless I plugged it in. I use it for business calls mostly and internet access.
Janette of Franklin Park IL (05/07/08)
I had a single phone contract with US Cellular for a little over a year. Then I added 2 more lines as a family plan. I always had paid my account never leaving a balance. They say to call your phone for balances and to pay because of convinience and I always did. It turned out to be a nightmare! They started a new account after adding the the additional lines and the payments that I was making was applied to the new account number which I wasn't aware that there were now 2 acct #s. and the original went to collections charging me for 49 cents a minute and cancellation fee which the line was never cancelled still active to this day!
I called us cellular as soon as I rec'd a call from a collection agency and us cellular told me my account is fine and upto date! I rec'd a collection letter and I again called US cellular and now the acknowlege that an acct was sent to collections and they can't help me that I have to deal with the collection agency! I went to US Cellular were I started the contract and the rep said that she sees what happended were they applied my pymts to the new acct and not the old and mentioned a disconnection and I told her the number was never disconnected and she said that the manager said that there is NOTHING they can help me with that I should have contacted them earlier! which I contacted them as soon as I rec'd the collection letter and they had said my account was fine! This has put a stain on my credit and I don't think this is fair. This also happended to someone I work with. They are very messing and very unfair.
My credit has been stained. One of my credit cards which I had a $3,000 credit line has lowered it to $300.00 because it has been reported that a deliquent bill has been reported to the credit agency.
Tammy of New London NH (04/15/08)
US cellular Is the worst. I was told by a customer service rep. on Sept 28 that my account was paid in full an that I wouldn't get another bill unless there were roaming charges and that if I did get one to ignore it. I knew there wouldn't be any roaming charges because my phone was broken. They sent it to a collections agency on Oct 15. I didn't get a bill from the agency until Dec. It ends up they were billing my ex-husband at an address I never lived at. I told them that I had been told by US Cellular that I had been paid in full. They said it wasn't true, yet refused to send me proof of the bill. US Cell said they could no longer legally look at the account. I was stuck. I was VERY upset about this and let them know it. I told them my father had had a massive stroke in Oct. and that this was very stressful. They said, Lady we all have problems in a VERY rude way. I paid it just to try to save my credit. I'd been with them for 10 years. I only canceled because my son is now paying for my service with Verizon. I will NEVER go back to US Cellular. No heart, and incompetence.
US Cellular is the only bad mark on my credit report. They refused to send me proof of the bill being owed and my hands were tied. I paid a bill that I still feel I didn't owe.
Kenneth of Ontario OR (04/14/08)
Today, we received notice from a collection agency that they had purchased our account from US Cellular for $172. Problem is that I contacted them about this account, which we had closed out over THREE YEARS ago, and had thought we had paid off. In the two years since, which is the time they said the last payment was made, we have received NOTHING from US Cellular. Not a bill, not a late notice, not a notice that it would be turned over to collection services... NOTHING! And when we contacted US Cellular to see what was going on, their response was, the other company owns the contract now, so it's not our problem. Problem is that this account was PAID IN FULL on the last date they had payment made.
Besides them trying to get an additional $172, this collection agency notice goes on our credit rating.
Cynthia of Stonewall LA (03/28/08)
I have been a US Cellular customer for years. I have paid thousands of dollars to them for cellular service. I moved to Louisiana, out of their service area, last year. After several months of not being able to get a signal I decided to switch carriers. My daughter, who was also on my account, chose to keep her phone number. So we ported it. When I spoke with USC about canceling my account, I was told I only needed to pay my current bill and that would be it. I am now receiving a dun for $150.00 for termination fees on my daughter's phone number. Apparently, since I ported that number, they feel they can charge me the cancellation fee of $150.00. If I had been told in advance it would cost me $150 to BUY this number I would not have ported it.
I spoke with several people at USC about this and apparently they feel they are justified in charging me $150 for a contract that had less than 6 months remaining. Personally had I known this in advance I would have done things differently. All I can do now is pay the charge, NEVER USE US CELLULAR AGAIN, and tell everyone I can what a bogus company they are. I hope this info will help someone else before they end up having to pay $150 for a phone number.
Allen of Rice Lake WI (01/25/08)
I signed up for cellular service on 11/19/06, at which time I paid $100 deposit. I was told that after 1 years time, the deposit would be released to me in the form of a check via mail. My bill for Nov 2007 states that the deposit was released. I called customer service to verify the status of my deposit, and they said that it was released, the check was written and in the mail, and I would have it in 2-3 weeks. A month passed, so I called again. They said they didn't know what happened to it, and they would send another check. Another month has passed, I called again, and I was told to wait until Tuesday to call and find out the status of the check. My bills arrive conveniently in my mailbox on almost the same day every month. Any correspondence from US Cellular arrives fine. But when it comes to getting the money I was promised, there seems to be an issue. I'm a 25 year old college student who works part time. The deposit was a big chunk of money when I paid it. Now that school has started again, I could really use this money! So much for their customer first policy. 8 calls to customer service, 2.5 hours of my life wasted, and everyone I talk to from Customer service to Finance department tells me the same thing: Wait. Its been 2.5 months! I was told it would take 2-3 weeks!!
George of Fort Dodge IA (12/25/07)
I tried US Cellular 30 day service guarantee,was not satisfied with the service and was told that I would receive a refund (10-27-07) 7-10 days later by mail. I have yet to receive a refund by this company as promised.
I lost $360.30 that was promised to be refunded to me.
Wemdy of Cape Coral FL (10/18/07)
I moved to an area that DOES not have US CELLULAR service. I cannot even roam off of someone elses tower and I had the nationwide plan. I am now being billed for 278.00, 150.00 is for a cancellation fee for a service I cannot use as it is NOT provided to me in this area. I have already been turned over to a collection agency even though the bill is 10 days late.
Kathy of Farnhamvile IA (07/07/07)
We went in to upgrade our cell phones. We were told this was not possible because we had already upgraded when we added an extra phone for my daughter some time ago. They at that time made us sign yet another contract when ours would have been up by now had we not added the extra line. They would not let us upgrade to 2 new phones. We reached a solution, but not without a lot of stress on both of us. Why could they not have upgraded both the phones, we pay the cost of the phones, then start over?
Tom of Milwaukee WI (07/03/07)
US Cellular notified me that my text messages would increase in price. Per paragraph 15 of Customer Service agreement I did not agree to the changes and requested termination of my contract without a early cancellation fee of $150 per phone. Per section 7 of Consumer Code for Wireless Service the customer has the right to terminate service for changes to contract terms for which they have done.
I will have to pay $600 to cancel my 4 lines for my family if I wish to get out of my contract because of their change to my contract.
Donna of Kure Bch NC (06/23/07)
This company continually changes my plan and then wants to charge me a monthly fee to put them back on. Last month they charged me 6.00 a month to add cellular to celluar on 1 line. This month they want 10 more a month to put free incoming on 2 other phones. These are services I already had on all 3 phones.
Ben of Belmont NH (06/15/07)
When I first signed up for US Cellular, they required I pay a $100 deposit for my phone, even though I had a credit score of over 700 and no outstanding debts. I was in NH but still had an out of state license because I was moving, and they told that the deposit was required because my license did not match my billing address. A year later, my deposit was released, and I wanted to buy a second phone for my wife.
I go in to the store, expecting to NOT pay a deposit because I had now lived here for one year. The credit department told the sales guy I still had to pay a $100 deposit because 8 of 12 of my last monthly payments had been late! I was shocked. I always mail my bill in 3-5 business days before it's due.
Apparently they count a bill as received when they get around to posting it, NOT when they receive it. Therefore, if you don't want to be late you have to send the bill 10-12 days in advance. The only reason I was using regular mail is that they offer no online electronic payment service. This company is way behind the times.
Robert of Long Beach CA (06/12/07)
I have moved to California and US Cellular does not provide service here. They said I could switch to their National plan but the rules state that I have to be in their service area for 50% of the time. I am already on a National plan but they said it’s an old plan and they will not honor my nights and weekend. If I switch plans, I will break their own rules as I will not be in their service area.
Adam of Rocky Hill CT (06/12/07)
When I went to the US Cellular store back in October of 2006, I inquired about new service with them. I explained to them that I would be moving to CT in May of 2007 and wanted to make sure I could keep my service. They told us that it wouldn’t be a problem at all and that all of our features and service would continue, but they would not be able to change my phone number to a local exchange. That was the only problem and we were fine with that.
We moved in the end of April 2007 and got our bill that has $126.66 in charges because mobile to mobile does not work outside of NH and to be told we have three months before they may ask us to disconnect our service because we are no longer living in their area, even though we have a NATIONAL plan! We were also told in the store that we HAD to purchase a national plan in order to keep everything running smoothly while lived in CT. The statements that the store told us, we have since learned are not correct.
Jennifer of Ames IA (01/04/07)
My boyfriend and I set up a family share plan with U.S. Cellular. We each recieved the free phones that came with the activation and two year agreement. My phone however had no reception. I had to stand outside so that I could talk on the phone (LG). It did not work inside any building in Ames, Iowa where I live. I contacted US Cellular within my 30 day trial period and the assured me that it was simply the phone. They then replaced my phone for a different free one (motor). My boyfriends phone worked perfectly fine. The Motorola that they replaced also did not work, I had the same reception problem.
I went back in and they reset my towers and told me that should take care of it. It did not. My boyfriend and I could be sitting on the couch next to each other and his phone was fine but mine did not work. I went back in to US Cellular and explained that I didn't think that it was the phone. I thought that something was possibly wrong in the way the account was set up or it was my phone number. The told me that was impossible it could not be the phone number. I then called customer service and told them my problem and they also insisted that it had to be the phone it could not be anything else. I explained that I did not want to continue paying for a service that I was not getting, they said that I was using my phone, even though I had to stand outside to talk on it that I was using my minutes therefore taking advantage of the service.
My boyfriend and I then decided to switch phones and see if it was just my phone. We took both of our phones in, he activated my phone under his phone number and I activated his under my phone number. I now was on my third phone (motorola #3) and when I had it set up under my phone number I had no reception. When he had my phone it worked perfect for him. Which then comfirmed to us that it was my phone number. I contacted customer service then again and they once again told me that that was impossible. It had to be the phone. So I then went into US Cellular in Ames and bought a phone outright. When that phone was activated under my phone number it also did not work. I had no reception. So I called again to customer service for US Cellular customers. They once again told me that it was just the phone.
I paid $85 more than what I owed US Cellular for cancelations, and the time of service from 3-05 to 8-06, I want some refunded for payment of a service I did not fully recieve and suffering from all the arguing I had to do to try and get someone at US Cellular to believe my story and then to they and correct the problem. (Lots of migraines, lots of Advil)
Michelle of Chicago IL (08/08/05)
In March, I knew I was going to be taking a vacation to Los Angeles, California so I called U.S. Cellular to see what options I had so I would not end up with hundreds of dollars in roaming charges on my bill when I returned. At the time, I was on an all you can call plan which had unlimited minutes for $49.99. I have been on this plan for years and I didn't want to switch it and lose all my minutes, but I only had coverage in the midwestern states, so I wantd to get some help with this before I left.
When I called U.S. Cellular the customer service person advised me of 1000 nationwide anytime minutes with no roaming or long distance charges for $35 a month. So I asked her if it was possible to switch to that plan and then switch back to my plan when I come back home, she informed me that would be no problem to go back to an all you can call plan, they are still offered. So I left on vacation and I had problems with my phone the entire time I was there. She neglected to tell me that U.S. Cellular has no towers in L.A. and I could not get any of my messages.
When I was back home and received my bill , I had gone way over my minutes so I ended up paying hundreds of dollars extra. I called to change my plan back over to my one, but when I did that I was informed that I can change it back to an all you can call plan, but it would now cost me $69 a month. The original person I spoke with never mentioned anything about the price going up $20 a month. So after talking to supervisors, there is nothing that can be done, I can switch my plan to 1300 mins for $49.99 or pay the $69 for an all you can call plan. I believe that when you call a company and ask for advice about their products or services, they should give you advice that will save you money, not cost you money. This has been dragging out for months and costing me hundreds of dollar, all because the customer sevice person gave me bad advice. I would have had a 50/50 chance of picking a better plan by myself, but I decided to take the time to call the company and find out what the best choice would be to do. Instead, I have wasted my time, money, and energy trying to resolve this problem.
I had cell phone bills that were a couple hundred dollars higher than usual and my plan is now $20 more a month.
Kevin of Centralia WA (02/03/05)
My wife and I were thinking about switching carriers when our contract with U.S. Cellular expired. My wife called them and asked when the contract ended. After that, we contacted Cingular, and were going to get the new service started, before our current contract with USC expired. We had not idea that porting out our number would also terminate our contract with USC. A few weeks later, we got a bill from USC for $300, for early termination. We were never told that we would be charged $300 for porting out our number. USC charged us, when there was less than a month left on the contract. The claimed that they're records indicate that Tessa was told this, but that is an all lie, had we known that they would charge us $300, we would have never gone through with changing carries, until after the contract had expired. I will never recommend USC to anyone. They overcharge, and don't have Customer Care, as they claim!
Susana of Radford VA (06/30/04)
If memory serves me right, I have been with U.S. Cellular for 7 or 8 years now. The customer service has been very good and the company has treated me very well. However, over the past 6 months or so I have been having problems more frequently--with calls not going through to my phone. I will have my phone with me and hear an alert saying I have a voice mail message. I'll check my voice mail and find out that about 2-3 minutes earlier I had a phone call--but my phone doesn't ring and the call is routed instead to voice mail. They have tried to tell me it may be my phone (my daughter's does it too), so we got new phones a couple of weeks ago. Same problem.
What I think is happening is that either they are having technical problems, or they have just promised service to too many people and can't fulfill it. It is very important to me that when my teenage daughter tries to get in touch with me (or vice versa), we be directly connected, not routed to voice mail. The impression I have gotten is that U.S. Cellular isn't too concerned with the problem. But I am. It seems about 50% of my calls never go through, but get routed to voice mail instead!!!!!
Lonnie of Sullivan IL (05/03/04)
U.S. Cellular sold me a two year plan in December 2002. They carefully pointed out there was a $150 early cancellation fee if we cancelled before the two years was up. In November 2003 U.S. Cellular lost their ability to use Verizon's tower in our area. Suddenly our phone service tanked. We could not call out many times. During calls we would frequently get dropped. We were often unable to get calls. Our messages never showed up. We gave U.S. Cellular until this month to fix the problem, which is their problem as far as I am concerned. However, the service never improved and I finally cancelled this month. Naturally the customer service representative told me I had to pay the $150 cancellation fee, even though I was cancelling because of their erratic service. As far as I am concerned, U.S. Cellular's much vaunted customer service stinks.
Diane of Max Meadows VA (03/28/02)
I have been a customer of U.S. Cellular for a few years. The first phone I purchased was a Motorola Startac. I took the phone to be repaired (more than 1 year old) in the Fall of 2001. The connection port to the phone was defective and I could not recharge the telephone. I was told it would cost more to have it repaired and would be better off to purchase a new telephone. I was also offered a discount if I extended my current plan for 2 years. I did this and purchased a Motorola Timeport cell phone. After 4 months, this telephone stopped working and it too, could not be recharged. Because this phone was only 4 months old, the salesperson sent it off to be repaired. After several weeks, I went to pick up the telephone and was told that the telephone had water damage and was not covered under my current contract. I had opted not to purchase the insurance since it did me no good the last time. This phone has not been exposed to water, has not been stored in my car and 99% of the time is stored in my purse. I contacted the local Wytheville salesperson, her manager, and an assistance sales manager in Roanoke, VA. The only solution I was offered was that the assistant sales manager in Roanoke, VA will try and find me a used Timeport for purchase without my having to extend my contract.
Barbara of Wichita Falls, TX (1/8/06)
For at least five years, US Cellular in Oklahoma is charging a "city tax". When I called US Cellular they could not tell me which city was getting this tax money. Since we live in a rural area, I decided to call the two nearest cities, Comanche and Duncan and they both said they receive no tax money from US Cellular.
Damages: Multiple rural customers are paying monthly bills with "city taxes" that appear to just go in the pocket of US Cellular.
Jessica of Chicago (2/25/03):
I purchased a "pay-as-you-go" phone from US Cellular in October 2002 (at the time it was still PrimeCo). I purchased the University Plan which included a $15 credit. I also put $25 of my own money onto my account and was on my way. Next thing I knew I ran out of minutes. So I called the 800 number and the credit was never reflected - after being on the phone for over 30 mintues I was told they couldn't do anything and I needed to go to the store I purchased the telephone at.
I called the store (located in downtown Chicago) and talked to the sales associate who I purchased the phone from. She said she'd reflect the credit. In the meantime I put $20 on my phone via the 800 automated payments. After a few days I was out of minutes AGAIN! (I hardly ever use my phone, so I knew this couldn't be). So once again I called the 800 number. The rep. told me that no credit had been applied to my account and that when you make a payment for under $25 your rate is .90 cents a minute. NO ONE EVER TOLD ME THIS. He didn't seem suprised and immediately put a credit of $30 on my account for the university credit I never received and for my lost money on the .90 a minute plan. He assured me I was now back to the .10 cents a minute plan and that I have $30, equal to 300 minutes, on my account. So I thought everything was fine...
Then a week later I ran out of minutes again! Perplexed at how I could have used 300 minutes in a week I once again called the 800 number. The rep on the phone told me I was still at the .90 cent plan, plus the $30 credit that had been applied by the other rep had gone to pay the overtime I had gone after my $20 payment. I had to repeat my story 10 times but he still didn't get it. I spent an hour telling the guy that I was never told about the under $20 rule - that I was issued a credit - that I was assured that I was back to being at the .10 a minute rate - and that this is PrimeCo/US Cellular's fault so I should be issued a credit yet again and put back on the .10 a minute plan. I knew that the week before I had spoken to someone in Minnesota and asked where the person I was speaking to now was located - he was in Arizona and they can't communicate between offices. So I asked to be transfered to a supervisor and was disconnected.
I was absolutely furious both at their stupidity in not understanding my situation and for having wasted over 3 hours of my time dealing with them. I was totally wronged but nothing could be done about it. I decided that I just would discontinue my service with them, but I can't afford to purchase another phone now so I had to stick my tail between my legs and pay $25 for my minutes for this month. In addition to their customer service issues their service is also lacking. Because I don't have a contract with them I feel both helpless and empowered. Helpless because I've lost money on their mistake and I can't do anything about it - but empowered because I know I can cancel my service at any time. I wouldn't recommend this company to my worst enemy, it's that bad.
Joni of Knoxville TN (3/22/03):
My US Cellular phone bill does not add up. When I checked, neither did the previous 4 months of bills we have gotten - it's a "simple" computer addition error from the detail page to the summary page - but it "accidentally" adds at least $1.00 to each phone bill.
The detail of the bill actually seems to be wrong too, showing more minutes billed than are possible in the time allotted - (billing for a 2 minute call at 1:59 and another 2 minute call at 2:00 for example). When I complained about that today, Lanese on the Customer Service line told me she couldn't do anything about that. Then, she couldn't find her supervisor to help with the problem. I was told by the Customer Service Rep yesterday that yes other people have called and yes they credit people when they complain but that most people don't notice and that yes, it would probably be a good idea to look more closely at my bill - this was an older woman who would not give me her name but was clearly aware of an extensive problem that had not been corrected.
This sort of "error" is not something excusable - any accountant with some slight knowledge of computer systems could correct this problem readily. They know that the problem exists yet wait for people to notice it in a 13-page phone bill?
Judy of Ferndale, CA, writes:
I am disabled and on SSI as the result of an on the job injury 5 years ago. I obtained a Cellular Phone to help me in case I was stranded in my car on the road to my medical appointments some of which are in other towns. I got the phone from US Cellular. They made me pay a $200 security deposit. At the time the staff person told me that at the end of one year the money would be refunded with interest.
Over one month ago I contacted them (several times) about my refund since the year is up. After several attempts over a period of some weeks in June, they finally, in July, began processing my request. It has now been over a month and they are still jacking me around about the refund. Now they are telling me that they have 60-90 days to make the refund.
This was not made clear to me at the time I signed up for the phone and paid the deposit. In fact I was told the money would be refunded "with no problems.
Because of my disability, (which appears to be permanent), and low income situation (I used to be a Managing Secretary and had a good job) I am now very poor and struggling for money every day. My total income is $676 per month. This $200 would help me to pay for needed car repairs and housing costs. Hassling with US Cellular ontop of hassling with Worker's Compensation over my injury and SSI over my monthly award is almost more than I can take.
I realize that probably buried in the small print of their agreement that I had to sign they have the right to withhold the money like this until the end of 90 days BUT this is not right. I was told the money would be refunded "without any problems." I think that people who deal with US Cellular should know what they are getting into. I think that somehow US Cellular should be sanctioned for this type of customer abuse.
Judy should carefully read her agreement and see what the "fine print" says. If US Cellular is legally obligated to return her funds by a certain date and has not done so, she can sue them in Small Claims Court.
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