US Cellular

Jennifer of Ames, IA January 4, 2007

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 August 8, 2005

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 February 3, 2005

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 June 30, 2004

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 May 3, 2004

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 March 28, 2002

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.

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