TracFone Consumer Reviews - Page 6

I purchased a TracFone about a year ago (prepaid). Every time I called someone, it showed "private" instead of my name or phone number. I called Tracfone tech support and received the absolute WORSE service I have EVER received in my life. She could bare speak or understand English. I also had trouble understanding her. After explaining my problem to her, she told me that because my phone was wireless they could not help me. I'm puzzled. So I asked for clarification. She put me on hold... came back repeated the statement about wireless... They cannot help me.

I requested to speak to a supervisor, again put on hold. She came back repeated same "wireless... cannot help you." I requested supervisor again. Put on hold... this went on and on. I demanded to speak to a supervisor eventually because I got tired of being placed on hold and told the same thing. She put me on hold and came back telling me that I needed to have the people I call key my name/phone number into their phonebook memory. I demanded to speak to supervisor again... put on hold again. She returned saying supervisor did not want to talk to me. This went on and on.

I asked to be connected to Customer Service. Asked for Customer Service phone number, etc. Each request was met with being placed on hold for a long time and the tech returning to repeat either the "wireless service... we cannot help you" or "we don't have a Customer Service number" or "supervisor does not want to speak with you".

I finally told her I refused to accept the supervisor's not willing to talk to me to explain the situation, I refuse to believe that TracFone does not have a Customer Service phone number, address, etc. The tech then told me she would connect me with a supervisor network... The transfer went through but I was placed on extended hold (for about 25 min). I finally hung up. I went online and found a website Fone-Review.com. This website provided a direct email to customer service.

I am glad to say that within 24 hours, TracFone customer service contact me by email and by phone -- apologizing for the poor service I'd received, the erroneous information I'd received, and told me that they would fix the problem. The next day, the problem was fixed... I am happy and want to commend TracFone for responding and fixing my problem expeditiously.

First of all, I tried to order a phone on their website. It had a special for 19.99 for the phone and a 60 minute card, with free shipping. Every time I tried to pay for it, it'd try to charge shipping. I called for help. They informed me that I needed to go through to the last page for the shipping to be taken off. I informed them that I had and it still charged me shipping. So they took the order over the phone. I got the phone 2 days later. Followed the instructions and tried to activate it via their website. I spent 2 hours on the website trying to activate it. Didn't work. Called for assistance. Spent 3 hours on the phone, while they tried to activate it.

After numerous failed attempts, the code was finally accepted, but only later to find out that it couldn't place calls. The phone number wasn't programming correctly. After that was fixed, the phone remained on roaming the entire time. After that was fixed, I started receiving random phone calls from unavailable numbers within 24 hours. Considering, we bought this phone for our 5 year old daughter to have while we were out of town, we were rather upset about strange men calling her.

We called Tracfone again and asked them to change the number. I was told their system was having problems and I would need to call back in 4 hours to finish changing the number. I call back in 4 hours and then I'm told to call back in 48 hours if the phone number hasn't changed. I call back in 48 hours to find out it still wasn't changed and the minutes they promised to reimburse me for the technical difficulties, was still not credited either.

So after spending nearly an hour on their website initially, another 30 minutes ordering the phone through customer service, another 2 hours on the website attempting to activate it, another 3 hours on the phone trying to fix the roaming/phone number/minutes, another 3 hours on the phone trying to change the number, and finally another 45 minutes for the return information so I could pay shipping to send their broken phone back. All of which may have been a lot quicker, if I had at least one customer representative that I could understand while they spoke to me.

For the record, I had a TracFone nearly 9 years ago and had no problem with it. I had great coverage and the customer service was fairly decent. I had received broken phones and they sent another one to replace it. I did not have to pay shipping when the phone was broken to begin with. However, I will never buy one again and will never suggest one to anyone. Tracfone has become a horrible company.

Bought phone Oct. 19, 2009. Tried to add minutes, couldn't. Had to call for them to add minutes and went through long process. Next time to add minutes, couldn't. Called again and had to go through long process again. Did this every time to add minutes. Since day one, got phone calls from companies all over US. Complained about this. NEVER did TracFone want to exchange or replace phone (knew there was a problem). Turns out, TracFone sells refurbished phones. Information from old service was never cleared. So TracFone was never registered under my name even when I "supposedly" registered it when I bought it (TracFone can't change information).

So after 3 months, or after warranty, TracFone supposedly disconnects phone. Well, I was still able to use it but kept having to call in for minutes to be added. Supposedly, they even sent me a NEW phone. It went to old registered user, who TracFone had listed, because I never got phone even though they kept saying I did. They even told me that they could see that my minutes had been transferred to another phone. Keep in mind, I am still using phone.

After 5 months, I HAD ENOUGH OF TRACFONE!!! After numerous calls and e-mails since day one, they disconnect my phone. Now they won't give me a refund after I fax them a copy of the receipt that has the serial number of phone on the receipt. I have also lost the minutes that were on the phone.

And now, all of a sudden, they can replace the phone, that I asked them to do 3 months ago when still under warranty. I told them to send me the dang phone. It is the least I can get out of them. I have a sledge hammer waiting to smash the junk when it shows up because I will NEVER USE OR TRUST TracFone again!!! Has anyone ever contacted TracFone and talked to someone you can actually understand??? Spread the word to never use or deal with TracFone ever!!!

I live in Western Ventura County, I purchased a TracFone and put in my zip code and they activated the phone with a 310 area code, I live in the 805 area code. I contacted them, it took nine times and several hours; finally I was informed there were no more numbers available in the 805. I'm not an idiot, I know there are numbers available and so does the idiot on the phone who has yet to learn how to lie because her next sentence is: "If you send us a copy of your home phone bill showing 310 as a long distance call we will change the area code for you."

1. If there are no numbers available how are you going to change it once I prove it is long distance?
2. Why should I have to send you any of my personal information at all? Your marketing made no mention of this.
3. Why not just admit you gave me the long distance number because you want me to spend twice the amount of money on each call?

I solved the problem, I tossed the TracFone and my 90 minutes away and purchased a phone with a different company that provided me with a local number. Basically TracFone ripped me off for about 55 bucks and after visiting the BBB site it is very clear they lie about local numbers on a regular basis in a deceptive attempt to get more money out of people. The customer service reps lie, can't speak English, and enjoy being rude to people on the phone and often hang up in the middle of a conversation. Only losers use TracFones, people who like to pay twice what they should for a call, not to mention all those ads that they text to their users.

MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ -- On June 7th 2008 I went to the local Wal-Mart SuperCenter to purchase my usual selection of groceries. I also needed a cell phone to use while I would be in Monroe Township, New Jersey for the next week as the house I was staying at did not have phone service. I came across the cell phone shelf in Electronics and noticed the prepaid phone offered by TracFone. Since I didn't want to tie myself into an expensive contract for a phone I only planned to use for a short period of time, I decided that a prepaid cell phone would be the best option. I selected a Motorola TracFone and a 120 minute card and went to the counter.

Before I paid, I wanted to make sure that it would work where I needed it to. At the register in Electronics, I asked the Wal-Mart associate if it would work in Monroe Township, NJ, and she picked up the phone and called TracFone. The person at TracFone first told the associate, then told me, that the service in Monroe Township would be crystal clear. I put my faith in this information from the person from TracFone and bought the phone and card. I then took the cell phone home. Activation went pretty quickly. It had a good signal so I knew the phone was working fine.

I made a test call to my home phone and it was very clear. I felt relieved that I would have a trustworthy phone ready for my trip to New Jersey, or so I thought. When I got to the house where I would be staying, I turned on the phone to make a call and I was in for the surprise of my life. No signal! Occasionally I got one bar and was able to make short calls but I frequently got drop outs. It went like that for the entire trip. On the last day of the trip I went to the New Jersey Wal-Mart and told the associate about the trouble I was having with the phone. He told me "I hear that all the time. That is why I don't recommend that brand."

I made some inquiries with other cell phone companies about TracFone and they told me that that TracFone really isn't a true cell phone company, but instead their signals bounce off of towers owned by big names such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, thus the signals there easily fall victim to interference! In July I purchased an AT&T Go Phone. I have had no problems with the phone and it worked just fine during several out-of-state trips, including to the same house in Monroe Township, NJ. I continue to use the Go Phone to this day and I get a crystal clear signal every time I make a call.

Today is 11/07/2008. Over 8 months ago I added over 3500 minutes to my Tracfone with an expire date of 06/28/2010. Over a week ago from today I could not make any phone calls. I got a recording saying my service was not active, but my phone showed I had 3195 minutes with an expire date of 06/28/2010. I called Tracfone and they said I had called them and transferred my minutes from my phone to another phone. I told them I did not call them to do any such thing. So they said it would have to be investigated.

A few days later I called them, they said it was still being investigated. Skipping to the fifth time I called them they told me that their system says my phone service had expired and that is why I couldn't make any calls. I argued with them about what they told me in the first place and they said they did not have any record of time being transferred off my phone. They told me that I needed to buy an airtime card to reactivate my phone and that was all I could do. Now I am furious and there is nothing I can do about it because that is what they have in their system. They told me if I added time to my phone and extended the service date, my 3195 minutes would remain.

So today I added 60 minutes with a 20 minutes bonus code and guess what happened. My service date is now 02/09/2009, my 3195 minutes are gone and the 20 minutes bonus was not added to the phone. So now I only have 60 minutes with three months of service. If you calculate the minutes I had at a generous 10 cents a minute, I was just robbed about $320.

I'm going to call them tonight to see if I can get my minutes back but I doubt it. So it seems that hackers can get into their phone system and find out other peoples serial #'s and then transfer time from your phone to theirs. And then after Tracfone investigates, they will say it's your problem. I would love to take them to court about this, but it seems that they would somehow show that I let my service time expire on my phone and that's what caused my problem.

The problem started three weeks ago. I was having a problem where the contact on my 8 key stopped working, thus making the 8 key unable to function (this was not from any kind of abuse, just a defect). So, my phone was under warranty and I called them to get a replacement phone. They said that they would ship my replacement phone within three to five business days. It took 8 business days. I go to activate my phone and it is all screwed up; the buy airtime feature didn't work, and when I told them about this, they replied "Then just don't use the feature."

After activation of the phone I was told to make a test call to a landline phone, and the phone displayed "Max number of call digits reached", no matter how many numbers I entered, I could not make or receive calls. Then, they had to send me a replacement phone to replace the replacement phone. When I got the replacement phone after a long hassle of obtaining a tracking number, I was told I could not have my original number, as it was already taken by another customer. However, a call to the number returns an automated message telling me that the number is not in service. This angered me, but I agreed to take another phone number.

I settled for this and they said, "Your phone will be reactivated with the number ** as well as the minutes that you have and the service end date." I had 406 minutes and my service end date was in April of 2010. When the phone was activated 30 minutes later, I had a total of 0 minutes and my service end date was 07-15-2008. The number that they issued me was not ** but instead **. When I informed them of this they bounced me to 5 different agents and kept me on hold a total of AT LEAST 30 MINUTES total before telling me that they had added the minutes and date and fixed my number.

The minutes were added, but the data was not. The number was successfully added, so I thought. When I look at the my phone number option on my phone it reads **, however, if I send a text or make a call it comes up ** on the caller ID. And if you call ** it goes straight to a recording telling me the number is not in service.

They informed me they would change the number and fix the issue, which left me on the phone for an additional 1hr 30mins just to tell me that they needed to send me a replacement SIM card as they could not change my number over the phone. I know that they can change my number over the phone without the shipment of a new SIM card because it has been done before. This is ridiculous and they obviously do not value me as a customer.

WALTON, NEW YORK -- On Sept 8th my reconditioned TracFone died which was under their warranty. I called TracFone and waited 1/2 hr and they said they would send another reconditioned phone. They did. I called to get the number and minutes transferred to this phone and went through the ritual of holding 1/2 to 3/4 hour to be told I would have to 2 weeks so they could research my minutes.

You see I have 1368 minutes because I buy the year plan and we live in a non service area but when I go out 5 miles I can get service. Mostly I wanted it in case the car broke down or when we go on vacation to call home. I have been with these people for about 7 years with no problems until now. I buy the year plan so I don't have to remember to call each month. Well I waited to be told they could change the number to my old number but they only gave me 19 minutes. Wait 24 hrs and all should work. NOT. I called again because the number was not changed and I only had 19 minutes and was told to call between 9-5 to speak to supervisor.

Each time you can hardly understand the foreigner at the other end. So I call and wait almost an hour because each time you have to go through the same thing. What is wrong, your name, address, and birth date. This time I'm told that there must be something wrong with the reconditioned phone because their records show all is well. NOT. I have a strange area code and number and no minutes. It never was activated. So I sent both phones, the dead one and the reconditioned one to Miami, FL to lost prevention Oct 8th. Well that was over a month ago and this week I have called 3 times to be told I'll have to call on Monday anytime to talk to lost prevention.

I'm not sure if they only work on Monday or what. I have to presume I'll end up with no phone, no minutes and a bad attitude. My year plan date is 11/25 and I'm sure that they are waiting for this to come and they'll want me to purchase more time only now I don't even have a phone..You see I don't it very often so I don't want one. You pay by the month. That would be like throwing money out the window. Well, I guess I did anyway.

I had the same Tracfone number for nearly nine years. Then, there was a "Verizon" recording on my phone saying my phone number was no longer active. This also deactivated my phone which still had minutes and air time. I contacted customer service, after being transferred several times, was told that Verizon owned their phone number and they just took mine back. I contacted Verizon and was told they would never do such a thing. I filed a complaint with the FCC and after some digging found out that Tracfone sells phone numbers at random whenever they want. I'm not done yet. Will be contacting every consumer reporting agency I can find.

I just purchased the LG 800G cell phone from the Tracfone store, and I can tell you when FedEx says overnight delivery, they mean it. When the phone arrived, I plugged it in to finish recharging the battery, and it took a lot less than the stated five hours to reach full charge. I went to the Tracfone site and activated the phone and had my number and minutes transferred from the old phone to the new one. I intend to give the old phone to a friend who recently gave us a scare, and doesn't have a cell phone. The time on the computer to change the information on the account was very simple and straight forward, and the process was accomplished in about 15 minutes.

My only problem is not the fault of Tracfone or LG. I accidentally brought up some apps onscreen and don't know yet how to get them off the screen. All in all, I am very pleased with Tracfone, as I have been for over nine years now. My Tracfone has never failed me, unless I forgot to charge it.