Consumer Cellular

I'm considering switching from Verizon to Consumer Cellular. Verizon's service has been very reliable, but very expensive. Consumer Cellular runs off of AT&T and T-Mobile. It should be a no brainer. The saving is $110 per month. My phone is my lifeline when shopping. My main concern is finding out how well they perform and customer service. They are rated fairy high. The coverage map is nearly the same with only a few spots of no service. So, my question is if anyone uses them. If so, what complaints do you have? Or what kudos.

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I did look into them but the reviews online were horrible so i skipped them.

I have had several. Believe it or not, the one I liked best all around was MetroPCS. Every area is different, though.

I went to tracfone but if you use lots of data then their monthly data renewal plan may be the way to go. It's probably still cheaper then a $100 monthly plan. You can also try to use wifi whenever you can. If you want to get tracfone, you can look at hsn or the ebay listing from tracfone. I remember they had a 5.5" samsung j7 sky pro phone(you own outright) with 1200 min data/text/gb data for 1 year for $79.99.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2019 12:51AM by 7star.

Verizon is expensive for a reason. Their service is reliable. AT&T is the opposite of reliable. I never had T-Mobile.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Ill be staying right where I am with Verizon, based on these answers. I'll have to find somewhere else to shave $100. Thanks, everyone.

I know that Tracfone in some areas uses Verizon as the carrier. That is what I have as the service provider. It's reliable and better than the ATT that I use to have before with a contract. I don't use my cell phone to do reports on the road as I do them all on the desktop when I get home. But I love the tracfone because the cost for me was $99 all inclusive for one year. Some people have had problems with the tracfone support since it's from overseas but I have done 5 new tracfone activations with no problem. Let us know what new service you find, if any.

@janalou wrote:

Ill be staying right where I am with Verizon, based on these answers. I'll have to find somewhere else to shave $100. Thanks, everyone.

I switched from Verizon after the 2nd service failure. Both times I was in an area on the map that showed excellent service. The first time I thought it was weird that I had no calls or text messages overnight (I used the hotel internet service and was able to make calls and send texts). In the morning, I drove 5 miles and I had voice mails for calls that never rang or showed in my call log and 5 texts. The 2nd time I knew what had happened and realized that just because the map shows excellent service, sometimes it's not. I switched to MetroPCS and they are not perfect either but I pay $85 a month for 2 lines.

I did a purchase and return shop for MetroPCS. By the time I added the same services I had with Verizon, (voice mail, call forwarding, etc.), the charges were the same.

Also, I was concerned about data coverage. If you look at the fine print, the 90% coverage is for talk and text.

@panama18 wrote:

I have had several. Believe it or not, the one I liked best all around was MetroPCS. Every area is different, though.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2019 01:12PM by HonnyBrown.

I switched to UnReal Mobile in October of last year. It cost 10 dollars a month for unlimited minutes and 2gigs of data. So far it has been good but my common sense tells me this will not last long.

I use Consumer Cellular for my business line as well as for my mom's two phones. Of course if you need data, its mot the best choice. That is $50 for the three lines. I brought my own phones. I use Metro By T-Mobile for my main line. $60 per month for one line with unlimited talk and text with 15 GB Hotspot and unlimited data for the phone and FREE AMAZON Prime. I got a FREE iPhone when I signed up as well. It is a great deal. So I pay $110 for my four lines and NO phone payments.

TinaMarie

My friend switched to consumer cellular, mostly because of great on-line reviews (and a great advertising campaign, I'll admit). He likes the price -- he bought a cheap phone, I think it's called a dumb phone, and he pays about $25 a month. But a dumb phone won't help you will shopping. And he has been extremely dissatisfied with the service.

I don't know why your bill is so high. I have an old, paid for iPhone. The basic plan I get is 3 or 5 GB data or gigs or whatever they are, and unlimited talk and text for $40. I use it on the road, and it IS a lifeline -- and it more than pays for itself every month when I pick up that orphan shop that's going for $100!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2019 01:19AM by ceasesmith.

Call Verizon and let them know that you need to lower your bill. They will do something for you.

@janalou wrote:

Ill be staying right where I am with Verizon, based on these answers. I'll have to find somewhere else to shave $100. Thanks, everyone.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Yes! Cell/cable/satellite all negotiate when you threaten to quit the service because you can't pay that much.

Sometimes you have to call several times to speak to different people before you find someone that will help you.

@sestrahelena wrote:

Yes! Cell/cable/satellite all negotiate when you threaten to quit the service because you can't pay that much.

Yes, the online reviews of Consumer Cellular are horrible in spite of their endorsements by both JD Power and AARP.

SimpleMobile uses T-Mobile service and is only $30.00 per month for unlimited talk, text and 3GB of data. Then I went up the block to another retailer, same plan for only $25.00 per month !! There is another service run by T Mobile called Lycamobile, not sure about it yet, but it is a cheap month to month plan. Forgot what the rates are. It is all so competitive that you may see these pre paid/ pay as you go plan rates drop even lower at some point.

I'm happy with Verizon, but thinking of switching to Comcast's Xfinity Mobile. They use Verizon's network and are much cheaper, but they do slow your connections down a bit, on purpose. In my area, Verizon has superior coverage to ATT, and I've had both.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2019 08:21PM by quovatis.

How about Verizon landline and Wi Fi charges?? If I cry, will they lower them too as is done with cell phones??

It never hurts to ask! I went running back to FIOS after my Comcast box was hacked several times. I didn't even think about asking them to lower my bill.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Thanks and your mentioning of being hacked reminded me to change the WiFi router password in my Verizon router. Was recommended in bottomlinepersonal.com a few weeks back.

My family was spit between Virgin Mobile prepaid and Tracfone. A year ago after needing to add additional texting to my teenagers' Tracfones monthly or twice a month, we switched to Boost prepaid. The lines coming from Tracfone each qualified for free Samsung J7 phones. I had to purchase my phone because Virgin is Sprint and so is Boost so it wasn't a line coming from a competitor. We now have 4 phones unlimited everything and 15MB hotspot on each phone per month for $100. That includes taxes!!! I sadly had to pay upfront for my phone, but I needed a new one anyway since my iPhone 5c was dying. (I got an iPhone 7) I love the hotspot when I am shopping on the road and need to use my laptop in the car to complete shop reports.

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