Time to Break Up With Your Phone Company?

Category: Telephony

A few years back, I published an article that started with these words: “Everyone hates the phone company.” But since then, every time I write on the topic of mobile phone providers, the feedback from AskBob readers is loud and clear: “We Love Consumer Cellular!” I've been a Verizon customer for 20+ years, so I decided to take a closer look at Consumer Cellular and find out why folks think it's so great. Read on for my review of Consumer Cellular and see what this mobile phone company does that others do not...

Consumer Cellular Review

Since 1995, Consumer Cellular has taken the road less traveled, and it has led to great success for this mobile communications provider. The US-based company now has more than 4 million customers and employs over 2,000 people. Even more impressive is Consumer Cellular’s wall full of customer service awards from the like of Consumer Reports and J.D. Powers & Associates. (The company has won 13 consecutive J.D. Power awards for the best customer service among wireless providers.)

The company pioneered the no-contract business model, in which customers are free to change their plans or terminate service at any time without penalties. That meant Consumer Cellular had to keep customers by satisfying them, not by threatening them. From its founding, the company has focused on providing low-cost, high quality phone service and excellent personalized customer services. What a concept!

Rather than compete for high-value business customers and others who use their phones constantly, Consumer Cellular tailors its offerings to casual users. It has plans starting at $20/month for unlimited talk/text and 1 GB of mobile data, and ranging up to $50/month for unlimited data. Those prices are for a single line, and there are significant discounts for households with 2 or 3 lines. Consumer Cellular does have a "Talk Only" plan with unlimited minutes for $15 per month, but it's no longer an option on their Plans page. I verified that they will still offer this plan if you call Customer Service at 888-345-5509.

In love with your phone company?

It’s no accident that all Consumer Cellular customer service agents are based in the USA. The sound of a familiar voice speaking one’s native tongue builds trust immediately, and prevents many miscommunications that have frustrated customers who deal with overseas call centers.

Business really took off in 2008, when Consumer Cellular became the AARP’s preferred wireless service provider. AARP members get 5% off their monthly service bills and accessories. Today, more than 85% of Consumer Cellular’s customers are age 50 or older. The company had 4 million customers at the start of 2022.

According to BestMVNO.com, Consumer Cellular is a MVNO, a reseller of mobile service from both AT&T and T-Mobile, which gives them excellent coverage and reliable high-speed LTE data in most areas. (MVNO stands for "Mobile Virtual Network Operator," a mobile provider that buys wholesale minutes, data and text from AT&T, Verizon, or T-mobile, to resell to consumers.) Consumer Cellular operates on both the AT&T and T-mobile networks.

What About the Phones?

Consumer Cellular may not be the right choice for everyone, especially if you have a family of data-hungry users. Check out my reviews of other low-cost and innovative cellular service providers: Ting and Tello.

Flip phones with big pushbuttons like the Verve Snap are very popular among Consumer Cellular customers. But that doesn’t mean that all Consumer Cellular offers is “grandparent phones.” You can choose from a range of phones, including the Apple iPhone 14, Google Pixel 6a, and the Samsung Galaxy lineup. A credit check is required, payments are automatically charged to a credit/debit card, and if service is terminated early the balance due for the phone is charged to the card. Smartphones from Motorola, Nokia, and Consumer Cellular-branded models are also available.

Phone Privacy! Today’s QOTD Quest...
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Other hardware includes the Grandpad, a simple tablet aimed at seniors, and a wireless home phone base that works with standard wired phones, no wall jack required (but a power outlet is needed). This allows you to put a phone almost anywhere in the house, including the garage; you can even take your home phone on vacaction.

I checked out Consumer Cellular's rating at the Better Business Bureau website, and at first I was surprised that only 25% of the reviews there were positive. But then I remembered that BBB is a place where unhappy customers go to complain and get satisfaction. The good news is that Consumer Cellular has a 100% response rate, and has earned an A+ rating with BBB after 27 years in business. That means that at least 97% of the time, the company was able to resolve customer issues in timely manner, or make a good faith effort to do so.

If you are unhappy in your relationship with your mobile phone service provider, maybe it's time to break up with them. You just might fall in love with Consumer Cellular. I have no relationship with the company, just thought you'd like to know. Your thoughts on this topic are welcome. Post your comment or question below...

 
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This article was posted by on 16 Nov 2022


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Most recent comments on "Time to Break Up With Your Phone Company?"

(See all 27 comments for this article.)

Posted by:

Frank Buhrman
16 Nov 2022

We've been satisfied Consumer Cellular customers for several years and just had nother pleasant and successful customer service contact last week. When we realized we could save money, we switched our land line to a third CC line and thereby kept a number we'd used for decades. This is the way to go.


Posted by:

David
16 Nov 2022

The rate you're paying may sound atractive to you but compared with what I pay in Spain for a virtually identical service is way less. I pay EUR 6.9/month which workes out to around $7.15 US


Posted by:

Dee J
16 Nov 2022

I had CC for a very short while. It may be that they didn't have AT&T at the time, but I couldn't get any service unless I went out a 10th of a mile to my mailbox.
The phone was way too simple for me, and at the time not that many options were available.
I do admit this was some years ago. I am sure, from reading the comments here and from your article, that things have changed over time. And for the better.


Posted by:

Patricia Lemons
16 Nov 2022

I have been with Verizon for many years. I would have switched to CC had they bought the coverage from Verizon. Where I live, only Verizon offers coverage.


Posted by:

Ken Alper
16 Nov 2022

I have been using Teelo.com for several months and I am very happy, I am a casual user. $10.00 (plus tax - $.09) for FREE telephone calls and FREE texting plus 1 GB of data. Could not be better!!


Posted by:

Joan Buddecke
16 Nov 2022

Hubby and I switched to Consumer Cellular about 5 years ago after a few decades with Verizon... small monthly bill by comparison and only wish is that I had made the change sooner... so appreciate AT&T championing CC in their offers for a 5% discount for members. I ignored those offers for too long!!! The only place that I could not get service was when we traveled to Kimball, Nebraska for a celebration of life for hubby's brother... local family and friends had service on their phones but Jimmy and I did not, we picked it back up again when we entered Colorado on the return trip.


Posted by:

Jo L Will
16 Nov 2022

Nothing is getting me off RedPocket (see ebay)using Tmobile service. $30 per year for 200 min, 1,000 texts, 200mb data per month. We use iphones also bought on ebay.


Posted by:

Norman Rosen
16 Nov 2022

I have switched from Verizon to Ting and have not missed a call yet. The big consumer magazine rates them on the same level with Consumer Cellular.


Posted by:

Dennis English
16 Nov 2022

I helped my elderly brother get his 1st smartphone. I waited 40 min for the service agent to return from a "break". Then once we had the service a customer service call was necessary. We were on hold 55 min before giving up. I wrote a letter to the main office in Oregon...never got a reply. Customer service is B.S.


Posted by:

Robert K
17 Nov 2022

I've read an article about all these discount phone service providers. And after having two months of service by Twigby, he had zero issues with it. Twigby uses Verizon towers, no charge for texting or phone calls, and includes three Gigabytes of data, all for under $15/month. After switching from Verizon to Twigby, I could not tell the difference in the quality of service.
-Bob K


Posted by:

Fred
17 Nov 2022

I started out with US Cellular with a "bag phone" when cell phone service was inaugurated and updated the phones over the next 20 years. When I bought an "Essential" phone on the internet. I had to spar with them for 6 months to try and get them to pair-up the phone with their system. They insisted I had to buy one of their phones instead of using my phone. I gave up and went to a Target store to sign up with CC and the tech changed the sim card and had my phone on their system in 10 minutes. I didn't want to leave US Cellular but I realized they were more interested in selling phones than customer service. CC's phones were also cheaper when it came time to upgrade and I never looked back. CC customer service and prices keep me staying with them.


Posted by:

Phil
17 Nov 2022

Have been on Consumer Cellular for several years. Have had great coverage.

My only problem is that their group text messages are limited to 10 individuals. I confirmed this with their customer service. And they confirmed that they knew of no App to overcome this limitation. I read that Verizon's limit is 20 individuals.

I'm switching to Twigby. Just waiting for the SIM card.


Posted by:

JJ Sanders
17 Nov 2022

We have been saving 50% on our cellular costs for years with Consumer Cellular. Great coverage, and customer service. I find sometime that there is along delay getting texts or voicemail, but this is minor compared to the cost savings. We have 5 lines - the 4 lines added share the unlimited of the main line, and for us, only $10 a month extra per line. How silly to pay one of the biggies double to use the SAME cellular system!!


Posted by:

Bruce Houghtaling
18 Nov 2022

Look into Credo. A progressive company that contributes to various non-profits, and gives you the chance to choose where that money goes every month. Three different charities, and you pick any or all of them to receive the donation for that month. Every month they offer different charities. Anyway, I can't do them justice here, so check them out and maybe report on them. I switched from Verizon about 6 months ago, cutting my bill by about 40%.


Posted by:

JcB
18 Nov 2022

We have never used CC. We started on Sprint, switched to AT&T, then to TING and now we have Unreal. Unreal has multiple plans all with unlimited talk and text. They say that they have unlimited data but there is a caveat, you purchase a plan with a set amount of 5G/LTE data per month, if you exceed that limit you still have data but at a lower speed. They have both AT&T and T-Mobile networks to choose from. We are on the T-Mobile network and have the $120 per year plan with 2GB of high speed data per month for both of our phones. I do not know if we have ever exceeded the 2GB high speed data limit, I have just not payed attention to it. Currently, just over half way through the month, I have used 418 MB on my phone.
The downside is that once you purchase a plan there are no refunds if you decide to switch to another plan or another service provider, other than that there are no contracts.


Posted by:

Ryan Zelenski
20 Nov 2022

Thank you so much, Bob! I have been a long time reader and enjoyed the help over the years. Consumer Cellular had the 2nd highest rating with Consuner Reports, so I’m switching,


Posted by:

Ryan Zelenski
20 Nov 2022

Thank you so much, Bob!
I have been a long time reader and enjoyed the august (synonym for “great”) help over the years. Consumer Cellular had the 2nd highest rating with Consumer Reports (and my provider, AT & T was last), so I’m switching.


Posted by:

James Rowlett
21 Nov 2022

We have been CC customers for years and enjoy the exceptional customer service. We maintain good coverage up and down the east coast having one phone on the AT&T sim and the other on T-mobile. Due to varying requirements and circumstances, one cellular company can not be the correct match for everyone. However, if you are a casual user and get a good signal at your home base and the areas you roam, you'll likely be very pleased with CC.


Posted by:

Norman Rosen
22 Nov 2022

After 20+ years with Verizon, I switched to Ting, the other company Consumer Reports recommends; and I only wish I had switched sooner. I have no complaints about service and help is here in the US or Canada. I should have switched sooner as the cost savings are phenomenal.


Posted by:

Frank Wilson
17 Mar 2024

this has been by far the worst customer service experience I've ever had!!!!! #days and 12 hours later and still no better than when i started! STAY AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EDITOR'S NOTE: You didn't mention which company is involved in your issue.


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