Consumer Cellular

Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 28 historical complaints about Consumer Cellular, published between 2007 and 2013. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.

• Never received new phone, old phone turned off, billed $21.51Published Apr 9, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Charged $18.13 after closing account and paying final billPublished Jan 3, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Phone showed SOS Calls Only after a month of tryingPublished Nov 26, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Charged $80 in fees weeks after switching servicePublished Nov 24, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Billed extra minutes beyond what iPhone showed per callPublished Aug 13, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Billed after stopping service marketed as pay as you goPublished Aug 3, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Phone with known defect and $35 fee for replacementPublished May 1, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Minute cap of 2,400 and number transfer to new provider blockedPublished Mar 18, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Customer Service is deplorable. Unauthorized charges to debit cardPublished Mar 7, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Collection threats after stopping pay-as-you-go servicePublished Mar 4, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Charged $35 for replacement of defective phone and refund delayedPublished Feb 12, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consistent Bad Reception in Mid-ManhattanPublished Jan 20, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Monthly bill increased from $13.45 to $17.50 without explanationPublished Jan 11, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Requested account cancellation after switch from Tracfone took weeksPublished Jan 5, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Weak signal at home, refund of fees disputed after returnPublished Sep 14, 2011 · Historical consumer allegation
• Phone returned as working, charged 60 dollars for monthsPublished Aug 24, 2011 · Historical consumer allegation
• Advertising omits excellent credit requirementPublished May 15, 2011 · Historical consumer allegation
• Cell phone service denied based on credit reportPublished May 8, 2011 · Historical consumer allegation
• Phones sent with wrong area codes and refused to change themPublished Dec 16, 2010 · Historical consumer allegation
• Collections for $140 over cancellation not made in writingPublished Nov 16, 2010 · Historical consumer allegation

Complaint Themes

Each tag reflects a complaint's single primary theme (not every angle it raised), and complaints outside any problem theme — a positive report, or one later retracted by its author — aren't tagged. Counts may total less than the full complaint count above.

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts, Payment & Login

• ConsumerCellular.com (official site): https://www.consumercellular.com/
• Customer support: (888) 345-5509: (888) 345-5509 3 complaints mention this number
• BBB-listed / legal contact: (800) 686-4460: (800) 686-4460 3 complaints mention this number
• My Account login: https://my.consumercellular.com/
• Make a payment: https://my.consumercellular.com/billing
• Legal / broadband disclosure questions: [email protected]
• Wireless Customer Agreement support: (888) 511-3894: (888) 511-3894

Locations

Consumer Cellular complaints, cancellation and refunds: what the company's own pages say (checked October 14, 2026)

Consumer Cellular is a wireless provider that sells service under its own brand, runs billing and support itself, and says it "uses the same towers as the nation's largest wireless carriers" (its help article on networks). Its coverage-map page says: "Our interactive map is provided by our network partner, AT&T." The company's cancellation and billing contact is its U.S. support line, (888) 345-5509; its Contact page lists online chat hours of 6am-5pm PT and a "My CC" mobile app.

Risk-free guarantee. The company's cancellation article says: "as a new Consumer Cellular customer, if you're not completely satisfied with our wireless service, within 30 days of activation (data use limited to 500MB), simply cancel and pay nothing except for any third-party charges and device upgrade fees." It adds that monthly service charges and network activation fees are credited back, that a mailing label is sent to ship the phone back, and that a credit is expected "within 10 business days" after the phone is received. The governing Wireless Customer Agreement (last updated June 25, 2025) is broader: within thirty days the company waives monthly service charges and one-time network activation fees for new lines "provided that your data usage is limited to 500MB. However, you remain responsible for any international long distance, roaming, text and data charges, any device upgrade fees for added or replaced devices on existing lines of service, as well as directory assistance charges and other third-party charges, and applicable taxes or surcharges." For devices bought from the company, the agreement allows a return within thirty days "provided that your Device is returned to us in like-new condition with all the original packaging." For "certain active member affiliations, like AARP and USAA" the cancellation article gives "an extended 45-day risk-free guarantee period." Page footers on the site are not uniform: one footer attached to a USAA offer says "within 45 days" and another says "within 30 days", so confirm the window that applies to your account when you call.

After the guarantee window. The same article says you "can still cancel your service at any time" and keep service "until the end of your billing cycle, unless you transfer the number for your service to a different carrier prior to the end of the billing cycle." Its reminders: "We will not prorate or refund the monthly charges on your final invoice", and a remaining EasyPay (device financing) balance "will be invoiced on your final invoice." The agreement adds that after you terminate service you remain responsible for "any remaining installment plan payments for your Device", that an active installment plan for a lost, stolen or terminated line "may trigger acceleration of the remaining installment plan payments", and that credits over $25.00 are returned automatically within ninety days after cancellation while a smaller final credit is returned "only upon request."

Cancelling is not the same as moving your number. The company's switching guide tells new customers: "Don't cancel your current service yet! Your number must stay active during the transfer. Once the switch is complete, your old account will close automatically." It asks you to gather the account number and transfer PIN from your current carrier. The cancellation article and the agreement both say that service continues to the end of the billing cycle unless the number is transferred to a different carrier before then.

Fees and plan terms the company publishes. A separate help article says the company "charges a $10 one-time per-line network activation fee." Site footers state that unlimited plans are "only for customers age 50+" with age validation, that high-speed data is reduced after 35GB (single line) or 50GB (multi-line), that plan prices shown include a $5 credit for AutoPay and e-billing, and that taxes and fees are extra and new service is "on approved credit." Read your invoice against these terms before disputing a charge.

Escalating. Keep the date and a reference number of each call or chat. If the company does not resolve a billing, porting or service problem, the FCC's page on informal complaints says you can file at fcc.gov/complaints or by phone at 1-888-CALL-FCC, that there is "no filing charge", and that if the FCC serves a complaint on a provider "the service provider must respond within 30 days of receiving the complaint." You can also submit a complaint to the BBB profile listed on this page.

Disputing a bill under the agreement. The agreement says a billing dispute must be raised by calling customer support or writing to the company "WITHIN SIXTY (60) DAYS OF THE DATE OF YOUR BILL" and that disputed charges must still be received by the due date. Before arbitration, a party must send a written Notice of Dispute by certified mail to the Office for Dispute Resolution, Consumer Cellular, Incorporated, 12447 SW 69th Ave., Portland, OR 97223; if the claim is not resolved within thirty days after the notice is received, either side may begin arbitration, and the agreement states that class actions are not permitted. The same section says the arbitration clause "does not preclude you from bringing issues to the attention of federal, state, or local agencies, (e.g., the Federal Communications Commission)."

Who runs Consumer Cellular and who owns it

The company's website names Consumer Cellular, Inc. (its Broadband Transparency Disclosure uses "Consumer Cellular, Incorporated"). Its leadership page gives corporate offices at 9363 E. Bahia Drive, Scottsdale, Arizona, with "additional operations and customer service offices" in Oregon, Oklahoma City, Kentucky and Cincinnati; Ed Evans is shown as Chairman and CEO.

Ownership: on October 28, 2020 GTCR announced that it had "signed a definitive agreement to acquire" Consumer Cellular, Inc., which the release then described as headquartered in Portland, Oregon with approximately 4 million subscribers; founder John Marick was to "remain a substantial shareholder." GTCR's 2024 newsletter lists Consumer Cellular as a GTCR portfolio company with "Platform Acquisition: December 2020", says the company was "Founded in 1995", and reports a dividend recapitalization in February 2024 (company-reported figure: a $340 million dividend payment to equity holders).

FCC public notice DA 26-691 (July 9, 2026; action dated July 8, 2026) records a pro forma transfer of control that Consumer Cellular, Inc. notified on January 16, 2026, effective December 17, 2025, from GTCR Partners XII/A&C LP to GTCR Oak Fund LP. In that notice Consumer Cellular "is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of CCI Topco, Inc.", and CCI Topco "is owned by Cellular Holdings, LLC (75% equity and voting interests) and HPS Investment Partners, LLC (11.72% equity and voting interests)." It states that Cellular Holdings and Consumer Cellular were controlled by the same individuals before and after the transaction. These are the applicant's representations to the FCC as recorded in the notice; the 11.72 and 75 percent figures are not the whole ownership picture and are not summed here.

The company says in its marketing that AARP member benefits "are provided by third parties, not by AARP or its affiliates" and that providers pay AARP a royalty fee for use of its intellectual property. Its coverage-map page (opened October 14, 2026) says the interactive map is "provided by our network partner, AT&T" and that the maps "may include areas served by unaffiliated carriers"; the page does not state which network carries every subscriber or roaming area, and it says the company "does not guarantee coverage." Check the coverage map for your address before you buy.

BBB, Trustpilot and complaints archived on this site

BBB (profile for Consumer Cellular, Portland, OR, as displayed October 14, 2026): BBB Accredited, rating A+. The complaints tab shows 1,478 total complaints in the last 3 years and 497 complaints filed in the last 12 months; the reviews tab shows 4.38 out of 5 as an average of 10,000 customer reviews. BBB says its complaint text shown is not all complaints filed and that reviews are not used in the letter grade.

Trustpilot (as displayed October 14, 2026): a claimed profile with 18,316 reviews and a TrustScore of 4.2, with Trustpilot's notice that the company "hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative." These figures come from different platforms with different methods and are not combined.

Archive on this site. We link 28 approved complaint posts naming Consumer Cellular, all dated 2007 to 2013, a period before the current ownership. They are consumer allegations, not findings. Themes below are keyword matches (one post can match several): charges or collection notices after cancelling or switching, disputes over advertised guarantee or minutes terms, number porting or cancellation, and phone or SIM problems including a $35 replacement-device charge. No post later than 2013 was found in our archive. Two 2011 posts also allege service was denied after a credit check that the authors dispute.

FCC citation (2010) and advertising self-regulation (2023)

FCC citation, May 26, 2010. FCC document DA 10-930 (file EB-09-SE-175) is, in its own words, "an official CITATION" issued to Consumer Cellular, Inc., "a reseller of wireless services", for "violating the digital wireless handset hearing aid compatibility status report filing requirements" in 47 CFR 20.19(i)(1). It records that the company did not file its hearing aid compatibility status report by the January 15, 2009 deadline and filed it on November 8, 2009, and that the company explained it "was unaware of its obligation to make such a filing." The document warns that future violations "may subject Consumer Cellular to monetary forfeitures"; it is a citation, not a consent decree, and imposes no monetary forfeiture.

National Advertising Division, June 8, 2023. BBB National Programs reported that its National Advertising Division (NAD), on a challenge by T-Mobile US, Inc., found certain Consumer Cellular wireless-plan claims supported and recommended that the company modify or discontinue others, including the comparative-cost and savings claims and the "unlimited data" claim (NAD recommended disclosing that high-speed data is reduced after 50GB). NAD is an industry self-regulatory body, not a government agency. In its advertiser statement the company said it "will comply with NAD's recommendations."

In the sources checked on October 14, 2026 (FCC documents opened for this page, BBB National Programs decision page, FCC and FTC guidance pages, news search), no other FCC, FTC or state attorney general order, consent decree or settlement naming Consumer Cellular was identified. This is a scoped result of the searches run, not a statement that none exists.

Court records: what was checked

The CourtListener RECAP search API for the case name "Consumer Cellular", queried on October 14, 2026, returned 31 docket records (some captions appear twice). Civil captions with a stated nature of suit include Fair Labor Standards Act cases (2020 and 2021), patent cases (2021 and 2024), Americans with Disabilities Act cases (2019, 2020 and 2024), a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case (2020) and individual diversity or fraud suits (2021, 2023 and 2024); three 2025 and 2026 captions show no nature of suit in the search result, and several records are criminal search-warrant matters naming a Consumer Cellular phone model. We did not review the merits of these dockets and do not show any of them as a consumer class action. The search returns captions only; it does not state outcomes.

Is Consumer Cellular Legitimate?

Consumer Cellular, Inc. is an operating wireless provider with published corporate offices in Scottsdale, Arizona, a named executive team, and a BBB file opened in 1998 (BBB Accredited since 1999-11-01 per the raw BBB page data) currently displayed with an A+ rating. It has been a GTCR portfolio company since December 2020 per GTCR's newsletter. The BBB, Trustpilot and archive figures on this page describe how customers have reported their experiences; the archived complaints on this site are allegations dated 2007 to 2013. Whether a particular charge or cancellation was handled correctly depends on your account terms, which you can request from the company in writing.

Company Relationships

• Subsidiary of: CCI Topco, Inc.
• Affiliated with: GTCR

Frequently Asked Questions