US Cellular is horrible in Illinois
Written: Jan 29 '05 (Updated Jan 29 '05)
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Pros: Cheap plans, cheap phones
Cons: Horrible customer service & service representatives in the stores misrepresent.
The Bottom Line: Go elsewhere.
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| jswede4722's Full Review: General Reviews of US Cellular Customer Service |
I purchased our first phones in 2002 when they blitzed the Chicagoland market. We ended up canceling the service due to financial reasons. This is when they pro-rated the contract cancellation fee. We really had no problems. I purchased one for my parents as a gift and eventually we cancelled our land line and went completely cellular (we move almost yearly and we needed a stable phone number).
We had many dropped calls in Gurnee and Waukegan at the time. We moved to Buffalo Grove and the dropped calls became worse. I would call customer service and all I heard was excuses (it is your phone, it is your home, etc). I was right near the patio door/window making these calls. We just moved to Vernon Hills and the reception near an open field is just non-existant. CONSTANT ROAMING and DROPPED CALLS. Many times I end up with voice mail messages and the phone never rang. I called customer service and the same story (it is your phone, it is your home, etc). They did credit my account with minutes. This doesn't compensate for the drop called in the middle of conversations though. I did upgrade to newer phones that fell apart within a years time because they are cheaply made (we never dropped or abused them).
I had an issues last summer where I bought a used phone at the Lincolnshire store. They never told me that I had to return it within 24 hours for a refund (I received a free replacement phone elsewhere). I had to fight and go around and around. They refused to connect the free phone which was a us cellular phone. I had to go to another store to get it done. I had to go around and around with this store for days.
I recently contiplated dumping cellular services all together (I too had horrible service with Cingular). I went into the store at Hawthorne in Vernon Hills yesterday. I will not mention the sales persons name but they are con artists. He explained to me that I could try to renew my contract (although it expires in November) and get the new Audiovox for $60 ($30 after rebate). He also explained that I could switch from my 900 minute for $40/plan to 1500 minutes for $25/ first 3 months and $50 for the remaining time due on the contract (it includes free incoming calls). I said fine. They waved the $75 buy out fee and I purchased the phone for $60. My husband wanted to get an upgraded phone. He called the same representative and he said we could take advantage of the B1G1 free deal that expires 2/14. We went back to the store to find out that we were getting socked $75 to buy out the second line (we originally set up the service where the second line shares the minutes). US Cellular never informed me that they would not renew the second phone at the same time (I mean come on, if phones are sharing minutes, why wouldn't both lines be extended at the same time?). I fought with US Cellular's customer service on the phone in the store. I did this infront of potentional customers threatening to pay the $150/per phone to cancel the service all together. I mentioned that I always paid on time, have a very high credit rating and it is not ideal to anger a consistantly good customer. Surprise, surprise it didn't matter. My husband is now getting involved to try to straighten this mess out. Clearly, I was mislead and misinformed. He is the purchaser of cellular service for his company so we are hoping this helps sway the situation in our favor. We are not hopeful.
The sad thing is their corporate offices are based in Chicago. All these reviews in Illinois with the same dropped call complaints. They are now giving a 30 day money back guarantee that it is the best network (to new subscribers). It is not here in their own state.
Look elsewhere. You may pay a little more but it is worth it to avoid the headaches I have experienced.
Update- After three phone calls (2 dropped) to US Cellular, the $75 was waived and the contract was renewed. We got our B1G1 free phone and everything was done correctly.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 50
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Epinions.com ID:
jswede4722
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Location: Boston, MA
Reviews written: 147
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
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