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|  | No Web outside your zipcode |
| Review By: awful tracfone on Aug. 29, 2010 |
 Summary: AUGUST 2010. after 11 hours (no lie) on the phone with them they then tell me my web browsing capabilities will ONLY work when I am in my home zip code! I bought their new phone and unlimited service, took them 4 hours to register it after waiting 2 days for a new sim in the mail, they transferred my old phone number to new phone , 3 hours to do that, then when web doesn't work they tell me they cant transfer my old phone number which they already did. Hours later they then say " well we don't have roaming" which is why my web browser wont work out of my zip code area. OH, but if I bought the 1000 minute a month deal they would have roaming at .60 cents a minute.. basically charging me 6 minutes for each minute of roaming. |
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|  | Horrible Support |
| Review By: ex tracfone on Mar. 20, 2010 |
 Summary: Worthless customer support. Account still broken after two weeks and 15 calls. They keep transferring calls between departments for hours, the so called supervisors are either unhelpful, incapable or both. Stay far away! |
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|  | user |
| Review By: canary bird on Feb. 15, 2010 |
 Summary: Bought Tracfone thinking that I could download ringtones and I can't even use the web browser in my area. That is area 48838. Very disappointed. E-mailed them a couple of times and even called. I told them that I would never buy a Tracfone again. I should have been told that before I bought the phone. Got phone from Radio Shack online.
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|  | Go with Net10 |
| Review By: anjetea on Dec. 30, 2007 |
 Summary: I've had the phone 2 days and already I'm dissatisfied. First, they make your zip code the only place that the phone won't be roaming. I wouldn't be upset over that if it was made clear in the pamphlet, BEFORE I bought the phone. Then, they take forever to activate it. I Called to activate the phone on the 28th at 4 PM. At 2 PM the next day, I called to make sure everything was going to plan (since the phone's usually activated within the first couple minutes). After going through the process of giving a 15-digit number multiple times, the service rep says (through a barely comprehendable accent) that the phone should be active in 4 hours. That would be 2 hours past the latest time that the pamphlet says it takes to activate a phone. So false advertising again. Then I had to call customer service again to find out how to check voice mail from a land line. . . because they don't give basic information like that in their "information booklet." If possible, go with Net10. I haven't even used their service before, but it's got to be better than this!
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|  | Librarian |
| Review By: sosorryiboughtatracfone on Dec. 22, 2007 |
 Summary: Hey, what's the scam! my ratings were changed! |
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|  | sosorryiboughtatracfone |
| Review By: librarian on Dec. 22, 2007 |
 Summary: I was just on the phone with customer service trying to get my voicemail set up. After 30 minutes she hangs up on me! Once my minutes and airtime is used I am going to go with an actual retailer and buy a phone with a contract. I am tired of talking to someone from India who doesn't understand English. I feel like running over my phone with my car! |
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|  | Avoid At All Costs |
| Review By: JadedMarty on Jun. 6, 2007 |
 Summary: The absolute worst company I have ever had the displeasure of being ripped off by. Their rates are confusing & deceptive, the sound quality is average at best, and their customer service is the worst I've ever encountered. Avoid these scam artists at all costs - do yourself a favor & Google "TracFone Customer Reviews" & believe ALL the horror stories from the legions of DIS-satisfied customers. After less than a week of their so-called "service", I am contacting the B.B.B., my State Attorney General, & possibly an attorney. This company had no problem sucking the $$ from my bank account, but they are apparently unable to deliver the (vastly over-priced) minutes to my phone. Heed the warnings about roaming charges & what likely will come out to be $1 a minute you'll pay for the lousy service from this gang of thieves. |
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|  | tracfone screwed up and now wont fix the problem |
| Review By: jonjonathanjohn on Feb. 10, 2007 |
 Summary: i have a account then they messed up they have my phone under another name now they wont fix it i have a phone with a year contract that i cant use because they screwed up my account info. now i cant do anything they suck dont get a tracfone |
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|  | The worst nightmare you can imagine |
| Review By: redwood on Dec. 10, 2006 |
 Summary: No customer service (don't speak english - email responses don't respond to question, or promise to fix and don't) promotional minutes not given, phone sent with dead battery, voicemail doesn't work, except to suck your minutes ("new feature - review all your previously deleted messages again - insane things like this to suck your minutes, but no one has been able to successfully leave a message in months) poor reception. dropped calls. |
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|  | SEND ME AN EMAIL BEFORE YOU ACTIVAT YOUR TRACFONE I'LL GET YOU FREE UNITS |
| Review By: JoshfromMaine on Mar. 21, 2005 |
 Summary: Send me an email before you get your tacfone activated and i will get you 100 free units. Then i will send an email back follow the instructions from tracfone and boom there are you 100 free minutes email me at name2245@hotmail.com |
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| Would shop in this store again: YES |
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|  | Tracfone made things right!!! |
| Review By: markofkane2 on Dec. 23, 2004 |
 Summary: Forget my previous complaint. Tracfone contacted me, and set things right. Sidney helped me fix my phone, so I would not get charged roaming in my local area. Thanks, Tracfone. |
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|  | Don't use Tracfone!!! |
| Review By: markofkane on Dec. 23, 2004 |
 Summary: After spending countless hours with tech support, I found out after I was told my Tracfone can be used in my area, I was told that it cannot.
I am charged for roaming, no matter where I go. It amounts to $0.60 a minute. It is a ripoff. If you need a cellphone that bad, buy one that has a plan for unlimited minutes, and no roaming fees. I would NEVER, EVER deal with Tracfone again. It may be cheap, as long as you do not use the phone, but what's the point of carrying a cellphone around if you don't use it?? Go with a REAL cellphone company.
If you insist on getting a Tracfone, expect to pay $0.30 to $0.60 a minute. And if you put the phone in your pocket, movement will press buttons, which will cause you to lose airtime, while in your pocket!!!
Tracfone is lousy. |
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|  | TracFone-Great for local and emergency use |
| Review By: Matt V on Oct. 19, 2004 |
 Summary: I read the other reviews and felt I had to add my own. I've had a TracFone for 5+ years now, and never had any problems. I did NOT want a phone for roaming or any other purpose than emergencies and for when my business provider had no nearby towers.
TracFone is great for: those who don't travel out of their local calling area. Kids. People on a fixed income who want the security of having cellular service any time, but don't want the monthly bill. People who can refrain from yammering all day. People who don't want to have humongous "sticker shock" bills when they go over a monthly plan's alloted minutes. People with bad credit. People with no credit.
Coverage: I travel the entire lower peninsula of Michigan, and have only noted lack of signal in an extremely few, very remote areas (Mostly areas with massive hills). When I took a driving vacation from Michigan to southern Louisiana, I had a signal the entire trip. Excellent.
Roaming: Doubles the expense-per-minute, as it deducts two units (each unit is one minute) per minute of airtime.
Suggestion: search TracFone's website with different zip codes for their coverage maps, so you can get a clue of what the "home" (non-roaming, or "local") area will be.
For example: My Zip Code is 49341, which ties in with Grand Rapids. It has coverage from Muskegon all the way to Detroit along the highway without roaming, but if I go north, I'm roaming relatively quickly. Going to the next town over from me, Zip Code 48838, has a home area of the entire lower peninsula of Michigan, with only metro Detroit area "roaming". I had a friend activate my phone at his house, so now my home area is all of lower Michigan, with the exception of Detroit. (Fine with me, my business phone works there.)
Customer Service: When I bought a new phone online, it arrived within 3 days (with free shipping, and the phone was $49.99 with 1 year's activation, no minutes included). When I wanted to transfer the minutes from my old (analog) phone to the new (digital) phone, I was helped immediately and had no problems (I still had 200 minutes left of airtime, so didn't need to buy any minutes). Every time I've ever called TracFone's customer service, they answer almost immediately. Excellent.
Cost: You can't beat full-fledged wireless service (you can even send and receive text messages at the cost of one unit each-if you don't want to pay for one that's been sent to you, delete it without reading it, and it's free.) for $7.92 per month, which includes 150 minutes of talk time (1-year activation with 150 any time minutes for $94.99, plus, when I ordered they had a promotion for 100 free minutes, giving me 250 minutes airtime total.) Add money, of course, for your state's sales tax.
Please note: 911 emergency calls are free.
The minutes never expire as long as you keep service activated. (I currently have over 300 minutes on mine) Even if your service expires, the minutes are still kept for up to 30 days (might be more, I can't remember exactly how long), although your phone number will change, as TracFone has to pay to keep numbers active, so when someone's service stops, the number is "lost".
You can sign up for "double minute" plans, which double the amount of time you get when you purchase airtime cards, as low as 10¢ per minute. You can quit the double minute plans any time, but can't re-sign onto it for 90 days (subject to change).
Excellent.
All in all, if you're a major talker, then NO pre-paid plan is really for you. Get a cheap plan with unlimited night and weekend minutes, and just don't talk during the day.
If you're the type that can refrain from gabbing for hours on end, and only need cellular for emergencies or quick "honey, do we need anything at the store?" type conversations, TracFone is for you.
Also note: the first 14 seconds of any TracFone call are free, so if you were to, say, call home, let it ring for 13 seconds, then end the call, your loved ones know you're on your way, and can call you if they need anything, but you won't have wasted any minutes.
For security/peace of mind, this company is excellent, has always treated me just fine, and I've had them for over five years. They will often have specials for free (reconditioned, usually) phones with 1 year service card purchase (great Chrismas present!), or a bonus 100 minutes with a 1 year card purchase.
The best way to look at TracFone is that you're not paying for minutes (at least, not until you use up your allotment of them), you're paying to always have cell phone service. The minutes are just a free bonus. |
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|  | Customer Service Expertise Lacking/Suggest dealing with a large cellular provider |
| Review By: nwidger on Apr. 26, 2004 |
 Summary: I received my used "reconditioned" free telephone and 150 minutes from TracFone. However, I couldn't complete activation and the customer service people (both via e-mail and telephone) were less than helpful. My advice for those interested in prepaid cellular service is to visit a company store of one of the large cellular providers. Many now have good, inexpensive prepaid service. My new free phone was activated in the store and works very well. |
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|  | DO NOT PAY 50 cents a min.! |
| Review By: CharlieLord on Mar. 10, 2004 |
 Summary: If you want to pay from $1.00 / min then get TracFone.
I found that after I bought the phone and activated it, I was paying 1.00 per min calling from 1 town away from my home.
Do the math. 50cents/min (local upto $1 min roaming) vs. NO ROAMING, 25 cents/min for the first 10 min day then 10cents after that. |
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| Would shop in this store again: NO |
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