TracFone Wireless
Reviews and Complaints

I have been with tracfone for many years, never had a problem, and have upgraded phones all along. I got a new phone about 3 months ago, triple everything, great. So I'm heading to town the other day and my truck overheated, so I pulled over and tried to call for help. Although this is the same road in the same zip code I live in, I had full bars showing, and I couldn't make a call out. I kept getting a message that I didn't have service. This is July and my service is until Sept. or so it says on the phone . So when I got home, I called customer service, and the total nightmare began. I was informed by the guy on the phone that my phone wouldn't work off of t-mobile towers, and I needed a new sim card. I explained that I have used that phone all the way from the town I was near to call home (all same zip area), and he still insisted I needed the new sim. A few hours later a lady called me from trac, and told me I would have a new phone sent to me, this was last week, Today I get a email from them, saying my phone was delivered today in N.Y. The problem, I live in Missouri. So I called them again, and was on the phone for 2 1/2 hours, for them to tell me The new phone was being sent out today, a week later. I never could get an answer as to why the phone wouldn't work, that had just worked 2 weeks before when I used it. They were also going to send me a old, old phone that is not even listed on the website, nor is it one I want. It has the very small numbers to use to call out, I told them that's why I got rid of the other phone I had, because it was too difficult to use. I like the big numbers, because I have fat fingers, and can't see all that great anymore. He said well, it's already sent. So I informed him, that I would not except it from the FedEx man, he said well you have to, and then send it back, I told him in no uncertain words, that I wasn't about to pay gas for 100 mile trip to go to a FedEx place and then pay them to process the package. That I would not except delivery. This was after I had told the same story to 8 people prior to him. Finally I ask him out right, did tracfone and T-Mobile merge, and he told me no, that they use their towers or some crap, And he gave me another ticket no. so I can call back in 24 hours to find out what's going on. I told him they were making my chest hurt with all the crap I had to go through on their phone number, just to talk to a human. I was also told I would have a new phone number. I am 60, and disabled with terrible memory problems, and this is about the biggest plate of crap that anyone could be served from this company. I am still fighting with these people, and it is making me physically ill. I refused the delivery, and called them back yesterday, and after 20 minutes talking to one person, I was again transferred to a person in Corporate, and after going through the whole deal, I was told I would have to wait 48 more hours. This is on them since they sold me a phone that came up as working in my zipcode area, and then suddenly change the towers, so my phone doesn't work. The kicker is that the very phone I have is still listed on the website as working in my area. I don't know what has changed with Tracfone, but it isn't the same as when I signed up all those many years ago.

I have been a customer of tracfone for approx 4 years. I am a prepaid customer and buy minutes and time as I need them. On 6-24 my phone stopped working. Called customer service and found out they had switched my phone number to someone else and changed my status to inactive so I can't make or get calls. I did not contact tracfone and I did not request any change. Advised I never authorized the change nor did tracfone contact me in anyway about this. So the person stole my phone number and my service was cut off and tracfone says sorry, they can't do anything about it. This is pure FRAUD. So now I am out the price of the phone, the minutes I paid for and time. Plus I lost the phone number I have had for 9 or 10 years and have to contact banks, insurance and lots of friends, family and business to tell them not to call me at that number. So be aware that if you are a tracfone customer, anyone can request your phone number and it can be taken away from you, your service made inactive without your being contacted or authorizing any change. I have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and asked them to investigate.

I reactivated my tracfone phone which prior to reactivation had over 900 minutes. I am a long term customer of tracfone and in the past experienced very had good customer service and support. This was not the case here. The Cebu Call Center and in particular Jolly Lao - Supervisor was so RUDE and lacked or had No Customer Satisfaction orientation She informed me that since I missed the reactivation by 1-2 days she was not able to provide any further assistance. Here supervisor REFUSED to get involved and get on the phone to provide Customer Satisfaction obviously due to the poor phone management of Jolly. Jolly Manager's name is Maryehel Aquino. I can tell you that going forward I will not be recommending Tracfone. There are so many other options in the US and I will make sure my complaint and dissatisfaction gets noticed about the POOR Customer Service and experience recently received. I really expected a different Call Center experience, that a Happy Customer is a Returning Customer. In their opinion, they basically were saying with such actions to go get your Customer Satisfaction from our competitors. We certainly will not miss you. HOW RUDE! I hope you speak to both Jolly and Maryehel about there attitude towards Customer Satisfaction. I hope they are warned and or possibly fired. You can not expect to run a business this way. I welcome response back.

I called a tracfone agent to add minutes to my account. I told them about issues pertaining to my phone and gave them my serial number they added the minutes to someone else's phone. Minutes I purchased. Then when my minutes never added to my phone I realized there was a problem. So I called a tracfone agent, asked to speak to a manager and she told me they would reissue my minutes after they sent me a new SIM card. Because it wasn't my fault the minutes were added to the wrong number. When I received my SIM card in the mail I called to add the minutes and they told me they could not add the minutes. I pretty much lost $29. By allowing them to add the minutes to a strangers phone.

Tracphone sent me two new sim cards because their reps couldn't figure out how to transfer my current number. Everytime they sent a new sim card it had a different phone # not the number I was transferring. They do not even know how their system works!

I will throw phone away once these minutes are gone ( that is if I can even make a call) Do not do business with this company!
Walmart is partially to blame for allowing these types of unqualified vendor's in their stores.

Be careful when you purchase a Trac Fone. I purchased the LG840G at my local Wal-Mart. When I tried to activate the phone on line I was informed that the phone would not function in my area. I called customer support only to be told that they would send me a replacement phone that would work. The original LG840G I purchased had triple minutes for the life of the phone and that is one of the reasons that I selected that particular phone. When I ask support if the phone that they were replacing it with would have triple minutes they told me that it would not. I was told they would send me a prepaid package to return the LG840G. I was then told that if I did not return it my service would be terminated. So here it is, I am sending back a $50.00 phone that had triple minuted for what I think will be a lesser model with double minutes. I will not get a refund for the more expensive phone I purchased nor will I get the triple minutes. I am not sure why the phone will not work but I would think if they sell the phone at my local Wal-Mart, it should work in my area. Not a good deal.

Talking to customer service is like talking to a computer. There is no thinking going on. I spent 11 days without a phone because my defective one was being replaced. The first person I talked to, mailed me a new phone. The next 2 people tried to activate the phone, but were ineffective. The third person discovered that the new phone had a new SIM card installed with a number different from the one I was replacing. It took another 4 days to receive a new SIM card. And, of course, all of my contacts have to be manually reinstalled. This service is very frustrating. The service reps do not speak good English, so entering 100 numbers in the code entry is very difficult. This whole affair took 4 hours of my time, and I consider my time valuable. I do believe that I will find another provider when my minutes expire.

Although their website (http://www.tracfoneild.com/destinations.aspx) states:
"International Destinations include cities within the countries listed below. " and Belgium (32) is one of those countries listed you cannot make calls to landline telephones in city code 71 (Charleroi). I have been through repeated calls to Customer Service (Ghana and corporate) and have been simply told that we do not provide service to that city code. (There may be others but that is one of the ones that I want to call) I filed a complaint with the BBB Miami and today a rep from Tracfone called me back to confirm that they do not provide service to City code 71 in Belgium, probably the second largest population area in Belgium. When questioned why she simply stated their carrier did not provide it. When questioned about the website statement, she stated she would let management know. I asked for a refund and she would only refund the last $20 card (120 minutes) when I have 241 minutes left on the phone.
Everyone need to be aware that when Tracfone says "cities within a country" they don't necessarily mean all cities.
I would not recommend Tracfone to anyone and when I burn up these minutes I am going to another carrier.

Purchased a Tracfone LG 440G at Walmart-Titusville, Florida 32780 on Monday 26th August 2013 in 'GOOD FAITH' that I would be able to make National & International calls i.e. United Kingdom.

The packaging clearly stated that I'd be able to make International calls however after spending 6 hours on the phone being 'bounced' around five different Tracfone Helpdesk operators. It was eventually explained to me that "Restriction-54" means I'm NOT allowed to make International calls! I want my money back NOW or the service that I paid for!

DON'T BUY FROM THEM! Everyone should be made aware of they unethical working code of practice. They are nothing short of being 1stClass Scam artist. From a very Angry Customer :o(

I saw an ad for a TranFone that said triple minutes for the life of the phone and I asked the sales guy about it and he said I would get triple minutes. When I activated the phone, I was told that phone only has double minutes for the life of the phone. When I complained, their idea of fixing the problem was to give me a $20 phone card. I complained to the main office and all they do is send me the same form letter over and over and said to continue to work with the Buena Park store and the problem with that is, the Buena Park store doesn't want to do anything about it.

Bought a tracfone at Walmart to call a landline number in Germany. Although the instructions indicated it would work overseas, it did not.
Then the nightmare began. Spent upwards of 45 minutes on hold on 3 separate occasions to no avail.
In the interim, I returned to Walmart for help but they were not about to refund me anything but the cost of the phone $10. I had $30 worth of useless minutes they didn't seem to care about. They did, however give me the number of a person named Joan at Tracfone who was very sympathetic at first and vowed to help me get the issue resolved. She said I would be hearing from Juanita. She also gave me Juanita's number in the event I didn't hear from her. Well, surprise... I didn't hear from Juanita; so I called her and she, too, was reassuring...initially.
Well, all their promises to set a code and get the phone to work as it should, failed. When I called back, I had to leave several messages w/both Juanita and this supervisor, Joan. Suddenly their interest in being helpful stopped. They never returned my calls.
I finally got relief from my local Walmart. Although it was like pulling teeth, Walmart did the right thing and fully refund me after hearing what I went through at Tracfone. I would advise anyone even considering buying one of these phones to avoid it like the plague. Don't say you haven't been warned.

To Whom, it may concern, This is my written request to Cancel Any Service & Request a Refund of Purchased Phone & Unlimited Air card Total $85.59- I was told on May 30th 2012 a new phone would be sent out- via FED-X 3days. After several Days of trying to get service with phone. I had a Total of Half of a Days Use out of phone & air time prior to porting my old number, then I lost all use completely. Several calls/hours/days later I was told they were sending out a new phone. (ticket# [protected]-Operator Betsy# 48837) Today is 6/6/13 and I have Not received a new phone ~ old phone still not in service. I am disputing the charges with my bank and expect a full refund of Phone & Unlimited Air card purchased as a pkg deal. I was not able to use phone or air time One Entire Day! The phone will be returned when I receive a Return Authorization Number Per the Warranty Service Information. Or I will just send it Certified Mail to BrightPoint Reverse Logistics. That is up to you. Be Assured the Better Business Bureau and FCC will be informed of the poor service all around. Rest assured if I have a problem with returns & refunds, I will pursue all avenues/means necessary to receive my refund. As a matter of fact they are receiving a copy of my request along with yours.
Posted on every site possible: I want to speak to Everyone that has had any type of service with Net10wireless or Tracfone and has had trouble with the service or no service or no help with trouble with phone or service. Please join me in putting them out of business. Send your Complaints to Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commission and the ACC. If we all pull together maybe the company will either go under and stop taking people’s money or they will be forced to restructure

I've been with this company for just a week and all i got is headaches!. Such terrible business i've encountered in my life. It took about 3 days just to activated and get my phone going. Talk to numerous representatives who could barely understand my language. And now, here I am on the last straw. My phone got deactivated, call customer support and till now could not to anything about it. all i got are plain excuses just to brush me off the phone. Could you please do your job with haste?.

Purchased a Tracfone from Home Shopping Network and have experienced nothing but frustration. When I was told that verizon released my present cell phone number i activated my new tracfone. Everything seemed great and I completed a number of calls but soon discovered that my incoming calls were going to my old phone. Some texts came to my new phone but some came to my old phone. I have tried to rectify this problem over the last 3 weeks. Each attempt has left me more infuriated. You can not get results unless you have an adequate amount of free time to be put on hold and redirected to department after department. each time I was asked to perform the same mundane tasks. yesterday after 2 hours I thought I finally had the problem solved–think again. I was waiting for a new sim card when i was informed by a potential tutoree that my cell phone was not working. It seems that Tracfone canceled my present cell phone number and therefore my Verizon phone does not work. I am still paying for this service but have no phone. I specifically told them that i did not care if my tracfone was shut off because i don’t use it but they never told me that my old phone would not work This was after they admitted the glitch was their fault.. As a newly retired math teacher i plan on subsidizing my income by tutoring. I have given potential students this cell phone number that does not work. I was told today that there was nothing tracfone could do as the new sim card is in transit. I am still awaiting this new card to see if it will indeed fix the problem. because i purchased this phone from HSN and my problem is with Tracfone I feel that the problem is complicated.

I activated a new tracphone I had purchased online at the Tracphone website it gave me double minutes for life. I had also purchased at the local Express Convience Store 120 minutes card. I called the 800 number to activate in the automated system. I also allowed me to add minutes if I had purchased them which I did. The phone activated and I received 10 minutes for activation. I waited over 2 hours for the minutes to appear but they didn't so I called the 800 number back and got a live rep. She said there was an error in the system and she would have to hand me over to a supervisor. This person said that the Express had sold me a double minutes for life card (now why would I buy that when the phone I purhased gives me that for life) but that she could convert what I had to 60 minutes and then the phone would double that to 120, but that the store wouldn't have to fix the problem for me. I took it but I did thank her for screwing me over and that I would be listing my complaint onliine, which she could have cared less about! Buyer beware!

I was buying some airtime time to add to my TracFone. I selected the $19.99 60 minutes/90 days option and proceeded to enter my card information and such. Everything went smoothly, but after I just confirmed the purchase, it billed for the $9.99 one with only 30 minutes and 30 days. I know it was not a user error either because I remember distinctly looking at the final price with tax and whatnot factored in. It was $21.53. I even saved the final $9.99 receipt page (using Mozilla Archive Format with faithful snapshot enabled) and then clicked back and it showed me the same $21.53 that I selected.

I instantly called customer support to get the issue resolved. I got an Indian woman who I could mostly understand, but I needed to devote more of my attention to making words out.

They couldn't do anything. They don't offer any refunds of any kinds. I learned there is supposed to be a step in the TracFone website right before checking out that says "Accept or Reject", about the terms that purchases are non refundable. There is NOTHING of the sort. Nothing. I would have known because by selecting nothing, it wouldn't have let me check out otherwise. The only thing that I was shown was cancel order or continue. And by pressing continue, it instantly "accepts" without your consent.

Stay FAR away from the website. I should have known better. A couple days ago attempting to even get to their airtime page was showing security certificate problems. I waited for that to blow over and thought they had everything under control. How "convenient" for them that the step that tells you you can't get no refunds and prompts you to accept that is faulty. My browsers are up to date and I know computers. This is all on their end.

This may only be a $10 something mistake, but I'm still thinking about maybe hashing it out with my credit union. That $10 could have been used on something more important. Plus, by "accepting" this, I was forced to buy something I don't want. I don't want to create a bigger issue though if TracFone is like "Where's my money, I sent you the minutes?" but at the same time I don't want to be walked on. I will explore options first.

(And another thing I feel like mentioning is that the antennas used in their more recent phones are much weaker than older models. Their newer phones have worse antennas and receive less signal. I've compared an older phone by side with my newer phone and the older one sees a signal (though faint) where the new one sees nothing.)

Do not waste your money and time to buy this prepaid phone. I had an issue of SIM card and I called customer service and I was held over 1 hour. And they still didn't solve the problem. They gave me the ERROR TICKET # so that I can call after 24 hours and I can re-start the SIM card problem solution. I have no idea what kind of company it is. Anyway, please please please do not waste your money to buy this phone and prepaid card (I already got 120 airtime but never could use) and also once you have a problem with this phone you will be wasting your valuable time on the customer service.

I am wondering why they are still in service. I was told about 4 months ago when I didn't get my minutes that it was my phone because it was so old (bought in 2009) that I needed to buy a new phone. Was transferred over 5 times and on hold for 2 hours.. Supervisor said they would not do it again (give me my PAID minutes) that I had to buy a new phone. Then I tried to cancel service on Friday and was till charged on my credit card beause their website didn't cancel all 3 of my phones. I am now on hold over and hour again, they refuse to reimburse my charges and tell me I have to call back because it is not letting them cancel the services. This company is a RIP OFF and THEY SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN. They have people who can not understand you and you can't understand them. All they keep saying is that darn script "I understand your issue" NO THEY DON"T because if they did I WOULDN"T BE ON THE PHONE OVER AN HOUR!