Major TracFone Rant

[Twinkles6892]

I have a tracfone, being of little income, it works for me, I buy minutes when I can. Well, I worked a bunch of hours and I bought a nice flip phone with a ton of minutes recently, as I was activating it, I asked to get my old phone number on this new phone (isn't it law they have to do that?), and she told me that since they had already activated this sim card with the new number, I'd need to get a new sim card and call back later, at the same time they'd transfer the minutes from my old phone to my new phone, fine.

So I called today, having grown kind of attatched to my new number, it was easy, just wanting the minutes transferred, well, he deactivated the new number, okay....lets activate the new one with the old number. They're apparently not compatable, so he had to activate the new sim card with a brand new number, okay, i just want my phone back. So he did, and the number sounded funny to me, but no matter, this guy was going to give me free minutes for my trouble. Well, their system went down, and he told me to call them back in an hour to get my free minutes. An inconvenience, but hey, they're free.

So I call back, and they representitive is repeating my area code to me and he says "04410" and I said "no...04401" he then tells me that my sim card was activated in the wrong zip code and they'd need to send me a new sim card to activate it in my zip code, okay, i'll just use the biddeford number until then.

So i go to use my phone, and I can't. I try to call my phone and it tells me that I'm not taking calls. They deactivated my phone without telling me. So i'm pretty mad, and I call back, explain the situation, and ask why my phone was deactivated. She says it's standard procedure, ba-lo-ney. They didn't have to do that before, he messed up. So I ask to have either of them reactivated, they're afraid they can't do that.

I'm so angry right now, I wait and wait and wait for my pretty phone, and now it doesn't even work. I better be getting some major free minutes for this one.

 

[Nancy]

I feel for you, I just had major issues with Tracfone a few weeks ago and now we no longer deal with them. I have had my phone and number for years and over Memorial day I went to Toronto. I used my ohone to call home and call my DD's cell phone (she has verizon) to the tune of 200 minutes of airtime over the whole weekend. About 1 week later I go to use my phone and it doesn't work. I call and they deactivated it because I used it in a foreign country. Yes, it was Canada, but I've used it many times before from there and had no trouble..........plus if I wasn't supposed to use it from Canada why did they let me use up 200 minutes. I asked to reactivate it and they told me to do that I would have to buy more airtime and I'd get a new number. didn't want more airtime, I still had almost 100 minutes left and I wanted my old number. They can't do that, I asked for a refund for my unused minutes, they can't do that either. Also had problems with my youngest DD's phone and after 3 hours (yes, 3 hours) of getting no where with them we transferred all minutes to my DH's phone (so he now has over 500 minutes). I told him to call his brother and talk for hours to use them up and we are done with them.

 

[Kaybee]

Wow that is too bad about your phone. I have had a tracfone for several years and luckily have not had a problem with them yet! Is it really true you can't use this phone while in Canada? We are traveling there in a couple weeks and will be using this to call home to check on my son.

 

[Imzadi]

I feel for you too. I love my Tracfone. I love the cheap price. I HATE the outsourced Customer Service who can't understand English very well. The only downside to Tracfone.

Keep calling CS until you have a rep who can clearly repeat back what you want. Tell them you want to reactivate your phone. That you want the old minutes transfered over. There is no reason they should keep having to give you a new number or deactivate the new phone.

Eat plenty of protein before the call as you'll need the slow burning energy to make it through the whole call with them repeating back everything you say. Be glad it's a toll free call and that you only will have to deal with them once or twice the whole time you have your phone.

 

[Luv'sTink]

Hated it! We had Tracphone for a while and hated it the whole time! We went to Boost and loved Boost, however we just signed with Verizon because we could add a phone to my Moms plan for 10 bucks a month.

 

[Twinkles6892]

I have all the minutes trasferred and such, and I asked her to reactivate the sim card that was originally registerred in my zip code, she can't do that. I better be getting some major bonus minutes. I asked how many I'd be recieving and she said she'd have to check with her supervisor. When I reactivate I'm just going to ask to speak to the supervisor.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

sorry you are going through that! sounds like a real P.I.T.A!

 

[720L]

I have been thinking of getting a tracphone but it sounds like maybe i dont want one! I have verizon right now and never had any problems, I just want a cheap plan and they dont have that.

 

[Nancy]

Wow that is too bad about your phone. I have had a tracfone for several years and luckily have not had a problem with them yet! Is it really true you can't use this phone while in Canada? We are traveling there in a couple weeks and will be using this to call home to check on my son.

That is what they told me. They said to do so you have to buy an international phone card and add those minutes to your phone because Canada is a foreign country. They told me I violated my contract with them (I thought with Tracfone there was no contract) so they deactivated me with no notice. If I were you I would call their customer service number and find out before you use it from there. Like I said, I've used in many,many times from Canada, I go there all the time, BuT this time they chose to let me use 200 minutes of airtime and then deactivated me. My SIL, who has Virgin mobile, couldn't use her phone at all up there, all she got was busy signals.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

I understand your pain.

I have had a Tracfone for s couple years now. A few months ago, I bought a new phone (the flip phone). I was told that my old number could be transferred to the new phone, but it would take a few days. After several days, I called back and was told they were still working on it. A few more days go back and when I call I am told that they can't switch the number. I stated that I was told they could and I'd been waiting while it was done. They then told me that they were never able to do it and didn't know why I was told that it could.

I finally got a number and bonus minutes. I would have dropped them, but I had just spent all that money on a new phone and minutes. So, I am still with them.

DH also uses them for his work phone. At first no problems, but then he upgraded his phone. The caller ID and voice mail NEVER worked. I spent many hours on the phone, trying to fix it. Eventually, he just got a different phone.

We are still with them though. What the heck does that say about me?

 

[Nancy]

I feel for you too. I love my Tracfone. I love the cheap price. I HATE the outsourced Customer Service who can't understand English very well. The only downside to Tracfone.

Did you destroy the first SIM card? The one with the phone number you like? There is a possibility that you can get the phone reactivated with the same SIM card. Do you have any minutes you can add onto the phone online?

Once I let my phone be deactivated when the expiration date was up, I actually wanted the number changed. I even waited a few days before reactivating online. When I used the same SIM card, it gave me back the same phone number. When I called CS, they told me it would do that.

If you don't have minutes to add on, keep calling CS until you have a rep who can clearly repeat back what you want. Tell them you want to reactivate your phone. That you want the old minutes transfered over. There is no reason they should keep having to give you a new number or deactivate the new phone.

Eat plenty of protein before the call as you'll need the slow burning energy to make it through the whole call with them repeating back everything you say. And be glad it's a toll free call.

That's not how it worked for me, I had my old sim card and they insisted they can not give me the same number. I also had to purchase more minutes to reactivate my phone even though I still had more than a month left on my phone and close to 100 minutes. With my daughters phone they determined the problem was the phone and they were going to send us a new one.......but again when that phone came in we would have to get a new number. I talked to so many different people and so many supervisors and after three hours I finally admitted defeat. We all have Verizon now and we love the phones.

 

[pumba]

I have had my phone for two or so years and I upgraded to the flip one and I love it.....got hubby the other type and he calls it my other phone......I just do not need a cellphone but the thought of being someplace with no phone made me get mine and one for hubby.....he is on some back roads on the way to work at five am so I feel that he can be a call away fast...