While TracFone cell service is convient, consumers have reported several issues with the cell phone service.
TracFone, the sixth most-used cellular carrier in the United States, has over 15 billion users. It is a prepaid cellular service, which many people find useful. TracFones have no hidden costs or fees and do not require contracts or credit checks for activation of service. Despite the benefits of TracFone, several problems do exist with the phone and the service. Customers complain about activation problems, buying and adding minutes, and limited service areas.
Activation Problems
TracFone activation should work simply by visiting the website or calling TracFone customer care. TracFone buyers receive a code when purchasing the phone, and must enter the code into the phone during activation. TracFone users know their phone activation is complete when information about the number of minutes left and time of service left appears on the screen. TracFone users have reported several activation issues, including getting kicked off the toll-free customer service line repeatedly during the activation process, phones never actually becoming activated after following all of the steps, and needing to reactivate the same phone several times after buying it.
Buying and Adding Minutes
Owners of TracFones add minutes to their phones by calling customer service or by buying cards containing minutes and entering a code into the phone manually. Minutes purchased for TracFones do not expire, but users will need to pay for "service time" for the phone. For example, if an owner pays $20 for a 40-minute card, she may get 30 days of service time. When service time runs out, the phone cannot be used until more service time is purchased. Many customers have found that when they purchased more service time, their phones still did not work. Other problems arise when a customer attempts to upgrade his service before the service time runs out, but then uses up all of his minutes while waiting on hold for customer service to answer the call. Another problem with buying and adding minutes relates to customers buying minute cards and the codes on the cards not working. TracFone owners have found it nearly impossible to get refunds on these cards, or to get them activated by customer service.
Lack of Coverage
TracFone users also complain that their TracFones' service area is quite small. Many users find they are only able to use their phone within their own city, and traveling even one county over may cause the phone to lose coverage. TracFone advertises large service areas, but its phones are not international and do not work in Canada or Mexico -- even though both countries sell TracFones. TracFones also cannot dial long-distance without purchasing an expensive long-distance minute card.
Old Phone Models
TracFone offers older phone models for customers to purchase. Many cell users want touchscreens, smart phones or razor-style phones. Most of Tracfone's choices are limited to older flip phones or candy bar-style phones. The clunkiness of these phones makes the phones more difficult to use and often less portable.
Tags: service time, customer service, TracFone users, adding minutes, buying adding, buying adding minutes