Contributor ⭐

Consumer Cellular hidden fees

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
July 11, 2022
27 replies
42016 views

Did you notice the "operational compliance fee" increased 75% on your recent Consumer Cellular bill. There was no notice or substantiation. No wonder they provide an AARP discount since they just make it up in this bogus fee.

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LeeP5060

Contributor ⭐

Yes, I see in every aspect of life this happens, a store will have a great sale, after raising their prices...the entire system is rigged.

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kyjweber

Contributor ⭐

The world around us is now designed to sell, sell, sell at every turn. Making more profit - an increasing bottom line - is what drives the competition. Maybe we should curtail our consumerism?!?!

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ag6476

Contributor ⭐

I'm so over CC. My mom's phone didn't work for six months. I kept calling them and they told me a variety of things each time. The interent in the area went down, then the next one told me we had great internet connection. The volumne was too low then the next one told me that they keep it at 85% but they could increase it to 100%. (She has almost lost all of her hearing and doesnt want to wear a hearing aide.) Then she couldn't dial out to her contacts but there was nothing they could do. Then the next one told me that they were upgrading the teleopones and that's why the lack of service. I constantly asked for a refund since the whole reason I bought this device was for her to have communications with the family. She's 100 years old for God's sake. They told me no because they were able to see that she was able to make a call every once in a while even if she couldn't hear anyone. Then I asked them if they had new phones as I was tired of dealing with them, They said yes but it would be a refurbished one! Now how can that be if they upgraded to a new (maybe 5g) and she's getting a refurbished, almost new, phone! I told the agent I wanted a new phone, and they said no! So we were supposed to get the new one in 3 days but I had to make the request through their insurance company which I did. Two weeks went by and no working phone. I called again. Oops, someone forgot to put in the order! Another week and no refund or discount on the weeks of service that she was without a phone. Sounds like I should be complaining to the AIG or the BBB. I'm so disappointed with their service, it is incredible.

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dax212Author

Contributor ⭐

They've done it again: increased the OCF with no notification or justification. Last year they told me the increase was the first in years and so they didn't expect another increase any time soon. Liars and scoundrels!

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JoeM250146

Contributor ⭐⭐

I am looking at my latest CC bill. I see 2 different areas for fees. Surcharges & Other Charges for $12.32 and the second area, Government Taxes & Fees for $12.65. So $24.97 for the monthly bill. That is about a quarter of my bill. I think it is time to start looking for a new provider.

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ewburger

Contributor ⭐

Government Taxes & Fees are what it sounds like: things the government imposes, like state sales tax, federal tax, 911 tax, 988 tax, universal service fund ( @bkniffin - this is what the USF is), etc.

Surcharges & Other Charges are literally pure profit. The claim will be the FCC requires something for compliance. However, if one looks at most FCC Reports & Orders, they mandate carriers may not charge a line item for compliance. So, if CC has $1 here and $3 there in compliance costs, they bundle them together, call it $28M (thanks @ds75185044 for the calculation), and take home $27.999997M in profit.

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ds75185044

Contributor ⭐

Consumer Cellular has over 4 million customers. The OCF on my last bill was $7.11. That means they collect over $28,000,000 to fund their Compliance Department. Must have a HUGE Compliance Department. Where is government oversight on these types of fees?

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bkniffin

Contributor ⭐

Mine has gone up now to $9.36 as of November 1. Every 2-3 months it goes up another $2 or so. They say it's a Federal fee and they have no control. The Federal USF (whatever that is) rate has gone up as well. They say since it's a federal increase I should speak to the government about why there is no notice. They're not offering any new or increased promotions to offeset these increases. For a company marketing itself to seniors, you'd think they'd do a better job in trying to keep our business.

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ElizabethG812502

Contributor ⭐

This is a "made up" charge. They say that it is to cover the costs of complying with the government requirements, whatever those might be. The government doesn't charge Consumer Cellular the fees that they are passing along to the customers.

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jt53034901

Contributor ⭐⭐

Let's not forget who steered us all to Consumer Celluar to begin with.

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JoeM250146

Contributor ⭐⭐

I guess I forgot. Who are you referring to as who steered us to Consumer Cellular?

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StephenLee

Contributor ⭐

AARP’s 5% discount and promotions…

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AlexS795094

Contributor ⭐⭐

i hear ya. i went with cc becuz of aarp AND they hand hands on in target. well, they dropped the help in target, my bill was creeping up past 30/mos. last straw was they told me i needed to ''upgrade''.

during it they ended up bricking my phone and a NEW one was $400. i went to TELLO, and got a refurbished for $170. mt plan has more than before and it is $9/mos. the taxes and fees bring it to a whopping $9.12!

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ewburger

Contributor ⭐

Well, now that it is 2025, the fee is up to $10.47. Not a fan! There is something to be said for an AARP-promoted provider imposing a pure profit 'fee' of 15%. I switched from T-Mobile. At least when T-Mobile says, "this is the price", it is the price you pay, nothing more. That all said, my savings from T-Mobile is still 12%.

SummerOnTheWay1

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

[4/8/25] @ewburger , are you going to switch back to T-mobile? 🤔 I am on my daughter's plan and all she has had is T-mobile. They have their issues, but she luvs them. Take care, Nicole 👵

[*** @ewburger wrote 4/7/25:
Well, now that it is 2025, the fee is up to $10.47. Not a fan! There is something to be said for an AARP-promoted provider imposing a pure profit 'fee' of 15%. I switched from T-Mobile. At least when T-Mobile says, "this is the price", it is the price you pay, nothing more. That all said, my savings from T-Mobile is still 12%. ***]

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ewburger

Contributor ⭐

@SummerOnTheWay1 - sorry I had not seen your query until now. My experience is similar to @JoeM250146 's. T-Mobile is a no-surprises carrier. Consumer Cellular feels kind of slimy with all these fees that for some reason the CSRs claim they cannot tell you up front. However, CC is less to much less expensive than T-Mobile. Thus, I'm still with CC.

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