Complaint Review: Great Call

I had been impressed with their ads for some time. I thought the phone would be great for my mom. She is over 90, low income and needed to cut costs and have only one affordable phone service.  I researched the 'Jitterbug' phone for her. I read and reread their advertisements, checked out their website and made a list of questions.  I called at least twice and spoke with their customer service representatives making sure I got all my questions answered and could dismiss my concerns. I asked their phone rep. "Will my mom be charged for incoming calls or calls not initiated by her?" I was told "No, our customers are never charged for calls not initiated by their Jitterbug phone. I was surprised because I know that so many companies and or plans (but not all) do charge for incoming calls.  I provided this feedback to mom so she could make a decision about going forward with this phone service. She cancelled her land phone, came off a different cell phone plan and purchased her Jitterbug phone with 100 minute service. Family members agreed we would call her and if she called us we would promptly end the call and call her back.  We couldn't figure out what was going on with the escalating bill until two months later when we found out I had been lied to. She was being charged for all her incoming calls and was paying premium $ for all minutes over her 100 minute plan.  I and my brother called Great Call trying to resolve this billing problem. They said they had incoming call logs they could research to see if I really had been misinformed (which they assured me none of their reps. would have done).  First they researched the wrong number. After providing the correct phone number they said their research found no such call. There is no doubt whatsoever about the incorrect information given me. I explained my moms low income situation (public aide). I attempted to negotiate the balance owed (about $410). I spoke with Mr. Andrew Conder in Financial at X7263 several times. He suddenly dropped the ball on the whole issue. He no longer returned my calls.  All their customer representatives are over eager to please (instructed to kill with kindness) until you have a real issue/problem and then their whole demeanor changes and there's nothing that can be done for you. "Just Pay. Pay Now. You Must Get This Paid. Nothing We Can Do....Just Pay Now." They just want their money for service that they lied to you about and they absolutely DO NOT CARE. Consumers and Especially SENIORS BEWARE OF THIS PREDITOR!! P.S.: Their website touts 'People You Can Count On'?!#?!!