Complaint Review: TracPhone

Considering A Trac Phone? Read this first                                                                                                          

In 2017 I purchased a new Trac Phone, paid a year in advance for 3 years before deciding to move to a different carrier. Upon leaving paid an additional year in advance so that no balance was left. On 11/05/2021 I found the paid phone and decided to call Trac Phone to have them unlock the phone.

To my amazement, they first attempted to try and get me to re-start service, when that didn’t work, they told me the 3 year old paid for Trac Phone purchased from them was unable to be un-locked. Why might you ask! Because an additional year of service would have to be purchased. That’s right you read correctly “An additional year of service would have to be purchased”. It get’s better folks. When I complained to the young lady she told me she would transfer me to another department and yes rudely transfers me before I could even complete my sentence “Why” Why am I going to pay you for a service I don’t want before unlocking my paid device.

It get’s better. I am then transferred to India “No not Indiana” India where a supervisor gets online and tells me to let him look at options so that we can get the phone unlocked today at no charge. I starting to act like a fox in a hen house. Needless to say I got that smiled knocked off quickly. After coming back to the phone after being on hold he tells me that the system is giving him an issue unlocking the phone, but hold on he’s trying. 10 minutes later he returns and says the system is telling him I would need to pay an unlock fee. Yep, you heard me “Un-lock Fee” but he is trying to override and investigate getting around it.

I quickly stopped him and told him no he is not, he is trying to find a way to tell me I am being black mailed into paying a fee to unlock a paid for 3-year-old agreement. He promises me that if I hold on just a few more minutes he would find a way. By this time I’ve already figured I’m doomed. Sure enough and and true to form he comes back on the phone and tells me that in order to unlock the phone I’d have to agree to a 1 year agreement, however, 11 months would be waived thereby owing only $12 and don’t forget tax to proceed with unlocking my phone. I refuse to repeat my response on the grounds that I will indeed be found guilty.

If this is the agreement that was made with the FCC of which they are one of the only carriers I’m aware that entered into an agreement due to bad behavior, which can be found here:  fcc.gov/device-unlocking-faq   it is a complete sham and scandalous.  So before you go run and get that shiny new Trac Phone “Think twice there are much better choices out there.