Every now and again, we all use our cell phones more than we should. Whether we exceed our voice, text or data plan, very few of us think to check our mobile usage before we get a bill chock-full of overages.
Enter Consumer Cellular’s Usage Alerts, a no-cost feature that monitors our customer’s cell phone use so they don’t have to. Consumer Cellular customers no longer have to worry about their mobile usage-we’ll watch it for them. With our exclusive new Usage Alert service, we will continually monitor our customer’s voice, messaging and data usage. When we see it reaching the amount included in their wireless plan, we’ll send an alert- by email or text. Customers can then either change their plan or adjust their usage habit to avoid any overages. Alerts are sent by phone, text or e-mail, and customers can choose when they’re alerted – at 75, 100, 125 or 150 percent of their monthly plan.
Once they receive the alerts, customers have the option to either:
Pace their usage; or
Upgrade their wireless plan to better fit their lifestyle and avoid overage fees.
As always, what’s important to Consumer Cellular customers is important to us. Remember, there is no need for you to sign up for this new service to benefit from it. The only thing worse than a long term cell phone contract is getting a huge bill. We’ve never had a contract, now we will help make sure our customers do not get surprised by a huge bill ever again.
To learn more, visit: www.ConsumerCellular.com/WhyUs.
Your plans need to clearly show how much the overage charges are for data etc. This info is not easily visible….where is it for data?
Thank you for the feedback, Joseph. Additional use for talk plans is 25¢ per minute for all but the unlimited plan. Additional use for text messages is 10¢ per message except for the unlimited plans. Additional use for web data is 25¢ per MB, for all but the largest plan which is 1.5¢ per MB of web data. You can also see this information on our plans page here. We recommend using our usage alerts to see if it makes more sense to move to a different plan if you foresee needing more minutes, texts or data. We’re happy to speak with you about it if you’d like. Please give us a call at 888-345-5509 if we can answer any questions for you. Thank you for commenting today!
What is eating up all my data and how can I shut it off? Only use my phone for talk and text.
Thank you for asking, Vincent. With a smartphone like your Moto G, you could be using data by going online, using apps or checking email. The best way to ensure you aren’t using data is to make sure your Wi-Fi is turned on. That way, your phone will use Wi-Fi when available, and it won’t use data from your plan. You can also turn the data functionality off when you won’t be using it. To do that, press the Applications button at the bottom of your screen to access your apps. Then, swipe to find your Setting app and open it. Select Data Usage, then make sure the slider is in the “Off” position. We’re happy to walk you through this if you like, just give us a call at 888-345-5509. Thank you commenting, and we hope you have a great day!
How much is your unlimited plan with AARP membership. I understand that you have also a new plan where the landline phone could be connected with the cell phone. What if I want to keep the land line no. instead of the cell phone.
Another question: On my present plan 750 min./month, could I transfer unused calls for the next month?.
I’m happy to answer your questions, Clarita. AARP members receive a 5% monthly discount on service and usage charges. We do have an unlimited calling plan for $47.50 per month for AARP members. We do offer a Wireless Home Phone base, which allows you to use our service with your existing home phone. You can learn more about it here. We’re happy to help you keep your existing phone number! As for your present plan, any minutes you don’t use will not be rolled into the next month. You can change your plan at any time, so if it looks like you won’t need all of your plan minutes, you can move down to the 250 minute plan if that works better for you. If we can answer any other questions you may have or help you with anything else, please call us at 888-345-5509. We’ll be happy to assist you! We appreciate you taking the time to comment, and we hope you have a wonderful day!
How do I check my minutes on my phone. On my old phone I could see my balance, minutes and bill charges. Now do I check this on your plan? I am checking for my sister.
Great question! If your sister has a smartphone, she can view her usage with the My Consumer Cellular app. It may be installed on the phone already, or it can be downloaded from the App Store or the Google Play Store. We’re also happy to provide that information over the phone at 888-345-5509. We appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us today!
Isn’t there a setting to stop data when you reach your max data plan? I have one gig of data and I swear the is a function that can stop all data usage once you reach your limit.
There sure is, Joe! I was able to take a look at your account, and I see that you’re using the Moto G4 smartphone. Open the Settings icon, then select Data Usage. From there, you’ll see an option to “Set cellular data limit”. Tap the slider to enable. From there, you can adjust the limit to whatever you like. If you have any other questions about your data plan or if we can walk you through these steps, please don’t hesitate to call us at 888-345-5509. Thank you for posting, and we hope you have a wonderful day!
How do I get usage alert on my cell phone?
Great question, Walter! Usage Alerts are a great tool for managing your plan. You can enable them in My Account if you like, or we can help you set them up over the phone at 888-345-5509. Thank you for taking the time to post today!
how can my account be charged over 23.00 when the maximum is 20.00
for unlimited calling?
Hi Thomas, all of our plans costs are before taxes. It is likely that the extra $3 is taxes for your area. If you have any further questions about your billing, please call us at 888-345-5509.
Does the new apps. I bring forth uses my data?
Me using messager and facebook on my phone does that also takes up my data?
Hi Charlene, thanks for your post! Those are great questions! Any application that needs an internet connection, such as Facebook or a messenger, will use data if your phone is not connected to a WiFi network. When you are connected to WiFi, the phone will use that connection, much like your computer or a tablet would instead of data, it would only be if you use the apps away from it that the data would kick in so that it can work properly.
how do I set a limited data per phone
Hi Sheila, a mobile data limit can be enabled through the settings on your phone. You’re welcome to call our customer service team at 888-345-5509 or chat with us here and we’ll be happy to help.
Does Consumer Cellular just shut the phone off from being used, say when one is overusing it? I have had that happen today, and can’t get back to where I am on. Can’t call consumer cellular because of that too. If it is, how long do they keep it off, usually? TY, CJ
Hi Gary, thanks for your question. We don’t have a way to turn off service if usage is getting high. You can contact us, this will not count towards your plan if you call us, and we can turn different features off for you if you’d like. We can also go over strategies for how to keep usage down as well. If you would like to contact us about this, give us a call at 800-686-4460 or you can also chat with one of our agents here for further assistance.
I thought there was a plan where you would automatically be switched to the next highest level when usage approaches the maximum. Is this not available?
Hi Mo, thanks for your question! We do offer automatic upgrades for our customers, but not everyone wants to go up to the next level which is why we sent out the alerts. This article was also written originally before we had them in place, I apologize for any confusion that the title caused.
The data overage charges actually are not on your plans page. 25 cents per megabyte is $250 per gig, which is beyond preposterous.
Hi Dave, this post is nearly 10 years old, so some of the information in older responses may not be accurate for our current plans and services. We no longer charge per MB for overages. If you exceed your plan’s limits, you are automatically placed on the next plan that covers your usage instead.
What is the charge to keep high speed data after your 35gb limit runs out. There is nothing on your website that addresses people that use more than 35gb per month. Bumping you to a slower speed after the “unlimited” data runs out makes using the cell phone and working remotely impossible.
Hi Ralph, it is available at $10 per 10GB of additional high-speed data. The maximum allowed in total is 55GB, and any further data can be used at slower speeds until the next billing period.
And what is my solution if I need high speed internet in order to work from home and I use more than 55GB. Low speed will not work to connect me into my workstation. I don’t have vacation time to take off to wait for the next billing cycle and surely can’t risk being fired because we decided to switch phone companies. Where on consumer cellulars website does it says 55GB max. This was all very unclear and misleading.
Hi Ralph, we definitely understand that frustration and we appreciate your feedback on our data plan. We have passed it along as something to be looked into for going forward. At this time though, our highest cap for data is the 55GB of LTE data and then it’s slowed until the cycle starts over again.