Complaints
This profile includes complaints for Lively's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 225 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 55 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
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Submit a ComplaintThe complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.
Initial Complaint
Date:01/19/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On Dec. 29, I ordered phone service for my 103-year-old mother to use while she's in the hospital. The phone came, but it shows another person's name on caller Id when she calls someone. I sent an email about this, but there was no response. As it turns out, the phone is too difficult for her to use, so I want to return it under the 30-day return policy. Evidently, the 30-day return policy is a scam; I waited 45 minutes on hold today when I called to get a return mailing label and cancel the phone. The person who eventually answered said she was unable to do that and I should call back tomorrow! And what? Wait another 45 minutes to talk to someone else who can't or won't help me? What a lousy company! Also, I received an email 2 weeks ago saying my first month's payment had been processed and got a letter today saying they'd been unable to process my payment. When I went online to check my credit card information, the page would not accept my perfectly good credit card 3 times; after that, I got an "oops" page when I tried to log on to my account. What a scam! I want to cancel this account and I want to send back the phone before my so-called 30 day trial period has expired--they seem to just be stalling me until it's too late. Please send my the appropriate information and label to do so and refund my money. I can't imagine how this company has been in business for so long. It's awful!
Business Response
Date: 01/25/2023
Please see attachments.Initial Complaint
Date:01/17/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Our father has an account with Lively. He went into hospice care in October and I contacted the company to request they stop service. They have continued to send bills for each month thereafter. My sister contacted them via phone after his death in November and sent them a copy of his death certificate. They continue to send bills and are now asking for $73.95. His account is 3839432. His name was *** ****. His address *** **** *** ** ******** ** **********. I would appreciate if you could ask them to cancel his account, cease contacting us, and cancel his remaining bill. Thank you.Business Response
Date: 01/24/2023
Please see attachmentInitial Complaint
Date:01/14/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I ordered a Lively Flip phone for a relative for use in a nursing home. Unfortunately, she was unable to comprehend the use of the phone or hear the device. I call Lively and cancelled services. The agent did cancel the service and advised that charges for the phone and activation would be refunded upon return of the phone. The agent advised a return label would be mailed to my home address for return of the phone. I contacted Lively two weeks later regarding the lack of a return label but received no reply. I am willing to return the device but am unable to learn from Lively of a valid return address or obtain a return authorization number. I have been a customer of Lively for my own phone and have been very happy and am now disappointed in the company for this incident.Business Response
Date: 01/24/2023
please see attachedInitial Complaint
Date:01/06/2023
Type:Status:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I have not had phone service on my Jitterbug phone for 3 days. I have tried calling the customer service waiting on hold for hours.Business Response
Date: 01/19/2023
Response is attached.Initial Complaint
Date:01/06/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
My handicap mother's phone has no service because they say they haven't received payment but they have cashed the money orders. They want more money for service. She shouldn't have to pay twice. She lives alone and now has no phone. They are unreasonable. This phone is for emergencys and she's on SSI. I've sat on hold for hours trying to get help. She pays her bills, and they cash the money orders and are giving her no service.Business Response
Date: 01/09/2023
Good morning ******,
We received the below complaint #******** and were unable to locate an account with the information provided. If you could please ask the complainant for the account or cell phone number of the user, we would appreciate it.
Kind regards,
****************************;| Lead Care Operations Specialist
BestBuy Health Rescue Team
p | ************
****************, Suite 100 | ********, ** 92008
Initial Complaint
Date:10/19/2022
Type:Status:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Contacted Lively on 10-12-22. Asked to stop service due to customer death. Acct is up to date. Phone was disconnected during call - didn't even say goodbye. Received bill on 10-17 for $35.87. Contacted Lively on 10-19-2022 to question bill. Spoke with "*******" Advised that this was not a final bill - initially was told it covered 9/11/22 thru 10/10/22 and service was disconnected on 10-12. Then I was told 3 times that the bill covered thru 10/11. I said that could not be correct as it as not what was on bill. I was told that was correct. I asked to speak with mgr. I was on hold for atleast 15 minutes. Then ****** advised bill would be waived. I told her I needed to speak with mgr and that she could tell the mgr that I was not satisfied with the service and that I would contact the BBB. I was put on hold and then "Trish" came on phone. She sounded as if she was in a rush but said that was not true. I verified dates on bill were 9-11-22 thru 10-10-22. I advised that ****** provided misinformation. I asked for final bill. She could not give it to me and advised that no one could, because it was automatically generated. I advised it had been a week since acct was closed. She could not help. I asked for location of headquarters. I was advised it was in Carlsbad. I asked if she could tell me who was in charge of customer service. She would not. She referred me to address to communicate. I advised that we they had lost us permanently as a customer and that I would contact BBB. At this point I am just trying to get final bill. If someone from Lively could tell me final amt owed then they won't need to bother with us anymore.Business Response
Date: 10/27/2022
see attachments.Customer Answer
Date: 10/27/2022
Better Business Bureau:
I consider this closed.
Regards,
******** *************
Initial Complaint
Date:09/29/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I purchased a jitterbug phone for my 80 yyear old dad. I got phone in mail. Called and activate the service. The support guy from lively said I would not come out of my account for a couple days. Realized the next day the cell had no Sim card call lively back and canceled the service. The customer service guy canceled my account said to watch for my refund even gave me a receipt # .So 7 days later no refund. Called lively back ask where my refund was. Said it had no been sent to financial dept for review. So once again wait for refund. I'm betting in another 7 days I'll be calling back once again.Business Response
Date: 10/05/2022
Please see attachmentInitial Complaint
Date:09/18/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
My debit card was hacked. I spoke with their fraud department multiple times. They ensured that I would not have to pay for the bill and the account has been marked as fraud. Lively is still pursuing me for the bill and are threatening to send the bill to collections. Lively has spoken with my bank about the fraud as well.Business Response
Date: 09/20/2022
Please see the attached.Initial Complaint
Date:09/10/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On April 10, 2021, I purchased and picked up the Lively Mobile Plus All-in-One Medical Alert device from Best Buy. This device is for my 87-year-old mother, who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The device would frequently show my mother in the wrong location (Atlanta, Georgia) while she was at home in Pittsburgh. We have made over 20 calls to lively and have been given several replacement devices. The original serial number was: ***************. The device has never correctly worked and rarely showed her in the correct location. As much as we wanted to cancel this service, we taught my mom how to use this device, and we don't want to confuse her with something new. We have received a refund for 3 of the 17 months we have used the service. We want a refund for the other 14 months (14 * $50) that have not accurately worked, further putting my mom at risk of her having an accident and medical professionals showing up at the wrong location. We recently had a stressful phone call with a Lively employee that refused to transfer us to a supervisor and explained that it was our fault for not canceling the product and failing to understand the situation. Every time we would try to get transferred to a supervisor, we got hung up on, which was incredibly frustrating. I want my mom to be safe. We are transitioning to a new device and want a refund for the many hours we have spent on the phone for the device to never correctly work. Thanks for your help.Business Response
Date: 09/23/2022
please see attached...Initial Complaint
Date:09/05/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I purchased a Jitterbug smart 3 phone with Lively service for my wife, Trudy Risser, on July 2 at Best Buy in Medford, Oregon. When she called me on my cell or home phone, the caller ID said ***** ***** was calling. The salesman at Best Buy assured us that would be fixed in a couple of days. When is wasn't fixed, I called Lively Custom Service and was told it would be fixed within 30 days. (Interesting--the period for a full refund for the phone is 30 days.) I waited patiently for 30 days. My wife doesn't use the phone because her friends will not answer to ***** *****. Sometime after 30 days a Lively rep gave us a new number, ************. Same problem only now it's ****** ******. Now, two months have gone by. I have spent more than six extremely frustrating hours with various Lively customer service (sic) reps trying to simply get a phone number that belongs to ***** ******, not ***** ***** or ****** *****r! Out of all the people I talked with, only one ******, seemed to really try to fix the problem. The best he could come up with was "3 to 5 days" until it will be fixed. Guess what--that was almost two weeks ago! I'm too frustrated to spend much more time with Lively and the best I can get from Best Buy is a store credit for the price of the phone. We actually like the phone but we want a number that belongs to ***** ******, not someone else.Business Response
Date: 09/09/2022
Please see attachment.Customer Answer
Date: 09/10/2022
I just called my land line (Spectrum) and cell phone (Verizon), both say ****** *****r is calling. Lively's response is frankly infuriating. If they would spend half the time fixing the problem that they spent on the complaint, the problem would have been solved. First, if all their phones are supposed to say "Wireless caller," where did ***** ***** and ****** ****** come from? Second, I really question their accusation that Spectrum and Verizon haven't updated their data bases in two months. Thirdly, do they really expect the customer to troubleshoot this problem with all the phone companies of people who might call my wife? And, lastly, they asked me to wait 30 days for someone else to fix their problem--conveniently beyond the 30 day time limit for a refund. Their response offers no real solution. They just want us to wait longer. It's now been two and a half months. When I talked with the Best Buy store about a return, all they could offer was a store credit for the price of the phone.Business Response
Date: 09/12/2022
Please see attachment.Customer Answer
Date: 09/19/2022
Sadly and frustratingly Lively has chosen to try to explain away the problem rather than to fix it. Their second rebuttal blames other companies for not "updating their respective caller ID databases." Let's see, that's Verizon and Spectrum that I know of and Lively is blaming them for not updating their data bases for three months! Why am I suspicious of this accusation? Secondly, they say all their caller ID tags should display "Wireless Caller" and yet I've had two phone numbers from them, both with individual names attached to them. But, I can't get either Wireless Caller or my wife's name on it? Thirdly, they concluded that changing the number solved the problem. It did not solve the problem, just changed to a different name. They did apologize for any inconvenience the situation may have caused. So, I'm now at someplace close to ten hours and still have no evidence that anyone at Lively has made the slightest attempt to actually solve the problem! Someplace in that organization there is a tech support person who would say, "oh here, let me fix that. It'll only take about 30 seconds." But alas, after nearly three months I have no option but to find a company that will provide us with the right number and name.
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