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    ComplaintsforAppalachian Wireless

    Mobile Phone Service
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    Complaint Details

    Note that complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. See details.

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    Complaint Status
    Complaint Type
    • Complaint Type:
      Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      We purchased 2 phones ,we decided to return because they didnt get any service where we live,we returned them the day after we got them,They said we would receive a refund back minus 70.00 for restocking fee for phones that were never acctivated,then sent a bill for taxes which we paid,and we were to get a refund witin 45 days ,which is getting close to 60 days now,and still no refund.Dont do any good to call,they just rude to you and hang up

      Business response

      05/17/2022

      Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/18) */ I am in receipt of your complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Our return policy on the first page of our service agreement states that "Appalachian Wireless will refund and mail deposits paid within 60 days to customer's home address if service is terminated." I have checked with our Accounting Department and the refund has been issued, check number XXXXXX. You should be receiving that check within the next week. I apologize for the inconvenience and that you were unable to get service at your home. If you have any further questions you can reach me at the number listed below.
    • Complaint Type:
      Billing Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      I am not able to utilize the wifi calling feature on my phone. This should be offered in my service area and it is extremely frustrating that I have an iphone 11pro max that I can't even call out on because I rarely have service and the wifi calling feature does not work.

      Business response

      03/10/2022

      Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/02/09) */ I am in receipt of your complaint to the Better Business Bureau. The handset that you currently have includes the option for Wi-Fi calling. In order to take advantage of Wi-Fi calling you will need a different SIM card to make it work. You can visit any Appalachian Wireless location and they can get that taken care of for you as long as you are the account holder or an authorized user. Thank you for choosing Appalachian Wireless.
    • Complaint Type:
      Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      I have cell phone service with Appalachian Wireless. I have to call multiple times a month because my service will stop or be slowed down when it comes to sending any message with data. I call and they check my phone it is set correctly. I am requesting my service not be slowed down due to usage or peak times. I am requesting a billing adjustment also for the hassle the last 7 months of service. I even upgraded my phone and it has not helped.

      Business response

      03/10/2022

      Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/02/17) */ I am in receipt of your complaint to the Better Business Bureau. I have looked at your account and notice that you live outside of our local area as we are not a local service provider in Russell, KY. In situations when you have service issues it makes it very hard to troubleshoot due to us not having any visibility into the tower you are using to transmit service to your device. We have to rely on the provider in that area to assist us and sometimes that takes a few days. I have researched the account and spoke the Customer Service Representative that you have been working with and it appears that your service is working properly for now. We are happy to assist you with any service issue you have but would need to recommend that you find a local provider in your area. Please don't hesitate to reach out to a Customer Service Representative if you have any questions or concerns.
    • Complaint Type:
      Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      I moved out of state to Tennessee. And I thought since we were close to the Kentucky line I would have good service. But I was entirely wrong. It's been nothing but trouble. I can't make phone calls. I can't text. If I do get to make a call. My call fails. And a lot of the time my phone is roaming. What I really want to know is there a way out of my contract even though I still owe on my phone as In installments. Can I change providers? Like can Verizon buy out my contract. Idk I need help. And I'm getting frustrated

      Business response

      03/09/2022

      Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/12/20) */ I am receipt of your complaint to the Better Business Bureau. I have researched your complaint and found that you currently have three active lines on your account. I do see that you noted in the complaint that you are currently living outside our service area in Lafayette, TN. We are pleased to inform you that we have enhanced your calling services to allow VoLTE calling. Please note this added functionality is included at no extra cost. Due to the fact that CDMA technology is diminishing around the nation, we recognize you may have experienced some challenges while roaming. Our recent network enhancements to support VoLTE calling should help with some of these challenges. What do you need to do? Please make sure you have the latest software updated on your device. Also, make sure that your phone supports VoLTE, and most smartphones released in the last few years do so. Even if your phone supports VoLTE, you may need to manually turn on VoLTE capability in your phone settings: On an iPhone, the setting is a toggle in the main settings under Cellular, then Cellular Data Options. Once in the Cellular Data Options you will want to make sure that that Voice and Data is set to LTE and that the VoLTE is toggled on. As far as Verizon buying out your additional installments owed on your devices that is something that you would need to discuss with them. However, if Verizon has service in the area where you live it is likely adding this enhancement will resolve the issues you are having. If you complete the above mentioned steps and still are having issues, please call us at (800) 438-2355 and speak with customer service so that they can assist you in opening a trouble ticket.
    • Complaint Type:
      Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      I have a iPhone 11 it's about 13 months old and the screen just quit responding. Now they tell me I need to pay 400.00 to pay it off so I can get another phone. The phone was in a otter box and been taking care of. I just think apple or Appalachia wireless needs to help. Ty

      Business response

      01/13/2022

      Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/10/25) */ In order to provide a specific account information I am going to need additional information. I will need a cellular number or account number and the name on the account. In general the manufacture (in this case Apple) offers a one year warranty on all new devices. Outside of that coverage, Apple offers Apple Care that can be added at the time of purchase that extends that warranty. Appalachian Wireless also offer device protection but without specific account information I am unable to verify if that was subscribed to at the time of sale. If you can provide additional information with response to this case or want to call in and speak with Customer Service we can check to see if you have device protection that would help with some of the cost. I'm not sure if you have talked with a Sales or Customer Service Representative but they also can recommend some trouble shooting steps that you can try. We appreciate your business and are eager to assist you.
    • Complaint Type:
      Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      After getting up at 8 am to pre-order phones/watch. items all on preorder day, i have consistently not received them. All i got was a bunch of excuses. I'm not sure why but they refuse to send anything. no follow up email, no follow up phone calls. Other customers the same day get the products with no delays. Rude/indifferent customer service.

      Business response

      01/13/2022

      Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/10/22) */ I am in receipt of your complaint to the Better Business Bureau concerning your pre-order. Once Apple contacts us concerning a new device being released we immediately place orders for devices. Unfortunately, we have no control on what Apple sends us once the order is placed. Often times, we will receive certain models, sizes, and colors immediately but for the phones that are in high demand we may not receive any for a few weeks. When we offer a preorder those go to our corporate office so when the requested device arrives they can be sent in order of preorder to the store location requested. Those are sent by courier to the store location requested on the pre-order with the customers name attached to that device. I apologize for the delay in the specific device you requested however, it does look like on October 15, 2021 the manager of the store contacted you to let you know that the iPhone 13 Pro Max 128G Black was at the location you requested. You were first on the list for that specific color and size and we received our first shipment of those at our corporate office on October 13th and it arrived in Hazard on October 15th. I did check on the Apple Series 7 45mm Black Watch and we have received 6 since the launch and you are number 13 on the list. We are expecting more of the to ship in the coming weeks. Again, I apologize for the wait but we are at the mercy of Apple to be able to fulfill those requests. We appreciate your business, if I can be of more assistance please let me know. *** ****** Customer Service Manager Appalachian Wireless 800.438.2355 ext. *** *******@ekn.com
    • Complaint Type:
      Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      In December of 2019, my husband purchased an apple watch for me. When my husband purchased this device, they did not inform him that they were charging him for a $10 plan which would give the watch its own phone number. Keep in mind too, that there is a certain sim card that has to be inserted in the phone in order to use it for this purpose. Again, no one ever told us anything. Two weeks ago, a representative pointed out that we had been paying $15 a month ($10 plus fees) for a line on my watch that we have NEVER used because we did not have the right sim card installed in the phone. Therefore, we have paid $15 a month since DECEMBER of 2019 for a line that we have NEVER used. I called today to state this problem to them and they said quote, "it was our fault, but I can only back pay you for 5 months." I am literally sickened because they admitted that they knew it was their fault but they are only offering to pay us for 5 months back. My husband and I work hard and this is terrible.

      Business response

      11/18/2021

      Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2021/09/27) */ I am in receipt of your complaint to the Better Business Bureau. I have reviewed your account and see that as you stated, you added an Apple Watch to your account at our Stanton Retail Store on November 27th, 2019. The day you purchased the device you chose to split the cost of the watch up over 18 monthly installments. As stated in the contact that was signed, the watch has a monthly rate of $10.00 per month in addition to the device installment. I am sending a copy of the contract to your address of record for your review. The charge also appeared monthly starting on the December 2019 invoice and continued until you called with questions concerning the charge. I am showing that you paid the last installment on that device on the May 17, 2021 invoice. It is noted on the account that you spoke with the manager of the Stanton location and he agreed to give you a credit back to that invoice since the device was paid for at that time. I have confirmed that credit is showing on the account. Based on the agreement that was signed in November of 2019, it appears the charges are correct. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me. Thanks, *** ****** Customer Service Manager Appalachian Wireless (XXX) XXX-XXXX *******@ekn.com
    • Complaint Type:
      Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      My cell ph goes straight to voice mail, drops calls, can hardly connect when I call out, and breaks up when talking. It been 3 mos. and I keep getting the run around

      Business response

      08/26/2021

      Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2021/08/26) */ I have reviewed the account and found a trouble ticket for service was opened on August 2nd, 2021. We have assigned a Customer Service Representative to work with Ms. ****** in order to get specific information in order to better assist her. We need specific locations, as well as dates/times that she is experiencing the issue. Our technical staff has confirmed there are no issues with the tower in her area. We will continue to work with Ms. ****** to get her issue resolved and I will update the case as more information is provided by Ms. ****** in order to update the trouble ticket for our technical staff. Consumer Response /* (3000, 17, 2021/10/06) */ I have had major problems with my cellphone for 6 mos. I have an ongoing complaint with them. Can't receive calls part of the time or make calls. Calls continuously drop. Called them today said they had major problems for the first time with no confirmation when it will be fixed. I live in a very rural area alone. I have no landline. Appalachian wireless has the towers in this area so we can't switch. Business Response /* (4000, 19, 2021/10/13) */ BBB CASE#: XXXXXXXX **** ****** We are currently in the process of reaching out to Ms. ****** to get more information concerning her complaint. Our technical team has completed several tower checks as well as researching her dropped calls. They confirm normal traffic on the towers and are only showing 2 dropped calls out of 113 completions. We are seeing several calls are being completed on wifi, therefore we are reaching out to see if the dropped calls are happening while on wifi. Thanks, *** ****** Customer Care Manager XXX-XXX-XXXX

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