Consumer Cellular: billing error

Collect

• the bill with the charge
• account number
• phone number
• what you expected to pay and why

Steps

1. Call customer support within 60 days of the bill date and ask for the charge to be corrected. Note the date and the representative's name.

   PhoneConsumer Cellular customer support (U.S. based) +1-888-345-5509

2. Or write to Consumer Cellular within the same 60 days. Pay the bill, including disputed charges, by the due date.

   MailWritten billing dispute address Consumer Cellular, Incorporated, 12447 SW 69th Ave., Portland, OR 97223

3. If it is not resolved, send a Notice of Dispute by certified mail with your full legal name, mailing address, email, phone, account number, the facts, the relief you want, and your own signed statement that it is accurate.

   MailNotice of Dispute and arbitration opt-out (Office for Dispute Resolution) - certified mail Office for Dispute Resolution, Consumer Cellular, Incorporated, 12447 SW 69th Ave., Portland, OR 97223

4. If 60 days pass without a resolution, file an FCC complaint or start AAA arbitration or small claims. File within 1 year of the dispute arising.

   RegulatorFederal Communications Commission, Consumer Complaint Center +1-888-225-5322

More contacts for this issue

Facts you can cite

• Deadline

  To dispute charges on a bill you must either call customer support or notify Consumer Cellular in writing at 12447 SW 69th Ave., Portland, OR 97223 within 60 days of the date of the bill, or you waive the right to dispute the bill.

  Source: savings.consumercellular.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  Payments of all charges, including disputed charges, must be received by the due date on the invoice.

  Source: savings.consumercellular.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Process

  A Notice of Dispute must be sent by certified mail to the Office for Dispute Resolution in Portland with a personally signed statement from the claimant. The parties then try to resolve it for 60 days, and either may ask for a telephone or video settlement conference. Completing this is a condition before arbitration with the AAA.

  Source: savings.consumercellular.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Deadline

  To the extent the law allows, all disputes must be filed within 1 year after they arise. Either party may use small claims court for individual relief.

  Source: savings.consumercellular.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Deadline

  You may opt out of the arbitration agreement by letter to the Office for Dispute Resolution no later than 30 days after you first agreed to it, with your full legal name, mailing address, email, phone, account number or phone number, a clear opt-out statement and your signature.

  Source: savings.consumercellular.com, verified 2026-10-12

Rules in force

• FCC broadband consumer labels
  47 CFR 8.1 (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act section 60504); amended by FCC 26-48, 91 FR 52251 (August 13, 2026)

  Fixed and mobile broadband providers must show a standard "broadband consumer label" for each plan they sell, at every point of sale (website, stores, phone sales) and in the customer's online account. The label shows the monthly price, introductory rates, fees, data allowance and typical speeds. An August 2026 FCC order will relax some display rules, but most of those changes had not taken effect on 2026-10-12.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  6 citable points

  • Policy

    Each provider of broadband internet access service must create and display a broadband consumer label for each stand-alone plan it currently offers, prominently displayed, publicly available and easily accessible to consumers, in the format the FCC prescribes.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The label must be displayed at each point of sale, which includes the provider's website and any alternate sales channel (provider-owned and third-party retail stores and phone sales), and on websites it must be near the advertised plan. Providers with online account portals must make each customer's label easily accessible there.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The label contains critical information about the plan, including pricing, introductory rates, data allowances and performance metrics. Phone sales representatives must cover the monthly price, typical speeds, latency, data allowance, contract term and early termination fees.

    Source: federalregister.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    Labels must be provided in English and in any other language in which the provider markets its services in the United States.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    Under the current text, a provider must archive labels for at least two years after a plan stops being sold to new subscribers, and must give an existing customer on that plan the archived label within thirty days of a request. The August 2026 order eliminates the archiving requirement once its amendments to 8.1(a) take effect.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The FCC's August 2026 order (FCC 26-48) will let providers summarize the label orally on phone sales, show passthrough fees as a single "up to" amount split into government and third-party charges, use a link or icon instead of the full label at the point of sale and in account portals, and drop the machine-readable spreadsheet and archiving requirements. Its changes to 8.1(a) are delayed until the FCC publishes an effective date; its changes to 8.1(b) took effect September 14, 2026.

    Source: federalregister.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• FCC informal complaints against common carriers
  47 CFR 1.711 and 1.716-1.718 (Communications Act section 208)

  A consumer can file a written informal complaint with the FCC against a common carrier under section 208 of the Communications Act. The FCC forwards it to the carrier, which must respond in writing to the FCC with a copy to the complainant, by a due date the FCC may set. If the complaint is not resolved, the complainant has 6 months from the carrier's response to file a formal complaint that keeps the original filing date.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  4 citable points

  • Policy

    Complaints against carriers under section 208 of the Communications Act may be either formal or informal.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Process

    An informal complaint must be in writing and should contain the complainant's name, address and telephone number; the name of the carrier; a complete statement of the facts showing that the carrier did or failed to do something in violation of the Communications Act; and the specific relief or satisfaction sought.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Process

    The FCC forwards informal complaints to the carrier for investigation and may set a due date for a written response. The carrier's response goes to the FCC with a copy to the complainant and must say whether the carrier has satisfied the complaint or refuses or is unable to do so.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    If the informal complaint is not satisfied, the complainant may file a formal complaint (in the form in 47 CFR 1.721) within 6 months from the date of the carrier's response, or from the response due date if the carrier did not respond. A timely formal complaint relates back to the filing date of the informal complaint. If none is filed in time, the informal complaint proceeding is closed.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) negative option requirements
  15 U.S.C. 8401-8405

  A seller that charges consumers online through a negative option feature (for example an automatic renewal or a free trial that converts to paid) must clearly disclose all material terms before taking billing information, get the consumer's express informed consent before charging, and provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. The FTC enforces ROSCA.

  Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  1 citable point

  • Policy

    The seller must obtain "a consumer's express informed consent before charging the consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account".

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

If that fails, escalate

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

1. Customer service

   PhoneConsumer Cellular customer support (U.S. based) +1-888-345-5509

2. Written complaint

   MailWritten billing dispute address Consumer Cellular, Incorporated, 12447 SW 69th Ave., Portland, OR 97223

   Call or write within 60 days of the bill date.

3. Written complaint

   MailNotice of Dispute and arbitration opt-out (Office for Dispute Resolution) - certified mail Office for Dispute Resolution, Consumer Cellular, Incorporated, 12447 SW 69th Ave., Portland, OR 97223

   Formal Notice of Dispute by certified mail; 60 days of informal resolution before arbitration.

4. Federal regulator

   RegulatorFederal Communications Commission, Consumer Complaint Center +1-888-225-5322

5. State agency

   Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON: states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).

6. Arbitration

   AAA consumer arbitration or small claims court; claims must be filed within 1 year.

Watch out

Related

• Billing error at other companies
• Wireless carriers — how complaints work
• Consumer Cellular: cancellation problem
• Consumer Cellular: refund request