Useless team who can't help or solve any issues. Cancelled my number twice because of issues with the bill not working via the app and when I contact them, they're unable to help.
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Phonebox seivice is such bad.First it always takes too long time to connect with the represititve .Second ,finally when you connect with them ,the connection lost without reason and they never call you back .Thirdly they promised to call me back or send me email to solve my problem ,they never did.
Had issues with my sim card and new phone number when setting up. Sakura at the Vancouver store was an incredible help to me and spent hours trying to resolve the issue. 5 stars to her excellent customer service!
Over $163.00 was charged to my credit card when I have a $25.00+tax plan, call customer service,took longer than expected time to be answered by a representative named Chris, she checked and said the additional $163.00 was due to cellular data over used, when Enron the plan,no disclaimer indicating that $15.00 per G data will be charged for over using, she also confirmed that she will ask her manager to refund me the charges and let me wait for her call, than never hear back, I have never over use data prior Phonebox,even though other service providers like Fido provide less data , if this is a company can be trusted? Or if it’s a real company?
Company details
Written by the company
"PhoneBox is a Canadian wireless provider offering prepaid and postpaid phone plans to clients within USA and Canada and across the world. We offer 4G LTE, unlimited calling and texting to all our customer without any contracts or credit checks. Get nationwide coverage on the largest networks in USA and Canada. PhoneBox offers an affordable alternative to students, immigrants, travelers and visitors who do not want to commit to long term contracts. With free delivery across the world, you can get your SIM card before you travel. Get more with PhoneBox!"
Contact info
658 SEYMOUR STREET, V6B 3K4, VANCOUVER, Canada
- +1 (855) 886 0505
- services@gophonebox.com
- gophonebox.com
False Data Charge of CAD$435 for ONE DAY
Excess data charge of CAD435 with PhoneBox claiming 40GB was used in a SINGLE day. This is the equivalent of streaming Netflix on HD for 13 hours! Mobile phone was on wifi for majority of that day and usage either side of that day for weeks was low. The graph that they eventually provided to show usage was manually constructed. After many weeks of dispute they agreed to an 80% refund but then claimed that the refund attempt failed. Have logged formal complaint with CCTS to recover money.
Date of experience: 19 December 2023
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Lazza, we are very sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with the billing. That is definitely not the impression we expect you to have about our company. However, we would like to clarify that it is disclosed information that PhoneBox charges a Data Overage Fee for customers when there is a data usage over the plan limit. The rate is $15 - 1GB to be applied to our Monthly Plan customers after the data capacity is reached, which is informed on our website and other communication channels. The charges are based on the tracking from the network provider, and that's where we get the evidences from. Regarding the refund, we kindly request that you send us an email with your account information, or either reply the information request we are submitting for this review, so we can further investigate and clarify all concerns. Thank you for your patience and cooperation regarding this matter.
Monica
Monica - it was very helpful. I’m 19 and she explained it all for me so now I understand. It was very good. Thank you!!
Date of experience: 04 May 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Eric, we are happy to hear that our staff was helpful during your visit to our store! Thank you for being a nice customer and leaving Monica a review!
Fully recommend service
Really nice and helpful service. Fully recommended.
Date of experience: 03 May 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Thank you for your review, Niklas. It means a lot to have customers who are happy with our service enough to recommend it, like you mentioned. Our team strives to provide quick and easy support, so it's great to know that we were able to meet your needs :)
Kumiko is the best shop clerk
Kumiko is the best shop clerk. She is really kind and her explanation is easy for me to understand. She knows many things about how to use eSIM and what the advantages are like that. She could understand all my questions and answer them.
Date of experience: 29 April 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hi RO, we are happy that you decided to share your experience with us! We are glad everything works for you as it should, and we will let Kumiko know about your kind review!
The lovely price is amazing and Monica…
The lovely price is amazing and Monica service was great.
Date of experience: 28 April 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Thank you for your review, AK! We're glad to have you as a customer and appreciate that you shared your satisfaction with Monica's service. Your feedback is important to us!
I NEVER fill out reviews but I HAD to…
I NEVER fill out reviews but I HAD to for this one. PhoneBox is one of the absolute worst experiences I have ever had!
Was a good value for a time (despite shoddy coverage from time to time), originally was promised $25/40gb per month for 6 months and afterwards, I would be moved to a $30/40GB/month plan. A couple months into the $30/month plan, we received an email apologizing that they could not afford the promised rate would increase our rate to $35/mo for no particular reason unless we decided to switch from their Rogers service to Telus. We were supposed to switch over, receive an eSIM QR code, activate by scanning the QR code, and maintain the same number. The transfer began 4 days ago and that's how long I haven't had service (no cellular service means disruptions to personal day-to-day, urgent work responsibilities, navigation etc.).
They have since sent us multiple new non-functional QR codes. Kept us on the line for HOURS to "check Telus compatibility" (yes we ARE compatible). "Escalated" our ticket to "IT Support" and "Management" with NO call back or any way for us to reach the agent we spoke to. I have opened 4 separate tickets, contacted 4 separate online agents, with NO results and always the same line of questioning/comments (what's your number, what's your IMEI, we're sorry, we apologize, please call back later, we'll help you as soon as we can, we're looking into it, Management will respond shortly) and after 2 hours of waiting, I am consistently and simply cut off!
Before the transfer, they made NO mention of possible incompatibility with your phone. They have NO WAY of cancelling the original number port out so I can't jump back to my original plan. They give NO reason for a surcharge that was NOT part of the original service contract. Rogers (the original provider) no longer carries my number and Telus (the service I'm switching to) won't allow me to access my account because my number is under PhoneBox's "corporate account". This disruption has cost me to lose business, has caused me lose contact with my wife on a day I was to pick her up and go to the doctor (meaning she had to take the bus and was incredibly late and waited in the waiting room for hours!), and worst of all, the only solution they have is to buy a new SIM card and activate it but all of their service people are offline!
In my opinion, in life, sometimes you really get what you pay for, and buyer beware, their services are cheap because THEY are cheap they've created a cell service that breaks easily, planned poorly with no back-up plans/contingencies, poor management, and canned useless service representatives that only parrot the same garbage templates causing more agony
Date of experience: 25 April 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Andy, we're sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with PhoneBox services and support. That is definitely not the impression we would like you to have about our company, we believe Customer Service should be as helpful as possible and our goal is to always provide the most convenient assistance. We sincerely apologize if you have experienced anything different from that. We would appreciate to receive your account information via email or even from here at Trustpilot, so we can address the issues and find the best solution as soon as possible. Please reach out to us at services@gophonebox.com and we will be glad to assist you with all concerns. Thank you for your review.
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Liza, we're glad to hear that you found our service helpful. Our team strives to provide quick and easy support, so it's great to know that Monica was able to meet your needs :)
Monica and Anna helped me a lot very…
Monica and Anna helped me a lot very thanksful
Date of experience: 26 April 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Yongwoo Jung, we are happy to hear that our staff Monica and Anna were helpful during your visit to our store! Thank you for being a nice customer and leaving us a review!
it was while ago but i had problem with…
it was while ago but i had problem with my sim card and Ellie helped me a lot! she said she's new at the time but her hard learning attitude from her boss and customer service was excellent.
Date of experience: 07 February 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Thank you for sharing your experience, りー! We're sorry to hear that you faced a problem and we appreciate your patience as Ellie worked to fix it. Good to know that she was able to solve it quickly, as we put in a big effort to provide a satisfactory service. Your feedback is very important to us for improving our service quality!
Monica amazing
Date of experience: 12 April 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hi HJ, thank you for rating your experience with 5 starts! We are glad to know Monica provided an amazing service! :)
Dont choose this company.
Dont choose this company.
Just If you want a Lot of Problems.
I had a lot of problems with paying and the Bills over the Creditcard.
So I paid my bill but they Cancelled my data use immediatly.
I needed over two months and 1000 E-Mails to get f...40 Dollar Back.Because Phonebox was Not able to reactivate my Account after paying.
It was a shame that I lost 10000 nervs just to get 40 Dollar Back.
Sorry absoluty not to recommend
Date of experience: 31 January 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hi Claud. We are sorry to hear you had a bad experience. We're investigating the issues raised and are committed to improving our processes. Your feedback is valuable, and we're here to address any further concerns. Best Regards, PhoneBox Team
Since 2 weeks no answers & existing customers disadvantaged
Unfortunately, I have not received a reply to the several emails I have sent to the service email address for 2 weeks (only ticket numbers are sent in response). A time-critical change for prepaid tariffs has thus become obsolete.
Existing prepaid plans will still ONLY receive 5 GB of data when they are renewed, but new prepaid plans are now equipped with 7 GB - it's a shame that existing customers are not taken into account here.
Date of experience: 02 April 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Dear client, we are sorry to hear that you had issues when trying to reach out to our Customer Support. We may have high volumes of inquiries, which can cause delays in the response time. However, we understand the frustration and we apologize for the inconvenience it may have caused. We will assure to continue improving the response. We are also requesting your information here on Trustpilot so we can verify your account and assist with the plan change. Thank you for taking the time for leaving your review.
This company treats customer…
This company treats customer differently. Give certain group of customer promotion plan and reject other customers the same request.
Date of experience: 22 March 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Changming, we are really sorry to hear that's how you felt when reaching out to us for a plan change request. That's definitely not the impression we would like you to have about our company. By checking your account, you are a new customer, and we really appreciate to have you joining us. However, from time to time we may have special offers to our long term customers, to show our appreciation to their loyalty. This is a common practice at any market and it's not about treating customers differently, but showing how much we value our relationship with our clients. We recommend that you stay tunned to our plans, as we are always making effort to provide the best mobile plans to all of our customers. Thank you for sharing your feedback, it's very important to us for improving our services.
It's not worth the hassle
After 5 months with phone box I have given up and moved to a more expensive provider. The whole time I have been with phone box they have consistently charged me 3 times the amount I signed up for. There have been other issues I have posted about on trust pilot before but I eventually gave up after phone box claimed I had used way more data than I had. I have previously complained and asked for insights into issues but received nothing back from customer service. Time and time again phonebox have been awful and fair to provide any explanation.
Date of experience: 23 March 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Jon, we are very sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with PhoneBox. That is definitely not the impression we expect you to have about our company. However, we would like to clarify that it is disclosed information that PhoneBox has a Data Overage Fee of $15 - 1GB to be applied to our Monthly Plan customers if they keep using data after the plan capacity is reached. This information is available on our website and other communication channels. By checking your account, every month we have sent SMS notifications warning about the data usage, before and after the data limit was reached. Still, we understand the frustration and we apologize for the inconvenience it may have caused to you. If there is anything else you’d like to share, please feel free to contact us through services@gophonebox.com and we will be glad to clarify any concerns.
Good service - extortionate fees
The actual product they provide is fine. I can always make calls and have good service. But charging $15 per GB you go over data allowance with no warning on low data is absurd. You would have to continually monitor your data usage to ensure you don't go over this limit, which is very inconvenient and even with doing this diligently you're likely to get stung. Much easier to go with a provider that offers much more data for a slightly higher price.
Edit: It is clearly stated that $15/GB is part of the plan so I have no issue with. However, no SMS was received before I exceeded the limit. Only a text stating I was 4GB over.
Date of experience: 20 March 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Ashley, we appreciate your satisfaction with PhoneBox product and we are very sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with the billing. That is definitely not the impression we expect you to have about our company. However, we would like to clarify that it is disclosed information that PhoneBox charges a Data Overage Fee for customers when there is a data usage over the plan data capacity, such as many other providers do. The rate is $15 - 1GB to be applied to our Monthly Plan customers after the data capacity is reached, which is informed on our website and other communication channels. By checking your account, we also sent you a notification by SMS before you went over your limit. Still, we understand the frustration and we apologize for the inconvenience it may have caused to you. If there is anything else you’d like to share, please feel free to contact us through services@gophonebox.com and we will be glad to clarify any concerns.
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Miyu, we're glad to hear that you found Kumiko's service helpful. Our team strives to provide quick and easy support, so it's great to know that she was able to meet your needs :)
Worst Company to deal with
Been using the company for 2 years before they decided to switch me over to a Telus Sim. This was due to asking for a new SIM card 3 times before finally the third one arrived to me. Not only did they charge me for my Roger’s sim, which they told me was deactivated, also charged me for my Telus sim. I then got an email 2 months later with a payment which was over the estimated price with the Telus Sim. They then put that Roger’s charge towards my next monthly bill. After being told I pay directly to Telus, then they changed their minds and said I pay directly to them. They then charged me an again for the month of February, but then when questioned I was told it was actually a ‘late fee’. When questioned again, they back tracked for a third time. I still have no answers for what is going on. Worst company I’ve ever dealt with, no straight answers and passed from person to person.
Date of experience: 17 March 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Lauren, we are very sorry to hear that you had a negative experience when reaching out to PhoneBox Customer Support. That is definitely not the impression we would like you to have about our company since we believe Customer Service should be as helpful and kind as possible and our goal is to always provide the most convenient assistance.
By checking your account, you transferred to a Monthly Plan on January. Accordingly, you were supposed to pay for the last days of January and also for February services. However, as the payment wasn't processed until February, the line was suspended and later reactivated after your request. Then, by February 15th, you received your invoice with the Monthly Fee for March. However, it wasn't paid before the due date, which caused the interest charge you mentioned. No SIM card fee was ever applied to your account.
We just wanted to clarify the points you raised on your review. Seems like we already have someone looking into your case and trying to reach out directly to you to resolve. Please do not hesitate to contact us as well if there's anything else you want to share. Thank you for your review.
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello 森端くるみ, we are happy to hear that Jane was helpful during your visit to our store! Thank you for being a nice customer and leaving us a review about your great experience.
It is obviously a scam company
It is obviously a scam company. I didn't even port my number from other provider. But they already collected my personal information and credit card number. they charged me $47.20 without authorization. When I contacted the customer service to request for refund, they told me that I have to wait until the following month after the termination of the service, which is just literally trying to fool the customer. After pass due, they need need fill refund form and wait another month, that didn't tell me first time. Pass due again, they told me policy change,they can only give credit for future service since I change credit card number. the reason I changed credit card number is to avoid scam company like phonebox stealing my money without authorization. But credit card company told me refund will not be declined even you change card number. In the period, I've made numerous phone calls. Dishonest after dishonest. It can not be trusted. Don't even try.
Date of experience: 05 March 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Aiken, we're sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with PhoneBox services. We would like to clarify that the personal information is collected and payment is processed only upon an activation request made by the customer on the website. It's necessary to agree with the terms in order to proceed with the activation.
Regarding the refund, we can only process it to the credit card used for the payment. This recent change aligns with legal regulations, and we are obligated to adhere strictly to the original payment method for refunds.
If the credit card company confirmed you will still be able to receive the refund processed to the old credit card, please reach out to us at services@gophonebox.com with your account information to confirm we can proceed with the refund, and we will be glad to assist.
Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us to improve our services.
Rubbish service cancelled my phone plan…
Rubbish service cancelled my phone plan with no notice and had no opportunity to get it back unhelpful service unhelpful staff you’re better off just paying the extra money for a real phone company not this second hand piggy back rubbish service
Date of experience: 04 March 2024
Reply from PhoneBox
Hello Samuel, we are really sorry to hear that you did not have a good experience with PhoneBox. We take customer feedback seriously, and we are committed to providing honest, fair, and helpful service.
You were using a prepaid account, a plan type with a 30 days duration that can be extended as many times as the customer wishes to keep using the services. However, if there is no extension, the system will automatically terminate the account, based on the understanding that the services are no longer required. That’s what happened with your line.
We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences caused. However, after the prepaid termination, the phone number may be taken from our system anytime, and we will be unable to reactivate the account. If you still have any questions and concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us back. Thank you for taking the time to review our business.
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