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Lively (formerly GreatCall) is the leader in connected health for active aging. With health and safety solutions for older adults and their family caregivers, Lively’s innovative suite of easy-to-use mobile products and dedication to customer care helps aging consumers live more independent lives. Products and services include Jitterbug Flip and Jitterbug Smart phones, the Lively Mobile Plus medical alert device, plus health & safety services Urgent Response, Urgent Care and the caregiver Link app.
Reviews 267
Peggi Valenzuela
Jan 22,2025I also agree with other customers if it was possible to give a ZERO rating that's what I would give Lively. My 101 year old father was their customer for several years, & I took over the account after he passed. Recently I switched providers 3 days into the new billing cycle but was told they do NOT prorate so that I had to pay for 30 days of service instead of 3. You are supposed to HELP the elderly, not screw them over. SHAME ON YOU!! Finances are tough enough for the elderly without you taking advantage of our predicament. I hope you lose so many customers that you go out of business!
Jessica
Dec 29,2024If I could give a -0 I would, I’ve tried for two hours now to get to customer service to switch over a new phone for my father because his other one is broken. I have been on hold for as long as over an hour and once getting an operator, her direct me back to the original menu, therefore placing me on hold for another 30 minutes and so on. This happened twice. The options are garbage, once you get to where you’re trying to call that person then puts you on hold to speak to somebody else and then the line sent you right back to the main menu. I can’t imagine my 75-year-old father calling and trying to navigate the options. Horrible horrible customer service and I’m even considering turning the phone off completely and going with another service.
Edward Kirk
Dec 19,2024Absolute mess to try and move my husbands phone number from flip phone to smartphone. The directions do not fit with the phones i have. Some directions work others do not. What a nightmare. Spending way to much time on this. Just want to ditch the phone at this point.
Terenzio Nedd
Dec 08,2024If I could leave NO STARS I would because this is the most ignorant customer service I have ever encountered. They are absolutely clueless in handling customers especially when there is an elderly. The moron could not help at all and several times kept talking about he was on the phone to long. Mind you that is your job to help a customer no matter how long you are on the phone with a customer. Not to mention the call was only 10min long. The Rep abruptly hangs the phone up while talking and verifying the account. I advise against doing business with these people who hire impatient employees to deal with the public. It's not our fault that 99% of our life revolves around using our phones to transact business with these incompetent online reps like Lively.
Karl
Nov 22,2024Purchased a device for my elderly Dad living alone. Set up an account and provided billing information for monthly auto pay, after 3 billing cycles received notification, they could not process payment so I logged in and provided another Credit Card Number and acknowledged that the info would be kept on file for future payments. Next payment due I received another notice that payment could not be processed and once again logged in and paid with a Credit Card and made that the payment method. I went out of town for a vacation only to be called at around midnight by my brother saying Dad had fallen and was bleeding out. A veritable medical emergency, elderly man on blood thinners, cut artery in the head and bleeding. When he actuated the LIVELY button the only response was that his account was going to be canceled for lack of payment, these sumbidches were more concerned with a payment than a man bleeding to death on his front porch at midnight. He received no help from these ba$88rds and thankfully my brother was able to contact the local caregiver and get an ambulance on the way. I have requested a transcript of the call from Best Buy/Lively and have been totally ignored yet the sumbidches keep trying to bill me. BestBuy and Lively, this is a failed service and a danger to the community at large, Best Buy and Health Company should not be used in the same sentence. Your online service failed at billing and your call center was perfectly willing to allow a man to die instead of stepping up to the plate and working out billing details later. This is a transcript of my inquiry through the website after the incident. Pasted Below. Message Account 48x6450, received notice of "unable to process payment" via email, I immediately went onto the account and added a payment method, Credit Card and it was billed, and I elected to keep this as my payment method. I went out of town and upon my return I find several bills and letters from Lively stating overdue, not a problem as I will once again go onto the account and provide that information. My concern is that the client/patient had an actual emergency and pushed the button only to get notified that he was being canceled. On or about the 6th of 7th of October Mr. Nxxxxn Bxxxxs pressed the alert button because he had fallen and severed an artery in his head and was bleeding out only to have to engage in pointless conversation. The address and age are on file, the man needed an ambulance, he went to you for help and apparently was given the run around. I will reserve judgement until I see a transcript of the emergency call and at this time am requesting a transcript of the emergency call made by your customer Mr. Nxxxxn Bxxxxs from his Lively device on or about the 6th or 7th of October 2024 be sent to the email on file for the account 4866450. That email is karx and is in the record as email contact for this account, 48x6450. Today's date, Oct 23.2024 and time is 13:56 Central Time. Please provide the requested transcript immediately. To date, this is all I've received from them. Pasted below. Best Buy Health> Tue, Oct 29, 9:32 AM to me Dear Karl, Thank you for contacting Lively, a Best Buy Health Company. We apologize for the delay in response. We have sent this email on to our Leadership Team to review that call and get back in touch with you. Please let us know if there is anyway we can assist you further. For time-sensitive issues please, contact our Customer Service at 1-800-733-6632. Our Customer Service team is available 4am and 7pm Monday through Friday and 6am to 3pm Saturday and Sunday Pacific Time. James | Care Operations Specialist p | 800.733.6632
ted johns
Nov 14,2024This phone service had been used by a 95 yr old person who was told the $39 per month plan was her best option as it included unlimited calls and text messages. She was legally blind, could barely see the dial pad and could never read a text which were ALL Uncillicited. Despite this she was overcharged every month for these texts. After her recent death I called 9 days into a new billing month to cancel this overcharged service and they informed me I had to pay for the entire month. This profit driven company is a senior rip-off and should be avoided at all costs. Visible is $20 per month with unlimited everything.
Lee Askern
Nov 13,2024I agree with others who have issues regarding ethics not found in Lively cell service. Briefly, we paid in full via credit card and cancelled. We were again charged for the month after our cancellation. I appealed to our credit card company, which ruled in my favor against Lively. At present, Lively lost their argument with our credit card company so they are billing me directly. I feel that since they agree to abide by the rules of VISA, when VISA determines they are inappropriately charging me, Lively should abide by their decision.
CustomerT.Mach
Oct 30,2024Buyer beware. I would highly recommend paying on a monthlly basis and NOt setting up automatic monthly pay. We used this service for 6 months. This month the service was discontinued on 10/26/24, 3 days after payment for the next advanced monthly was made, due to elderly parent being put in a facility and no longer needing services. I requested atleast a partial refund since 28 days of the service would not be used and they were completely inflexible and refused to consider any type of accomodation. I have NEVER subscribed to a service that was so unreasonable and inflexible,
Pamela Steeg
Oct 28,2024SERVICE does not exist. The phone stopped charging and it has taken weeks because of wait times of 40 minutes to hours. Disgusting they market themselves to seniors for whom phones are a life line. They know they are failing but keep taking advantage of people. Best Buy and all who partner with them, nothing is lower than preying upon people who depend upon you
customerTrina W.
Oct 17,2024Do not purchase a phone for an aging relative from Lively. Maybe it would be better if there was a store close by, however, helping an elderly parent to purchase a phone, activate the phone and transfer a phone number over has been a complete nightmare. It has been 5 calls and over 3 hours trying to get this done. Simple? I think not. One person tells us one thing, the next person tells us another. A test call worked, then the phone does not work. We call again, 15 minute wait to reach someone.
Marilyn Haas
Oct 01,2024If you're looking for a phone that only makes and receives calls, you might be okay, but I pay bills on line and enjoy reading and shopping as well. These lively phones come preloaded with Google Chrome, which doesn't work. If you disable Chrome, then you've disabled your only internet connection. I imagine Lively now has thousands of seniors on fixed incomes with a basically useless phone. Do you think Lively ever considered notifying their senior customers would be losing an important service? Nope, but I bet they kept selling phones.
Hollie
Sep 29,2024Absolutely horrible customer service, the wait time is excruciating !! The wait time is absolutely unacceptable especially for these elderly people who are waiting for hour's for someone to answer their calls !! Our parents deserve better than this crap !! Switching to another service ASAP !!
Mary Bernadette Brooks
Sep 27,2024THE RINGTONE IS NOT AS I HAVE SET IT, AND CURRENTLY I HAVE BEEN ON HOLD FOR OVER 23 MINUTES TO SPEAK WITH A "CARE ADVISOR" REGARDING THIS MATTER!
Tom Oblak
Sep 17,2024I just got off the phone with Tanika and Christopher her supervisor. Ask them why my mother was being charged hundreds of dollars for text messages that she has no control of. Of course they would sell me a more expensive plan but couldn’t do anything about the text messages and told me that I could change services if I didn’t like it(thank you for pointing that out). What a joke of a company and customer service. I’m sure they’re praying on seniors and this is one of their business models and that is to jack up prices for text messages. Read the reviews people there’s a reason they have a one star rating and it’s because they suck! Phones are garbage too! Going to Verizon now.
tamatha cooley
Aug 25,2024PLEASE READ !!!! If there was an option for a negative star, I would check that box. Let me start at the beginning of my ordeal with Lively. In early April 2024 I called lively to get information on the Jitterbug smart phone that was offered. The gentleman that I spoke with was friendly, in the beginning. He was not being very clear in the options that were available. When I asked him to repeat them, he made me feel like I was a stupid, old fool who was incapable of understanding. When my phone arrived, my son activated it for me. After several phone calls to tech support, he was FINALY, he was able to get it set up. On April 12, 2024 I spoke to Liz about the phone case and screen protector I had been promised but did not receive. She said she didn't even know they gave those out for free. but she sent them to me anyway. On April 19, 2024 I spoke to Perla about a data problem. she obviously hated her job because she made sure I knew it. On May 3, 2024 I spoke to a nice man named Henry who explained the charges that showed up on my first bill. I didn't have some of the services I THOUGHT I was supposed to get and there were charges I thought I had paid with the initial out of pocket cost. At the end of May, I decided I have had enough. I called and spoke to Kristen about returning the phone and getting a refund. she gave me the address to Best Buy Health in Lincolonshire, IL that I needed to send the phone too. She told me they will take the final bill of $40.59 out of the refund. On July 3, 2024 I spoke to Kesha to find out why I was getting a bill for $40.59. She said it was my final bill. After I told her what Kristen told me, she said she would send it over for a review. This review of Lively ends with a NASTY man named Greg that I spoke to on July 12, 2024. After getting another bill I called to get this cleared up. I explained to him the conversation I had with Kristen and he out and out called me a liar. He told me they do not or ever have taken a last bill out of a refund. I told him I will need to talk to my attorney, which happens to be my brother, But Greg didn't know that. His response to me was it would cost more to hire a lawyer than it would be for me to just pay the bill. My jaw hit the floor at this remark. I have lived a long life and have delt with many types of people, but the experience with Lively has been the WORST!!!!! The claim they make at the beginning of all phone calls that says "your call may be recorded" I hope is true, because they now have dates and names to go back to check. And I haven't even mentioned the length of hold time you have to endure. I would hate to think of the consequence if I had to truly depend on them to get me help. PLEASE TELL YOUR LOVED ONES TO STAY AWAY FROM LIVELY.
AccountNumber Fifteen
Aug 17,2024Problems porting the phone number left me with two dead phones. They never told me I needed a second phone to get the lively phone working....Luckily I had a landline to save the day. Then the voice mail would not work. Tried with a customer service rep to fix the issue and the connection was mysteriously dropped. Did they call back? No. Wasted hours over two days to accomplish NOTHING I thought Page Plus was bad. This place is even worse.
DJS
Aug 17,2024The flip phones are the worst ever - constant problems and they're so cheaply made they don't last. I'm on my third phone in five years. Plus, switching the service from one phone to another is a real hassle if the cell phone is your only phone. They tell you when you purchase the phone that you can active online, but then their website tells you that you have to call to activate the phone The other big issue is that their voicemail service is really horrible. Messages cut off halfway through or sooner. You have to replay them over and over to try to get the whole message, and then you can't delete them without having to replay them multiple times. All in all, this is a poor quality phone and really poor programming.
Sarah Green
Aug 14,2024LOVE their products. I’m a tough critic and I’ve been wearing many different styles of their bras over the last six years I just had a breast augmentation and purchased a whole drawer full of bras basically anywhere from nine to $15 each and they’re all still amazing. I tell everyone to order them.
Vee
Aug 09,2024DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS SCREWED UP COMPANY. THE LEFT HAND DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT HAND IS DOING AND IT IS VOICE RECOGNITION BUT YOU HAVE TO GIVE ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE PROMPTS JUST TO MAKE A PHONE CALL. THEY WILL MISLEAD YOU AND NOT LET YOU KNOW THIS. IF YOU ARE ELDERLY THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS ASK FOR LIVELY THEN ASK FOR AMAZON THEN ASK FOR THE THE PERSON'S NAME YOU WENT DIALED ALL THE WHILE IT'S ASKING YOU TO CONFIRM EACH THING. THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THIS COMPANY IS A COMPLETE JOKE AS WELL!
10945 Vista Sorrento Pkwy, Suite 120, 92130 , San Diego, US
https://www.lively.com
Maggie
Feb 14,2025If I could rate Lively from Best Buy Health at zero stars I would. I bought a phone for my father at the end of Nov 2024 as a Christmas present. My father did not like the large size of the smart phone so I returned it 2-days later due to the 30-day money back guarantee. The phone was never used, and never activated. I obtained the return tracking number as required and mailed it out on Dec 3, 2024. On Jan 17, 2025, I called the company because my Discover card was NOT credited and I was receiving overdue billing notices of $46.97. The customer service rep told me the phone was received, but NOT returned to stock and she would take care of this for me. As of Feb 13, 2025, NOTHING has been done. I have not been credited $197.07 for the phone, and am STILL receiving pas due notices on an account that was NEVER activated. I have submitted a request to Discover for a charge-back, but I am still waiting for the bills to stop and the full amount of the phone to be credited to my account. This is an awful company that does NOT honor their 30-day money back policy. Buyer beware!!!!!!!!