I have an old one and its a prepay phone, I want a new small one with a monthly bill, which company is lenient, my credit is horrid.
I recommend Sprint PCS. When I first got my service with them 2 years ago they denied me on a credit check. I had to put a deposit down of $100 or $150 and I got the service. They have some decent plans if you live in a PCS area. Ed
With Sprint, they put me on an Account Spending Plan, where I can't spend more than $125, or my phone will be shut off. You can activate it online, just go to a Sprint retailer and choose a phone. I have pretty bad credit myself, scores are in the 500's, so don't worry. Good Luck!
Verizon is the absolute toughest....so stay away with poor credit...I have had AT &T for three years and my score is very low....they've been great to me and I highly recommend them....there online pay and account viewing is great too!
An added note about Sprint PCS. They have by far the worst customer service I have ever encountered. The only reasons I stay with them is that their rates and coverage areas are pretty good. Check Planet Feedback for details on their cruddy CS. Ed
I initially had a limited usage account ($200.00) with AT&T Wireless; after 6 months they lifted the limit. I just signed a new contract, got a very nice new, tiny phone, an additional phone for my ex, charged the phone costs to my account, and was eligible for a $160.00 rebate on both phones. All with scores below 500.
I tried ATT around July '01 or so with about a 550 score; turned down. Got the Sprint PCS with a 540 in August (new account kicked my butt). Anyways, I bought the phone for $100, got a $100 rebate 10 wks later. I have the $200 limited account, 3500 mintues (350 anytime, balance weeknds) for $39.95/month and have NEVER come close to going over (avg use about 500 minutes/month)... I would DEFINATELY recommend Sprint; I have never had any problems with them. Deb @ Mich St
I use Nextel. SWB wanted $250 deposit per phone. Ameritech(now Verizon) wanted $500 deposit per phone. Nextel, no deposit, bought a two phone package for $80. Rates are a little high, but it works out. By the way, my scores were not very good at the time. Only had two cards less then a few months old and 4 CA's on each report.
I have AT&T Wireless. They're pretty good. Is Cricket available in your area? They are perfect for spotty credit or deposit.
Just my 2 cents... I recommend A T & T... they have been sending me pre-approvals.. haven't accepted... Very low socore.....500's-585...they pulled equifax...in Ca.....
DO NOT get Sprint. They are the worst company ever. The customer service is absolutely horrible, and so is their service. I was a sprint customer for 3 years, dealt with horrible customer service as well as phone service. There were many buildings I couldn't get service in, including my own house! One day after a friend visited my house with his verizon phone; I saw he had full signal while my sprint phone had 1 bar of signal. And I know you might be thinking--it's the phone, but it's not the phone because I've had at least 5 different sprint phones. All of them had poor reception. It is the sprint network! And that's not all, sprint has screwed up my bill numerous times, including one time when they charged my credit card yet didn't credit my account. I had to fax them my credit card bill and call them many times to clear this up. This shouldn't be my responsibility. The customer service reps are just dumb. How can I not pay when I was signed up for AUTOMATIC PAYMENT? Anyways, just venting, but the bottom line is: stay away from sprint! They are the "cross country bank" of wireless phone providers. The only thing good about them was my rate plan and also I earned NW airline miles every month. But even considering those perks, I would gladly pay the extra $ for Verizon!
Whatever you do, stay away from WorldCom Wireless. Very common for incorrect billing and sending billing statements to customers late. Then when you want to try and straighten things out, customer support is the worst. Although Cricket phones are only available in limited areas of the US, I have found it to be the best. No Contracts, no extra fees, and unlimited calling in your calling area.
I got a Sprint PCS phone about a year ago. My credit was in the very low 500's. I was put on their account spending plan where I could spend up to $200 per month. I think I pay $39 per month with 3000 minutes with 900 of those being any time minute and 2100 night and weekend. Everyone complains about customer service about them so be careful of that. I personally have only had to call them twice for customer service and have had good experiences both time, so maybe it just depends on who you get. MistyEyed
My Sprint PCS plan is just $75/mo. 1,000 daytime minutes (7am to 8pm) and 2,000 nights/weekends. I can call anywhere in the continential US on the "free" long-distance program. Operating as a business, I can't complain about the rates. But I've had several go-arounds with the customer no-service department, most of the time I came away satisfied.
