This may be kinda long, but I really want someone to help me understand why please?? -I went to get a cell phone today, and was shocked when I was told that they would require a $400 deposit for the service. -I thought I had pretty good credit. I have 2 car loans (1) since 1997, have only been late once, its almost paid for, and (2) for about 20 months, late once also, neither 1 or 2 late in last year or so. I have 1 credit card w/ some charged, but its not maxed or anything, always made payment ontime. I am 25 and have had other smaller loans in the past that have been paid off. -I thought that surely with 2 car loans, etc that I would be able to get a cell phone. It was going to be a basic free phone promo w/ 1 yr term, $40 p/month plan. Free phone-yes, but it wasnt the top of the line or anything. $400 would almost pay for the service for a year @ about $40p/m. I told the lady that I just could not see why they would require that much for the deposit, and she said...400 isnt as bad as alot of ppl are asked for 1,000. For a cell phone of all things? She said my credit likely had a recent inquiry. I did recently apply for 1 credit card, & know that inquiries arent good for my credit, but I didn't know they were that bad. -Its been about a year or so, but I have had cellular service before, and had to put a deposit down, but never $400. -If I went to another wireless provider, would they require as much deposit? How long till the inquiry comes off?, etc. And my husband and I were going to look into buying a house next year, guess not if I can't get a cell phone Thanks in advance & Happy Holidays
Ive seen up to 1500 deposits on phones. Its all ridiculous to me. If you talk 1500 worth of phone, then you deserve to be in that situation. I went to AT&T after a collection with sprint and their service sucks, but I just like having the phone in my car in case.
The inquiry will probably stay there for the entire two years. Its funny how they wont let you get a cell phone, but companies will be swarming to get a mortgage sale from you.
My mother and I cannot get cell phones for less than $1K deposit. My brother cannot even get one for less than $500 deposit and he has perfect, but not "years old" credit. My company finally gave me a free phone with free unlimited local, and my mom got a prepaid cell phone that you feed $25 cards to every month. The problem with that is you get like 100 minutes per card, but there's no credit check.
Laray...you said the inquiry will probably stay on there for two years? So, I couldnt get the phone without the $400 because of the inquiry? Does that mean I won't even be able to get a cell phone for 2 years? I havent been too seriously looking into the mortgage yet, but how in the world can we ever buy a house when we can't get a measley $40p/m phone? Thanks
breeze...I am in Alabama. I live in a kinda small city, and the only choices here are Cingular, Corr, Nextel, and Verizon. Verizon is out, they wanted the $400 deposit. Thanks
Getting the mortgage should be easier since it's secured.... a cell phone is not a secured account.... unsecured credit is always harder to get in my experience. If you don't wanna cough up the $400, get a TracFone... they're available at Amazon, Staples, Wal Mart and I saw them in Penney's the other day. You prepay your time. If you choose to get one of these let me know.. I can probably hook you up with a coupon to save some money. Amazon recently had a $50 off $100 coupon in their electronics department and a lot of people were stocking up on 300 min. cards for $50 instead of paying $100. =-) I know it's kind of a kick in the pants to have to prepay your time, but maybe just do that for a few months 'til your score increases and then try again?? Ozzy.
what about AT&T wireless?? They approved me (actually sent me a pre-approval) and I couldn't even get a loan from Gateway (MBNA) for my rotten computer (I should have taken not getting approved as a hint not to buy the darn thing... but that's a whole 'nother issue!). Ozzy.
Definitely go with a pre-paid plan if the alternative is to part with so much cash! If you're gonna be contracted for 1 year, there's no need to have your hard earned 400 bucks confiscated for that long. That's too much money for that "privilege". I would also suggest you obtain your credit reports & scores so that you know where you stand. If you need to correct anything, don't apply for any unnecessary credit before applying for your mortgage. Rina -- Conquering through Christ...and Creditnet
I agree. Go with pre-paid if you can't get anything better than the $400 dela. Do a quick search through past posts - many folks have reported on their experiences getting cell phones. Not being in a metropolitan area kind limits your choices
I think you should check out Sprint PCS. They have very affordable plans and awesome features. A friend of mine has pretty crappy credit (bk) and was able to set up an an account with only a $125 deposit. You would have a spending limit of $125. You wouldn't need more anyway when the average plans are $34-$49. After 12 months of timely payments, the deposit will be refunded to you with interest. You would have to purchase a phone, but they are offering some great store & manufacturer rebates right now. Just some info for anyone interested: The free phones that companies give away have nickel cadmium (sp?) batteries. These have to be charged constantly. The better phones that are purchased have lithium ion batteries which last much longer between charges. Good luck!!
I have Nextel and Cingular. I have never had to put down a deposit. $400 dollars, jeez these companies are crazy. I would tell them to shove the phone up the arses (how's that for Xmas spirit). Ooh, I just thought of something. Would they be willing to charge your credit card each month instead of billing you? I did this with DirecTV. I refused to give them my social security # and told them they could bill my credit card each month instead of pulling my credit report. The guy on the other end had no problem with it. So no inquiry and no bill to pay since it's billed automatically. Good luck and I hope everything works out. Dani
Wireless Companies have their own scoring models, usually very liberal. I have a few suggestions: Does your company have sales reps visit? If so, that is one way to get around the deposit. Sometimes thats your best bet, that salesperson is making money for every activation. They are motivated to get you a phone. Is cricket communications in your area? If so they don't require a deposit. But you will have to pay for features like voicemail, caller id, ect that usually comes with other digital plans. Sometimes, indirect wireless dealers can advise you on the underwriting for easiest wireless company. The reason being is they sell for many different wireless providers. This is the easiest time to get wireless phones. All the carriers probably relaxed their underwriting criteria for the Christmas Holiday. They want that one year contract. Another way around it is, if you know someone that already has wireless service, get them to get an additional phone and give it to you. That way you won't have to have a deposit. Its like someone making you an authroized user on a credit card. Just a thought. OR the wireless company that wanted the 400 depsit will send you a preapproval letter in a couple of months, if you can wait that long. In my opinion, no one should pay a deposit for wireless phones. It is too competitive. I would stay away from prepaid, because they have the crappiest phones, customer service is horrible, and its terribly expensive!
Verizon is horrible about deposits. Ameritech (now owned by Verizon) wanted $800 from me a few years back. I've got two Nextels, no deposit and have had them for almost two years now. Excellent customer service. And my credit wasn't very good when I got it.
Go to Sprint PCS...I've heard that their customer service sucks but I went there this weekend. I walked out with a $100 phone, no deposit, 1 year contract. I got to choose my service plan & everything. My scores are in the upper 500's. They are having some type of "no credit check" promotion. No catches that I've found so far. My husband got the same deal a few weeks ago.
I'm in the biz, so I can give you the details. Cellular carriers are concerned more with your "unsecured" credit history as opposed to your secured credit history, so the fact that you have a car, house, boat and other tangible items does not weigh nearly as much as if you have a Visa card with an excellent payment history. Reason Being, your secured creditors can take the house, boat and cars if you do not pay, but If you do not pay your $3000 phone bill to Verizon, they have squat to go after. They are out the phone (and most people do not realize those "free phones" actually cost the cellular companies at least $150 to $200 each) they subsidize the cost, hoping you will pay your airtime bill each month. Also, they pay the cellular dealer a substantial commission to do the deal... that's how those nice stores can afford to give away phones all day for free. Therefore, if your choices are Verizon, Cingular, Nextel and some local carriers... First, see which carrier has the best service in your home coverage area. A "no deposit" phone is "no good" if there is not sufficient coverage in your usage area. Prepaid makes sense if you are only going to use the phone for very light casual and emergency usage, otherwise you will pay more than that $400 deposit in airtime refill cards over the course of the year. Sprint will approve almost everyone now without a deposit, but of course you did not mention Sprint as one of your choices and they do have very spotty coverage in rural areas. Nextel has three deposit categories: no deposit, $200, and $500. You will get your deposits back after 12 consecutive months of prompt payments. I have also seen people with solid credit need a deposit because they did not pay another wireless carrier timely payments or stopped before their 12 month agreement was up. Wireless carriers keep track of payments to other carriers. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, your best bet if everyone requires a deposit, is to put the phone under another person's name and have them sign the deal, then pay the bill to them. Usually a relative will be willing to do this for you.
I told my wife when she got the 2 cell phones last year to REFUSE SS#...they got $1,200.00 deposit for 2 phones...this year...just added 2 more...one deposit $250.00... Their giving $1,200.00 deposit back. They said even though it took them 3 seconds to get the $1,200.00...it MAY take 8 weeks to get it back...I told them that is NOT acceptable... They put some paperwork in to see if they can get PERMISSION to refund the deposit by credit on a credit card... PERMISSION???? ALL TO SAVE A CREDIT REPORT BEING PULLED...
Thanks for all of your replies. I went to Cingular, got a better phone, plan, etc, with about the same cost per month, and no deposit required. Guess Verizon didn't want my money...oh well. Thanks everyone.
