Bad Credit Cell Phone Plans You Won’t Hate
Posted on | November 25, 2009 | 1 Comment
New cell phone users often overlook one vital aspect when applying for cellular service: their credit score. Almost every cell phone company, including Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, will run a credit check on you before giving you a free cell phone and a two-year contract. The sad reality is that most of can only afford the phones we want when they are subsidized by binding contracts. And if you have poor credit, bad credit or no credit, then you can’t qualify for the billing contract.
When you have bad credit and you are looking for a reasonable cell phone plan, you do have some options. The obvious route to take to get a bad credit cell phone is to go prepaid. You can pick up a prepaid phone at almost any retail store such as Target or Wal-Mart but you can also get a prepaid phone direct from the carriers, too. This latter method is preferable if you are looking for a cad credit cell phone plan you won’t hate. The prepaid phones sold in store often have abysmal features and boxy, generic looking designs. T-Mobile, on the other hand, is now offering many prepaid phones and phones on installment plans that are excellent for those with bad credit.
Alternately, you can put down a deposit to secure your cell phone contract. This is sometimes an undesirable route as you can be asked to put up as much as $1,000 because of your bad credit. Cell phones with collateralized contracts, however, are much better than the prepaids you’ll get in the big box stores. The great thing about putting down a deposit is that you can get a fairly decent phone even with bad credit.
Another route you might want to go if you want a top of the line, full featured 3G smartphone but don’t want to get tied up in a contract is to get an unlocked phone. Unlocked phones can be used with any cellular provider that offers SIM cards. Since most unlocked cell phones are third party sales, there is obviously no bearing on your poor credit rating. Once you get your unlocked phone, pop on down to the cellular service dealer and purchase a pre-paid SIM card. Slide it into your phone and you’re off – a great phone, no binding contract and no credit check required.
One great place to find unlocked GSM phones is Cell-Phone-Plans.net. Here, you can also check out the forum for advice and deals on unlocked phones and prepaids. Another great feature is the ability to compare cell phone plans using the cell phone comparison tool. This is vital if you are looking for a cell phone contract that will work with your poor credit but are adamant about getting certain features. The cell phone comparison tool lets you zero in on a couple different features and view which providers offer that phone.
One last thing: remember that if you are turned down based on your credit history, you may be entitled to a free credit report. You automatically get a free credit report from each of the major credit reporting bureaus, but if you are working on rebuilding your poor credit and you hit a stumbling block when applying for a bad credit cell phone, you can review your credit report to see what it is that they found unsatisfactory. Take this opportunity to redress any negative or inaccurate items in your credit history and try again when your score climbs up again.
Guest Author: Jack Busch
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One Response to “Bad Credit Cell Phone Plans You Won’t Hate”
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November 25th, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
Cell phones are way over priced just so you have to sign a contract to buy the phone for the phone at what it should be without a contract. Why is a prepaid plan Razor phone $50 and and a contract plan $150? So you have to sign a contract to get it for the $50 it should be.