So, to be blunt - my credit is atrocious. However I just started a new job so I am on the path to economic recovery.
Buy for the time being I want to try to achieve some semblance of independence. Right now, I'm on a family plan. I want to break away from this and do an "upgrade" (I'm over two years on this plan) or sign a new contract so I can get a new phone.
My credit rating, however, is truly abysmal. I was reading online that they might ask you for a deposit of some kind to cover the subsidy if your credit is poor. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm going to go to Verizon today and discuss this with them but I was hoping to have an idea of what I should expect before walking in there.
Is it possible that they might just reject me entirely without even allowing a deposit-type situation? I have no problem leaving a huge deposit.
Also, I don't actually have a credit card. I got rid of them long ago. Is that going to be an issue?
Last, any advice on how I can start to repair my credit? My outstanding debts are nearly gone (few more payments and they will be). But then what?
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Best advice to repair your credit is to get a credit card and pay it off every month, it's usually the quickest way. The other way is to get loans from banks (though slower) and pay them off too (like car loans, unsecured loans, etc). Paying your utilities might help too, depends on the company.
You have 0 debt liability (or thereabouts), right?
That is on top of whatever plan, phone, and accessories you buy.
We have Sprint and they put a spending limit on our account and we maybe pay a small fee for that to be in place, but otherwise they're great. The immigrant community my wife works with generally have no credit and they almost exclusively use TMobile for that reason.
And Bowen it is abysmal. I don't know what my score is but I bet it is below 500.
Good news is that you can usually find both stores within a stones throw of each other. Just go down to a Verizon store and let them know that you'd like the latest iphone and you've got money, but terrible credit. They'll run it, and get you set up. Make sure its a real verizon store and not an "authorized verizon dealer".
If you don't like the price, go next door to AT&T, and repeat.
You've got the iPhone 5 coming in late Summer. Wait. Get a pay-as-you go for now.
AT&T and Verizon are your choices for the iPhone. AT&T usually has better prices, Verizon usually has better service in general.
Egads, any reason it would be that low? Did you default on some loans/file for bankruptcy.
Have a car loan you're about to pay off any chance?
Sprint has iPhones.
Sprint's coverage for 3G can be iffy in my area, but I'm in Maine and that's probably to be expected. Despite all rumors I heard prior to switching, their customer service has been nothing but awesome for us. We've had US Cellular, TMobile, Verizon and Sprint and we've been the happiest with Sprint in both pricing and customer service.
I'm normally not an advocate of waiting on technology that's months away. I'm a "need-it-now" type of guy. But for Apple, this is sound advice.
I'd also urge you to check out the Androids available. The platform has come a long, long way in the past year, and where it was a promising looking OS, it's now a legitimate contender with the iPhone. The phone is cheaper. The technology is (currently) better. The app availability is impressive. And most importantly for me, user customization isn't sacrificed for brand recognition.
I currently have an iPhone 4, and unless the next iPhone is incredible, I'm likely getting an Android when my upgrade term renews in the Fall.
Phone choice aside, if you're willing to plop down a gigantic deposit, why not just buy a phone and not go under contract?
To me though, I'm 99% of the time around wifi so I don't honestly care, which might help you factor in which one offers the best service if you're looking at stuff like that.
Another thing, don't be afraid of pre-paid... it's not that bad. It's generally a LOT cheeper every month than a contract and you can even get unlimited minutes/text/unlimited date (but it will be throttled). If you pay $50 a month for prepaid vs $80 a month on a contract you are saving $720 by the end of the 2 year period... more then enough to get yourself an unlocked iPhone to use. Just something to think about, because from what I hear cell phone providers don't report positively on your credit score even if you pay your bill every single month... they are real quick to report when you miss a payment though.
Also, no one has mentioned it, but in some areas Cricket Mobile is a good service. It basically piggybacks off the sprint network and I know quite a few people that use it. It's like $65 a month after taxes if you want a droid.
I need to look into Sprint's pricing. I'm grandaddied into the AT&T unlimited data, but the $95 a month hurts.
Very, very few. I text way more.
Also, iphones really suck on Sprint's network. If you're in an area that's even somewhat populated, the 3g is just too congested to be worthwhile. 4g phones, on the other hand, fly - though right now I'd wait for the lte phones to start coming out before investing.
Sprint is around $70 a month for 450 minutes and unlimited everything else+a $10 smartphone charge if you get an iphone or an android. Insurance is about $7. Taxes are whatever they are. You probably wouldn't actually save that much money but one of the other nice things about Sprint (that AT&T might have, I've never used them and know next to nothing about them) is that they have unlimited free roaming. Was super helpful when my boyfriend and I were driving through the middle of nowhere on a roadtrip and were mostly on roaming. Sprint piggybacks off of Verizon's network when the roaming kicks in, so between the two you have coverage just about everywhere.
edit: If you get an iphone though you can't insure them so that knocks off the insurance price.
It won't help your credit, but it will get you a functional and modern phone.
Regarding Sprint, having had Virgin Mobile (which has always run off Sprint's towers) ever since I got a cell phone, their voice service at least is solid in the areas it covers. Be sure to double-check that they DO have service where you are, since unlike Verizon they're not literally everywhere. The map on their site looks like you're covered nearly everywhere now though, which is nice since they weren't as prevalent before.