Cell Phones For People With Bad Credit
If you have are one of the millions of people with less than perfect credit, the next time you try to establish a new cell phone line in your name, there may be a big surprise. As many people looking for cell phones for bad credit have found out, part of the line-opening process involves a credit check. People who have very poor credit or those with a history of making late payments may have their applications rejected, may require a co-signer with good credit, or may be asked for a significant deposit; sometimes in excess of several hundred dollars.
There is a less expensive option of obtaining cell phones for people with bad credit; without requiring a co-signer or a very large down payment. In fact, since many people with poor credit are not able to have credit cards in their name, this option does not even require a credit card. One of the best options, for shoppers interested in bad credit cell phones, is to purchase a prepaid line.
Different than a traditional monthly phone bill, a prepaid cell phone requires the user pay for airtime before it is granted. In addition to making outgoing calls, users still can receive incoming calls and have full texting capabilities. Rates generally tend to be higher than traditional, post-use plans; however, many carriers offer special incentives like free mobile-to-mobile calls using the same carrier, paying a daily rate versus paying a higher per-minute rate, and reduced per-minute charges when purchasing a larger minute refill card.
Unfortunately, one of the disadvantages to owning bad credit cell phones is their limitations. For example, unless a person purchases a large-denomination of talk and text minutes, most unused dollar values expire three months from activation. For someone who is trying to gauge their minute usage, they will either need to purchase a large, per-minute package which usually costs $100 and up (that expires in a year), or they will need to purchase several, smaller minute refill cards; making sure each activated card’s minutes are used within three months.
On the plus side, instead of receiving a monthly phone bill with added taxes and regulatory fees, prepaid cell phone users simply pay for a refill card and the card’s sales tax. This allows users to save more money and apply the extra money, once used to pay for carrier-charges taxes and fees, to go towards the purchase of additional refill minutes.
The next time you are interested in a new phone and are worried that poor credit will hurt you, relax knowing there are a variety of cell phones for people with bad credit available to suit your needs and help you maintain an open line of communication.
