Unless under rare circumstances, cell phones are quite essential gadgets. After all, they come in handy during communicating, imparting knowledge, informing, entertaining, sending money, and even shopping, among other crucial things. The other interesting fact is that they come as a full package. So, once you own one, you get to use it as a gaming device, watch, alarm, camera, or calculator, among others.
However, you may find yourself in need of one; but unfortunately, you are operating on a tight budget or lacks money at all. In other cases, carriers may not see you as someone who can afford to pay the stipulated monthly bill. Everyone is looking for a carrier offering excellent data, text, and talk packages. However, they only want someone responsible enough to pay for the service. How do they determine your capability? The only way to do so is to check your credit score. Clearly, they only want someone with a great one. If yours is lacking, then you are up for a roller coaster ride in your search for a suitable carrier.
Under such circumstances, what else can you do? There are high chances that you will think the best way to go is to secure a loan. As good as it may sound, lenders are usually cautious when it comes to determining if you deserve it. Consequently, if you have bad credit, you get no loan approval. Equally important, you may lack the money to make the necessary down payment. In that case, how do you proceed?
There is no need to panic because all is not lost. This article serves as a guide on how to get a cell phone with bad credit and no deposit. It gives hope as well as a solution to someone who has bad credit and lacks a deposit but badly needs a cell phone. Check it out.
What Is The Minimum Credit Score For Someone Buying A Cell Phone
Before we even dive into how to get a cell phone with lousy credit and no deposit, it is essential to know what phone companies consider to be good credit. First of all, the words bad and good are relative and depend on the company that you go to. As long as you have a credit score of 600 and above, there are high chances that no phone company will ever classify you among people with bad credit. Nevertheless, there are others that may still call it bad. So, to be perfectly safe, a credit score of 700 and above is the best.
Given the importance of the credit score in determining how easy or hard it will be for you to buy a phone then it becomes necessary to check your credit score. Fortunately, there is credit reporting bureaus will do that for free once every year.
In the event that your credit scores are excellent for you, however, you still have options if you have bad credit and no deposit. Let us look at your options.
Ways Of How To Get A Cell Phone With Bad Credit And No Deposit
These are some of the ways to proceed in the event that you have bad and no deposit, yet you need a cell phone. Check them out!
1. Go for a Prepaid Plan
As the name suggests, you will be paying for your data, text, and voice packages in advance. Therefore, the carrier will not have to worry about your ability to pay. Consequently, it will not find it necessary to do any credit check. That becomes easy to get a cell phone with bad credit and no deposit.
As much as you will have to pay the money even before you use the services, this approach has some benefits. First of all, you will be in a position to use any phone as long as it is an unlocked phone. That means you don’t need to stick to one specific carrier. You can move to any carrier as long as that’s what you think is right by you
If you are to go for a prepaid plan, it also means that you don’t have to buy your phone at a specific shop. So, you can buy your phone anywhere hence gets to purchase one at the best price possible.
There are some companies that offer great prepaid plans. The major ones include T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T as well as Verizon just but to mention a few. You will be surprised to learn that there are some carriers that offer customers prepaid services at a low price without compromising quality. They may not be among the major plans, but they usually deliver. They do neither contracts nor credit checks. Some of them are the likes of Boost Mobile and Cricket Wireless.
2. Family Plans
The family cell phone plans also help in getting a cell phone with bad credit and no deposit. That’s because it can accommodate up to 10 lines but only need the primary account holder to have good credit. Therefore, all the other nine people will not have to pass a credit check. It is also a great way of saving money because it is cheaper than the typical single plans. All that is necessary is ensuring that the primary account holder is responsible enough to pay the monthly payments timely.
3. Pay a Deposit
Once you have bad credit, it will be hard to convince any lender to give you a loan. For that reason, you may need to give a peace offering in terms of a security deposit. It is important to note that the figure is not constant. It depends on the carrier that you settle for as well as your current credit score. Equally important, unlike a family plan, every line needs its own deposit. However, you might get your deposit back if you manage to pay your bills on time for a year if your plan is with the carriers that do a refund.
4. Buy Now, Pay Later Cell Phones With No Credit Check
Look for buy now pay later offers, which allows you to acquire the phone first and then pay for it in the future. That is one of the easiest ways of buying expensive phones despite not having any cash and even when your credit score is not good enough to assure a lender that you have the capability to pay back. It is a good way of getting an unlocked cell phone without making any deposit or undergoing a credit check.
All you have to do is to look for a website that offers such services. Some examples are phones, credit, Rent Delite and LeaseVille, among others. Once you get the phone, you are obliged to make monthly payments for a year or two until you pay the last penny of the money.
Keep in mind that you will have to pay carrier charges to the service provider that you choose in addition to the monthly installments that you pay the buy now pay later site. Besides, the prices will also be higher than the ones a person buying instantly will incur. At the same time, some of the websites will also request a credit check, which translates to a hard inquiry on your credit report.
5. Look For a Co-Signer
This is as simple as looking for a person with proper credit. Since they serve as guarantors, the company will offer you the cell phone. However, keep in mind that the account will be under the name of your co-signer. It means that he or she will be the one to pay in the event that you fail to do that.
Nevertheless, after some time, it will be possible to transfer the account from your co-signer to you. For instance, if you are using a T-Mobile carrier, it will be possible to transfer the account from the co-signer to you after 60 days of registration. When that happens, the carrier will definitely run a credit check. Despite that, a deposit will be unnecessary because the account in question will already be open. The period as well as terms differs from one company to the other.
6. Use International Credit History
Some carriers are restricted to specific geographical areas. So, what happens if you leave that area and settle for another one? There are high chances of having to buy a new phone, especially if you have been using a locked phone. However, since you are new, you may not have something to show as credit history or credit score. Fortunately, the likes of Nova Credit got your back. It has a mechanism that allows them to transfer your credit report to U.S. equivalent if you have been living in countries such as the U.K., Mexico, India, Canada, and Australia.
That will help you when buying credit products such as cell phones, apartments, and credit cards, among others. The international credit history will help you make those purchases. Then, you can start building your U.S. credit score for future use.
7. Strive to be an Authorized User
Look for a company that allows a particular mobile user to be under the name of someone else. Once you do, use the excellent credit score associated with that account to help you sign a contract with the carrier. Then, the owner will use his or her privileges to change the details of the account to your liking. It is similar to the co-signer option. So, failure to pay your due will be jeopardizing the credit score of the main account holder. Equally important, paying the money on time will be improving his credit score. The latter becomes a win-win situation.
Great Prepaid Plans For People With Bad Credit
As far as the options are concerned, some may not cater to the carrier charges. Since you already have bad credit, you will need to look for favorable data, text, and voice packages. Here are some of the options worth consideration.
Verizon All Set Prepaid Plans
This one offers you an opportunity to choose among various smart phones, such as Samsung Galaxy phones and iPhones, including the latest. You don’t have to buy a phone from them to enjoy the services.
If you own a Smartphone, you can get 1 GB of data and unlimited texts and talk time for $45 every month. For basic phone owners, you can get 500 MB of data and unlimited texts and talk time for $35 every month. It is also possible to buy additional data with other plans.
AT&T GoPhone® Plans
If you own a smartphone, you can get 1.5 GB of data at speeds of LTE and unlimited texts, data, and talk time for $45 every month. For basic phone owners, you can get 1.5 GB of data at 3G speeds and unlimited texts, data, and talk time for $45 every month. The basic plan will offer you unlimited talk and text for $35 only every month. Expect an additional 500 MB for an additional $10 if you are using a plan worth $45. You get to choose from Samsung Notes, Galaxy, and iPhones, among other latest smartphones.
T-Mobile Simply Prepaid
For T-Mobile, the plans are the same for all plans but differ depending on the price that you pay. Plans include unlimited text, talk and data as well as 1 GB of 4G LTE, unlimited text, talk and data as well as 3 GB of 4G LTE and unlimited text, talk and data as well as 5 GB of 4G LTE for $40, $50 and $60 every month, respectively.
You get to choose from a variety of smartphones. If you pay your payments on time for 12 months without any fail, you will qualify for a new smartphone worth low upfront-price under the New Smartphone Equality program. There are other plans, such as the T-Mobile Simple Choice Plan, that require no credit check.
Sprint Prepaid
When it comes to Sprint Prepaid, the plans are also the same for all plans but differ depending on the price that you pay. Plans include unlimited text, talk and 1 GB of data, unlimited text, talk and 3 GB of data and unlimited text, talk, and 5 GB of data for $35, $45, and $55 every month, respectively.
Your choices are limited as far as smartphones to choose are concerned, given the fact that you can only choose older iPhones as well as Samsung Galaxy phones. However, they are good to the extent that they don’t charge hidden fees or activation fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
When getting a cellphone with bad credit and don’t have money to make a deposit, you might find yourself wondering the answers to these questions.
What Cellphone Company Doesn’t Need A Deposit?
As long as you are not going for a postpaid plan, no cellphone company will ask you for a deposit. After all, you will be paying in advance. The company has no reason to worry about when you can manage to pay or not.
Can You Finance an Iphone With No Credit?
Yes, it is possible to buy an iPhone without having to pay upfront. You would go for the program called rent to own iPhone no credit check to achieve that. There is also the buy now pay later, no credit check, no down payment sites that will assist you in getting the same.
Any Other Better Alternative To Getting A Cellphone With Bad Credit And No Deposit?
Absolutely! It is no secret that you will end up buying the cellphone at a relatively high price compared to when you have bad credit. So, the best way to achieve that is to hold your horses regarding getting a phone if it is possible to wait. Then, improve your credit score. Once it is great, it is now the best time to buy the phone.
How Do You Know That You Have Bad Credit?
Simply go to a credit reporting bureau and enquire about the same. You are entitled to a free credit report once every year.
What Do Lenders Consider To Be Bad Credit When Lending Money For A Cellphone?
It differs from one Phone Company to another. Nevertheless, one would say that you are safe if you happen to have a credit score of 600 and above.
Final Recap
From the discussion above, it is crystal clear that you can get a cellphone with bad credit and no deposit. There are a number of options that you can settle for under such circumstances. Some offer no credit check advantage. Others don’t demand deposits, and others offer you the two benefits. Some may also require a guarantor. Go for the one that suits you the best. Regarding Frequently asked questions regarding how to get a cellphone despite bad credit, the answers are now at your disposal. Last but not least, you do have choices when looking for prepaid plans with bad credit. Since cellphone is a crucial device, you should thus not let lack of credit or money to stop you from owning one.
Helpful Resource
