Starting Out: Credit Reports and Cell Phones

Posted by: Allie P. | Dec 22,2007

When you’re starting out, you’ll quickly find that just about everything is tied to your credit report- even cell phones. You already know that creditors and lenders use your credit score to determine eligibility for a line of credit or a loan. But did you know that your ability to get a cell phone plan will be affected by your credit report too?

 

More and more, cell phone companies are running credit reports before they decide if they’ll let you sign up for a plan. The impact of this is twofold- for one thing, if you are also trying to get a credit card or a loan, this is just one more inquiry on your credit report, and that can pull down your credit score. In addition, if you have problems with your credit you might get turned down for a cell phone plan based on your credit history.

 

Cell phone carriers, like creditors and lenders, need to make sure that their customers will pay their bills. If you have a problem credit report, you might still be eligible for a cell phone plan, but you may have to pay more for your plan. Depending upon the carrier, you may also have to pay a deposit before they are willing to let you have cell phone service.

 

The good news is that cell phone carriers report to the credit reporting agencies. So if you sign up for a phone and make your payments on time, you’ll see an uptick in your credit score. If you have phone service and you don’t make timely payments, or have your cell phone service shut off due to nonpayment, this will negatively affect your credit score.

 

Shop for cell phones at PriceGrabber.com. PriceGrabber.com lets you see phones from multiple retailers to compare prices before you buy.

 

 

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