Who here thinks a credit score check in order to get an iPhone is ridiculous?

DBZmusicboy01 said:

I mean the economy is bad and its not like everyone would have good credit score
People can still pay things but not right away.
What's even more stupid is if you have very low you would have to pay more for monthy payment and that will even hurt the buyer more.
It's just stupid just for a phone they will need to do that and signing a contract just for a phone.
It's not like its a car or house?
Simply they just should make it that you pay $300??? And then just pay the monthly service if you want it.

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They don't check your credit score unless you need financing..and then it's definitely not stupid..they need to make sure you can pay them. Makes great sense to me.

DBZmusicboy01 said:

I mean the economy is bad and its not like everyone would have good credit score
People can still pay things but not right away.
What's even more stupid is if you have very low you would have to pay more for monthy payment and that will even hurt the buyer more.
It's just stupid just for a phone they will need to do that and signing a contract just for a phone.
It's not like its a car or house?
Simply they just should make it that you pay $300??? And then just pay the monthly service if you want it.

Click to expand...

I don't think you're forced to pay more monthly. I never heard of that. I have heard of the deposit issue though.

I don't think it's a terrible idea to make someone pay a deposit. No credit or bad credit shows a propensity not to pay. The economy is crap but if you are strapped then you don't need an expensive smart phone with a data plan. You could easily get a cell phone and not have all the bells and whistles. Where are you reading or seeing that your monthly payment will be higher depending upon your credit?

Tyler23 said:

They don't check your credit score unless you need financing..and then it's definitely not stupid..they need to make sure you can pay them. Makes great sense to me.

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Pretty sure you're wrong. They check your score to get a cell phone contract and you may or may not be required to pay a deposit based on your history of paying.


It is my experience that people who believe that something is stupid believes this because it works against them. I deal with this daily and it is just the people who didn't get what they believe they're entitled to get.

There's no credit check if you buy the phone out-of-contract ($650 for the iphone 5) and get a prepaid or pay-as-you-go service plan.

However, a contract plan is essentially a loan (albiet a terrible one), thus they need to check your credit.

GoCubsGo said:

I don't think you're forced to pay more monthly. I never heard of that. I have heard of the deposit issue though.

I don't think it's a terrible idea to make someone pay a deposit. No credit or bad credit shows a propensity not to pay. The economy is crap but if you are strapped then you don't need an expensive smart phone with a data plan. You could easily get a cell phone and not have all the bells and whistles. Where are you reading or seeing that your monthly payment will be higher depending upon your credit?


Pretty sure you're wrong. They check your score to get a cell phone contract and you may or may not be required to pay a deposit based on your history of paying.


It is my experience that people who believe that something is stupid believes this because it works against them. I deal with this daily and it is just the people who didn't get what they believe they're entitled to get.

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I meant if you're buying a phone outright they don't check your credit. Should've been more clear.

And yes, my answer still stands. With a carrier, the credit check is absolutely reasonable, same deal. They need to make sure you're going to pay them. If it seems like there's a good chance you won't, it is absolutely reasonable for them to request a deposit. It's just sound business.

DBZmusicboy01 said:

I mean the economy is bad and its not like everyone would have good credit score
People can still pay things but not right away.
What's even more stupid is if you have very low you would have to pay more for monthy payment and that will even hurt the buyer more.
It's just stupid just for a phone they will need to do that and signing a contract just for a phone.
It's not like its a car or house?
Simply they just should make it that you pay $300??? And then just pay the monthly service if you want it.

Click to expand...

The economy has nothing to do with your credit score. Your credit score is a measurement of your ability and history of repaying debt.

Tyler23 said:

They don't check your credit score unless you need financing..and then it's definitely not stupid..they need to make sure you can pay them. Makes great sense to me.

Click to expand...

Agree^^^^

If you pay yourself, they don't check your credit score...only if you seek financing through Apple.

Any "loan" would require a credit check. Apple is "loaning" you the money, and wants to check credit scores to evaluate the risk involved in extending credit, as would any other organization extending credit or a loan.

I, too, don't see that as stupid. A bad credit score doesn't happen on it's own, but occurs if the person with the poor score has a history of poor loan or credit repayment.

To anticipate those who might (correctly) point out that the credit bureaus can make mistakes, and correcting them is very difficult. However, OP does not indicate that the poor credit scores were as a result of error, or are undeserved.

Am I alone here in the fact that when I first went to any of the two carriers I've been with (AT&T for 13+ yrs and then VZW) they checked my credit both times and both times I didn't need to buy their subsidy phone?

It seems to me that people are saying if you buy your own phone they don't run credit but each time I've signed something that said to get service they will run it and determine whether a deposit is needed. Same thing with some utility companies for that matter. In that case, I bought the house ... I didn't finance it through the electric company.

I remember when I bought the first iPhone, AT&T checked my credit score when I activated the account for the first time.

I've never had my credit score checked by Apple. If you buy the phone outright (which I did for both I owned) then all they ask for is your cash. My phone contract also doesn't need a credit score. I just pay monthly and can cancel at any time.

Personally as somebody who doesn't want to pay to subsidise your iPhone, I hope Apple keep up this sensible process of checking people's credit scores who want financing on any product.

Of course whether you should ever use credit for buying a luxury item is a completely different question.

I think you can guess what I believe is good practise.

SandboxGeneral said:

I remember when I bought the first iPhone, AT&T checked my credit score when I activated the account for the first time.

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Okay, this is what I was thinking. I recall having my credit checked both times. It was only upon arrival to a new carrier, not during upgrade times and executing contracts.

BTW, I am speaking as a U.S. resident, if that matters.

GoCubsGo said:

Okay, this is what I was thinking. I recall having my credit checked both times. It was only upon arrival to a new carrier, not during upgrade times and executing contracts.

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That was my experience. The only credit check I had was when I opened the AT&T account. All my subsequent iPhone upgrade purchases went without a credit check.

I've never had a credit check from Apple since I've never financed anything from them.

SandboxGeneral said:

That was my experience. The only credit check I had was when I opened the AT&T account. All my subsequent iPhone upgrade purchases went without a credit check.

I've never had a credit check from Apple since I've never financed anything from them.

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Right, me either. But even Apple doesn't do their own financing so Apple running credit seems out of the ordinary.

GoCubsGo said:

Right, me either. But even Apple doesn't do their own financing so Apple running credit seems out of the ordinary.

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True. They use Barclay's don't they?

DBZmusicboy01 said:

It's just stupid just for a phone they will need to do that and signing a contract just for a phone.
It's not like its a car or house?

Click to expand...

Is the OP talking about phone financing or the cell contract? The cell contract will be the same regardless of credit score, but if you finance the cell phone (which is stupid, if you can't pay for the phone get a cheap/free one) then you may pay a slightly different rate depending on your score.

Also if you get a car or house the bank may change terms slightly depending on your individual financial situation.

DBZmusicboy01 said:

People can still pay things but not right away.

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The only things you should ever buy on credit would be a house or a car, and even those are arguably bad ideas. You should especially not take a loan for a $300 item like a phone.

DBZmusicboy01 said:

What's even more stupid is if you have very low you would have to pay more for monthy payment and that will even hurt the buyer more.

Click to expand...

As has been said - the phone contract will be the same, but if you finance the phone your overall loan rate may be higher.

They do this because low-credit consumers are a risk to their business. It costs them more in the long run to loan out to high-risk consumers, as they are more likely to default on their payments, so of course they will have higher rates.

DBZmusicboy01 said:

Simply they just should make it that you pay $300??? And then just pay the monthly service if you want it.

Click to expand...

The phone itself is over $600. It is $300 with a cell contact because the contract is basically a loan, as has been said. With a phone contract you will cover the full cost of the phone throughout the life of the contract, whether you have it the full time or you exit early (this is what exit fees cover).

GoCubsGo said:

It seems to me that people are saying if you buy your own phone they don't run credit but each time I've signed something that said to get service they will run it and determine whether a deposit is needed. Same thing with some utility companies for that matter. In that case, I bought the house ... I didn't finance it through the electric company.

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They don't run the credit check for the phone purchase (as the OP was alluding to) - they run it for the contract. This is why your utilities and why ISPs do it as well. They want to make sure you can pay for the contract, as that is the cash-cow for them.

SandboxGeneral said:

That was my experience. The only credit check I had was when I opened the AT&T account. All my subsequent iPhone upgrade purchases went without a credit check.

I've never had a credit check from Apple since I've never financed anything from them.

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That's how it went for me with VZ. They only checked my credit upon opening the account, and haven't since to my knowledge. My credit was awesome 15 years ago.

Apple fanboy said:

I've never had my credit score checked by Apple. If you buy the phone outright (which I did for both I owned) then all they ask for is your cash. My phone contract also doesn't need a credit score. I just pay monthly and can cancel at any time.

Personally as somebody who doesn't want to pay to subsidise your iPhone, I hope Apple keep up this sensible process of checking people's credit scores who want financing on any product.

Of course whether you should ever use credit for buying a luxury item is a completely different question.

I think you can guess what I believe is good practise.

Click to expand...

It's not Apple that checks your credit really--they do that on behalf of the carrier who is picking up the subsidy on the iPhone and to make sure you can pay your monthly contractual agreement.

You're not paying to subsidize anyone else's iPhone--AT&T and Verizon is a service not a tax (though it may feel like a tax at times). The subsidy is a business practice that the carriers use to encourage people to start or maintain service with them. I have feeling that the subsidies on all major carriers will come to an end in the next 5 years or so.

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thekingofnerds said:

The phone itself is over $600. It is $300 with a cell contact because the contract is basically a loan, as has been said. With a phone contract you will cover the full cost of the phone throughout the life of the contract, whether you have it the full time or you exit early (this is what exit fees cover).

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A subsidy isn't really a loan. A loan eventually get paid off. On AT&T and Verizon however, you continue to pay the exact same monthly charges even when you fulfill your contract 2 years later. T-Mobile on the other hand has converted the subsidy to a true loan. You can either buy the phone outright, or take a loan out for an additional monthly charge.

barkomatic said:

It's not Apple that checks your credit really--they do that on behalf of the carrier who is picking up the subsidy on the iPhone and to make sure you can pay your monthly contractual agreement.

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^That.

I go further and say it's the cc company that tells the vendors, hey if u see a huge balance, don't make it worse.

OP, is for your own good man. cc balance piles up quickly and hard to get rid of.

A flip phone is "just a phone." You are kind of talking about a luxury item.

DBZmusicboy01 said:

It's just stupid just for a phone they will need to do that and signing a contract just for a phone.

Click to expand...

If you can run a successful postpaid carrier without credit checks then by all means go ahead and do so. Your rant indicates that you really have very little understanding of the risks involved on the carrier's behalf.

DBZmusicboy01 said:

It's not like its a car or house?

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Of course not. Those are loans with collateral. Wireless service has no collateral so there's even more risk involved.

Who thinks it's ridiculous to buy things you can't afford?

Interstella5555 said:

Who thinks it's ridiculous to buy things you can't afford?

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Bingo.

This is the problem with America.

Can't tell you how funny it is seeing people pay with foodstamps as they check out with their iPhone.

DBZmusicboy01 said:

I mean the economy is bad and its not like everyone would have good credit score
People can still pay things but not right away.
What's even more stupid is if you have very low you would have to pay more for monthy payment and that will even hurt the buyer more.
It's just stupid just for a phone they will need to do that and signing a contract just for a phone.
It's not like its a car or house?
Simply they just should make it that you pay $300??? And then just pay the monthly service if you want it.

Click to expand...

If you do not have the money to buy something then you have no business buying it... Sadly... this is the reason why our economy is the way it is...
Just my opinion

So what your saying is. You dont like the credit score thing because it says you cant afford to pay them back and your even admitting that you probably cant.

You have your answer.

If I were in bad straights, I would be embarrassed to rant about this, and have us all know about my lousy credit rating, and just want to complain when it's my fault. Save, and get your credit score improved. Yes, these are troubled times, but do you really need a smartphone ?

There are people trying to buy contracts with carriers who absolutely shouldn't and wouldn't get credit. I'm sure you don't need an 800 to get a carrier contract but if they sell to people who don't pay it costs them money and in the end us - cost of bad debt goes into their cost of business.

I have no issue with them checking my credit.