This sounds borderline fishy, or we haven't be given enough of the details to this transaction. I was 18 or 19 (now 24) when i opened my AT&T account with my girlfriend (now wife) and have since added a family member to my account without any problems or deposits. As long as you're 18 and haven't already filed bankruptcy or something, i can see no reason they wouldn't approve you for service.
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Apple/Verizon wouldn't sell me a phone because I'm 'too young'
- Thread starter cowbellallen
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It sounds as though the employee was being polite by telling him that his age was the problem. They sell phones/plans to 18-23 year-olds all day, every day. The lack of credit history is an issue. My guess is that there's probably some issues with your employment history as well. Do you currently have a job or are you unemployed? The two basic necessities to establish minimal credit (i.e. credit cards, cell phone plans, etc.) are a job and a checking account. That being said, you're not buying a car or house here. If you don't pay your bill, they'll just shut off your service. It's simple as that. There's not much downside risk on Verizon's part here. Cell phone plans and credit cards are some of the ways that people with little or no credit history begin to establish a credit history. Being 23 years-old, it might be a good time to start building your credit or you'll continue to run into these issues going forward.
I got a Verizon phone when I was 20 (and i'm pushing 30 now). Also bought a brand new Acura RSX when I just turned 22.
You sure you're not mistaken, too young, for too irresponsible to handle debt? No credit is better then bad credit, esp. for cell phones. You just need a job and you're established.
You sure you're not mistaken, too young, for too irresponsible to handle debt? No credit is better then bad credit, esp. for cell phones. You just need a job and you're established.
I have worked as the manager of a store for 2 years and have had a checking account with my bank for almost 10 years now. I checked my credit report last night and it said they didn't even have info on me as of 2/9/11 (page 2 of this thread).
For what it's worth, the Verizon guy at the Apple Store never even mentioned my credit score or anything like that. The only thing he offered as a reason I was rejected was that my age set off some flags and that he couldn't set up the account. The Apple guy was real nice about it, said he hadn't heard of anything like that before, and that he was really sorry I couldn't get it. The Verizon rep didn't really offer anything else I could do other than join my dad's account and then pay him each month since they would be billing him instead of me.
I'm trying not to think about this too much but I can't believe this is an issue.... ITS A PHONE.
Actually Annualcreditreport.com is the official one and the only place you can get your free annual credit report as required by the government. The other sites are bad but this is the one good one.
From AnnualCreditReport.com:
"AnnualCreditReport.com is a centralized service for consumers to request free annual credit reports. It was created by the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
AnnualCreditReport.com provides consumers with the secure means to request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act).
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only service authorized by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for this purpose. The three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies have always encouraged consumers to regularly review their credit reports. "
At Cowbella
I still haven't seen any response from you going to a Verizon store or calling them directly. That would seem the next logical step in this whole story. Something is definitely not right, either there is something on you that is stopping them or their system has a mistake. You are not going to find the answer by looking at your report or speaking with Apple or the two employees at the store. Go to Verizon and solve this one way or another. Best is in person so you are face to face.
Did I miss a post by you that may have already elaborated on this path to a answer?
Plus, I would assume your report would say "No Score" or reference that somehow.
I still haven't seen any response from you going to a Verizon store or calling them directly. That would seem the next logical step in this whole story. Something is definitely not right, either there is something on you that is stopping them or their system has a mistake. You are not going to find the answer by looking at your report or speaking with Apple or the two employees at the store. Go to Verizon and solve this one way or another. Best is in person so you are face to face.
Did I miss a post by you that may have already elaborated on this path to a answer?
Plus, I would assume your report would say "No Score" or reference that somehow.
Did the employees explicitly ask for your age?
If not, they may be assuming you are young (16-17) based upon your complete lack of credit history. It is rather unusual in this day and age for somebody in their mid-20s to have literally no credit at all. Not that that justifies it, but still..
If not, they may be assuming you are young (16-17) based upon your complete lack of credit history. It is rather unusual in this day and age for somebody in their mid-20s to have literally no credit at all. Not that that justifies it, but still..
I believe he had to give them his drivers license.
Either way, it's odd. Normally with no or bad credit history don't they just ask for a deposit?
I do believe this. Welcome to Willow Bend Apple Store. I've been there about 5 times. And each time I was given rude responses to questions, product was out of stock, etc.
I suggest you go up to the Stonebriar Mall store, or Northpark Mall off of 75.
If you're truly 23 years old, that is legally an adult. They, by law, cannot deny you due to your age.
Your credit and its history, however, are totally different.
But again, I've stopped going to Willow Bend store because of exactly what you just went to. Again, I suggest the Stonebriar or Northpark stores. Much more friendlier.
Okay, this is starting to shape up. It looks like you may have been denied immediately because you don't have a FICO score. This is probably some sort of policy that the folks at Apple have since they have little recourse after the phone leaves the store. At least with Verizon, they'll make up some of the cost on the back-end with monthly plan charges. Typically, lenders/creditors who deal with people without a FICO score, they'll next look at your bank accounts, employment history, and residence history. From what you're telling us, it seems as those these are in line. My next stop would be a Verizon retail store.
It seems as though many of you have had bad experiences with the Willow Bend Apple store. If that's the case, let the people at Apple corporate know about it. This may be a sign of a management issue. Apple prides itself on good customer service and would certainly want to know if one of its stores is not pulling its weight. I've visited countless Apple stores in several states and have never had any issues with their service.
Uh... This thing took place 14 hours ago... it's not like this has been going on for days now.
I left Willow Bend at 8:50 last night, so the Verizon store was already closed. I left for work at 7:45 this morning, before they had opened. Therefore, in the past 14 hours, I haven't exactly had a great time to swing by.
I've been reading around on credit reports and apparently when other people request your report, it causes your score to go down? Is that true?
I'll try that. Northpark is usually a madhouse, and I wanted to avoid it.
I've always had a fondness of the Willow Bend store.. my granpda took me there the day that it opened. I used to spent hours in that store.... One time I spent an hour talking to an employee who had a recording studio, and he taught me a lot of things about audio engineering. That store has changed a lot, though.
What do most people my age do to get credit?
It's unfortunate, but to get good credit one needs a credit card or loan. Make payments on time. It doesn't actually take long to get a good score.
A large number of inquiries in a short period will make your score go down.
However:
- Verizon already has a copy of your credit report, so they won't likely pull it again.
- You apparently don't have any credit history at all. Technically this means you don't have a credit score. It's near impossible go any further down from nothing.
If I'm not mistaken every time someone checks your report it stays w/ you for the next 6 months and they do bring the score down, it happens to people that ask for several credit cards in a year for example and it brings their score down, so choose wisely from the companies that ask you to check your credit history.
Get a CC and start building your credit!
+1
You have to be willing to borrow money to get the credit you need to buy things such as this. Kinda sad, really. Plays havoc with trying to be debt-free.
I'm calling BS on this thread. OP, is there some reason you are avoiding calling or visiting Verizon? You haven't responded to any of the people who have told you to deal with Verizon directly, yet you are now willing to go to another Apple store to try again?
Do you have a cell phone now? If so, who is your provider? If you don't have one now, did you have one in the past?
Do you have a cell phone now? If so, who is your provider? If you don't have one now, did you have one in the past?
So, where is the phone call to Verizon? He called Apple, where they expressed great concern about the whole SS card thing. Why not call Verizon as well, to find out for sure the reason for his rejection?
Sorry didn't look at time's posted. Saw all the post and assumed it had been longer.
Yes, your score can go down when you have a lot of people look at your score. Reason being is that the other company is going to assume you got a loan or your debt increased because it takes a bit for the new debt to show up.
I am somewhat a fanatic when it comes to my score and improperly noted debts or loans that have been closed that are not. I am 42 and it has helped keeping that score well maintained. Just don't get too involved.
Give Verizon a call then, at least try and get an answer from the horses mouth. I had Verizon for a long time and switched after the 3G phone. They are not perfect and I had one issue that took me a bit to solve with them, but eventually it was solved.
In the end, you need to get an answer from Verizon...none of us can really help. Sorry that being 23 and no credit is causing such a pain for you. We have all been there at one time, though most at a younger age. Get a credit card with a low limit so you don't get sucked in and keep it in good standing. It is a start and it helps.
Ironic that you can't get credit because you have no credit history, but to get credit history you have to have credit. Kind of like not being old enough to have a beer legally but it is legal to ship you overseas and have your head blown off.
Sometimes I wonder!
Unfortunately, it's the age-old caught-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place thing.
Many places won't give you a credit card or extend credit to you because you have no credit to begin with.
But, on the other hand, how is one supposed to attain credit if nobody will give them a credit card or extend credit? And so on and so on.
Are you in school? If so, there's CC companies that have credit cards geared toward students (i.e., they don't necessarily hold lack of credit against you). Personally, my first credit card was through Citi via a college-student geared card about 5 years ago and they even started me with a pretty high credit limit. Several of my other friends got cards through Citi as well. Though, I think being in school and having student loans in our name(s) helped us - but I'm not certain.
Capital One is pretty good about issuing first-time credit cards, but I would stay away from them if possible. They'll repeatedly just open up new credit accounts rather than raising your credit limit (which you want to build your credit), so you'll end up with 4 credit cards with them all with smallish limits rather than just one card with a higher limit.
You said you're a manager of a store, so I'd assume you make decent money. You've also been with your bank for quite a while - so go to them and apply for a credit card. That is probably your best bet as the major credit card issuers are likely more reluctant than ever to issue new accounts just because of the economy.
You should also get some bills/accounts put in your name. Electricity bill, cable bill, etc.
But at the very least - even with NO credit - cell phone providers typically just charge a deposit and it's normally easier to get a cell phone/cable bill in your name than to open up a new credit card. So your situation is somewhat "reversed" in that regard (i.e., having a cell phone in your name normally happens for most people before a full-on credit card).
I've already said that the Verizon store hasn't been open since the event occurred, save for the past 3 hours or so. I have a job, however, and therefore I haven't been able to go there. I would eventually like to go to either a Verizon store or another Apple Store, but unfortunately I have to wait until my work day is finished. I'll go to Verizon before I go to Apple.
I have a crappy Verizon cell phone under my parent's plan (not on a contract). The screen went white about 2 months ago, so I don't know who is calling me and I don't have my contact list anymore. I told them to cancel it a few days ago because I was getting an iPhone.... fortunately they haven't yet because they're out of town.