Mobile Phones For People With a Bad Credit Rating
All mobile phone companies will require a credit check before accepting you for a monthly mobile phone contract. For people with a bad or poor credit rating, "pay as you go" (PAYG) isn't the only option and the following tips may help:
- Register on the electoral role: This is probably one of the first checks that any company (not just for mobile phones) will use to verify your identity. Make sure the address on the electoral role is the one you live at and the one that you will use when taking out a contract.
- SIM-Only deals: If you already have a mobile phone, try a SIM-only tariff. The credit check on these should be easier to pass as the mobile phone company doesn't have the cost of an expensive handset to cover. Many of these tariffs can also be for a 1 month contract which is less of a risk (for both you and the mobile phone company) and easier to cancel if your circumstances were to change for the worse. With a SIM-only tariff, you can build up your credit history with the company and hopefully move over to a full contract in the future if you wished. Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and 3 all offer SIM-only tariffs and seem more willing to accept customers with poorer credit histories.
- Apply over the phone rather than online: Contacting a mobile phone company directly over the phone can sometimes give you a better chance of being accepted than by doing an online application.
- Apply for less expensive handsets & tariffs: Mobile phone companies will price a handset and tariff so that they make a profit over the length of the contract. The lower the cost of the handset & tariff, the more they will be willing to offer you a contract as the risk to them is reduced. Note that the advertised price for a handset may be subsidised by the contract, so the cost of the handset that you're interested in is the actual cost that the mobile phone company would pay.
- Avoid contracts with free gifts: As with the above tip, by reducing the cost to the mobile phone company, you're reducing the risk to them in case the customer is not able to finish the contract.
However you try to improve your credit history it will take time. Trying to improve it one step at a time should hopefully give you a better chance in the future.