If you’re in the market for a new cell phone contract, you might be considering switching providers. If so, you need to be aware of a procedure that could affect your credit.
Some service providers will want you to sign for a full copy of your credit report before you use their service. It’s called a hard pull on your credit.
One of those hard pulls shouldn’t be a problem, but several can look bad on your credit report.
Sprint says it does this because it’s fronting the cost of the phone to you.
To avoid this type of credit check, you’ll have to pre-pay your phone plan.
Most carriers offer some kind of prepaid service. It might be ideal if you don’t use your phone as much as others.
Some services also offer plans with down payments. For example, T-Mobile’s No Credit Check Plan has all the feature of a postpaid plan but with a refundable deposit.