How will cosigning for a Cell Phone affect my Credit?

Question

A friend of mine was sent to a collection agency because of breaking a lease for an apartment... so her credit sucks.

She's asking me to possibly cosign for her to get a new Cell Phone plan.

I dont think she would ever MISS a payment completely, but she might make a payment late.

Answer 1

a late payment will ding your credit report...

if you want to keep your friendship you'll not co-sign.

If she needs a cell phone suggest she gets a Tracfone. Then she can purchase the minutes on her own.

Answer 2

i did it twice  lost both times phones never returned . daughter is mentally challenged she did same thing , lost her credit total is in collection . none of the 3 combined accounts ever recieved a cent . if you do sign please do it on a one year contract at the cheapest plan possible , and moitor the usage , tough decision to make . if i was in your shoes . belive this or not . i would do it again . quite obvious your friend was used. unable to get phone  service . cell phones cheaper than home and cell phones combined . under these circumstances i think i would . there is good and bad . this sounds good .

Answer 3

If it is listed as a joint account and she is late, it will affect your credit negatively as well. Now adays, it is important to keep your credit perfect. As long as your SSN is on the application, you will be responsible for any charges, late fees, and credit problems. One good thing, if she is late, but makes payments within one or two billing cycles, I don't believe a cell phone bill shows up on your credit report. If she fails to make payment entirely, it will appear on both your credit reports as a collection, which is a SERIOUS hit to your scores. If you are cosigning, have the bills sent to you. And then make sure she gives you the check to mail in. Or, have her make direct debits from a checking account.

Answer 4

PAY ATTENTION NOW !!!!  Do NOT co-sign for that dead beat... If she does not pay it will make you the same kind of risk she is.  When people learn to pay their bills on time and in full and realize that is what makes good credit reports that will help everybody.  YOUR KINDNESS TO HER WILL RUIN YOUR CREDIT!!!!! SHE IS A USER !!!

If a collection agency is trying to get money from your friend

RUN from her or him cause you WILL lose.  She doesn't pay her bills so what makes you think she will pay you.

Answer 5

As stated above many time....NEVER co-sign for friends....it's a quick way to bad credit for you. Cell phone bills have a way of exploding out of control if you aren't careful:  music/game downloads, texting, charges for roaming out of area, international calls....If she defaults, you could be liable for hundreds of dollars.

Prepaid cell phone services have FINALLY come down in price...your friend doesn't need to get a post-paid plan that requires a credit check. Net10 has a flat 10-cents per minute rate.....T-Mobile also has a decent prepaid plan....Virgin Mobile has decent monthly plans that  do not require credit checks. Verizon and ATT are expensive though.

Answer 6

Most cell phones don't report to a credit bureau until the payments get very past due. At that point they would have disconnected the phone and then they would register a collection on your credit bureau. In Canada one of the larger phone companies (Rogers) will show their phones as a trade line on the Trans Union credit bureau but most banks don't pull that bureau first and they never use someones cell phone as a means to judge their credit.

Basically your only worry is if your friend racks up a massive cell phone bill and never pays it. We're talking $1000+ and doesn't pay it for months...then it will be shown as an unpaid collection...but if the rest of your credit is spotless, then you should be able to explain the situation if any lenders give you a hard time.

Best thing to do: don't co sign. If you  still want to help, just make sure you get a copy of every bill sent to you and get on your friend immediately if you see them getting past due.

Good luck.

PS...if a payment is late but inside of 30 days, it will never be reported on a credit bureau, that goes for any type of loan. Don't let other people scare you...after all this is a cell phone were talking about not a car loan lol

Answer 7

Do not do it. Period. If a cell phone company won't give her a phone(and they have LOTS of money!) why should you? If you cosign it's just like you getting the phone and you are responsible. If she's late it's just like you being late. You may not even find out she's late or has been late until they come after you or you apply for some more credit and get denied.

Answer 8

People need co-signers because they don't manage their finances very well.  NEVER co-sign anything for anyone that you are not legally married to.  Courts are set up to deal with marital assets and debts.  But there's nothing for friends.

Cell phones don't report to credit bureaus.  But if the bill goes unpaid for any reason, it will go to collections and the collection agency will report it to your credit file and come afte you for payment.

Answer 9

NO. Never co-sign. I don't even co-sign for my kids. NO, NO, NO.

Answer 10

i wouldn't cosign for her. there are prepaid phone plans or she can just pay a large deposit on a cell phone, but that might cost a lot. if she makes a late payment every month on her phone that will not affect your credit score or report. if it goes into collections and remains there 30 days and it doesn't get paid then it will post to your credit report. i have paid my cell phone bill late so many times and it has never posted to my credit report, still i wouldn't do it for her. most utilities do not get posted on a credit report though, but i wouldn't want to have to worry about whether or not someone is paying on time.

Answer 11

Hello !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You've already answered you own question.  You have really did your homework on this one.  So, you know, Don't you, not to co-sign for anyone.  Why would you risk the chance of your credit getting screwed for someone else, just because you feel sorry for her, and you are trying to be a friend.  If she really was your friend, she wouldn't ask you or put you in this position.  Many people have lost friendship, because someone lied or defaulted on an agreement etc.  Let me put it this way, are you willing to Pay her debt off, if and when she defaults on the bill?  If so, then I would say by all means go for it.  That means you can handle it, and you really don't care either way.  Then why ask us?    It's a no brainer.  But, if you care about your credit, and don't want to have to be responsible for someone elses debt, and also deal with the aftermath of bad credit, then you won't co-sign for anyone.

Answer 12

As cosigner you are responsible for the payments just as much as she is.  You risk your own credit and ability to purchase real estate, cars, etc as well as your ability to sign monetary contracts like leases.  Finally, you have no basis for evaluating this woman as credit worthy except that her only transaction of note was negative.  Credit is very difficult to obtain now because of excesses in the recent past.  This is not a time to be taking on additional risks.

Answer 13

read my lips,

DO NOT DO THIS !!!!!!!!

not a good idea to co-sign for someone, partiacularly for soemthing like this, she can get her own phone.

Answer 14

DON'T DO IT!