Cingular's Outrageous Deposit Requirements

I agree completely with this letter about the outrageous Cingular
deposit. I signed a contract one year ago and I let the 500$ deposit.
I get it back only after calling them(you NEED to ask it back, is not
an automatic process), almost two weeks after the due date and without
interest. Moreover I set up an automatic payment of the Cingular bill
from an account so I found out that they gave me back the deposit
after taking out of it already the money for the next month payment.
Of course, nobody asked me if I wanted to renew the contract!!! :-(

Singular did placed a requirement on our company. We had made a
decision to switch from sprint after 8 years. Never paid a sprint pcs
bill late. When we can get 50k credit lines from a bank with just a
signature, and vendors will give us 30k terms, Singular thinks we
should give them $300 per phone for the first year. Singular is going
through the "waiver" process now. My boss will not be willing to give
them a deposit. Sprint PCS wants us to stay, and is offering to lower
our rates by 10% just to make it happen.

Unfortunately, your credit obviously falls below their standards. 500
dollars is usually an indicator of alot of charge-off's from wireless
companies or other utilities. Wireless companies are usually the last
to get paid and they know this, and thus all of them have tightened up
their credit standards to avoid charge-offs. T-Mobile isn't as strict
because they don't have the large customer base (or coverage area)
compared to the other national carriers.

You may wish to investigate what is on your credit file from all three
CRA's and work to settle anything negative (especially if it is from a
telecom company) as this is most likely what is causing you to be
flagged high risk and thus high deposit.

Cingular also has the GoPhone Pick Your Plan which requires no deposit
or credit check, just a debit card or bank draft and you can get all
the benefits like free nights and weekends, rollover and mobile to
mobile calling. That might be another option for you. They sell the
GoPhones just about everywhere including WalMart.

Jerneida,

I appreciate your situation, but I feel it's critical for you to see
things from Cingular's point of view.

A deposit is not put in place as a personal opinion of a customer's
value to them, but rather, as a guarantee that they will be paid on
the service you use.

They bill you after you have used their service, so their only
recourse if you don't pay is to shut off your service in the future.
That still leaves them holding the bag for all previous charges if the
bill does not get paid.

While yes, there are a number of reasons why someone might have a low
credit score (you could have divorced, you could just be overextended
with your credit, you could have been unemployed or underemployed) the
fact is, you appear to have a low credit score. There is no reason to
argue that.

Why should Cingular take you at your word that because you say you
paid on time to T-Mobile for 10 years that you actually did? Your
credit score indicates differently!

It's not Cingular's responsibility to absorb the risk of a client who
admits their phone usage will be very high without some sort of good
faith effort on the client's part!

If you had any idea how many people have black marks on their credit
scores from racking up enormous cell phone bills and then not paying
them off because they can easily switch to another carrier. I've seen
it so many times.

I will say that I am surprised that they did not offer to allow you to
set up an automatic payment plan where your bill would be
automatically debited from your checking account or a credit card each
month to ensure the bill was paid timely.

But bottom line, if your credit score does not, in Cingular's eyes,
support your assertion that you can and will pay your bill on time
every month, then they have every right to ask you for a deposit up
front.

$500 might be a lot, but you will get it back in a year if you pay on
time every month and usually they pay it back with interest. Think of
it as a forced savings plan.

Otherwise, your only alternative is the pre-paid option.

Just as you would want assurance that people who owe you money will
pay when they are supposed to -Cingular has the right to expect the
same.

Although $500 does sound high, coming from one of those people with a
good credit score, I understand where Cingular is coming from. Why
should I have to pay higher prices because someone in a "high risk"
group doesn't pay their share. I am certainly not accusing you of
being one of those people who won't pay, but how is Cingular supposed
to know that? All they can do is assess the risk and ask for a
deposit.

Call Cingular, speak with a representative calmly. Ask them how they
came to the conclusion that you are "high risk". Then, ask what other
alternatives there are. Personally, I don't understand why
recommending pre-paid was such a bad thing. All the sales person was
trying to do was to let you know about an affordable alternative.

The fact you are a mother of 3, work from home and have been with
T-Mobile for almost 10 years is all beside the point - - what was the
specific reason Cingular gave you for requiring a $500 deposit?

It does sound outrageous for that high of a deposit, but they do
assess risk and sometimes may make an exception. Maybe they will work
with you on this one and if they don't, I do know sometimes employers
can write letters of recomnedation or volunteer to cosign to ensure a
lower deposit amount.
It's a shame so many companies have to work this way, but it's
becuause of those who abuse the system that others have to suffer or
settle for lesser service.
Good Luck and let us know how they respond!!

Jerneida, I think you have every right to ask for an exception to
their rule and see if they can work with you. I can also feel for you
in that the $500 is difficult to put out there for a phone deposit.
That is a lot of money. With that said, those deposits are there as a
measure of protection from a perceived risk. That risk is often
gauged on credit scores and/or income. This is the same with loans,
etc.

There are many reasons people can end up with a low credit score.
Maybe you can talk to them and explain your situation to get the
deposit lower. I am one of the "other people in the world" and I do
hope that God blesses me. :) That can change any day though, who knows
when you might get laid off, have unexpected bills, etc.

Good luck!