Unpaid cell phone bill

[bronxdude]

Hi,

I know this is a little dubious but I recently ditched Verizon and ATT wireless to move my wife and I's cell phone to cricket. We have pretty large unpaid bills with both, around $600 for ATT and $700 for Verizon. They are so large because we were on their installment plans for phones. How bad will it affect my credit if we don't pay these bills? We already have about $10k in debt and my credit score is above 700 but I'm willing to sacrifice the credit score if it doesn't make too much of a dent.

Any advice is appreciated.

[JLee]

Regardless of credit impact, you owe that to them...I'm assuming you kept the phones, which is why the bill is so high?

[SaintM]

Be prepared to take the credit score hit for 7 years following your last payment. If you stop paying and ignore the phone calls and nastygrams, but make a small payment in 5 years, your clock starts over.

[fields]

Why don't you want to pay these bills?

[innkeeper77]

$11k isn't much debt- you really should just pay it. What if you do very well, and three years from now want to buy a house or investment property? It will cost you far more than you would save. Plus it's unethical. Sell the phones, use it to pay down the bills.

[Frankies Girl]

Wow, dude. That's pretty shitty of you. Pay your bills.

There's a chance they can sue you and get a judgement against you and garnish your paychecks too (and it won't be any small potatoes bill at that point either... court costs, legal fees, penalties and interest.).

Your employer will then know that you're a deadbeat and that will color how they see you as a responsible worker as well (seen it happen - once someone starts getting wage garnishments, it's pretty obvious they're not suitable for jobs where responsibility and dependability are necessary, so you are also hurting your career as well by going this route)

More likely they'll sell the debt to a collection agency who will harass the hell out of you for as long as possible.

And yeah, your credit will be pretty crappy for a long time.

You'd be pretty stupid to not just take care of this like a responsible adult.

[Migs]

I'd pay the bill. About 10 years ago, my boyfriend's roommate basically screwed him over by telling him he paid the cable bill. He didn't pay it, and my boyfriend was faced with either paying for school or paying the bill. My boyfriend chose to pay for school and just decided to screw paying the cable bill. That little screw up is still on his credit report today because the company sent it to collections and the debt kept getting sold over and over again. It's not worth it.

[SaintM]

I'd pay the bill. About 10 years ago, my boyfriend's roommate basically screwed him over by telling him he paid the cable bill. He didn't pay it, and my boyfriend was faced with either paying for school or paying the bill. My boyfriend chose to pay for school and just decided to screw paying the cable bill. That little screw up is still on his credit report today because the company sent it to collections and the debt kept getting sold over and over again. It's not worth it.

As long as your BF hasn't made any payments, he needs to dispute the bill and get it off his credit. The company doesn't get to extend the negative credit mark by selling the debt to someone else.

[Migs]

As long as your BF hasn't made any payments, he needs to dispute the bill and get it off his credit. The company doesn't get to extend the negative credit mark by selling the debt to someone else.

No, he hasn't made any payments on it, and we've received similar advice, but we've also been told that he needs the old bills to prove that the 7 year mark has past. Of course, he doesn't have those bills anymore and so we are unsure as to what to do to prove that debt is more than 7 years old.

[johnny847]

Wow, dude. That's pretty shitty of you. Pay your bills.
.....
You'd be pretty stupid to not just take care of this like a responsible adult.

While I wouldn't have phrased it so emphatically, I completely agree.

There is a difference between being frugal and being a cheapskate. OP, what you're suggesting is being a cheapskate. Just pay your bills.

/face punch.

[SaintM]

As long as your BF hasn't made any payments, he needs to dispute the bill and get it off his credit. The company doesn't get to extend the negative credit mark by selling the debt to someone else.

No, he hasn't made any payments on it, and we've received similar advice, but we've also been told that he needs the old bills to prove that the 7 year mark has past. Of course, he doesn't have those bills anymore and so we are unsure as to what to do to prove that debt is more than 7 years old.

The FCRA requires the creditor to prove the loan is under 7 years, not the other way around.

[caliq]

Having been in the position where there really wasn't $1300 lying around anywhere, and wasn't going to be anytime soon, I'd like to offer a different perspective:

1.  If you have the money, pay your bills.  Bottom line.
2.  If you really don't have the money, or you'd have to choose between eating or paying rent and paying the cell phone companies, call them and work out a payment plan.  If you're in contact with them, they won't send it to a collections agency or report it as long as you pay it off in a reasonable time frame (I'd say 6 months or so for that amount of money.)

I left a bad relationship once where all the household bills were in my name -- moved back in with my parents a state away, had no job, no assets.  I ignored the bills for more than a year, but once I got my shit together and started acting like a rational adult again, I paid them all off within a month (about the same amount that you owe now).  I don't have any dings on my credit report, mainly because I called the companies the second I realized I should pay them, explained the situation, and asked for some time to get things together.  Every penny I earned went to those bills until they were gone (was still living with very gracious and helpful parents).  Honestly it was a really great feeling once everything was paid -- running out on my debts kind of made me feel like a complete asshole, even though I technically had good reasons for it and technically only owed half the amounts in the first place. 

[Greg]

I would call Verizon to set up payment plans.  This will preserve your credit record, and fulfill your obligation.  However crappy the obligation is, it sounds like one you signed up for. 

Non-payment after service is equivalent to theft, and you don't want to do something (or not do something) so that you are perceived as a thief.

[Primm]

I would have thought that using a service and then refusing to pay for it was either theft or fraud (if you never intended to pay for it). Either way it's a pretty shitty thing to do.

You used the phone service, pay the bill.

[bronxdude]

Thanks for the advice, even though some of it was a bit harsh. I am going to pay the bills, by calling them up to set up a payment plan.

[NICE!]

I'm glad you came around. Your personal ethics are more important than money.

[Greg]

Thanks for the advice, even though some of it was a bit harsh.

On this site, harsh advice is commonly referred to as a "face punch".  Blunt can be caring, too.