New Account... Deposit... What's the real story?

[PocketPcUser]

OK, so I have heard before that when you sign-up someone for a new account, it is randomly or by choice that the person has to put down a deposit.
Here's the thing:
I work for BBY GS, and make really great money. I have as good credit as I could have in the early twenties, and a fully paid off car that was bought brand new. They don't even ask for anything like how much you make, just some minor details like SSN and name address... blah blah, but still managed to tell me I have to put down 500$ to activate a new account.

So... what's the real story? Any shortcuts or secrets? I have the money coming in, I just don't want to shell out almost 1000$ for the Pro and new account...

[Geekcop]

In all the years I've had cell service, never have I ever had to put down a deposit. That sounds kinda weird.

[form61]

i work for one of the carriers. everything is based off of credit score and pay history. we just enter the basic info and hit submit and the rest is based off your becon score and payment histories. depending on what that comes back as determins if there is a deposit or how much it is. you should recieve a letter from the carrier soon with an 800 number on it that you should be able to call and find out why it came back that way. hope that helps

[guitardoc64]

I never paid a deposit for Sprint, and had never had a cellphone before.

[themuffinman]

Originally Posted by PocketPcUser

OK, so I have heard before that when you sign-up someone for a new account, it is randomly or by choice that the person has to put down a deposit.
Here's the thing:
I work for BBY GS, and make really great money. I have as good credit as I could have in the early twenties, and a fully paid off car that was bought brand new. They don't even ask for anything like how much you make, just some minor details like SSN and name address... blah blah, but still managed to tell me I have to put down 500$ to activate a new account.

So... what's the real story? Any shortcuts or secrets? I have the money coming in, I just don't want to shell out almost 1000$ for the Pro and new account...

WOW, $500 deposit for sprint? Damn thats alot of money. Now personally when I started service with sprint 8 years ago my credit was shot straight to hell but I only had to put down $130 deposit. Now through out the years I have seen many people with really bad credit get on with sprint but never for a $500 deposit, its usually around $100 to $150 or so per line. Now even though you have a car that you bought new thats fully paid for there maybe some other factors on your credit that you may or may not know about. In any case if they are asking for $500 then there is obviously a credit issue and if you don't know then you may want to get a copy of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies to make sure you credit is accurate.

[lil_jimmy_norton]

FWIW sprint has really tightened up their credit policies. In the old days, just a name and ID (No SS#) would get you a $150 deposit, nowadays I'm seeing someone pull a $500 on sprint then $0 on AT&T. Since they are on the verge of financial trouble then are just making sure they are adding quality customers.

Sometimes you can call and ask for a manual review, I've seen this work a few times, but not always.

[PocketPcUser]

Originally Posted by lil_jimmy_norton

FWIW sprint has really tightened up their credit policies. In the old days, just a name and ID (No SS#) would get you a $150 deposit, nowadays I'm seeing someone pull a $500 on sprint then $0 on AT&T. Since they are on the verge of financial trouble then are just making sure they are adding quality customers.

Sometimes you can call and ask for a manual review, I've seen this work a few times, but not always.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'll try the manual review because I doubt my credit can be that bad. I don't mind paying 100-150, as that would be two months prepaid, but 500 just seemed way to high.
Thanks again.