Bad credit won't hurt T-Mobile customers looking to finance new phones
T-Mobile is once again showing itself as an “uncarrier.” The No. 4 wireless carrier in the U.S. has announced that it will begin offering the same financing options to customers, regardless of their credit. The program, called Smartphone Equality, begins on Sunday, Jan. 25.
The new plan boils down to this: Loyal T-Mobile customers will now qualify for financing plans such as $0 down, no matter their credit rating. The only requirement is that you pay your bill on time for 12 months. Further, customers who already meet the new requirements to avoid a credit check will immediately qualify for the new financing options when the program begins.
In other words, if you’ve made 12 on-time payments to T-Mobile, you qualify for the new program.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere notes:
The fact is that 63 percent of Americans have a less than the perfect credit score. Which means that more than half of all Americans are denied the best deals. They either have to fork over more cash –both upfront and over time – or walk out the door empty-handed.
This should shock you. And we’ve been a part of the problem, too. But no more.
This certainly isn’t the first time that T-Mobile has attempted to disrupt the U.S. mobile industry. It will be interesting to see whether its latest initiative is duplicated by others.
Last month, the company introduced “Data Stash,” which allows customers to bank unused data and carry it over month-to-month for up to a year. AT&T announced its own rollover plan soon after.
In June, T-Mobile initiated a new program called Test Drive. Since its launch, Test Drive has been allowing customers to try out T-Mobile’s network for a week using an iPhone.
