[Kramer]

Right, so I called Telus a little while ago inquiring about switching my prepaid service over to a monthly plan to save myself some money. I call *611 from my cell phone and get a hold of an agent and he informed me I would have to get a credit check to fulfill my request. I thought that was an odd request just to go from one form of service to another but anyway I gave him the info and he processed the credit check. He puts me on hold and when he comes back he informs me that I will have to pay a $1000 deposit to do this, my jaw nearly hit the floor. I mean $1000 just to switch from prepaid to monthly? It's not like I was trying to get a new phone I was planning on using the same phone as it is adequate enough for me. That is just absurd, nobody in their right mind would pay that much for something like this, it's ridiculous. Has anyone else have this happen to them? Or is there anyway to get them to waive that fee?

 

[BGY11]

$1000 seems awfully high, but it is normal for providers to charge a security deposit on monthly plans for those who don't have good credit (or no credit).

I partially blame this on the "everyone approved" policy the carriers adopted a few years back (before then, you had to have good credit to go on a monthly plan with a cellular carrier.

Given how fast data or roaming fees can get out of control though, I guess they want to reduce the chances of having delinquent customers. Whether it's effective is up for debate, but I guess this is why they can justify it.

 

[Dr.Dave]

Here is a very similar thread in the Bell forum:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=589769

Remember, it's a security deposit, so you get your money back if you pay your bills on time.

Here are a few things you can try:

• If you think you have a good credit record, you can request a free credit report from the credit bureau and correct any discrepancies.
• If you don't have a credit history you can ask your parents to put the plan in their name (assuming they have good credit).
• You can try negotiating a lower deposit with Telus since they won't be subsidizing a phone and you won't be on a contract. Their only risk would be your monthly bill.
• You can ask if they will cap your bill at a preset amount and cut off your service if it reaches that amount. I don't know if they will do that, but it will limit their risk and the size of the deposit.
• Find out how long it takes for your credit standing to be based on your Telus account history. Eg. If you pay your bills in full on time for six months, they may refund your deposit.

 

[Dwayne Gorniak]

$1000 seems awfully high, but it is normal for providers to charge a security deposit on monthly plans for those who don't have good credit (or no credit).

I partially blame this on the "everyone approved" policy the carriers adopted a few years back (before then, you had to have good credit to go on a monthly plan with a cellular carrier.

Given how fast data or roaming fees can get out of control though, I guess they want to reduce the chances of having delinquent customers. Whether it's effective is up for debate, but I guess this is why they can justify it.

My wife and I have both been with Telus for years now. However, we have always had the phones under her name, with me on the account for my phone. I wanted to separate the bills due to the fact that I own my own company and wanted to switch my phone completely into my name. I have great credit as well. After all I do own my own company. However, Telus wanted me to put a security deposit down as well. I don't think it was quite that high though. I think it was around $500 if I remember correctly. I could have put the money down, but I just didn't see the sense in it. With that being said, credit doesn't even matter. They considered me a new customer and weren't giving me an option. That was about a year ago. Maybe it is a little different now and maybe they run credit checks now, but they didn't even offer me that option a year ago. Being that I have been on the account for years, you would think that they would consider that. So we left things the way they are. But that is also why my wife and I never lock into a contract and buy our phones outright. That way we can drop them at any time without any problems or fees.