Has Fido ever denied you service even if you have a good credit rating?
So my dad and I go to a Fido kiosk here in Edmonton looking to buy a cellphone (we have to use fido, because they have the phones we want). We tell them we want a family plan, 3 lines, etc. They write down all our info on a card, including our CC# and so on. They get the phones we want ready to go. The lady asks us for some ID to do a credit check. Well, ok, sure.
She comes back a few moments later, saying that after doing the credit check, we CANNOT have 3 lines, only a maximum of 2, and that we have to pay a $100.00 deposit for one year if we want to sign up. Now, credit has never, ever been a problem for my dad, his is excellent.
What’s the deal here? We need 3 lines, and they are refusing to give them to us. And what is the extra $100 about? I’ve never heard of anything like this before. What do I do? Is this normal?
- 2 answers
- Answer this question
Let me explain how the credit thing works..
1) Credit is, i'm sure most of you will know, build up by paying bills and what not. THere are credit ratings..just because you make your payments on time and what not, every time you do a credit check, get a mortgage, or buy a car, it will affect yoru credit rating until it builds up again. Your father may have never missed a payment before in his life, could be a recent larger purchase that's holding his credit back. Just because you need a deposite does not mean you have bad credit is what I'm trying to say; people get this wrong usually.
2) They are not refusing you, you can still get a phone, just that with Fido, a user can have up to 5 lines, some are restricted to one line. If you pay your bills on time for 6 months, you will get your deposite back as credit on the account or (they used to send you a cheque back), you should get the option when you sign up.
As RazrHatr has mentioned, credit is based on how much a person makes and how much the person (including all other balances owing) is able to pay a month, Fido does their credit checks through Equifax, which imo isn't the best out there, but they keep information for quite some time. Don't let the "you don't have credit" ruin it for you, again, its not that you have bad credit, its just that you may have a mortgage or car or a bigger priced item that you are currently paying back or have done a credit check or too many credit checks in teh past 5 years. Credit unfortunately takes a lot of time to build up, but it does not take much to knock it down.
I hope this clearifies a bit of whats going on for you.
Cy
It does sound a bit off. Why not try a different kiosk? The only problem is that it'll be another hit against your credit history. Each time you apply for credit, it gets logged at Equifax. When you apply for credit, companies check not only your credit history, but how much you apply for credit.
Sux, but that's that.