Should I renew Cell Phone contract before filing ???

[LaidOff53]

Our 2 yr contract with verizon wireless is up in a couple of days , Its in my DH 's name , I will get a 20% employee discount per month through my work if its in my name . We are planning to file CH 7 in a couple of months , Will it work against me if i sign a new 2 yr contract ? or should i wait till after we file ? but then i will have bad credit and i may not get approved by verizon .

[JRScott]

How critical is the cell phone to your life?

[LaidOff53]

It is very important , i travel 30 mins to work in a older car ( 9 yr old ) and if i break down i need it to call for help ! I just wanted to know if the trustee will give me grief if i signed a new 2 yr contract in my name since my DH's contract has run out , we have never been late paying currently so i know the credit check wont be a problem ( at least for now ) i have read some posts that say the it is frowned upon if you sign any contract fior new credit right before you file .

[JRScott]

If you've picked out a lawyer call them and ask their opinion.

Cell Phones are usually a district thing. Some allow them some don't as far as expenses. So you probably need a feel for that. The lawyer might also be able to jiggle the numbers some if its not a normally allowed expense but you spend less say on food than is considered normal and he might could slip it in that way.

[LaidOff53]

this may be a dumb question but if i dont list it on my expense list per month will they find out if i dont tell them? we have had verizon wireless and renew every 2 yrs , just happens that this contract ends now so if we renew and then file ch 7 in 2 months i didnt know if the trustee would give us trouble .

[MiSSMaGoo]

Im in CO and I listed mine and my husbands cell phones as an expense. Ours is $120 a month and we are not obligated to a contract and it wasnt an issue for us...

[LaidOff53]

thanks miss

[Mi Bankruptcy]

We renewed in Oct 08 and Filed Nov 08. We didn't want any issues. Of course, we don't have a regular house phone. Here's what's going to happen. They will shut down your old account and give you a new account number( keeping your phone on). It will look something like your old account # -2. I recommend you do not add any additional services to your contract until you are through with BK. We added unlimited texting to our daughters phone for Christmas for 10 bucks a month.This was what she really wanted for Christmas and we said we would pay for the first 6 months then she is responsible for paying us $10.00/mth after. Somehow, she got on "premium" texting" and we have $400.00 bill. I think she entered her phone number on myspace.com and 3rd party is now charging our Verizon account.

Verizon also did not put texting on our plan when we ordered it. So, all of her texting for the first month was at a regular rate. Verizon just reimbursed us for their mistake.

Of course, Verizon entered us into a new contract without our consent by opening a new account(-2) to "prevent" service disruption (Good & bad thing). They are required by BK to close your old account. However, there are charges they can't explain. We have been on the phone with them and had to go into a store an deal with them for almost 2 hours.

The poor lady at the store could not make heads or tails of our bill. She is trying to get us a credit because their seems like an extra $200 on our bill they can not account for. This has to go to a district manager for approval. Our Verizon account has been current before filing and after filing.

Here was a number on a letter we requested from the Verizon Wireless Bankruptcy Admistration 1800-555-8879. Needless to say I am considering contacting our state Attorney General about this 3rd party billing. I don't know how they can enter a minor into a contract or verify the person is 18 or not.

[TEW]

Yes If you really want to have a new contract or new phones at a cheaper price renew the contract before you file.
1. You may have to put down a largge diposit after you file and try to renew.
2. after you are discharged the contract maybe wiped out anyway but you will still have the service as long as you pay.
I went to AT&T the other day I needed a new sim. They told me I could renew my contract NOW I did still have 10 months left on the contract.
It looks like the contract was discharged. But i still have the same service.
Something else i found out was that I don't need to by a phone from them. I had one phone that was broken AT&T wanted $99.00 for a new one. I went to walmart and got an AT&T track phone and put the sim in and it works fine.

[AngelinaCatHub]

It is very important , i travel 30 mins to work in a older car ( 9 yr old ) and if i break down i need it to call for help ! I just wanted to know if the trustee will give me grief if i signed a new 2 yr contract in my name since my DH's contract has run out , we have never been late paying currently so i know the credit check wont be a problem ( at least for now ) i have read some posts that say the it is frowned upon if you sign any contract fior new credit right before you file .

Laidoff: My opinion only, we had contract phones and the billing went up to out of site. We now use Boost phones, by Nextel. Pay as you go. They have the radio feature that is only charged $1.50 a day when used once. Then all day you can use it, not by the minute. I like Boost because it serves our purpose fine, and NO BILL.

If your concern is mainly a problem on the road, all phones by law whether they are an active account or not, will call 911 and connect you to your local police. We used this once when we got stuck in sugar sand in the middle of a forest. The police department was totally cooperative and we got a tow truck out and got pulled. ‘Hub

[Overmylimit]

Why do you have to renew your contract? I have Verizon also and have 6 lines with them, all that happens when your contract is up you go month to month. They won't make you re up the contract that's just what they would like ;) month to month is better for you anyway, if you ever want to switch service you're not stuck in a contract. My contract ended years ago but they are always offering me some kind of deal to get me to sign for another two years..

[TEW]

You don't need to have a contract. My cell phone did not change after filing I have NO plan to renew the contract.

[OhioFiler]

I'm confused.

Are the satellite TV contract and cell phone contract included in the BK? We got new phones from Verizon in December 2008 and are under contract until December 2010.

I just had Dish Network out to replace a bad receiver yesterday and they insisted i restart a new 24 month clock.

I don't have any plans to discontinue either service post-filing and we're current on our payments. Am I required to list them as creditors and will the contracts be voided??

[Mi Bankruptcy]

You are supposed to list all of your creditors.
This also plays a role in your Schedule J ( how much money you have going out) We decided to get new cell phones and our contract was up so we renewed our contract. We have 4 phones. We with Verizon for 8 years and never had any problems. Plus, you can't get our contract anymore.

[WorkingItOut]

I have Verizon Wireless and they were not listed in my BK at all. I did tell my lawyer about my account, but they were never contacted and I didn't have to go with getting new account numbers or anything.