Now a cell phone question…..

[soscared123]

I am currently with ATT, but I'm wondering if I should include them in my BK so I can be out of my contract.
Should I switch carriers before I file?

Thank you.

[ksgirl38]

You could, but if you do when you switch to another carrier they are most likely going to ask for a high deposit. Are you just wanting out of your contract or do you owe AT&T quite a bit?

[bcohen]

Obviously, if you are in a contract which you wish to reject, you must list the contract on your Schedule G (unexpired contracts and leases) and Statement of Intentions (that you are rejecting the contract). You should also list AT&T on your mailing matrix, so they are notified of your bankruptcy. If you are behind on the bill, whatever balance you owe will be discharged.

That being said, there is no reason why anyone should choose a contract-based cellphone plan these days. There are so many pay-as-you-go plans, which offer unlimited talk and text for less than what you'd pay in a contract plan. Or, you could go "old-school" like I did, and trade in your cellphone for a home phone!

[AngelinaCat]

Why not go to a simple phone such a Verizon (Samsung Gusto2) and get the pay-as-you go plan for $1.99 a day, unlimited calls and texting (I turned mine off)? If you don't use the phone one day, you won't be charged.

I know that most everyone wants their phones to do most of their lives' maintenance for them, but all we want is a device that makes PHONE CALLS.

We picked ours up at Family Dollar, when they were on sale at $15.00 each instead of the normal $20.00. They came with a $10.00 credit, and the ability to sign up for any plan one wishes. We chose the pay-as-you-go option.

These do have some 'smart phone' features, and have cameras. In our cases, to download a picture costs $0.25 each. So we are very frugal with some of those features--especially when we both have cameras that do much better jobs at photography.

[soscared123]

The reason is I just want out of the contract! I want a no contract plan to help save money after this BK. I currently pay $170/month for 2 lines.

Thanks for the responses/ideas!

[bcohen]

You can get unlimited talk and text for $50/month per line from Cricket or Virgin Mobile, and that is not a contract. So the $85/month per line you are paying now is way too much.

[Pjmax]

Just do some research before you switch. If you want to keep your current phones, they may not be compatible with every system. In some cases, all you need is a new sim card, but in others you may need new phones as well. I have T-Mobile, $80/mo. for 2 lines, $50. + $30 for the 2nd line. I was on contract before I filed 8/2012, I switched to the no-contract plan when it first became available early 2013. They were not included in my BK, (they were aware of it anyway,) and I continued to pay on time, but a restriction was put on my account, which I didn't know about until I wanted to add the 2nd line a few months ago. I had to send a copy of my discharge and my mailing matrix, showing they were not on it, to the legal dept. It took nearly a month to get the restriction lifted.