Does AT&T ask for credit?
AT&T, in general, requires a credit check during the registration for postpaid wireless services including, internet services, and DirecTV. But there are some circumstances where you can obtain AT&T Internet services without going through a credit check. Here is an overview of when AT&T does and does not require a credit check.
Postpaid Wireless Plans
You will need to pass a credit check if you decide on a postpaid cellular plan with AT&T that calls for a monthly payment paid after service use. This also holds for shared data plans as well as AT&T Unlimited offerings. Before they let you get a new phone or register for a new 12- to 24-month service contract, they must make sure you have a strong credit score most likely to complete your responsibilities on time.
Should you also have a poor credit score and be subscribed to any of the AT&T services, you may be obliged to make certain deposit amounts before the activation of your service. The range of this deposit is $10 to $500, hence it is changeable. Should the consumer want to stop service, this deposit is deducted from the overall amount. Based on the reports, we may conclude that AT&T will reimburse any deposit paid upon service termination and clearance of any outstanding debts.
Prepaid Wireless Plans
All of the AT&T Prepaid wireless plans are available without credit check. Prepaid services allow you to pay for a certain amount of talk time, text messages, and data usage for a month in advance. Since AT&T does not have any financing or contract system in place, it does not ask for your credit verification. The main disadvantage of prepaid is that there are usually lower monthly rates than postpaid, but the customer is required to bring their phone or buy a new one at full price.
Internet Service
Like postpaid wireless, AT&T Fiber and DSL home internet plans perform a credit check at the time of enrollment. Specifically, AT&T requires customers to pass through a selection process before the service provider installs equipment and offers home internet access. However, some internet-only offers from AT&T are available for low-income families that do not go through a credit check. Instead, these Access from AT&T programs use a National Verifier check to confirm eligibility.
Specifically, AT&T Fiber offers service contracts that run for 12 months, while AT&T DSL internet is available on a month-to-month basis. However, if they are to pursue either of these methods, AT&T wishes to ensure that they have a favorable credit history in their records if balances go unpaid once the services commence. The bad credit might call for a deposit which ranges from $100-$150.
DirecTV
Watching DirecTV from AT&T is also accompanied by a soft credit check when signing up for a service. This is so even if you signed up for DirecTV along with AT&T internet or simply ordered satellite TV on its own. Before installing the satellite dish and the receivers in your home and before allowing you to subscribe to their TV services under a 24-month contract, AT&T must first inquire into your credit. Customers with a bad credit record may be required to pay $200-$300 for a deposit fee.
No Credit Check Required
While AT&T does credit checks for its key services, as outlined above, there are some products and services that do NOT require any credit or eligibility check, including.
- AT&T PREPAID service packages
- Pay-as-you-go GoPhone plans
- These are online streaming platforms such as AT&T TV NOW
- OneDrive cloud storage enhancements
- Items such as phone covers and chargers
- Rewards program membership
- Self-service portal: pay my bill, check account, etc.
The only main difference is that these products do not necessarily have to be accompanied by a service contract, equipment purchase, or monthly financing agreement - that is when the credit check happens. However, if the customer opts to subscribe to the streaming add-ons every month or a prepaid account, the company does not provide a soft credit hit.
Checking Your Credit Impact
When AT&T runs a credit check, they make what is known as a ‘soft search,’ which appears on your credit report but does not impact your credit rating. It gives you and also AT&T the chance to assess your creditworthiness without the impact of a hard hit. However, multiple soft checks within a short period may raise suspicion contribute to shopping around, and have a minor effect on the score.
If you wish to know if or when AT&T has checked your credit all you have to do is request your credit report on any of the authorized credit bureaus' web pages such as CreditKarma or AnnualCreditReport.com. Each credit check should come with the following information: date of the check, type of check whether it is a soft check or hard check, and a short explanation of why the credit reporting agency needs to conduct the check. The use of credit monitoring helps in keeping track of when your credit is being accessed and for what reason.
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