When a customer signs up for a T-Mobile postpaid account, they have their credit checked. This check is to determine creditworthiness and set a maximum credit limit for the new account, as well as a maximum number of lines the customer can have without making a deposit. The customer can then finance devices (and take advantage of good phone promos) up to that limit. That system will soon be updated, and it looks like it’ll be a pretty decent change for everyone.
As shown in documents obtained by us here at The Mobile Report, T-Mobile plans to change their credit system to re-check for creditworthiness 6 months after activation and on an ongoing basis after that.
The new system will no longer use “credit classes” to define a customer’s creditworthiness, and will instead treat every customer’s account uniquely. This means a customer’s credit limit could go up, down, or stay the same depending on the customer’s account activity.
When 6 months have passed after an account is opened, an evaluation on the account history will be done and a determination made based on factors like payment history and tenure. Pay your bill on time every month and you might have a higher credit limit and lower down payments, for example. Pay late a few times – your credit limit might go down.
T-Mobile will then reevaluate your credit limit on an ongoing basis after that. It’s unclear how often or when those ongoing checks are made.
In the current system, before these changes take place, a “credit class” is set at the time of the account being opened. This classification sets the credit limit for the account. In most cases, that is the only determination ever made for the account, so even if the customer improves their credit over time, the limit set on the account wouldn’t improve.
With this change, customers will be able to increase their creditworthiness by having an account in good standing.
This is likely a good thing for most customers. Even if you have bad credit, as long as you always pay your bill on time you could end up with great financing options with T-Mobile and be able to take advantage of limited time device promotions.
It’s important to note that the ongoing checks, including the initial one at 6 months, do not run an external credit check with credit reporting agencies like Experian or TransUnion. Only internal T-Mobile account history will be used to make determinations.
In addition, these changes will not affect prepaid or Metro by T-Mobile accounts.
The new credit changes are set to go live on June 21st. If you’ve been stuck with a low device credit limit and high down payments on T-Mobile, that could change after that date, so keep an eye out.
