I didn't know where to put this thread. I thought the smorgsborg was a good place but it didn't seem to fit there. Mods can place it in its appropriate board.
Okay this is quite complicated so I won't bore you with the details, but I bought a new phone (Galaxy S7) on March 8th at a local electronics store. My previous phone, Galaxy S5, was 2 years old and the LCD had cracked and it would have cost me $250 to replace. I had the money but I figured since the S7 was out I decided to get one.
To make this very long and complicated story short, I ended up signing a lease agreement WITHOUT realizing what I did. I asked the sales person before I signed, that I wanted to pay the phone in full right then and there but she said "you can pay the phone off anytime, you just don't have to do it now". Since I am an idiot, I said "okay". I should have paid more attention to what I was signing. My Galaxy S5 phone I bought 2 years ago, I did installment payments on and was able to pay the phone off in full about a month after I got it. No issues. That is what I THOUGHT I was doing with this S7 when I signed that lease agreement that I thought was an installment agreement. With installment agreements you can pay the phone off anytime you want with no penalities and I thought that is what I thought was doing. I think sprint just started that lease crap about 2 years ago or so. I wasn't given a lease choice when I bought my S5 back in 2014.
Anyway, on April 8, I decided it was time to pay off my phone in full. I called Sprint, and told them I want to pay the full balance, thinking I could do that with no issues. He told me "you can do that, but since you are in a lease, you must pay the full price of the phone, PLUS $150.00, PLUS the next months payment". I almost fainted when he told me I have to pay an additional $150 plus next months payment. That's when he explained to me that I signed a lease agreement when all this time I thought I signed an installment agreement. I pretty much slammed my head into a wall.
My total bill is 917.01. That includes the price of the phone, plus the $150, plus next months bill, all rolled into one cute little pile. I already paid them $63. My monthly service bill is (and has always been) $86. That includes unlimited talk, text and data.
I've been thinking of joining verizon's team for the last year even before all this mess happened. I went to verizon and the sales guy told me they can give me $300 for my phone and I can just pay an extra $400 towards a new S7, or any other phone I want. I will be stuck with that $917.01 because I will not pay that if I get a phone through verizon. It will (of course) go to collections and ruin my beautiful credit history that I have worked so hard to maintain. I could just pay the 917.01 but I hate sprint, and their network, at least where i live, has gotten worse. I have been a loyal customer of theirs since 2010. NEVER missed and payment and NEVER been late NOT ONE TIME. In the world of contracts, you mean nothing to these coporations.
So my question is this, should I just pay the $917.01, keep the phone with this garbage company and deal with the pain and mistake that I made, OR should I just say screw sprint, let the $917.01 go to collections, be reported on my credit for the next 7 years, maybe even getting sued and wage garnished and sell my S7 to Verizon for a $300 credit and buy another S7 (I like this phone) for $400 and just try and put this behind me (even though they will be blowing up my phone to collect their dough so it won't actually be "behind me")?
No I didn't talk to a sup. The $150 was the charge for canceling the agreement and I asked them why I needed to pay next months bill but they told me "its in your contract". Believe me, If I had been more observant of what I was doing I would have NEVER signed that agreement. gahhhhhhhh I feel so bad.
@someone379 wrote:My understanding (based on my Verizon plan that I think they all do now) is that if you just pay it monthly, it turns out to be 0% financing... Is that the case here? If it is, why not just pay it monthly like your agreement says and avoid paying extra? Put the money in a savings account that gains interest to pay it out of.
Is Sprint's deal not 0% financing like the other players (AT&T and Verizon)?
Yea it's 0%. I already canceled the contract (but haven't paid a dime other than that $63). The lease agreement was for 2 years.
@someone379 wrote:My understanding (based on my Verizon plan that I think they all do now) is that if you just pay it monthly, it turns out to be 0% financing... Is that the case here? If it is, why not just pay it monthly like your agreement says and avoid paying extra? Put the money in a savings account that gains interest to pay it out of.
Is Sprint's deal not 0% financing like the other players (AT&T and Verizon)?
The phone itself was $699 and that electronics store I went to.
http://support.sprint.com/support/article/FAQs_about_Sprint_Lease/b91a834e-e06f-4321-a97f-a0888b4199...
Seems like you're stuck with a lease offer instead of a buy. Technically the store guy was right, you can purchase the phone at the end of the lease period, by paying the purchase amount. They're running a similar business as car sellers.
You might want to read your lease agreement carefully to find out the purchase option price and determine whether you're getting any benefits from the lease.
Don't believe what the CSR says. You should check the agreement yourself and if necessary, speak to the seller at the store.
Regardless, don't think of letting it hit your credit. It's less than a thousand dollars, not worth it to get a baddie. Get the AMEX BCP and use it towards the cost
Seems like you're stuck with a lease offer instead of a buy. Technically the store guy was right, you can purchase the phone at the end of the lease period, by paying the purchase amount. They're running a similar business as car sellers.
You might want to read your lease agreement carefully to find out the purchase option price and determine whether you're getting any benefits from the lease.
Don't believe what the CSR says. You should check the agreement yourself and if necessary, speak to the seller at the store.
Regardless, don't think of letting it hit your credit. It's less than a thousand dollars, not worth it to get a baddie. Get the AMEX BCP and use it towards the cost