I am 23-years old with once excellent credit.  In December 2005, my uncle suggested that I go with Nextel.  I already had an Alltel under my dad's plan, but my uncle contended that everyone in the countryside has Nextel.  So I went to a friend who owned a mobile phone retail business (specializes in Alltel, Sprint, and Nextel) and ask him to run my credit with Nextel.  Nextel, in turn, granted me with three lines, no spending limit, and no security deposit.  My uncle then suggested that I should give my other two lines to my cousins (his two daughters).  I agreed on terms that they pay there bill on time each and every month.  Well, lo and behold, I gave them the two extra lines and they did not live up to their end of the bargain.  My phone bill is never below $200.00 a month.  I ended up taking the huge burden on my shoulders of paying my Alltel under my father and the three lines with Nextel.  Then, I sometimes cannot pay the bill that my Nextel was shut off three times (and my two year contract has not expired yet).  Not paying a mobile phone bill on time (like not paying your other bills on time) truly does affect your credit in an adverse way.  My only hope is to negotiate with Nextel in hopes that they will give me a payment plan for the $1,440.00 that I owe them ($690.00 outstanding balance plus $750.00 termination fee -- which equates to $250.00 per line terminated).

The moral that I hope you get out of my situation is that you should not get a mobile phone in your name for others even for family members because most likely YOU will end up paying the price -- the money and your credit being adversely affected.  If the person you love and care for needs a mobile phone and they are credit challenged (or under the age of 18 where they cannot get anything because minors legally cannot commit to a contract), get them a prepaid mobile phone.  In my case, I should have kept them under Boost Mobile (since it's the prepaid version of Nextel).  They may resent the idea of a prepaid mobile phone but YOU will have to deal with the consequences of their actions not them because YOUR name is on the legal binding contract not them.  Thank you in advance.