Hey guys, just curious. I signed up with Telstra and wanted to cancel.
Since with contract will cost me $950 to cancel. If I decide to cancel and never pay, what happens? I am 21.
Debt and Not Paying off Mobile Phone Contract
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It's usually in your best interest to pay off the debt as soon as possible before it appears in your credit report.
You have a contract with Telstra for telecommunication services, according to their Telecomms Collection Policy they have right to restrict phone / data / SMS / MMS service if you do not pay your bills.
If your credit score is affected it will impact other things like your ability to buy a car, a house, or use any sort of banking product that checks your credit history and ratings etc. Other telcos / internet provider might refuse to sign any contract with you if you have history of not paying on time.
got it, so take the hit and just pay it.
@rny: It may stay on your credit file for many years, even after you pay it. You may find that next time you need a new phone plan, homeloan, loan to purchase a car or for an emergency etc, you will either be rejected, or be offered shark loan rates, all for a silly $1k.
It basically tells people with money that you can't be trusted.
Wow
Oh my!
Nah man let them cook. Yolo!
This is a selfish and very scummy response.
Someone out there, through no fault of their own, be it a shareholder or franchisee takes a hit when you do something like this
How do you think it affects their future?
You're holding a $1k+ phone. Where does that money come from?Won't somebody think of the poor shareholder!
@RolandWaites: Do you have Super? If so, you are a shareholder and part of the largest pools of shareholders.
@RolandWaites: Am I missing something here? With the negs?
I'm not a shareholder but I don't understand how this response justifies the behaviour.
I can't tell from your msg if you're supporting the notion that a shareholder has money to invest and therefore this is considered acceptable?
Someone is paying for this in some way and that hardly seems right
@RolandWaites: If you are so ok with theft then why not open leave your doors unlocked and invite anyone in to take your stuff. Every theft has an impact via increased prices for everyone else.
That's all? And if it ever impacts me in the future, I can just pay it off when I can financially afford to and it's ok?
That's right. Just uninstall the app that sends you the debt reminders and the debt will go away. It will be back when you reinstall the app but just dont reinstall it again and you've gamed the system.
/s
Yea that’s fine. You can’t afford your plan, so you definitely can’t afford a car or house. So no need to have a good credit score.
Besides they wont let OP cancel the direct debit.
OP would need to close/cancel the account/cardBut thats classed as 'loan default"
So then suffer a bad credit rating for life!
This would affect your ability to get a credit card AND a loan of any sort.
So its not that simple OP !!!
Debt is below $10,000, so make note of that.
I am a bit tired since it is the weekend but the gist is:
Debt collector => You can just ignore until the debt becomes statute barred. Bankruptcy is different though, but you don't meet the threshold which means you are safe.
got it, so because the debt is under $10,000 it's not something they can do much about other than pestering me?
Because the debt is greater than $150 they can, and will, default you. It will then remain on your credit report as a default for 5-7 years. This will prevent you from obtaining credit and utility accounts.
Why you would want this over such a small amount is testament to your character.
@rny: Sell the phone then and buy a $50 cheapie to pay the debt.
This is wild.. you are willing to (profanity) up your credit report and possibly the ability to get even so much as the bare essentials like a utility company to offer you electricity or gas in the future is crazy for $950…
@rny: It's not so much your unwillingness to pay this small debt that will screw your future, it's your attitude to responsibility.
@rny: Sell the phone or afterpay/zip pay it. Provided you're not in default yet, you should still be able to set up a payment plan either through Telstra or afterpay/zip pay
@rny: Then don't ghost them.
Contact the person with whom you have the contract, tell them you are experiencing financial hardship and ask them if they would consider some kind of an amended payment agreement, or query if there are any other available remedies.
You DO NOT, want this on your credit score, especially at 21.
You're a grown up adult who agreed to form a legally binding contract.
Be an adult and if you attempt to address your situation responsibly, you may avoid some potentially damaging repercussions.
Many people experience financial hardship from time to time. No need to be embarrassed or whatever, these companies deal with this all the time.
Just put your big boy panties on and deal with this like an adult.
@rny: Hey op, if your credit file isn’t worth $1000 can I buy your myGov account to run GST scams?
I’ll give you $50!
/s
Call the local police station and ask them what you should do as helping a person dodge a legitimate debt it not good.
jail
Believe it or not
You won't be able to finance that future hilux.
Had a car repossessed by Esanda around your age, blew the motor and stopped paying it, after a few months a tow truck turned up took it away never heard anything about it.
wow i havent heard of Esanda in years
Your credit file did.
lol was 44 years ago
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If you're going to ruin your credit rating at least go out and borrow a heap more money. It's not worth it for $1k.
We at least know OP isn’t a fake Tahitian prince.
someone is bored on a Sunday
this is a genuine question lol.
That's not something you want to admit to.
He who borrows what isn't his'n,
Must pay it back or go to prison.Excellent paraphrasing.
Why even get a mobile plan that you can't afford?
Needs teh iPhone
don't answer the door for the next 7 years. $950 well saved …
Just pay up.
Telstra don't do contracts anymore, unless you got a legacy deal like through JB Hifi. That $950 will be the actual RRP left for your phone. You can save money by doing this though because Telstra plans aren't cheap, if you change to prepaid then you could save hundreds per year.
yeah through jb
Then leaving contract early might be less favourable to you, but it still might save you money in the long run. But maybe not. Probably not.
Does your mummy know your on the internet?
Troll post
Because no 21yo with half a brain would ask such a question
@rny: Explain why…..
Because dude, for the average 21 year old, you are naive beyond belief!
Stop doom scrolling and self-educate!!
You over estimate the general population
Ask for a payment plan
Assuming you got the phone/plan contract legitimately, they will have all your details which would be super easy to take futher action should you choose not to pay. In addition, any costs incurred to pursue you will be paid by you, plus this will be on top of the hit to your credit score.
Get a job at Telstra and work your way into that department, then cancel the debt.
It's not a DEBT if you pay in full the cancellation fee after cancelling the plan.
I did this previously during Samsung S25 preorder. Still managed to get another plan during Pixel 10 Pro preorder.
Pro tip: If your Telstra point reached at least $10k points (monthly plan + cancellation fee), you can redeem $80 Belong sim card if you don't like other accessories. I can use it for 5 months free as data only plan and it comes with phone number to receive sms. I can use the number for other freebies ;-)
Did you initially think you could away with $1200 off of a new iphone? You could just ignore your debt, but its def not worth for $1k debt.
Stupid question. The debt will be passed to a debt collector and your credit rating will be destroyed for 5-7 years. Organise a payment plan to pay it off and maybe think about what you're doing the next time you feel the urge to do something this stupid again.
It's the same as buy an iPhone using your credit card but not paying it off. You don't think JB/Telstra will give you a free phone, do you ?
I had telstra chasing a debt and affect my credit score, never really affected me, still got credit, sometimes I had to explain the details on how telstra were just useless and were ripping me off. With hindsight - I should have gone to TIO but never knew about them then.
I got a telsta plan within 2 years of this happening.
Nowadays - I give Telstra 1 chance to resolve an issue, then goto the TIO.Why do you actually want to cancel the plan? Too expensive? Depending on your contract you may be able to make changes to it have you actually checked?
21 and you already considering being a rogue lol….bright future ahead of ya
They'll most likely block/black-list whatever device they sold you on the contract..
This person has no sense of financial responsibility and is generally immature with his responses.
I am in favour of his finances being ruined for the next 5-7 years.
Agreed. Some people like learning life lessons the hard way, why should we stop them if they're adamant about it.
It might be a phone plan today, tomorrow it will be a gambling debt. If you are asking this question, you have yet to learnt the importance of financial responsibility.
Turn it into an opportunity - ask for a job from JB?
You took on the debt voluntarily and it's now your responsibility to pay it.
I know someone who had their finances ruined for five years because they didn't pay off a sub $100 debt and it was sent to collections.
If the OP is following TikTok advice from a financial 'guru' about not having to pay off debt, reevaluate your life choices now.
$900 will turn into about $6000 as interest rates and it gets on sold to other debt agencies
your credit rating will tank, and that will mean
you might not be able to get a monthly phone plan
might not be accepted to rent a house thru a agent
might not be able to get credit card
might not be able to get car/house/personal loans
how long it last? only 5-7 years, sometimes longer, but that wont make you have good credit, that will just be that 1 default and no bad creditinstall clearscore it is free and you will see what your credit rating is
when i defaulted on a $970 tv i spent 3 years paying it back, even when i had a job that paid $184,000 a year for 2 years i still had a credit rating of less than 500, 12 years later on a just over minimum wage job (in a big green warehouse) im up to 923 and have a house a car
☑️ Minimum wage job
☑️ House and car
☑️ Credit score 900+
☑️ Big green warehouse 🤔👇
👉 🍀 👈 👀
👆i also spent 8 months doing pizza delivery so was working a 13 hr day 5 days a week, and houses where I live are only 250000~
Gen Z life
Isn't that like 2 payments of jobseeker for you guys? with that attitude clearly not working since you know nothing about responsibility.
"what sort of punishment will i get for robbing an old lady, just so i can weigh it up…"
appreciate your post mate
Either a troll, or a youth with no concept of responsible finance management.
Have you tried calling Telstra and ask to speak to their financial hardship team? That will be a logical first step and go from there.
This is worth reading a read too:
https://moneysmart.gov.au/managing-debt/financial-hardshipHope it works out mate. As others have pointed out, don’t ruin your financial future over $950.
You're 21, it's a good age to learn how not to mess up your life.
Hahahaha what absolute clown behaviour.
They send a debt collector after you.
https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/A5_Dealing%20with%20deb…
And it decreases your credit score. Missed payments (called defaults) stays on your credit report for 5 years.