I read this, got worried and talked to Mum about it. She's totally cool signing up under her name. She even said she'd queue with me, if I bought her a tank of fuel (that's how we bargain things in my household)!

i asked my parents.
they are the "we'll think about it type"
they usually dish out the goods the night before...
sigh.

I'm in the same boat, but as Dad's still paying my phone bill, I'll just add myself or change the name on the plan when/if I get an iPhone.

For you guys under 18, who normally caves in first out of your parents...always used to be my Mum, Dad would be like, "You don't need that". ...I quickly learnt who to go to.

Question: I am 23yo and don't have a credit rating. Never had a credit card, but I do have a VISA debit card, if that matters. I have a full-time job. Can I sign a contract with no credit rating?

mum = overprotective (strong focus on my future)
dad = technology is EBIL!

but they caved on the iPhone for some reason.
probs because it was just my b'day

Just as long as you haven't failed to pay back debt in the past then you should be fine. My brother just signed a contract with Virgin and he doesn't have a credit card. He was even in debt, but the thing was he was paying it back and not in trouble.

If you don't think you have a credit rating, or don't have a credit card, chances are you're fine.

Thanks. I'll be fine then.....

Wow, things have definately changed since I was a teen (and I didn't think it was that long ago). My father only gave us 20c pocket money a week and the work was very hard for that (going down and milking the cows and taking the goats up and down the paddock during the morning and evening).

Just like everyone else said, no, you have to be over 18 to legally sign a contract of any kind. This goes for mobiles, credit cards, home loans, personal loans, basically all types of finance and major purchases like cars and houses.

My dad is the best one to go to ask for things. I always ask him first and then he tells mum he said yes

Similar situation here. I'm almost 23 . I don't have a credit rating. Never had a credit card. Same VISA debit card.

No job however - technically. I have a casual job but it's only for a month or so during uni break.

Can I sign the contract with no credit rating (and no job?). I do have enough to pay the entire contract out though... so they can just check my bank statements?

I used to work for three. When we signed people on the post-pay contracts, we had to run a credit check which usually took about 20 minutes.
If you've got a credit card (even visa debit, though they might have changed this by now since it was a bit of an oversight in the system), you were pretty much in.
At the very least, you needed verifiable employment and had to be able to provide a landline number of your employer.
Uni students are good though - no job, or CC, you are guarrenteed one handset.
If you've defaulted on a loan in the past, you're pretty much likely to get rejected.

are you guys serious? you really think we have credit ratings in australia?

thats an american concept for crying out loud.

an unemployed bum can sign a contract as long as theyre over 18 and have no had credit problems in the past. a uni student can get a credit card from the commonwealth bank without any proof of income. there is no such thing as a credit rating system in australia.

you can thank contract law for the fact that you cant sign up to a contract before youre 18 - simply put, as a minor your signature has no legal worth.

thats why you have a nice older brother like me who has signed up his younger sister as a second plan under his name

Sanjay, this is wrong. We have the CRA in this country. Yes banks and finance companies in the past have given out credit irresponsibly, however with the global credit crunch, credit is becoming almost impossible to get. This is why it's called a global "credit crunch"
Huy, I wouldn't worry about it, we all had to start somewhere, I started back in 1998 with my first mobile on contract with the new vodafone as well as a mastercard from NAB with a $500 limit. Back then I was a student as well and had no job. Phone companies are generally easy on people if they're over 18 and have no bad credit scores.

They were even complaining yesterday about the fact we take the credit rating too far.