Benefits

• If you are occasionally late with your cell phone payment, a carrier not reporting payments is a good thing, as your account is unlikely to be sent to collections over a small past-due amount.
  
  

Identification

• Of the major cell phone carriers, Verizon, does report consistent payments (Improving Your Credit Score: Using Verizon Cell Phone Service). A Verizon account shows under installment credit on your credit report. Remember that while consistent payments will increase your credit score, missing even one payment will hurt your credit if the carrier is reporting on a monthly basis.
  
  

Function

• Verizon reporting to the credit bureaus may encourage consumers to be more consistent and timely with cell phone payments. However, with few carriers reporting wireless accounts as regular trade lines, cell phone bills can easily go unpaid if there are more pressing obligations.
  
  

Considerations

• Reporting to the credit bureaus does increase a cellular carrier's expenses, so most carriers will not report any activity unless it is negative.
  
  

Warning

• Although most cell phone carriers do not report timely payments to the credit bureaus, you should not avoid paying your bill for this reason. Your service could be interrupted, and you could be required to pay late fees and reactivation charges.