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Can I "steal" my dad's phone upgrade, then leave the plan for my own individual account?

My dad has been up for an upgrade since 2012, but he loves his phone and doesn't want to replace it. I am on a more everything plan with him and my sister. I'm not up for upgrade for another few months. Can I take his upgrade now, but then leave the family plan and get my own individual plan?

Or will I have to stay on the current plan since I'm taking an upgrade that isn't technically mine?

Thanks!

Comments

Weth

Hopefully you mean transfer the upgrade to your line after getting permission from the account owner (Dad). Make sure he doesn't want the upgrade in case he breaks his phone and needs to get another one.

If he is in agreement, you can transfer the upgrade to your line. If you then want to break that line off to a different account, you would need to do a transfer of liability. You would need to pass a credit check and your dad would need to give consent as the account owner. Your contract and upgrade eligibility will transfer with you.

sarahkf

Thanks. Would I just need consent because I'm leaving the contract with his upgrade? Or because I'm leaving the his account in general?

By the way, I've paid the entire bill on my own, in full, for almost the entire two years of my contact. My dad leeches off of me and I refuse to pay for him anymore, thus trying to get out of my current situation ASAP. If I stay on "his" plan, I either pay the bill in full for 3 people, or I don't have service for my phone because Verizon will turn it off. So, technically he may be the account owner, but I'm the account payer. I hope I don't need consent to leave the account if I just wait til my own upgrade - he'll never give the consent because that means he'd have to be responsible for his own phone bill, not me.

Weth

It is because you are leaving the account in general.

You said your contract is up in a few months. That may be your best option. Wait until you contract is up, then you can open up a new account with no liability to transfer and just transfer your number. Since your dad is account owner, he will then become responsible for his bill.

rcschnoor

Weth wrote:

It is because you are leaving the account in general.

You said your contract is up in a few months. That may be your best option. Wait until you contract is up, then you can open up a new account with no liability to transfer and just transfer your number. Since your dad is account owner, he will then become responsible for his bill.

This would make no difference. Whether or not someone ports a line when under contract or not, the account owner must give approval. While the OP may be paying the bill, the account owner is the one financially responsible for it. The OP hasn't given their age, but there ARE age requirements in order to open an account with Verizon. I am not sure what they are, but I am fairly sure someone must be at least 18. I assume the OP is, but that is only an assumption.

Credit worthiness may also be a factor. Depending on the OP's credit history, they may have to provide a deposit of up to $400 to open an account.

Regardless, the OP's father must only give his approval IF the OP wants to keep their current number. If they don't want to keep their current number OR their father won't give his approval for them to take their number, they can simply open an account at any time with a new number. In this scenario they would not need to use their father's upgrade as they would be immediately eligible for a discounted phone when opening an account.:smileyhappy:

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