In these troubling economic times, paying a cell phone bill may not be the top priority when a mortgage, a car payment, insurance payments or other necessary bills come up during the month.  While missing a payment on a cell phone bill will not get your service turned off, multiple missed payments will have a cell phone provider cutting off service before you can negotiate a payment plan.  If you nip the issue in the bud, most service providers will work with you to keep service on.  Since you paying any part of your bill is good for their business, cell phone companies are willing to negotiate if you come to them first.

Before you call your cell phone service provider to negotiate a payment plan, you want to have a course of action to present to them. Most companies have pre-built plans that they can implement on your behalf. However, these may not be the best bet if your finances are truly in trouble. They may ask for more money than you can give sooner than you can make the payment. This will default the terms of your payment plan and you will have your cell phone service shut off.

By presenting a plan on your own terms, you show the company you are serious about paying them and being in good standing. This can go along way if things are rough that this becomes a habit for awhile. When setting up the payment plan, make sure you can make two payments within a month period. Most companies will not accept anything longer than this, because they think it is too much of a risk. If you need to pay off the debt longer than a month, plan ahead to do it and call after making the first payment to add another one to the payment plan.

If you cannot live up to the terms of the payment plan, let your cell phone provider know right away.  While they may still cut off your service, you may have a bit more help than you were expecting.  This is not always the case, but you may be surprised at what options your cell phone provider will give you to keep your service on if you cannot make a payment, have to make a smaller payment or even change your service to make it affordable.