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I hear that getting a cell phone is hard unless you are a resident or have a business. I've heard a few times about people buying a cell phone from someone else to get their service. How does this work? Are you transferring service from someone else or just prepaying their service every month? Can anyone provide any clarity to this

Yes, it's impossible to get a phone legitimately unless you are a resident or own a corporation.

There are several options available to you otherwise. Some people have suggested that if they have a novia here to get the phone in her name, but that can lead to other problems. She can decide to shut it off if you piss her off, etc..

The option I used was the grey market, where I purchased a line from a guy referred to me by others. It was expensive (about $250) but I didn't have to go through the BS, nd if the line gets shut off for any reason not related to you, he will give you a new one. You can buy a phone from that guy or from anywhere you like.

There's no prepayment or whatever.. the phone is in someones name you've never met, and you just pay the bill every month at the local bank or drug store. If you don't pay, it gets shut off.. it's that simple.

You have ONLY 1 option: getting somebody else to get you a cell line in their name and you pay the bill each month.

As far as I know, there is no way one can get a cell line legally without residency or a business.

But like the German said, they can shut your line down whenever they want and any deposits you gave them to set it up are probably gone. I would pre-pay anything (other than the $25 initial "deposit" which ICE doesn't give back by the way). Pay month to month, so if the person shuts you down, you don't lose much.

You can get a cell phone without using any of the already described methods. You have a lawyer form a S.A. (corporation) for you. You do not have to own a business to have a corporation. Many gringos have their car in one S.A. and their home in another. That way if you are in an auto accident and kill someone the only thing they can come after is you personally and the assets of the corporation that owned the car. Your real estate is protected.

Buying a phone line from someone has some dangers. Besides the already mentioned possibilty that your phone service can be shut down by the person who sold you the line (it is still in their name not yours) you can not go to ICE to solve any problem you might have with service or billing, if it is stolen you can not get the chip shutdown and receive a replacement and off course if the person you bought it from ran up a huge bill last month, before they sold it to you, you have to pay it off.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I didn't say you had to own a business. I said you had to own a corporation, which is precisely what you said.

You do have to have some assetts for the corporation if I understand correctly, it can't just exist. If you don't have anything like that, you can't really have a corporation.

Your list of risks are also a bit of a stretch. If you buy from someone that has a good reputation, you don't have to worry about those issues. They want to keep their rep and will handle the ICE issues for you. That's part of why you pay so much for it.

As for a bill, you make sure they present you with a recent receipt showing the paid bill. And if it's stolen, it's in their interest to take care of it, because otherwise the person they used to get the line will be angry with them.

Don't be so defensive. I was responding to the thread not your specific post. Just to refresh your memory:

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

TheMadGerman,

This is incorrect.

You can start a S.A. (Sociedad Anonima) without any assets. And then if you choose to do so - you can assign assets to that S.A. in the future.

Respectfully,
MG

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

I have a Guatemala cell phone that works just fine in CR...

That's how I get around it...

It's more expensive to make local calls, but it isn't THAT much more. It's a pre-paid, and I just buy time on days when they give triple or quadruple minutes...

keeps me in the go every time I go down to CR...

Be careful buying a chip or chip and phone in Costa Rica on the gray market.

I bought a chip, always paid the bill and after one year the original owner stole it back. I originally had to pay her bill of 70,000c to get it.

Don't deal with a guy named D****r.

He is a scam artist!

It is very difficult getting a line in CR, but try to do it legally.

You can use a service here, but it is expensive.

Hmm.. I have to disagree about the guy you mention. I bought my cell line from him a year ago, and he's been very responsive to my issues. I actually bought 2 lines, one GSM and one TDMA. I had problems with the first phone, and he replaced it free of charge. After I dropped the second phone a few too many times, he sold me a new KRZR for a discount (he took the old phone for parts).

I've had nothing but good business with him and he's been very honorable.

Cap't Hijack a thread to the rescue......Is any thread safe


Back to the original topic and for correct information......

Right now you can't get a phone even if you do have residency or a corporation. I believe they announced the other day that there won't be any new lines until next year...

TheMadGerman, I'm glad your doing ok with this guy.

When the line was stolen I called him up and he told me it was "not his problem". I explained to him that I bought the line from him so its his problem. Now I have a cell phone that is worthless. He said its "not his problem". Plus, I bought another phone for a friend and he doubled charged my friend after I paid him already.

This guy D****r is a cheat. Stay far away from him!