Since 2017, every mobile subscription that includes a smartphone counts as an installment purchase. On this page we explain which follow-ups can have a telephone credit for you.
A telephone credit is a mobile subscription that includes the costs of the telephone. This is seen as a loan and that is why the rules of the Financial Supervision Act apply. You cannot take out many subscriptions without having to register with the Credit Registration Office (BKR).
What is the BKR telephone credit?
Since 1 May 2017, providers, web shops and price comparators are obliged to provide insight into how much you pay for a device. In the past, they often claimed that you got a device ‘for free’. In practice, a subscription with a smartphone was often much more expensive. Regulations nowadays ensure that you get clear insight into how much you pay per month for your mobile subscription and how much you spend for your smartphone. The device is still yours after the subscription period, unless the provider, webshop or comparator indicates otherwise.
If you take out a subscription with a mobile phone, the contract consists of two parts. The first part is the costs for calling minutes, text messages and internet use. The second part is the telephone credit, the amount that you have lost for your device. Because you pay a fixed monthly amount for the smartphone, the government sees this as an installment purchase.
Which subscriptions does this apply to?
The rules only apply to part of all subscriptions. We only speak of a telephone credit if the following conditions are met.
- Only when closing one subscription with telephone – not with SIM only subscriptions
- You do more than three months on the payment – not if you pay off the smartphone immediately or within three months
- Only taken out with subscriptions on or after January 1, 2017 – not with existing subscriptions from before that date
- Only at private subscriptions – not with business subscriptions
Finally, a credit check is only performed by the Credit Registration Office at a telephone on installment of more than 250 euros. If you opt for a cheaper smartphone, your credit will be registered but there is no income test. So you can still buy a separate iPhone or go for a refurbished iPhone.
Consequences of the telephone credit for your maximum mortgage
If you purchase a smartphone of more than 250 euros on installment, an income test at the BKR is required. The agency will check whether you can apply for a device credit from a financial point of view.
This can have consequences for the maximum amount of your mortgage. This depends on your possible current loans. It is not only about telephone credit, but also about student debt and other possible loans. That can go fast. Especially for families, because the telephone subscriptions of underage children are also included in the calculation of a mortgage lender. Do you buy an installment telephone with a subscription of forty or sixty euros per month? This quickly results in a maximum mortgage that is thousands of euros lower.
Compare iPhones without BKR in our price comparison
The iPhoned price comparator has a handy filter, with which you can automatically sort your results by whether or not BKR notation. If you check this filter, the offers shown all have a maximum device bundle of 250 euros over the entire duration. This prevents a BKR registration. View all telephone subscriptions without BKR here.
Want to know more about telephone credit?
Would you like to know more about the rules regarding telephone credit? Below we have linked a number of websites that can tell you more about it.