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Of course it's your phone. That's how modern finance works. The only purchases you're likely to make that accrue equity in a legal/contractual framework are car

Of course it's your phone. That's how modern finance works. The only purchases you're likely to make that accrue equity in a legal/contractual framework are cars and homes. Once that phone is in your hands, it's yours to do with as you wish.

pc86 4y ago
The last couple years notwithstanding, cars are about the least likely thing to accrue equity. If you have a loan on something, it's not yours. If you stop paying your car payment, they take it away. If you stop paying your mortgage, they kick you out. (And neither of these absolves your financial responsibility). I don't think it's particularly surprising to suggest that if you haven't paid for your phone yet, whoever gave it to you still owns it. But I never suggested you can't "do with it as you wish" only that bricking the phone was a perfectly reasonable way to ensure that it was paid for in full in the example of someone getting a subsidized phone but wanting to switch carriers a few months in - which should be allowed, provided you pay back the subsidization.
- vinceguidry 4y ago
  > If you stop paying your mortgage, they kick you out. (And neither of these absolves your financial responsibility). 12 states have 'non-recourse' mortgages, where if your mortgage is foreclosed on, the lender has no legal avenue to recover the difference if sale does not recover the principal. More generally, what provides for recourse isn't the vague idea that 'you're still making payments'. It's a signed contract saying they can. No contract, no recourse. Contract terms for things like cars and homes are heavily regulated. Cell phones are getting there.
  - sidewndr46 4y ago
    I believe you, but how does that work? For example the federal government commonly buys mortgages. Since the federal government buys the mortgage, wouldn't it void out any state law around the mortgage?
    - vinceguidry 4y ago
      Foreclosure is a common-law procedure, subject to the laws of the state that the mortgage was taken out in. When the government needs to foreclose, they file it the same way everyone else does.

pc86 4y ago

The last couple years notwithstanding, cars are about the least likely thing to accrue equity. If you have a loan on something, it's not yours. If you stop paying your car payment, they take it away. If you stop paying your mortgage, they kick you out. (And neither of these absolves your financial responsibility). I don't think it's particularly surprising to suggest that if you haven't paid for your phone yet, whoever gave it to you still owns it. But I never suggested you can't "do with it as you wish" only that bricking the phone was a perfectly reasonable way to ensure that it was paid for in full in the example of someone getting a subsidized phone but wanting to switch carriers a few months in - which should be allowed, provided you pay back the subsidization.

vinceguidry 4y ago
> If you stop paying your mortgage, they kick you out. (And neither of these absolves your financial responsibility). 12 states have 'non-recourse' mortgages, where if your mortgage is foreclosed on, the lender has no legal avenue to recover the difference if sale does not recover the principal. More generally, what provides for recourse isn't the vague idea that 'you're still making payments'. It's a signed contract saying they can. No contract, no recourse. Contract terms for things like cars and homes are heavily regulated. Cell phones are getting there.
- sidewndr46 4y ago
  I believe you, but how does that work? For example the federal government commonly buys mortgages. Since the federal government buys the mortgage, wouldn't it void out any state law around the mortgage?
  - vinceguidry 4y ago
    Foreclosure is a common-law procedure, subject to the laws of the state that the mortgage was taken out in. When the government needs to foreclose, they file it the same way everyone else does.