Tim Mobile Phone registered in someone else's name by shop

08/24/2010 - 04:25

wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem. Recently bought a new Tim SIM card and was charged 15e for the card plus 20e for credit. When I attempted to register my details on the Tim website in order to be able to make online topups etc I found the phone number is already registered in the name of someone else. An italian friend telephoned Tim yesterday and was told that they have had several similar complaints regarding SIMs purchased from the same shop. I cannot think of any reason it would be beneficial to them to register the phone in someone else's name and at this point I don't know if it is carelessness on the part of the shop. This also happened to a Sim I purchased from the same place 3 years ago, at the time I put it down to a mistake and relied on purchasing topups from Tabbachi etc. Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas as to if there is any benefit to the shop to do this?

Topic

Technology

Location

Amandola

Ascoli Piceno Province

Marche

Comment

whilst one could give the benefit of the doubt and put the whole thing down to slovenly practice. it is also true however that the very reason for the burocracy which surrounds cell phone use (referring to fiscal code numbers correct names etc) is because they can be used, and are, for terrorism and more commonly by people involved in organized crime .There are a lot of people out there trying to get cell phones in the names of other people to avoid detection.If it happened to me i would go to the shop and ORDER them to sort out the problem and inform them that otherwise you will be forced to go to the carabinieri and lodge a formal denuncia which in this case could be penal for them for the above reasons at worse it's all extremly inconvenient for you.

I bought my cellphone on Ebay about 10 years ago. It is registered in someone else's name. Not clear on exactly what extreme inconveniences Sebastiano is referring to??

Ciao e tutti, It is very common. This happened on my last 2 SIM cards. My current TIM card is registered in the name of a Canadian tourist! The shop just uses some convenient details in order to quickly sell the card. If you have ever bought one from a shop where they do it correctly then you can see why. The process takes about half a hour & involves copying passports, sending off CF's etc. Practically impossible in a busy shop! A similar thing is happening in (free) Internet caffé. You are supposed to register & book in and out with i.d. but generally speaking this is being fudged & the vigili are not insisting anymore. By the way I don't have a problem accessing my account online. You will just get an SMS code to use to show you actually have the SIM card. I can't top-up with a U.K. credit card though!! A good tip is to buy a recharge card in Italy & use that to top-up in England, if you are getting low, or you haven't used your SIM for a while. You can buy them online. Just Google RICARICard. The Ricaricard also expires - the date is on the back. So use it & buy another one before that. If your cell phone is not used for a set length of time (6 months, I think), your SIM card expires. If the SIM card expires, you loose any residual credit. You must purchase a new one (and get a new phone number). Pip pip

I've had to top up credit through failure to use. But you might still be able to keep the same phone number - I went into the TIM shop in Amandola and the number was still available - so worth checking rather than having to notify everyone of your new number

Just be glad it's one less way the "security forces" and authorities can poke their noses into your private business.

It sounds to me like the shop is doing a nice little business selling SIMs second hand as new - and at inflated prices - 15 euros for a sSIM? It's completely illegal to do what the shop is doing. Perhaps when Lingpupas bank cards get phished, or they get their identity stolen they wont be so blase about their privacy,...

there is no doubt the sim's were new ones, I saw the chap press them out of the card they arrive in. however, that is not to say all is legit, what is the price of a new Tim Sim? Have since been back to the shop with a strongly worded complaint threatening further action if the problem not resolved, and he has evidenced that the details registered in my name are correct now.

SIM's are available for about €10 or less (via ebay or in Rome), so I wouldn't say €15 was by any means a rip off price in a small town in le Marche. If it works, live with it would be my opinion: you can recharge it in any bar, and it's not traceable to you! Win win!

That's exactly part of the reason for avoiding having your details all over the shop. We have a civic duty to protect our privacy, precisely when we are neither criminals nor terrorists, and precisely when we don't really have anything to hide.

Since when is protecting your privacy a civic duty? The law requires that you supply your Codice FIscale to buy a SIm card, as it does for nearly everything in Italy. Is your NI number private property in the UK? No. If you are a law abiding citizen with nothing to hide, there is no reason not to give your CF to those who ask for it. If you have a house here, its a matter of public record anyway - I assume you didnt have a problem telling your details to the notaio? I much prefer people knowing a number than being recorded on 300 CCTV cameras a day, as I would be if i still lived in london - and I dont think the courts would take my civic duty as a defence if I damaged them.

A big no no for me. I would always look at those warranty offered by any sellers, As a consumer I always look at my moneys worth. Hope you can redeem what costed you.