Telestial Woes
 

I have a valued technophobic client going to Italy and figured I'd buy him an Italian SIM card before he went from Telestial. Actually, I first started with Freetimetele who ignored my order and isn't answering their phones (in the US, Canada, or the UK).

I next moved to Telestial. They processed my charge, my bank authorized it, I have their authorization number, but have going around with a customer support person, she has apparently decided that I am not worth the call to her merchant processor to actually look beyond her computer screen.

I bought a SIM from them in 09 and they were overpriced, but great. Right now, I'm having a hard time. My friend/client goes to Italy a week from today and I am going to look like the complete moron. Does anyone have any friends in one of these companies or a different solution? I promised him I'd have the SIM card before he left and I'm looking like the fool (big time).

I think Telestial has moved down market since it merged with eKit and is now under Jersey Telecom. The last thing I wanted to do was to teach this guy about generating code fiscales or setting up a US call forwarding number while he is in Italy.

Sorry about ranting.

Was Telestial ever truly distinct from ekit? I always thought of T as ekit's retail site. More of a model for all their white label services.

Until apx 2009 they were seperate. Then merged. Ken Griinski (sp) was the founder of Telestial. His Facebook page now talks about mountain climbing with an occasional plug for a cool phone.

Stu -
As I recall, I got my Piranha SIM quite fast. It is simple to use, have a U.S. number and good rates. That would be my vote.

Is the data rate US$0.53 or $0.33 a mb in Italy? I heard they lowered it, but their website doesn't reflect it.

Sorry to hear of your troubles with your order. It is not very clear on what the issue may be. Do you mind emailing me your order number directly and I can investigate further. Email: aguzman@ekit-inc.com

Regards,
Andy Guzman
Telestial Support

We had a private conversation and the matter is resolved.

That's correct and I apologize to all if I sounded frustrated. This has been a pressure cooker of a week. As an aside, thanks to all who privately offered to loan me their SIM cards or took their time to suggest alternatives.

I still think EKIT has some of the best customer service. I really like the reminders they send me to use my SIM or risk losing a number. They may not be the absolute cheapest, but their customer service is a valuable asset.