According to a recent German court decision, prepaid credit may not expire; customers have a right to their money back on account expiration. So far, Vodafone and O2 have changed their prepaid offers as a result: Vodafone CallYa cards no longer have a specific expiration date unless credit drops to zero, and it is enough that the account remains active and is topped up at least once a year; this is especially good news for CallYa Compact, which previously offered low rates in exchange for a 92-day non-additive account validity. Now the user needs only to maintain sufficient credit and top up at least once a year. O2 has alsi changed its policies, and T-Mobile and E-Plus are looking at implementing similar changes.
Here's an article in German summarizing the current situation:
http://www.zdnet.de/news/tkomm/0,390...9149309,00.htm