anyone been able to keep a SIM from TIM active from abroad?

Mike T

I've had 2 bad experiences now, and I'm wondering if its just my bad luck or a deliberate TIM strategy.

In Fall 2007 I was in Italy and got a SIM chip from a TIM store to make local calls as well as call home cheaper than with AT&T. Worked fine when I was in Italy. TIM promises to keep your number going if you add money to it at least once every 12 months. About 9 months later I was back in Italy, chip did not work. Went into a TIM store and the clerk who spoke only Italian eventually got across to me that the chip was expired, I'd have to buy a new one. I said I had bought it less than a year ago, she asked for the paperwork which of course I didn't bring to Italy with me because I expected it to work. So I bought another SIM.

Here it is 11 months later. I'm not in Italy; with the weak economy I'm probably not going to be able to go overseas for a while. But I wanted to keep my number active. Last summer I had thought of this eventuality, and bought a scratch-off ricarica card for TIM. It was sealed, looked bona fide, and has an expiration date in 2010. So this week I try to add the money to my account by scratching off the silver paint and then texting the numbers from the card to 4616. If I text the string for them to read my balance it shows I have the 8E left from when I returned last summer, which to me shows I am sending SMS messages properly. But it won't add the money from my ricarica card. And when I tried to call the number instead of getting the voice message I had left on the number (and had heard work when I called my number after returning to the States last summer), I got some italian equivalent of "we're sorry, your call can not be completed as dialed. Sorry, sucker".

I'm beginning to suspect that their keep-alive-for-a-year policy is just hype. So I'm wondering; is there anyone out there who can say that they bought a SIM chip from TIM, did not use it at all for 8 or 9 months, and then were either 1) able to return to Italy and continue using it 2) able to add money via SMS using a ricarica card?

	(#1)
Mike T (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 2 Join Date: 06 Jun 2009 Country:	anyone been able to keep a SIM from TIM active from abroad? - 06-06-2009, 03:58 I've had 2 bad experiences now, and I'm wondering if its just my bad luck or a deliberate TIM strategy. In Fall 2007 I was in Italy and got a SIM chip from a TIM store to make local calls as well as call home cheaper than with AT&T. Worked fine when I was in Italy. TIM promises to keep your number going if you add money to it at least once every 12 months. About 9 months later I was back in Italy, chip did not work. Went into a TIM store and the clerk who spoke only Italian eventually got across to me that the chip was expired, I'd have to buy a new one. I said I had bought it less than a year ago, she asked for the paperwork which of course I didn't bring to Italy with me because I expected it to work. So I bought another SIM. Here it is 11 months later. I'm not in Italy; with the weak economy I'm probably not going to be able to go overseas for a while. But I wanted to keep my number active. Last summer I had thought of this eventuality, and bought a scratch-off ricarica card for TIM. It was sealed, looked bona fide, and has an expiration date in 2010. So this week I try to add the money to my account by scratching off the silver paint and then texting the numbers from the card to 4616. If I text the string for them to read my balance it shows I have the 8E left from when I returned last summer, which to me shows I am sending SMS messages properly. But it won't add the money from my ricarica card. And when I tried to call the number instead of getting the voice message I had left on the number (and had heard work when I called my number after returning to the States last summer), I got some italian equivalent of "we're sorry, your call can not be completed as dialed. Sorry, sucker". I'm beginning to suspect that their keep-alive-for-a-year policy is just hype. So I'm wondering; is there anyone out there who can say that they bought a SIM chip from TIM, did not use it at all for 8 or 9 months, and then were either 1) able to return to Italy and continue using it 2) able to add money via SMS using a ricarica card?