German Fonic questions...

[theotherbob]

Originally Posted by kuba.g

Yeah I do. Didn't work. I assume it's because they perform an address check with the credit card you pay with (and it it impossible to enter an address outside of Germany).

You could try Cabox.de though.

Others that look promising from a web search include :
Fonic online aufladen Handyguthaben
Prepaidpunkt- Aufladen auf den Punkt gebracht!

I won't get my Fonic SIM until I go to Germany in the summer. Any personal experience with these, or Cabox.de?

[inquisitor]

There's no free internet included with Fonic SIMs. However you should have had an initial balance of € 10 on your account, which should have been enough to activate the "Handy-Internetpaket" for one month. How much credit have you left at the moment? (request your current balance by calling *101#)

[Kritiker]

I have been offered a Fonic SIM card that has already been activated/registered and still has some time left on it.

I understand that registering a Fonic SIM card the first time doesn't require a German bank account anymore (discussed earlier in this thread) or the provision of a passport or ID card (does purchasing it in a store?) but the Fonic besitzerwechsel form still seems to require both the German bank account and eine Kopie des Reisepasses oder Personalausweises, a copy of a passport or ID card, for an ownership change. This last is an unacceptable practice to a North American. No telephone company gets that documentation from me!

What difficulties are there in leaving the ownership data as is, assuming the previous owner doesn't care? All I really need, AFAIK, is to change the caller-id that is displayed when I call people?

Any other gotchas? Thanks.

[dg7feq]

Originally Posted by Kritiker

I have been offered a Fonic SIM card that has already been activated/registered and still has some time left on it.

I understand that registering a Fonic SIM card the first time doesn't require a German bank account anymore (discussed earlier in this thread) or the provision of a passport or ID card (does purchasing it in a store?) but the Fonic besitzerwechsel form still seems to require both the German bank account and eine Kopie des Reisepasses oder Personalausweises, a copy of a passport or ID card, for an ownership change. This last is an unacceptable practice to a North American. No telephone company gets that documentation from me!

What difficulties are there in leaving the ownership data as is, assuming the previous owner doesn't care? All I really need, AFAIK, is to change the caller-id that is displayed when I call people?

Any other gotchas? Thanks.

When you buy the card in a shop they write down the data from your ID or passport. This is obligatory in germany to buy any SIM card from any provider.

however if someone sells his already activated card you can use it without any problems. If you now trigger a roadside bomb with the card the former owner will get questioned by the police, not you...

[Kritiker]

Thank You.

[inquisitor]

Generally registration of SIM cards is a legal requirement in Germany as in most European countries and most operators will ask you for your ID card when you buy a SIM.

However Fonic SIMs are not being registered by the personnel if you buy one in a shop, but you have to provide your personal details yourself either online or - if registered by paper - on the form that comes with the SIM card. Also Fonic do not require any proof of identity upon activation.

I believe the fact that they require an ID card for an ownership change is just a security measure to deter people from changing ownership without the original owner's approval.
But be aware that the change of ownership is subject to a charge of € 10 (see p.2 "Besitzerwechsel" of http://www.fonic.de/html/pdf/FONIC_T...Preisliste.pdf).
I wouldn't change the ownership if I were you.

Originally Posted by Kritiker

What difficulties are there in leaving the ownership data as is, assuming the previous owner doesn't care?

The only disadvantages of not changing the personal details are that you won't be able to request a new SIM card (with the old number) if you lose your's and you won't be able to export your number to another operator.

All I really need, AFAIK, is to change the caller-id that is displayed when I call people?

First of all you can't change the callerID, but you can only disable it so no number would be presented to the called party. But why do you want to change the callerID? If the SIM card is your's, why shouldn't people see your number and so be able to call you back?

[Kritiker]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

...
First of all you can't change the callerID, but you can only disable it so no number would be presented to the called party. But why do you want to change the callerID? If the SIM card is your's, why shouldn't people see your number and so be able to call you back?

Ah, I had forgotten that the caller-ID is number caller-ID only. I was thinking of name caller-ID but if no name, only the number, is displayed then no name change would be required/possible.

Thanks again.

[inquisitor]

We don't have alphanumeric callerIDs (i.e. a name) in Europe - at least I haven't seen this so far. We just see the number of the calling party unless it's disabled.

[Kritiker]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

We don't have alphanumeric callerIDs (i.e. a name) in Europe - at least I haven't seen this so far. We just see the number of the calling party unless it's disabled.

Even here, in Canada (or even in the U.S.), it's not universally available and sometimes only at extra cost but I have gotten used to it and had forgotten that it isn't used in Europe (at least also in my very limited experience).

[dg7feq]

I think this will not be enabled in europe or at least germany. People are expecting a number to be displayed, if anonymous calls or anything else appeares on the screen most people dont even pick up anymore (or enable "block anonymous calls" at their providers)....