TIM - refills/expiry and account name

[NFH]

Thanks. In that case, what's the cheapest way for me to get a reasonable amount of data (e.g. 30MB to 50MB per day) on an iPhone for 3 or 4 days?

A nano-SIM is €10, which includes €5 of credit. I don't want to add an additional €5 credit, as €10 is enough to pay for 3 or 4 days, otherwise it would be cheaper to pay roaming charges with my Orange UK SIM card.

500MB of 4G data costs €6, but I'm guessing I'd have to add another €5 of credit to pay for this, resulting in €4 wasted.

[tux]

The cheapest (and short-term) offer is TIMxSmartphone: 2,5€/week for 250MB, with speed throttled to 14.4Mbps HSPA.

[NFH]

Thanks again. Is there a link to this offer? It can be useful to quote when I (or a friend) buy the SIM card.

[tux]

I'm sorry, I forgot that this offer was modified some months ago. It's 3,02€ for 300MB. Same duration. This is the page of the offer: http://www.tim.it/internet/offerte-i...timxsmartphone

[NFH]

It seems that things have become a lot easier with TIM.

An Italian friend from London went to buy my nano-SIM before I arrived in Turin because my flight landed after the shops closed. He went with his father and they ended up registering it in his father's name, probably because they asked for proof of an Italian address. Therefore I thought I had no hope of easily changing it to my own name.

However, this morning I went into a TIM shop in Verona on my own and was expecting to be given the blank form or document which Tux kindly explained about below and to be given lots of bureaucratic tasks to complete. To my surprise, she was able to register the account into my name with just my British ID card and my signature several times. She asked whether I had an address in Italy, and I said no. After logging in to my account online, I see that she made up a codice fiscale for me and registered my address to what, according to Google Street View, appears to be a supermarket in the south of Verona. I subsequently received some survey texts from TIM, so I gave her a top score for her efficient service.

I wonder whether there is a grace period within which they can change the registered name without the consent of the original purchaser, or whether this is a permanent relaxation of policy.

[NFH]

My TIMxSmartphone says "Rinnovata fino al: 04/01/2014". Now that I'm back in London, do I need to click on the "Disattiva" button to prevent a further €3 from being deducted from my balance for another week's data?

[tux]

Originally Posted by NFH

It seems that things have become a lot easier with TIM.

An Italian friend from London went to buy my nano-SIM before I arrived in Turin because my flight landed after the shops closed. He went with his father and they ended up registering it in his father's name, probably because they asked for proof of an Italian address. Therefore I thought I had no hope of easily changing it to my own name.

However, this morning I went into a TIM shop in Verona on my own and was expecting to be given the blank form or document which Tux kindly explained about below and to be given lots of bureaucratic tasks to complete. To my surprise, she was able to register the account into my name with just my British ID card and my signature several times.

The form is usually required when you want to change the owner via fax. However, I had to sign one more paper and TIM required one of my parents to sign, too. It must be a conspiracy against U18s Good news that they don't require the original owner to be present (except in the above mentioned case).

She asked whether I had an address in Italy, and I said no. After logging in to my account online, I see that she made up a codice fiscale for me and registered my address to what, according to Google Street View, appears to be a supermarket in the south of Verona. I subsequently received some survey texts from TIM, so I gave her a top score for her efficient service.

That's what I meant with "smart shop assistant". Now I know they aren't a metropolitan legend Anyway it's great you found one

I wonder whether there is a grace period within which they can change the registered name without the consent of the original purchaser, or whether this is a permanent relaxation of policy.

Most probably the latter.

Originally Posted by NFH

My TIMxSmartphone says "Rinnovata fino al: 04/01/2014". Now that I'm back in London, do I need to click on the "Disattiva" button to prevent a further €3 from being deducted from my balance for another week's data?

Yes, you have to.

I hope that, apart from the SIM activation (sorry ), you had a good experience in Italy (and on TIM)

[NFH]

Originally Posted by tux

I hope that, apart from the SIM activation (sorry ), you had a good experience in Italy (and on TIM)

Yes, I was particularly impressed with TIM's 3G coverage and bandwidth while I was a passenger in a car on motorways. It wasn't as good on trains, but that's normal given that trains go through cuttings etc. Coverage dropped from 3G to Edge several times in urban areas but not too often. I didn't try the expensive 4G option, mainly because I couldn't top up by the extra €1 required, only by the minimum €5.

Thanks again for all the advice.