vB Easy Archive - Tmobile pay as you go customer wishes to transfer account to Europe

Pages: 1

Tmobile pay as you go customer wishes to transfer account to Europe
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: sandia911

Tmobile pay as you go customer wishes to transfer account to Europe

I have an international mobile problem to consider

I have several SIM cards in my collecting from traveling around the world (i.e. spending 6-10 weeks in different countries). I have a Tmobile pay as you go number/SIM purchased in Los Angeles. I used this number on my triband Nokia 3000 series phone allthrougout the USA and Canada (no problems). The number is still active, and will be so for another 2 years, I believe. There is about $60 credit on the prepay account I have with Tmobile. NOte: I haven't used the SIM since I left the US, and I have no intention of returning to the US again.

My question is as follows:

How can I adapt, upgrade, or modify my current Tmobile pay as you go account, SIM card, and number (from the USA) to to use in Europe (starting here in London). Can i show up at a Tmobile store with my SIM and ask them to set me up with Tmbolie Europe?

How does it work?

Remember, my goal here to make really cheap calls (no more than 30UScents/minute for outgoing calls) to mobile numbers in Europe. I wish to use my current phone, stay on Tmobile network, and figure this all out.

I plan to hop around Europe for the next 2 years (spending at least 1 month in each country).

Thanks for any and all advice

Posted by: JEFFJAGUAR

Simple answer (and you posted this on several different forums including other placeshere)....you can't....they're all separate companies (even though they may share a corporate name)...

But in most cases, it's cheap to buy a new prepaid plan wherever you go..there is no need to transfer it...if you overfunded a PAYG plan, that's your fault...nobody forced you to do so.

Posted by: sandia911

ok so you're saying to just forget about my old SIMS, numbers, and credit and start new in each place I visit?

The other option is a World SIM card (like TravelSIM which appears to have the lowest per minute rate for outgoing calls in Europe and elsewhere).

I'm still undecided whether to purchase a World SIM or individual, local SIMS in each country I visit. But, what to do with all those old SIMS?

Posted by: Frontierjustice

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandia911

1. Tmobile pay as you go customer wishes to transfer account to Europe
2. I have a Tmobile pay as you go number/SIM purchased in Los Angeles.
3. The number is still active, and will be so for another 2 years.
4 How can I adapt, upgrade, or modify my current Tmobile pay as you go.
5. (I want) no more than 30UScents/minute
6. I wish to use my current phone, stay on Tmobile network.

I see some other good answers ...
1. You can't.
2. Good.
3. No. One year max. If you go 60 days with *no* activity, you may have to call customer service to use the phone. I suggest you sell your airtime. Since I can get 12% off by waiting for a sale at Target, it may not sell at full price.
4. You can't.
5. You can't.
6. T-Mobile told me my USA handset works only with T-MobileUSA SIM cards. Unlock. You have a chance.
Regards

Posted by: sandia911

I called Tmbolie Preypay in USA. They agreed to extend my active service for an extra year. I think two years total. But, I still won't return to the USA by then, therefore I need to sell my $60 credit ASAP. I also want to get rid of my SIM.

How do I do that?

Posted by: Frontierjustice

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandia911

I called Tmbolie Preypay in USA. They agreed to extend my active service for an extra year. I think two years total. But, I still won't return to the USA by then, therefore I need to sell my $60 credit ASAP. I also want to get rid of my SIM.

How do I do that?

Well, you can't sell it to me because I can't pay you in Europe.

You could look for an "EBay" or "Craigslist." You *could* sell to a US tourist at some local attraction, or a US military person. You could find a student about to visit the US at a local college ... or a member of a professional group like the IEEE that attends a US convention or meeting. You *could* stand on a sidewalk with a "sandwich board" - outside the airport ... or a bus terminal to the airport.

Maybe a tourist would be happier with a swap ... their (now used) UK SIM for your (now used) US SIM. I'd sell my excess T-Mobile SIM with 26-cents on it for a $3 bill ( ... thats the bill with Bill Clintons' picture on it ... if you have an Obama ...????)

Personally, I'd wear a sign at the local electronics/ham radio swap meet (flea market, sidewalk sale, etc.) saying I wanted to buy a Spanish SIM card ... YMMV
Regards

Posted by: PhotoJim

You could keep your US SIM active by putting $10 US into it every year, and then use it when you return. If you have no intention of returning, then I suggest you sell it either here, or on eBay. People will give you a reasonable dollar (although less than $60) for a SIM that is good for two years with a $60 balance.

Posted by: sandia911

I am a Gold rewards members of Tmobile prepay (because I bought a couple $100 top up cards once).

Anyways, what if the new owner of my SIM decided to call customer support, or needs assistance from Tmobile.

The number will still have my name, and personal information attached to it.

How do I sell a SIM on here, (since my address is different every few weeks because I travel). And I don't know how to use Ebay.

Posted by: Frontierjustice

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandia911

1. I am a Gold rewards members of Tmobile prepay (because I bought a couple $100 top up cards once).

2. Anyways, what if the new owner of my SIM decided to call customer support, or needs assistance from Tmobile. The number will still have my name, and personal information attached to it.

3. How do I sell a SIM on here, (since my address is different every few weeks because I travel). And I don't know how to use Ebay.

Well ....
1. Good.
2. Your buyer will get your LA number with your SIM and airtime. Change your details to something you can give away. The name on my account is "PREPAID USER" and my birthday ("password") is 12/07/1941 .. "a day which will live in infamy."
3. Deal in cash.

Another possibility is to keep your account active (for $10 a year) until you find a customer.

What should you have done? Your USA host should have watched for a suitable deal. You should have gotten your North American SIM as part of a deal where you get a phone for free (or $5) for buying airtime (AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) Before you left, you should have run your airtime down to $1 or so, put the SIM back in the free phone and given it to your host as a bread and butter gift.
Regards

Posted by: sandia911

Tmboile is going to allow me to change my account details (from real information like my real name to "prepaid user")? It doesn't sound doable.

Tmbolie is not going to let me change real information to obvious, bogus information, are they?

Posted by: Frontierjustice

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandia911

Tmboile is going to allow me to change my account details (from real information like my real name to "prepaid user")? It doesn't sound doable.

Tmbolie is not going to let me change real information to obvious, bogus information, are they?

... what about non-obvious bogus answers? What is so sensitive about your birthday to a stranger? You can change your log-on. How can the web page tell if an answer is bogus?

For that matter - when you sell ... go to an internet cafe, log on to T-Mobile and change the particulars to show your buyer.

Regards

Posted by: sandia911

So I can do all this online. I don't need to call Tmboile at all?

What if the new user needs customer service, and calls Tmbole, and Tmbolie asks a question to check his identify, and he fails it?

Posted by: Frontierjustice

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandia911

1. So I can do all this online. I don't need to call Tmboile at all?
2. What if the new user needs customer service, and calls Tmbole, and Tmbolie asks a question to check his identify, and he fails it?

Well...
1. Yes.
2. Tell your buyer the answers-or change the questions to something your buyer can answer. My favorite actor is Shirley Jones. My favorite place is in Wyoming. My first car was a Ford.

(Had a credit card company ask a question like this ... from publicly available information, they deduced I would know the answer to "What county is Hunstville, Alabama in?" I had never told them anything about Huntsville.)
Regards

Posted by: sblive

If you're concerned about privacy, you should just keep your sim card for yourself rather than trying to sell it. You only have $60 left on it and if you sold it, you *might* get $30 for it. Why don't you just use it to send text messages until your run out of credits?

Posted by: sandia911

well i didnt know i could use tmobile usa to send text in europe/ i assumed because i had no service, then that included texts as well. now i have asda sim in uk, and its cheap and working. once that finishes im off to the nordic countries for 3 months, and ill need a new sim for cheap, short calls to local mobiles. ill also pop the old tmobile sim in again to see if i can send texts. thx.