Activated a Vodafone prepaid sim ($40 pack) from last year's Netfilx deals. At the last stage of activation there is an unavoidable credit card field, have to enter one to save on their system even if you turn off auto recharge.
Did too many people burn through Vodafone prepaid deals or something:)
Still got one more $30 card left, probably will junk it since I already got its value from the Netflix card ($10 for $30 SIM and 20 Netfilx)
oh thats strange then.
Might be a system glitch?
No. A credit card is now mandatory.
Didn’t require CC info in the last week of January when I did a voda port.
If it's a new service, it may be something to do with proving identity.
This. Thanks to Australians giving up their privacy for the scare of "to prevent terrorism attacks!!!111", every prepaid SIM has to have an identity attached to it, be it a credit card, driver's license or a passport.
Doubtful, went through the standard IDing.
The page was specifically for setting up auto recharge, except a box down the bottom to disable auto recharge. But you have to enter a card regardless.
Maybe they thinks it's a convenience thing.
Even with auto-recharge disabled, you can still recharge in your account without having to enter a card number every time.
Maybe recently. Kogan did the same, pending $1 transaction by Vodafone. I remember it did not have this before.
Just remove the card soon after the pending transaction is canceled in a few days.
Just ported my number from Optus to Vodafone and it requires credit card information with an option to turn off auto-recharge? Is that their normal process or I missed out something in the beginning? Thanks.
Did you get asked for the credit card as a form of ID? I recently set up a SIM card and by default it asked for a credit card, but at the bottom I could choose to provide drivers license instead. I did that as I didn’t want them to be able to use auto recharge.
No I have provided driver licence for prove of ID.
Oh then very odd indeed. I’ve not had to provide any banking details at all when activating any prepaid if I opt for using other ID.
But as below, not uncommon. I wouldn’t stress if it can be removed.
I got asked for my credit card information too, I think like mentioned above they use it for ID.
It was easy to remove in the Vodafone app afterwards though so I wasn’t too fazed.
Thanks. I did quick search but that post didn't turn up …
i just got this one too, i activated one month ago, there's no CC required, they just try to make it difficult
It's now mandatory to have a credit card.
I came here with the same question. This is definately not an id check, this is later in the setup and it's a forced automatic recharge setup. Yes you can remove the credit card later (after they do a verification charge) but this is still really dodgy of Vodafone. There is a tick box to opt out of this but it doesn't allow you to untick.
Actually.. Once you get to the review page, you can go into that recharge section through the change button. It won't let you remove the credit card details (you can but you can't continue) but at this stage you can opt out of automatic recharge. So you do have to give card details, but there is a way to remove the charge
No choice anymore.
Vodafone Prepaid now REQUIRES A VALID MANDATORY CREDIT CARD NUMBER to continue Activation of ALL Starter Packs.
$2, $10, $50, $150
All of them.
They now take $1 off your credit card to verify the credit card number.
Started last week.
I went to the TIO since I didn't have a credit card and they refunded the Starter Pack by $40 cheque to my home address.
(It was Escalated to a TIO Level 2 Complaint which cost Vodafone $130 + the $40 Refund Cheque)
Yes it is annoying now you need full ID to activate anything, used to love getting cheap SIM with fake details just for buying and selling stuff
Wrong.
It is ILLEGAL for Vodafone to demand a credit card.
It is a not a legal requirement to have a credit card for a Prepaid account, despite what Vodafone thinks or feels.
I have a licence, medicare card and passport and this was not sufficient.
So I went to TIO against Vodafone and they fined Vodafone.
More people need to do this!
How much was the fine?
$260 per Level 2 complaint, that Vodafone must now pay TIO:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/tio-fees-dont-help-customers-t….
Plus the $40 cheque they sent me.
Australians used to be able to buy a pre-activated SIM card from many shops across Sydney. Over regulation has made this a lot more difficult.
Especially when Vodafone now do ILLEGAL things like require a mandatory credit card number.
STAY AWAY FROM VODAFONE PREPAID!
Amaysim prepaid plans require CC to start too.
Wrong
You can buy via PayPal, with Amaysim online.
No credit card required.
Not everyone has Paypal. You said "it is illegal to demand a credit card", but Amaysim set it as one option.
Just experienced this too. What a nightmare.
How are you supposed to activate a PREPAID sim card for your kid if it demands credit card details?
Vodafone, you are scum.
Guys, how about using single-use ZIP card? It becomes invalid after 24 hours.
i tried many different types of cards and all fail ref "Sorry, we were unable to save this credit card. Please try another credit card." is there something wrong with their back end today? do they accept prepaid cards?
This is a friggin joke, I don't see how they can legally force you to put a credit card in, it's not the ID check, and it alienates a whole bunch of people, creating a barrier to entry for people who don't have a CC which is illegal, moreso if they don't offer a way to pay that doesn't incur BS fees. Simply Vodafone trying to maximise lapsed users by autocharging them since being taken over by TPG, the king of grubby telcos. The whole reason you get prepaid is to not get stung.
Pretty sure Vodafone has required a recharge (voucher or CC) on activation for a while now