I popped into a couple of Vodafone shops in Berlin, and each shop were telling me different things - one quoted me over Euro 70 for a prepaid SIM that came with 5GB data and Euro 45 credit, and another quoted me Euro 40 for a prepaid (can't remember what it came with).
I reached out to Valentina asking her for advise, and she suggested that I look at getting them from Mediamarkt or Saturn, and also mentioned that she is using O2 in Germany, which I could consider looking at as well.
So I went to the Mediamarkt store at the main train station in Berlin, and found a wall with prepaid cards from 3 different telco including Vodafone and O2. The packaging of the prepaid card indicated Euro 9.99, however the price tag on the shelf showed they were at Euro 29.99.
Trying to figure out the correct pricing, I asked the nearest sale staff and he mentioned that the card costs Euro 9.99, but there is an extra charge of Euro 20 for activation fee (!?!). I was baffled, Euro 20 just to activate?
I asked the staff why so much for activation and if it was possible to activate it on my own. He said it was a complex process which requires me to go on a Web conference call and show myself in front of a video with my passport etc etc, and that I would need to know German to do it. I then asked why is it so expensive now, as I recalled the last time I was in Germany a few years ago, it was very easy and a lot cheaper to just get a card from the stores. He said that it's gotten more challenging and expensive because in recent years, terrorists had been picking up call cards and using them to set off bombs, so the government had imposed new restrictions to ensure cards are registered before they can be activated.
Not willing to pay Euro 20 just for activation, I walked away and went to the O2 store which was just a couple stores away from Mediamarkt to see if they had the same activation cost issue. The O2 store staff said they charge Euro 28 which comes with 10GB data. I really didn't need so much data, nor do I really want to pay so much for a Sim card.
So I texted Valentina. She said she can help me with the activation process tomorrow when we meet. I told her I will check out Saturn the next day and if the process is less painful. If not, I will head to Mediamarkt and get it there before we meet and seek her help to activate it for me.
The next day, I headed to Alexander Platz and tried to look for the Saturn store. Along the way, I passed by an O2 store and decided to see if they have a prepaid card I could get - the staff t the Alexander Platz O2 store said they sell them for Euro 28 for 3.5 GB. I pointed to a shelf which had the prepaid logos on them and said that the packs indicated only Euro 9.90, so why is it so much more. The staff explained that the Euro 9.90 is only for the plan and doesn't come with a SIM card, and I need to pay more for it. I then said that I went to another O2 store yesterday and they quoted me for more GB for the same price.
He responded that different stores may have different promos available for prepaid cards, but what he mentioned to me was the cheapest option they have at their store.
This is getting really perplexing! It just doesn't make sense why every store seems to be saying different things. I decided to see what happens at Saturn, which was just around the corner.
When I got to Saturn store, there were a couple panels filled with lots of Vodafone and O2 cards. The O2 cards were going for Euro 9.90 while the Vodafone were labelled as Euro 15. There were however no store price tags on the shelves, so I asked one of the staff is the pricing listed on the packs are the final price I would have to pay or I am expected to pay more.
The Saturn store staff (Salesperson A) said there is a Euro 5 activation fee, which he then pointed to a colleague at a booth (Salesperson B), and said that I can go to him to get it activated for me.
I asked if I could get the activation done on my own to avoid paying the activation fee to the store, and he said that they will charge it regardless and it is just easy for them to do it for me. He also mentioned that although the O2 is cheaper, it only comes with 3.5GB data, and the Vodafone comes with 5GB for Euro 15. Both allows for EU roaming.
Seeing that I will be driving in Croatia and wanting to have enough data to last me through till at least I return the rental car in Split, I picked up a Vodafone SIM card.
I walked over and asked Salesperson B (whom was busy with another customer at the time) if I should first pay for it at the cashier before getting it activated or activate it first before paying at the cashier.
He mentioned I will need to activate it first before paying. So I waited patiently on the side while he finished attending to the other customer which took probably about 10-15mins.
When it came to my turn, he asked for my passport for registration, which I gave to him. The next thing I got from him was a print out which was all in German, with the amount of Euro 9.90 on it. He told me to bring the card along with that sheet of paper to the cashier.
I was confused... Is this amount on the paper the activation fee? If so, it is more than the Euro 5 Salesperson A had said it would be. I went back to Salesperson B and asked him if the Euro 9.90 was the activation fee. He said something, however with his mask on, I couldn't really make it out, but it was something to the effect about the pricing indicated is the price of the SIM card I would have to pay at the counter and the additional Euro 5 for the extra GB is already included inside the package.
I was still somewhat confused, but didn't want to ask anymore in case I get charged more, and so I took the package as well as the print out to the counter to see what the final damage would be, and had almost my mind to return the whole thing back to the store if the Euro 9.90 was indeed activation fee.
When my turn came at the cashier, I was just charged Euro 9.90 - no activation fee, and I even paid less than what the Vodafone pack indicates on the packaging.
Completely bizarre! Every sales person telling me different things at different places, even across the same brand. And even within the same store, I get different answers!
All I wanted was a basic SIM card with just some GB to allow me access to data connection on the go. I did finally get what I wanted without having to pay exorbitant € for it, but it was an absolutely confusing affair and completely unnecessary in my opinion.
Any one else had the same issue in recent times? Or can any one give me a logical reason why Germans like to make things more confusing than it should be for just a simple SIM card?
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