Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitchawl
An ID is required in S'pore, 'asked for' in Malaysia, and in Thailand... any convenience store, any of the 100's of telephone shops and kiosks in EVERY shopping mall (often an entire floor of a mall might be ONLY telephone shops,) repair centers in computer malls. etc. etc. If you've got the money, honey, we've got the card! In the US, you can buy a phone in most Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, (all large multi-marketing department stores/pharmacy/super stores) as well as refill card. No ID required.
In Japan you have to not only show valid ID, you have to use your 'hanko' to validate the contract. Add in a direct monthly draw on my bank account (so of course I had to give them the account number,) and a pound of flesh. 48 different documents to sign, be advised about, counter-signed after highlighting various points, 'hanko-ed' to acknowledge, and leave the shop with a small shopping bag, mostly filled with copies of papers... and a small box holding your new phone.
Stitchawl
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I was so surprised when I bought a pay-as-you-go SIM card in UK. I was so easy! And I didn't even have to show an ID
The Japanese experience made me so afraid of even considering to try
The worst part was when the Softbank employee kindly told me that in order to get a SIM card, a phone and a phone number, I would have to provide a Japanese landline phone number (try to explain that you don't have a company phone number because you need a phone number of your own to apply for a job in the first place
). It's well-known that evil foreigners leave the country every day without paying huge bills, so you, the phone company, need to be covered
(actually, one of my housemate did just that. Oups...)
So far, my ranking would be (from difficult to easy)
Japan<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<France<<<UK (and UK plans are a treat. I would raise an Union Jack right here, right now if I could)
Edit: Stitchawl, no one made me use an hanko, no way. I was always good with ここでサインしてもいい? and a big smile. Maybe one of the perk of being a woman