Terrible customer service in store opening sim-only account I recently moved to the Netherlands, and have found getting started with Odido to be an incredibly frustrating experience. Initially, I was told I couldn’t sign up for a sim-only contract (no phone) as I didn’t have a NL based IBAN. The signup form on the website told me to go into a store, but the staff in the store told me that it wasn’t possible and were confused why the website had directed me to them. To be clear, I am a EU citizen, and resident in the Netherlands, but without a NL based IBAN it was not possible to open an account, which is a clear breach of the European Commission’s SEPA IBAN rules — see IBAN discrimination. I would like to understand why Odido have this policy? I have since opened two Dutch bank accounts — one with Bunq and one with Revolut. Both of these provide me with a Dutch IBAN, starting with NL, and a debit card for this (fully regulated) bank account. Attempting to sign up online with either of these resulted in me being rejected. I then visited one of the stores in Amsterdam and was told I needed a bank card with the IBAN printed on it (something neither of my banks provide). After returning on another day and speaking to the manager was able to finally sign up for a sim-only contract. Today I tried to add my wife to this contract, via Samen Unlimited. When we visited the store I am being told exactly the same thing again — I need a bank card with my IBAN printed on the card — even though I have an active 12 month contract, my passport, two bank cards (one for this account), and can provide any other information. I just hit a stone wall with the member of staff who will not budge on this requirement he thinks exists. To prove this showed me his maestro card which has an IBAN, but this must be incorrect — I’m not aware of any Visa and Mastercard debit cards that print the IBAN on the card? From July 2023 maestro is being phased out, so it’s not possible to get a new Maestro card from my bank. Surely it cannot be a requirement that Odido requires a bank card with the IBAN printed on it? When I try to register online, I get rejected with no explanation as to why. When I call the phone support line, they place the order on my existing account and this succeeds, so clearly it’s not required. To sum up, I am pretty angry with the customer service I’ve received and with the completely inconsistent processes Odido seem to follow in their stores: IBAN discrimination is not allowed within the EU, and is reportable to the ACM Many NL based banks do not provide debit cards with IBANs I already have an account, and a card is not required if I sign up online or via the phone The processes seem inconsistent between the website, phone support, and stores. Could someone please explain what the requirements actually are, and why this happened?
