Prepaid card subscriptions: the data reconciliation process intensifies

Published: 8 May 2017

Changes in the law require mobile service providers to carry out the identification of their prepaid card subscribers (clients with a prepaid voice SIM card) by 30 June. Millions of card users are affected and need to contact their mobile service providers according to the instructions of their provider regarding the method and form. In cooperation with Hungarian mobile service providers, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) launched a campaign on 2 May, in which it reminds subscribers of the deadline and the continuity of the administrative process. It is important that relatives and family members help the data reconciliation process of SIM cards used for voice calls or installed in alarm systems and other non-voice devices used by children and the elderly.

Do not leave data reconciliation to the last days, take action now!

Subscribers who signed a contract for prepaid services with any mobile provider prior to 1 January 2017 must not forget the deadline of 30 June. The providers are required by law to reconcile the data with their clients by the end of the first half of this year. This change in law concerns millions of subscriber contracts, which is why it is recommended that you contact your provider and submit to them the data for verification; the law stipulates service providers to terminate, effective as of 1 July 2017, any prepaid card subscription where the data is not reconciled by the deadline. Data reconciliation is mandatory only for prepaid cards purchased before 1 January 2017; with cards purchased after that date, the service provider will have the personal identification data checked before signing the contract.

In at least two text messages sent by 30 June 2017, providers will remind their subscribers of the data required for identification, the data reconciliation process (in person, by phone or online), the things they need to do to submit the data and the consequences of failing to reconcile the information, the termination of prepaid subscriptions.

The providers and the Authority use the following standard designation for their information subpages on their websites: /adategyeztetes

The Authority and the mobile service providers have created pages called “adategyeztetés” (“data reconciliation”) on their websites, providing detailed information on the data reconciliation process and the verification of personal identification information. The most important practical information regarding the identification process is available on each provider’s data reconciliation page, where subscribers can learn more about the details:

Magyar Telekom: https://www.telekom.hu/adategyeztetes
Telenor: https://www.telenor.hu/adategyeztetes
Vodafone: http://www.vodafone.hu/adategyeztetes
NMHH: http://nmhh.hu/adategyeztetes

What are the data in question? What happens during the reconciliation process

at Telekom?

Magyar Telekom contacts all its Domino clients by text messages to remind them of the data reconciliation. Magyar Telekom is also a service provider for blue mobile and MOL mobile services, therefore the Telekom Domino, blue mobile and MOL mobile subscriptions are jointly included in the legally stipulated limit. Reconcile your personal data conveniently and quickly online at www.telekom.hu/data reconciliation. Clients can also visit Telekom stores during opening hours to reconcile their data or dial the dedicated phone line +36-80-630-045 any time between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m.

at Telenor?

Telenor sends text messages to all its relevant clients, reminding them of the things to do and it also provides detailed information on its page at www.telenor.hu/adategyeztetes on the documents needed for the data reconciliation exercise and their customer service contact points. There is still time for action until the deadline of 30 June but it should not be left to the last days. An online platform (www.telenor.hu/adategyeztetes) is already available, where clients can carry out the data reconciliation conveniently from their homes, 24/7. They can also visit Telenor shops during opening hours. Telenor recommends the least busy period of between 11.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. on weekdays to avoid queues.

at Vodafone?

Vodafone requests data reconciliation with all prepaid card subscriptions purchased before 1 January 2017, i.e. including the “Tuti” cards. With their personal identification documents to hand, clients may dial the phone customer service at 1270, which is free within the Vodafone network and from domestic landlines or visit a Vodafone store; they will soon also have access to an online platform. The page www.vodafone.hu/adategyeztetes contains all the necessary information regarding the data reconciliation exercise.

For the benefit of its subscribers, Vodafone is doing all it can to make sure that no client has their contract terminated if they are unable to reconcile their data due to factors beyond their control.

Prepaid card subscribers successfully completing the data reconciliation and checking process will need to reconcile their data with their providers once again, one year from the date of the initial reconciliation. The providers will send separate reminders of this in advance.

Individual subscribers will need their personal identification documents (personal identification document, driving licence or passport issued by a Hungarian authority) to identify the SIM card user; with business subscriptions, the corporate signature specimen will be needed in addition to the personal document, while persons acting as proxy will need to present the proxy document.

Please remember that employees of the providers do not visit clients in their homes or at their workplaces for the purpose of data reconciliation. If you receive such a visit, you should assume it has a malicious intent. The Authority requests everyone uncertain whether a visit/call is genuine not to reveal their personal data but to contact their provider instead. Providers will first send text message reminders to their relevant clients, and the data reconciliation and subsequent data verification can be carried out at the provider’s stores, client service points, online or by phone, depending on the particular provider.

What happens if you fail to reconcile your data in spite of the provider’s warning?

If the personal identity of a subscriber holding a particular phone number is not checked by 30 June 2017, the subscriber’s contract will terminate effective as of 1 July 2017 and the subscriber will no longer be authorized to use the relevant prepaid SIM card. Likewise, all prepaid subscriber contracts will be terminated in case of persons with more prepaid mobile SIM cards than permitted, who, although successfully reconciling their data, fail to declare by 30 June 2017 which of these cards they intend to keep up to the maximum permitted number. This is because a decree in force since 12 January limits the number of prepaid mobile radio phone SIM cards (prepaid subscriptions) to ten per individual subscriber or fifty per business subscriber.

It is important not to forget about the SIM cards purchased for family members and to regularly check any notifications from the provider on phones used by children and elderly family members. The data reconciliation obligation also applies to cards that, although voice-based, are not used for phone calls but e.g. in meters, gate opening and alarm systems.