It seems ‘par for the course’ these days. I enquired about a ‘deal’ with Midas the other day, and similarly, they will recind the service / number unless the thing is topped up within a certain time period (whether it has been used up or not!).
The service was allegedly via Vodafone, which is strange since I have a ‘Prepago’ contract with Vodafone at present, and they certainly haven’t operated this policy in the past.
That being said, I have just received an SMS stating that if I don’t register the mobile with one of their shops within the next month or so – I will lose the number!
This policy is certainly the one they operate in France!
Incidentally, Orange in Spain used to be Amena, and they also didn’t ‘shut down your account’ when not used or topped up regularly.