Starting Package
Please Check our new web page for updated info: http://www.startingpackage.utu.fi/
The student unions of the universities of Turku and the Turku University of Applied Science run a starting package storage where exchange students can borrow a package with household items which they then return before they leave Finland.
The starting package includes a pillow, a blanket, curtains, a cooking pot, a sharp cutting knife, a dinner plate, a soup plate, a glass, a mug, cooking items (spatula or ladle), a knife, a fork, a spoon, a teaspoon, and a can opener.
Opening Hours
Please check here: http://www.startingpackage.utu.fi/index.php?page=opening-hours
* Please note that the EU students will always receive refund by bank transfer, never in cash. Only non-EU students can receive cash refunds, as is stated in the starting package rental agreement.
If you are from the EU, you will receive your refund by bank transfer. For this purpose we need your IBAN and SWIFT/BIC code, so please remember to bring them to the starting package storage if you haven't already (please don’t send them by e-mail!)!
The last day for non-EU students to return starting packages for a cash refund in Spring 2010 is Thursday June 17, because the TYY service desk (where you must pick up the cash) closes for summer on June 21. The service desk opens again on August 02, 2010.
Please read the text below for more information on returning the starting package!
How to Get the Package?
To borrow the package, you have to be a member of the Student Union. There are two options for getting the starting package.
1) Your tutor picks up the package for you before you arrive.
This means that you tell your tutor in advance that you want to get a starting package. After your arrival, you then pay the deposit fee (50 €, which will be given back to you when you return the package) plus 15 € (the fee for loaning the package). More information about the payment is listed below. Then you take a RECEIPT of that payment and go to the starting package storage to SHOW your receipt and SIGN your loaning contract for the package within 2 weeks after your arrival in Finland. Remember that you also have to pay your student union membership and show a receipt of that membership when coming to the storage (TUAS students don’t need to pay the membership fee!). Please check the opening hours from this website to see when you can come to show the receipts.
2) You pick up the package yourself after you have arrived to Finland.
In that case you need to check the opening hours of the storage to see that they fit with your arrival time. Depending on what time you are arriving, the storage might not be open anymore and you will have to spend the first night without the items of the package. In that case you will, after having paid your Student Union membership fee (TUAS students don’t need to pay the membership fee!), pay the 65 € for the package (50 € deposit and 15 € fee for loaning), go to the starting package storage with your RECEIPT of that payment, SIGN your loaning contract and take the package home.
PLEASE LET YOUR TUTOR KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT A PACKAGE!!!
Åbo Akademi students: You will not be able to contact your tutor before you arrive in Finland. Your tutor will help you with the package once you arrive.
Payment Details
Bank account number (Tilinumero in Finnish): 800015-71393157
Reference number (Viitenumero in Finnish): 9111
Amount: 65 € (of these 50 € are a deposit, which you will get back if you return all the items clean and in good condition)
Opening a bank account with a Finnish bank is free of charge, and is one of the first things you should do after you have arrived, since you will need the account to pay for the Student Union membership, the starting package, and your other bills in Finland. Take your tutor with you to the bank to help you.
You may also make the starting package payment from a foreign bank account, as long as you can get a receipt of the payment. In that case, please use the following payment information:
Receiver: TYY
IBAN: FI4080001571393157
BIC/SWIFT: DABAFIHH
Reference number: 9111
Amount: 65 €
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO TAKE A RECEIPT OF YOUR PAYMENT! WITHOUT A RECEIPT WE HAVE NO WAY OF CHECKING IF YOU HAVE PAID FOR YOUR PACKAGE OR NOT.
Please note: If you are from a EU-country, your deposit will be paid to your home bank account after you leave. Please tell us your IBAN and SWIFT-code when you borrow the package. For non EU-citizens, the payment will be given out in cash at the TYY office.
Returning the Package
The package should be returned to the starting package storage during the opening hours. It is possible to have a friend or your tutor return your package if you can't make it yourself during the hours. If you send a friend, please make sure you have made arrangments for the refund! If your refund will come as a bank transfer, make sure you have given the storage your IBAN and SWIFT/BIC code.
If you are from the EU, you will receive your refund by bank transfer to your bank account in your home country. For this purpose we need your IBAN and SWIFT/BIC code, so please remember to bring them to the starting package storage if you haven't already!
If you are from outside the EU, you will receive your refund in cash. After returning the package to the starting package storage, you will be able to receive the cash from the TYY Office. Please check the TYY Office hours! You can find them in a box on frontpage. Please note that the TYY Office is closed around Christmas and New Year's and also for the summer holidays. More information about holiday opening hours is available in December and at the end of the spring semester.
Anything that you received in your package that is missing or damaged when you return the package will result in a deduction from your refund. Check your contract to see what items should be in your package when you return it! You can choose to replace any missing items yourself (make sure it matches the item you borrowed) or to take the deduction from your refund, so that the storage can replace the item.
Please remember that all items must be returned clean and dry! If something is dirty or wet, your refund will be less than the whole amount. Deductions for pillows, blankets, and curtains are high, so please return them clean and dry!
When washing pillows, blankets and curtains, please check for instructions on the item. If there are no instructions, please wash everything at 40 degrees. With pillows and blankets, you can use about half as much washing detergent as usual. Please use a drier and make sure that everything is completely dry when you return it - we have no place to dry anything at the storage!
Starting Package Address
The storage of the Starting package is opposite the Turku School of Economics, close to the office of the student union of the University of Turku.
The address of the storage is:
Rehtorinpellonkatu 4-6 B 213
To check the address of the storage on the map, go here.
The building is in the backyard of the Student Cafeteria Assarin Ullakko (the same yard where the pub Proffa, the TYY-sauna and S-Osis are). The entrance to the B building has dark reddish door, next to the door there are signs from starting package, university sports office, TYY-library and "Legioona". All these offices are located on the second floor. After entering the building, take the elevator to the second floor and turn right, the starting package storage is the last door on the left (room 213).
To check the location of the starting package storage click here.
For any questions concerning the starting package, please contact startingpackage@utu.fi
Donations
The starting package storage is glad to take donations of things you have bought while studying in Turku or brought with you when you came. However, we will not accept anything dirty, broken or in bad condition. Also, because the storage is small, we can only accept things that are really useful, like pots, cutlery, plates, towels, bed linens etc. Please, no decorative items like vases or candles! Please email startingpackage@utu.fi if you would like to know more about what can be donated.