My mother always told me if something is too good to be true, it usually is.

Calls and texts to giffgaff Free
Calls to other UK mobiles and landlines 8p/min
Texts to other UK mobiles and landlines 4p
Voicemail 8p/call
Mobile Internet 20p a day
0800 numbers Free

£10= * 250 minutes
* Unlimited texts
* Unlimited web

Seen as i never call anyone and i'm always on twitter and facebook, this is simply amazing.

There must be a catch?

I used them for about 3 months and the only downside in my experience with them is the O2 signal. Where I live O2 is hit and miss and as GiffGaff use their signal, not that good for me.

In relation to everything else though - Perfect. If it hadn't have been for O2's signal I'd still be with them.

For me, everything was great including O2 signal but not the data speeds, I was very unhappy with that to the point of thinking if you can't get the speed then the unlimited data is pointless as it will make the entire online experience unpleasant.

So I switched to Three, it costs me more per month, I get less than the equivalent with Giffgaff but the fast data means I can do lots of things like stream radio now.

The trouble is that giffgaff have a good reputation at the moment and are really pimping their unlimited data plans at the moment to get new customers, and are getting good reviews and referrals from current users meaning quite a lot of people are signing up at the moment.

Now, the unlimited data plans work from a business perspective by offsetting high bandwidth users against lower bandwidth users so the service is still profitable. But, sooner or later their customer base will have become so saturated with high bandwidth users that this balance won't be maintained and it will become unprofitable for them, at which point they'll either have to cap data or charge considerably more for the unlimited plans.

So it'll be all rosey for a while but sooner or later the unlimited data will disappear or cost quite a bit more.

No catch.

Rumour has it though, o2 are luring as many customers as possible (through giffgaff), then plan to sell off the company for a huge sum in 2014. That's when prices will most likely increase.

You may as well make the most of it.

Make the most of it while it lasts.

giffgaff isn't too good to ne true but don't believe all the unlimited hype... it isn't.. no mobile company on the planet can offer completely true to definition unlimited.. not even three.

staff on the forum have confirmed that they have a certain level of data that once hits hit they will cut you off until u prove its all used from a mobile...

I personally have used over 20gb in one month all on my mobile, got questioned and heard nothing of it... I've worked out that if you keep your data to around 15gb a month then they won't bat an eyelid... that goes for tethering too... just keep it below 15gb if you want to tether...

I don't even need 'unlimited' internet tbh, £5 unlimited texts will do me, as long as it isn't like Simplicity on o2(£5 unlimited txts, £10 min topup!).

It won't last, but I suppose that doesn't matter since no one is locked into contracts and can leave at any time.

I wouldn't use giffgaff because it seems that support is non existent (mostly relying on volunteers) and that it uses O2's network, which is truly dire if you want to do anything more than calls and text messaging.

As soon as people start using too much data/minutes/etc, the "independent" giffgaff will be told by their owner and network provider, o2, to cut it out.

It also means that whatever giffgaff do wrong, people won't link it to O2.

For once I entirely agree with you

O2 have seriously cut down their data packages over the last year or so and it's only a matter of before the bubble bursts at giffgaff, who are owned by O2, and they are forced to do the same

Not to mention that giffgaff reward people for spamming affiliate links all over the place which is ultimately untenable as people are using that to get free credit and then aren't even paying for their unlimited data which they then hammer. No business can give stuff away for free forever and expect to survive

My theory is that they want to corral all their heavy users from O2 / Be into one place then hit them hard with restrictions.

It's not giving stuff away for free. Directing people to a forum staffed by your customers has to be cheaper than running a call centre. Of course, they also don't have the cost of running shops, advertising, subsidising phones etc either.

They are good value but it's not miles away from the competition. E.g. with 3, you can get a Desire HD, 2000 mins, unltd texts and data (incl tethering) for £35pm, over 24 months that's £840.
Giffgaff's equivalent is £25 with 500 fewer minutes and no tethering on the data. That is £10 cheaper so with Three, you get a Desire HD for £240 (way less than the true cost of it) and the cost is spread out over two years.

Look at their mid-range offering: at £15 goodybag, they only offer 100 minutes more than three does (and GG has slower data speeds).

At £5 goodybag, you only get unlimited texts, from Virgin Mobile you can get 100 mins as well as unltd texts (if you're a cable customer).

All this is just standard pricing too, it ignores loyalty deals. My friend gets 800 minutes and unltd texts from virgin for £10pm. My mum gets 350 minutes, 250 texts from 3 for £5pm. My other friend gets unlimited evening and weekend calls from T-Mobile for £6.50pm.

Yes it is

And? To get the £5 you need someone to activate a sim. Activation involves a minimum top-up of £10. They earn more than they give out in credit.

Just like any other referrral scheme.

All horses for courses really. I'm with giffgaff myself, have no real complaints with it myself. I see it basically as an O2 attempt at a new level of guerilla marketing. While they don't have a call centre you can call up and ring, if your query isn't answered on their forum you can still contact an agent and all queries I've asked have been answered within 24 hours. It depends wherever you need a quick solution by speaking to someone actually.

Compared to O2 PAYG, the prices are very good. I'm surprised they kept 250 minutes for the £10 goody bag after the promotional offer but kudos to them, probably related to the recent Ofcom decision on termination charges.

As I live somewhere where there is no 3G or even EDGE service (only going into Omagh can I get EDGE, and still no 3G!) I've no real complaints over the speed of data over GPRS, no worse than when I was previously with O2. Any time I've been getting 3G on giffgaff through travelling, I've no complaints about mobile browsing speeds.

3's offers might be worth considering if their network was fairly reliable where I live, but I've no 3G coverage with them and Orange reception at home for 2G roaming isn't too hot either (not as good as O2 or Vodafone). I remember a time when I had a 3 contract a few years ago which allowed reception on 3, Orange, O2 and 3 like-home in the Irish Republic and in Australia! Glory days, but there's only 3 and Orange now.

Someone tops up £10. Giffgaff then give the new customer £5 extra credit, so £15 in total, and the person who referred them £5. Which makes giffgaff £10 down on the deal. They wont last long if they keep handing out free tenners as well as unlimited data

Might see if my bank will let me give them £10 and then they give me £15 and my mate £5 and see what they say. Hopefully the teller has your logic and thinks they are earning more than they give out

You have to play your cards nowadays to save money and in this respect I mean sims cards.

I use GiffGaff, 3, Orange and Asda with Asda being the main one the past 3 years. It don’t cost a penny to have these sims for months on end doing nothing so a quick 4p text every six months keeps the sims active.

The past month I have started to use GiffGaff as my main provider because GG has a better rate on data than Asda but if GG disappear into the abyss tomorrow so what, the most I can lose is £10.

That said I only topped up the GG sim with £10 and now have a £19 + balance so I’m winning.

I think its a bargain for them to get a new paying customer at a cost of only £10, they have no marketing costs, shops, support etc and keep in mind those customers are then going to be buying goodybags etc they will soon make that £10 back.

Your bank comparision is flawed as youre not a ongoing paying customer in the same way.

The flaw in that is that £10 credited to yourself from giffgaff is not the equivalent of giffgaff themselves receiving £10 cash from the purchase, so that comparison not applicable.

Even if they give £15 credit in exchange for a total of £5 sterling for new recruits, there's more to it than that.

Ongoing paying customer? That implies that having taken advantage of a giffgaff referral customers are obliged to continue spending with them. They aren't! There is nothing stopping anyone PACing straight out once they've bled giffgaff for their free fiver and as much data as they could eat.

Or there's nothing stopping people spamming their referral links enough that they never have to top up again, costing giffgaff £10 each time they do it for what is only possible, and not guaranteed, future income for giffgaff.

The top recruiter for giffgaff last month earned £605 from spamming their referral link. They are clearly "ongoing paying customers" as I'm sure are all 121 they recruited

The only thing flawed is giffgaffs business model. It's only a question of whether the pyramid scheme handing out free credit to people to the point where they shouldn't need to top up ever again in their entire life or whether the unlimited data on a network moving away from unlimited data because it can't cope will be the first to sink the ship

Your biggest mistake which was already alluded to by another poster is thinking that £5 worth of credit costs Giffgaff £5. The illusion is because the credit is priced in units of pounds, the same unit as money. The explicit cost to a network of £5 of credit may well be as little as £1. Other costs such as customer support, head office functions, customer acquisition, marketing costs etc are encapsulated within this £5 credit.

Giffgaff get £10 cash, and for that they give out £20 of credit - an imaginary notional amount, they could call it £100 of credit if they wanted - it is a) related to their prices (i.e. the real goods you buy are minutes, texts and data) and b) related to the cash cost of these real goods - the minutes, texts and data.

They don't have to pay anything in marketing or advertising costs or the expense of ranging handsets - their customers do all this for them. Their support costs are much lower than other networks because of this forum. They don't need to pay for a large office/warehouse of call centre staff etc.

The catch is they use O2's network and their data connection is pants. I've just left O2 for that reason as the data connection was unusable. My new provider seems to be perfect so far.

Quick question for people who've used Three pay as you go. When I was on giffgaff and had an active goodybag, I could buy another goodybag whenever and it would automatically queue it up to use after the current one expired. Is it the same system on Three or do I need to wait until the last day to buy the goodybag?

It's the same system. Buy the add-on whenever you like and when your current add-on runs out/expires the new one will kick in. Allowance and expiry date information is all on My3, on your handset or online.