Hi DS members,

Well it saddens me to admit this, but my long run as a loyal Virgin Mobile customer feels like it's slowly coming to an end.

The PAYG tariff was changed recently, and I can't say that I'm very impressed with their latest offer (top up during the week and get free texts all weekend) - they also keep nagging me by text to top-up to receive their special text offers! Since when have I needed to be pushed to buy top-up, surely I'm capable of making this decision myself thank you very much...

I've been looking at different virtual networks, I've found one which stands out for me as being a sensible option. I certainly don't call or text enough to have any need to be inspired by the text and minute bundles that other networks offer.

Here's my question: Around this time last year I purchased a new phone from Virgin on PAYG. The phone is network locked as I guess the price was subsidised. When I phone up to request my PAC, can I also ask Virgin to remove the network lock on my phone?

Has anyone done this with success, if so how much did Virgin charge for this? I've certainly spent quite a bit on the network and would therefore hope that they could offer this unlock at no charge.

Thanks in advance.

[coopermanyorks]

I thought once you paid £35 in credit onto your PAYG phone you can request the phone to be unlocked to any network

Thank You coopermanyorks; that confirms what I thought. I've easily spent more than £35 on the network so I should be fine. Do you know if I will have to specify which network I'm going too? Also, will this make the phone the equivalent of a sim free mobile?

The website and support are both offline at the moment, I wanted to ask via 789 but obviously cannot do this right now

Still never mind, DS members are always very helpful and for that I'm grateful

[coopermanyorks]

I had a great issued a great number on Virgin PAYG

*** 86 86 86 60

So I have stuck with it , and taken it into contracts as I change , they gave me the unlock code this then enabled any networks sim to work in the phone

You don't say if your phone is a 3G , if its not then a Three sim won't work in it , if it is 3G a three sim will work in it .

[Pencil]

I remember how excited people were when Virgin first launched (I think it was 1999). Calls were 15p for the first 3 minutes, then 5p for the rest of the day... and free voicemail. It all seemed too good to be true.

As time wore on, other networks became cheaper, great deals were offered and suddenly, Virgin were no longer the cheapest. Did Virgin adapt? Nope, they stayed, not just for one or two years but what seemed like forever. 15p for 5 minutes, 5p for the rest of the day. 15p for 5 minutes, 5p for the rest of the day. 15p for 5 minutes, 5p for the rest of the day. 15p for 5 minutes, 5p for the rest of the day. 15p for 5 minutes, 5p for the rest of the day.

When Virgin eventually made some changes after years and years of being the same, the new deals were only beneficial to what I consider to be a rare breed of PAYG customer. As for customers with friends on other networks, Virgin well and truely stuck their red fingers up at them.

But anyone, I don't completely dislike Virgin. I think one or two of the Liberty Sim deals is very good.

Hi Pencil,

Well up until this morning I didn't really dislike Virgin Mobile, I was just a bit unhappy with their charges to call non-virgin networks.

It's surprising how quickly opinion can change though, especially with a response from Virgin which says:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgin Mobile

There's a small fee of £15 to get your unlock codes – this is because the cost of our phones is normally subsidised, and this small charge helps us keep our prices competitive.

How can these people be trusted? The correct term would have been "unlatching code" - see, they don't even use the right terminology. Why do I get the opinion that someone at Virgin was stringing me along to try and bag some pocket money?

[TheBigM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krazee

Hi Pencil,

Well up until this morning I didn't really dislike Virgin Mobile, I was just a bit unhappy with their charges to call non-virgin networks.

It's surprising how quickly opinion can change though, especially with a response from Virgin which says:



How can these people be trusted? The correct term would have been "unlatching code" - see, they don't even use the right terminology. Why do I get the opinion that someone at Virgin was stringing me along to try and bag some pocket money?

They are not stringing you along - legally the operators are obliged to give you the code but they are allowed to charge for it - £25 is a common amount. They normally call this an administration fee.

I don't see how being pedantic about terminology makes the charge right or wrong. From what I have seen on the internet - "unlatching code" is a term specific to some network operators e.g. O2. You will find unlock code to be a much more widely used term and it isn't incorrect in the sense it unlocks your phone to work with any sim.

[prking]

Actually, they have a requirement to issue a PAC but there is no requirement to issue an unlock code. They can charge whatever they want to cover costs though. Incidentally, not all handsets can be unlocked.

Unlock codes are also known as subsidy codes, rarely, un-latching codes.

[RT1981]

You do know about the Daily Bonus Tariff OP?