Head Office
Giffgaff Ltd,
260 Bath Road,
Slough, Berkshire,
SL1 4DX, UK
Customer Service
Email: complaints@giffgaff.com
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About Giffgaff
Giffgaff is a British virtual mobile network provider operating on the Telefonica-owned O2 Network. Based out of Berkshire, Giffgaff has an interesting concept of running a mobile network. The company is run by its members, in other terms, its customers. This might make you think the customer service of the company is non-existent. But, think again. Giffgaff believes that customers should not be doing contracts. But instead, they should stay with a company because they want to and not because they have to. Giffgaff was founded in 2008 by Gav Thompson, who believed that there was a finer way to do mobile. The company started by providing a prepaid SIM card with the standard 2G and 3G services, and customers were charged as per the usage. Once the company had a strong foothold in the market, it began to introduces bundles of minutes, data, text, known as ‘goodybags’. The company decided that customers can set the goody bags for automatic renewal once a credit or debit card is set. The platform consequently facilitated automatic renewals from PayPal accounts.
Giffgaff does not have customer service lines. This means customers do not have an option for verbal communication. Customers having non-account related problems can approach the online community for solutions. Other Giffgaff members can answer the member queries and win payback points, which is a virtual currency for Giffgaff transactions. The payback points can be exchanged for real currency, airtime credit, or can be donated to specific charities. For account-related problems, the official website facilitates help via ‘agents’. If a customer is not able to find the solution in the community, or the agent, he/she can switch to written communication via email. The company uses part-time moderators, employees who work on a work-from-home basis. These moderators or educators monitor the community forum for the company. The moderators edit, remove or modify the content, which is perceived against the community standards.
The company introduced and implemented 5G in 2021. The new range SIM customers have to add golden goodybags for 5G services. The existing 4G services will however continue to work. The website allows new customers to order and activate their free SIM. Existing users can use the website to add goodybags, seek help from the community, and communicate with agents. The website also facilitates trade-ins, which means customers can buy new phones after they trade their old phones. You can find new and refurbished phones on the website. The phones are delivered free of charge. Giffgaff also offers flexible payment options if you want to purchase a new phone. Customers can manage their Giffgaff accounts via smartphone apps as well. The app is available on both App Store and Google Play.
