News 2005
Even more catches with easyMobile
10/03/2005
10.03.05 (continues from release issued earlier today…): It gets worse. As easyMobile reveals the terms and conditions for its new so-called simple offering, Virgin Mobile has uncovered even more hidden nasties, making a complete mockery of easyMobile’s ‘Promise’ of ‘no hidden charges, no hidden features, you pay for what you use and nothing else’.
Catch No 4: easyMobile has today become the only UK operator to charge its customers to pay them money. Each and every time their customers top up their phone, they’ll be stung with a fee of £1 to top their account using their customer service centre, or 40p if they top up electronically. No other British operator charges its customers to top up their phone.
Catch No 5: easyMobile charges 15p a minute flat – which is not the cheapest rate in the UK. Virgin Mobile charges just 15p a minute for the first 5 minutes of use each day, falling to 5p a minute after that, for calls to landlines and other Virgin Mobile phones. Calls to other networks cost from 12p a minute, round the clock, with Virgin Mobile Bundles.
Catch No 6: easyMobile will let its prepay customers go “overdrawn” or get a negative balance of up £10 – then will send them a text costing 50p to alert them of the fact. If a customer fails to go into a positive balance within 3 days their account will be blocked and they’ll be charged a further £5.
Catch No 7: easyMobile charges for voicemail – 15p a minute on their standard tariff to retrieve messages. Voicemail on Virgin Mobile is free.
Catch No 8: easyJet customers won’t be able to use their easyMobile’s abroad – easyMobile doesn’t offer foreign roaming.
Catch No 9: easyMobile customers are charged a staggering £4 for every itemised bill sent through the post.
Catch No 10: easyMobile customers have limited customer service support. Their customer centre is open only between 9am and 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm at weekends. Virgin Mobile’s award winning customer service team is available around the clock.
Steven Day, Virgin Mobile’s corporate affairs director, said: “easyMobile said earlier today that it has a ‘mission to make a difference for customers’. It’s certainly done that – with no frills, limited service, and call costs that can be beaten – not to mention catches galore – easyMobile is destined to become famous for the only operator that dared to ‘demand’ its customers spend a certain amount of money with them or suffer a monthly fee, and the only operator that was audacious enough to charge its customers for paying them.”
Notes to Editors:
For further information please contact:
| Virgin Mobile | |
| Virgin Mobile Press Office | 0845 600 6272 or press.office@virginmobile.com |
| Steven Day | 07931 777777 or steven.day@virginmobile.com |
| Joanne Baker | 07941 233300 or joanne.baker@virginmobile.com |
| Lansons Communications | |
| Shellie Wells | 0207 294 3627 or shelliew@lansons.com |
| Liz Willder | 020 7294 3677 or lizw@lansons.com |
About Virgin Mobile:
Virgin Mobile Holdings (UK) plc, the UK's largest mobile virtual network operator, is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and uses T-Mobile's network. Since its launch in November 1999, Virgin Mobile has attracted more than 5 million customers.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virginmobile.com or on the High Street at approximately 5,000 outlets including Virgin Mobile Specialist Stores, Virgin Megastores, Tesco, Asda, John Lewis, Littlewoods, Argos, The Link, Dixons, Carphone Warehouse, Curry's, Comet, Phones 4 U, TOMO, Woolworths, Toys R Us and Ryman.
Virgin Mobile employs approximately 1,400 staff at three sites, Trowbridge, London and Daventry, and has an outsourced customer service centre operated by approximately 200 staff in Middlesbrough. It has been voted one of the top 50 places to work in Britain for two years running in an annual Financial Times survey.
Virgin Mobile is ranked in 72nd place in `The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For’ 2005 list.
