News 2005
Virgin Mobile calls for summer security on holiday
15/08/2005
- Nearly one in five Brits have lost or had their mobile phone stolen*
- 25 million Brits take their mobile phone with them to the beach on holiday
- Nearly one quarter (23%) of mobiles taken to the beach are left unattended
- One third of Brits feel safer on holiday and tend to worry less about security
15.08.15: Virgin Mobile urges Brits to be more security conscious as its research shows a startling 8.4 million (19%) Brits have lost or had their mobile phone stolen on holiday.
British holidaymakers took 65 million trips abroad last year**. And research from Virgin Mobile shows that 31% of holidaymakers think about security less when on foreign shores, as they feel more relaxed, safer or believe their travel insurance will cover them.
Over one half of British sunseekers will take their mobile phone to the beach this year and almost one quarter of these will leave it unattended on the beach. But with hundreds of thousands of mobile phones stolen every year*** at home and abroad, holidaymakers especially need to be extra vigilant with their valuables while relaxing in the sun.
Steven Day, Corporate Affairs Director at Virgin Mobile said: “Millions of mobile phones are taken abroad every year. But although we go on holiday to relax and forget about every day worries like security, the stress of losing a mobile phone could ruin a holiday. A quarter of us are leaving our mobile phones unattended on holiday as we forget about being security conscious away from home – this is a huge number of mobiles just waiting to be stolen and we urge it doesn’t happen to you. Don’t leave your mobile phone on display or use it in crowded areas and always make sure one of the group is watching the bags.”
Advice for travelling abroad with your mobile phone:
- Check there’s network coverage where you’re going by visiting Virgin Mobile’s website www.virginmobile.com/mobile. There are more than 50 countries for pre-pay roaming. For wider coverage, there are more than 160 countries available if you pay monthly by direct debit. In North America, Latin America and Caribbean countries, customers may need a triband phone.
- Make sure you’re aware of all the call charges associated with using your phone in the country you’re visiting. Certain calls you are used to being free in the UK may be charged for when you’re abroad.
- Don’t forget to consider taking out insurance for your phone. Virgin Mobile offers a policy for £25, just call 0845 6000 789 to enquire.
- Remember to add international prefixes to the numbers in your phone book.
- Remember to set up your voicemail and pin before you travel.
- Contact Virgin Mobile immediately if your phone is stolen. If you are abroad you will need to call +44 7953 967 967. Once your claim is accepted Virgin Mobile will get an `as new’ replacement phone to you within 24 hours.
- Virgin Mobile will send you a replacement SIM card and you can keep your same mobile number however, you will need to keep a back up of your phonebook as this can’t be replaced.
For further information, please contact:
| Virgin Mobile | ||
| Virgin Mobile Press Office | press.office@virginmobile.com or 0845 600 6272 | |
| Joanne Baker | joanne.baker@virginmobile.com or 07941 233 300 | |
| Alison Bonny | alison.bonny@virginmobile.com or 07802 430 276 | |
| Lansons Communications | ||
| Shellie Wells | shelliew@lansons.com or 020 7294 3627 | |
| Liz Willder | lizw@lansons.com or 020 7294 3677 | |
Notes to Editors:
*Research was undertaken online by YouGov between 15th and 18th July 2005. 2,338 GB adults over the age of 18 were interviewed and 19% of these had either had their phone stolen or lost or both. 58% take their mobile phone with them when they go to the beach. The adult GB population stands at 44,200,000. 19% of this is 8,398,000 and 58% is 25,636,000.
**ONS Statistic
*** Taken from www.mymobile.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 5.6 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 Stores within Virgin Megastores, The Carphone Warehouse, The Link, Dixons, Phones 4 U, Curry's, Comet, Tesco, Asda, John Lewis, Argos, TOMO, Woolworths, Toys R Us and Ryman plus hundreds of independents mobile phones dealers and available via Shop Direct, Littlewoods, Grattan and Empire home shopping channels.
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.
Virgin Mobile's customers were found to be the most-satisfied mobile consumers in the pre-pay sector for two years running in 2005 and 2004, according to the surveys by J.D. Power and Associates. Virgin Mobile is also featured in "The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For" list 2005 and is part of the FTSE4Good Index.
