News 2005
Virgin Mobile rolls-out Britain’s most consumer-friendly contract
01/11/2005
01.11.05: Virgin Mobile today announces the extended roll-out of Britain’s most consumer-friendly contract - Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly. From today it will be available in more than 1000 high street stores across the UK; in Virgin Mobile Stores, The Link, concessions in WHSmith stores and The Carphone Warehouse, and also via the Virgin Mobile website (www.virgin.com/mobile).
The retail expansion is the latest phase of Virgin Mobile’s drive into the contract market, and follows the success of its exclusive partnership with The Carphone Warehouse, which launched in May 2005. Virgin Mobile will seek to continue to expand its contract proposition into other retailers over the coming months.
Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly is different from other mobile contracts on the market. As well as offering contract customers a choice of the latest phones and great-value airtime, Virgin Mobile offers unique benefits by giving customers two clear options at the end of their contract term. If they are happy to keep their existing phone Virgin Mobile guarantees to automatically cut a customer’s regular monthly charge at the end of their contract - saving them as much as 50% on their monthly fee.
Alternatively, they can renew their contract and, for the same ongoing monthly fee, automatically receive a new phone. Virgin Mobile, unlike other networks, will not continue to charge customers expensive `line rental’ after the contract has finished - instead customers pay only for their airtime. No other network offers this fair and honest choice.
There are twelve great-value tariffs available on Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly; some are best suited to ‘big talkers’, including a new 400-minute tariff, and others to ‘big texters’, offering a combination of minutes and texts. All tariffs, available with the latest phones, come with free itemised monthly bills and free voicemail, plus £5 of bonus airtime on signing up. Out of contract costs are charged at Virgin Mobile’s standard rates, which include on-net texts from 3p.
Customers can choose between a 12- or 18-month contract, and during the contract term any unused inclusive airtime or minutes each month will be ‘rolled over’ for use the next month. Customers opting for the 18-month contract benefit from even greater savings. Virgin Mobile Stores have an exclusive promotional offer of half price monthly charges on all pay monthly tariffs for a period of 3 months on 12-month contracts, and 6 months on 18-month contracts.
Tom Alexander, CEO of Virgin Mobile, said: “We like to do things differently at Virgin Mobile, and our contract is different from anything else in the market. We are upfront about what is covered in a contract’s monthly charges and, in challenging convention, we can guarantee our customers a fair choice at the end of their contract. For customers on Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly we’ll tell them when their contract’s up and cut their costs.
“Contract represents huge opportunities for us; we have concentrated on pre-pay in the past, and it continues to be hugely important to us, but now we are ready to take on new market share in the contract field. We have given the consumer an honest offer, and we hope it makes them think hard about whether they are currently getting the fairest deal from the other networks.”
A national TV advertising campaign is currently on air supporting the launch of Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly, created by RKCR/Y&R. The ads are based around the strapline of `Show off or Money Off’ and they demonstrate Virgin Mobile’s key point of difference, in that, every customer will have the chance to `show off’ with a new phone every 12 or 18 months, or get `money off’ their bill.
For further information contact:
Virgin Mobile:
Virgin Mobile Press Office: 0845 600 6272 or pressoffice@virginmobile.com
Alison Bonny: 07802 430276 or alison.bonny@virginmobile.com
Jo Baker: 07941 233300 or jo.baker@virginmobile.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 Pay Monthly is currently available in Virgin Mobile Stores, The Carphone Warehouse, The Link, at concessions in WHSmith and at www.virginmobile.com.
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.
View Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly Tariff Table in PDF format (70 Kb)
To access the PDF documents you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded free of charge from the Adobe website.
