giffgaff

Giffgaff has no customer service phone lines. Non-account specific problems are raised via an online community system and are answered by other Giffgaff members in exchange for "payback points" (a virtual currency). Account-specific queries are directed to "agents", who are contracted by Giffgaff Ltd. to administer account matters. If neither of these avenues resolve the issues, there is a dedicated complaint team, who respond to complaints by email and a dedicated voicemail phone number, written replies can take up to five working days to receive.[14]

Educators

Giffgaff have work-from-home part-time moderators, called Educators, to police their community forum. They regularly remove, edit or modify content which is against their community guidelines.

Giffgaff offer payback points to members who recruit other members, suggest ideas on their crowdsourcing platform (giffgaff Labs), as well as those who provide customer service on the giffgaff community.[15] Payback points can be exchanged for real money, airtime credit, or donated to five charities (new 2020) nominated by members and paid out biannually in June and December. Giffgaff promise to match their members charitable donations, pound for pound. Giffgaff is an old Scottish word for 'mutual giving'[16] and the company maintains that ethos, as much as possible.

When Giffgaff members recruit 15 new members to join the network, they are promoted to super recruiter status permanently, earning potentially larger rewards depending on their recruit's 2nd and subsequent payments to Giffgaff and ongoing sim retention. Super recruiters are also eligible to receive other benefits, such as dedicated email support, marketing materials, phone calls with employees, and visits to Giffgaff's HQ.[17]

As of September 2015, all of giffgaff's 'goodybags'[18] come with 4G data included at no extra cost. If the user doesn't have a 4G ready device or is not in a 4G area, the device will connect to O₂'s 3G or 2G network instead.

Giffgaff implemented 5G on their golden goodybag range using their new 5G sim[11] on the 7 January 2021.[19] Existing 4G Giffgaff SIMs will continue to work.[20]

Giffgaff's 5G, like all their network services runs on the O₂ Network. O2 rolled out their 5G network access to O2 customers in October 2019. [21]

After goodybags with unlimited internet allowance were introduced, complaints were made to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) from customers who were refused further sale of unlimited plans. The reason given by Giffgaff for their disconnection was a clause in the terms and conditions stating "[We may disconnect you] if you do anything ... which we reasonably think adversely impacts the service to other Giffgaff customers or may adversely affect the Network". The complaint was not upheld by the ASA who concluded that unlimited internet was advertised correctly. Giffgaff noted that their customer service agents had used the clause above incorrectly and promised to rectify this.[34]

Giffgaff have since removed the goodybags in question and replaced their unlimited internet allowance with an "Always On" data allowance. This means that users will get 80 GB of full speed data usage but after these 80 GB, will be speed-limited to 385 kbps between 8 am and midnight every day.[35]

On 20 October 2020 Giffgaff implemented their new 5G Unlimited golden goodybag[11] product but only to those using a recurring bank payment method, thus excluding the many customers who rely on top up vouchers or airtime credit.

In May 2013 Giffgaff ran an online and television advertising campaign with the strapline "Don't be scared" which featured zombies converging on a village. Although the television advert appeared after the 9pm watershed, the ASA received 105 complaints. The ASA did not uphold the complaints, stating that it was not in breach of any BCAP rules.[36]

In October 2013 Giffgaff ran two adverts in an online campaign with the strapline "Different takes guts". The advert featured a crowd of people dressed in white in an empty swimming pool throwing guts at each other. The ASA upheld the complaints that the content was in violation of BCAP rules for harm and offence and also BCAP rule 5.2 because the advert was not suitably age rated. It was recommended that the advert not appear again in its current form.[37]

In August 2014, Giffgaff ran three adverts in an online campaign with the strapline "At home with your parents you're not the boss" which featured siblings being subjected to awkward situations with their parents, one of which was reported to the ASA and featured an adult son walking in on his parents as they were engaged in sexual intercourse. The ASA upheld the complaint that the content was in violation of BCAP rule 4.1 for harm and offence and recommended that the advert not appear again in its current form.[38]