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[Ronski]

Virgin media are changing how they charge some mobile PAYG customers, which could mean some customers paying £6 per day!

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/10/virgin-to-hike-pay-as-you-go-rates---as-customers-vent-anger-at-/

I think this is absolutely disgusting behaviour, even £2 per day is £60 a month, they are clearly trying to get rid of certain customers.

[Ronski]

I suggest anybody potentially affected by the above switch to another provider, it's very easy to transfer your number.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/switching/switching-mobile-phone-provider

[chenks]

much in the same way as insurance companies quote you stupid prices as a tactic to avoid your business.
why operators still do PAYG i really don't know.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Sounds worrying but then again, MSE is not a site I’d trust too far for the impartiality/completeness of news coverage.  I’d like to hear the other side of the story, if there is one.

I actually like PAYG, mainly as there’s no arduous contracts with acres of small print, and no possibility of suddenly finding your account’s been debited masses of cash either through accidental use or fraud.  It’s also easier to see the wood from the trees regarding the actual costs, over a few years, of buying and running a phone.

I’m with Vodafone which sells PAYG  “bundles” that you can automatically opt into, as long as there’s enough balance when payment becomes due.   My £10 monthly bundle gets me 3GB data, 250 minutes and unlimited texts, which is more than adequate for me, in all respects. 

[Ronski]

Full details https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-mobile-pay-as-you-go-plan

Consider this, make one phone  call and send one text a day = £120 a month.

I pay £10 a month for 8GB data including tethering, unlimited texts and calls, oh and that's in 71 destinations around the world

My brother and daughters are on Three 321 payg,  3p a minute, 2p a text and 1p per MB, £10 lasts my daughters months, and my tight brother even longer.

[Chrysalis]

I suggest anybody potentially affected by the above switch to another provider, it's very easy to transfer your number.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/switching/switching-mobile-phone-provider

Thats horrible.

I have noticed retailers in general moving to this kind of horrible model, wanting "minimum spend" from customers.

Yesterday I got an email from very that because I havent used my account for a considerable amount of time they want to close it, the account has been idle "2 months", and thats considerable?

Presumably virgin mobile want rid of PAYG, they will expect some to move to pay monthly sims, and the rest to leave.  Although the optimal purpose of PAYG really is for devices that are primarily inbound calls.  Where outgoing is once in a blue moon.

[sevenlayermuddle]

What about this though, looks broadly similar to the Vodafone PAYG bundle with which I am very happy?   

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-mobile-pay-as-you-go-jam-packs

Most obvious difference, and quite a big one perhaps is, Vodafone equivalents allows 4G data.

Understood though, that others may not like PAYG.   Contracts may certainly work out cheaper, if cost is the only consideration.   

[roseway]

O2 do a range of bundles which they call "Pay Monthly", and which is similar to what 7LM described above. It works just like a sim-only contract, except that it can be cancelled any time without penalty. It obviously costs a bit more than a corresponding contract. I presume that O2 are quite happy with these deals, because they get some cash inflow every month (until you cancel).

[chenks]

also, somethign to consider is that Virgin don't have their own mobile network, they buy bandwidth in from EE/BT.
it's probably not a money maker to have PAYG on someone elses network.

also, with BT and Virgin being competitors in almost all markets they are both in, maybe BT are squeezing what they see as a primary competitor.

[sevenlayermuddle]

O2 do a range of bundles which they call "Pay Monthly", and which is similar to what 7LM described above. It works just like a sim-only contract, except that it can be cancelled any time without penalty. It obviously costs a bit more than a corresponding contract. I presume that O2 are quite happy with these deals, because they get some cash inflow every month (until you cancel).

If it’s a contract, even just a monthly contract, I’d still not want that.   I simply want to avoid the liabilities, indemnities,  ambiguities as to who actually owns what, that tend to be buried in the small print of the various phone contracts I’ve looked at over the years.

In early years, the downside of PAYG tended to be a restricted choice of handsets, or deliberately crippled functionality such as “no tethering” or “no roaming”.   Not these days, you buy and use a top of the range phone, with pretty much the same network features as contract.

[Ronski]

7LM, a SIM only contract would solve some of your concerns, its what I've had for years, in fact I've never had a phone on a contract.

[sevenlayermuddle]

7LM, a SIM only contract would solve some of your concerns, its what I've had for years, in fact I've never had a phone on a contract.

I’ve looked at SIM only contracts, they are still not for me.

But to each his own.   I don’t mean that in the sarcastic way it is often said, just literally... I am happy with PAYG, you with Sim-only, others want a contract phone.   All are correct, if it works for them.

[Ronski]

I’ve looked at SIM only contracts, they are still not for me.

But to each his own.   I don’t mean that in the sarcastic way it is often said, just literally... I am happy with PAYG, you with Sim-only, others want a contract phone.   All are correct, if it works for them.

Hence why I said solve some of your concerns 

[tubaman]

I've been a Virgin PAYG customer for nearly 20 years and am falling foul to this change.  I've never felt a need to be 'connected' 24/7 so having a mobile that I can use as and when for calls and texts (I don't use data at all) works perfectly for me. With the current tariff I'm on with Virgin if I spend £20 a year then I've been using my phone a lot!
I really can't see why anyone in their right mind would want the new tariff offered, and I suspect that is Virgin's plan. Hopefully they get a lot of bad press over this and loose a lot of business as a result, which I think would be well deserved.
Clearly they don't want to do PAYG any more and so I will be leaving them - probably for O2 who still do a basic, and cheap, PAYG service.
 

[chenks]

i think this new may explain some of the PAYG changes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50313824