Virgin Mobile's unlocking policy?

EileenH

virgin use t-mobile network so it should work without unlocking as virgin sim works in t-mobile phone without unlocking

I thought T-Mobile SIMs would work in Virgin handsets but my daughter gave her old Virgin phone to her brother who has a T-Mobile SIM but it wouldn't work. I know they work the other way round - a Virgin SIM in a T-Mobile phone. I emailed Virgin with the details of the phone to be unlocked and they emailed the 2 unlock codes back so my son can now use the Virgin phone with his T-Mobile SIM.

JPR

Just asked Virgin for the unlock code for an Ericsson T29. Should take 7 to 28 days!!!!!!!

Wow!!

EileenH

Just asked Virgin for the unlock code for an Ericsson T29.  Should take 7 to 28 days!!!!!!!

Wow!!

Did you ask them over the phone? I sent an email and received the unlock code back within a few days. I also requested it over the phone after sending the email and was told it could take 10 to 28 days so it might speed things up if you email them as well quoting the phone model and IMEI number.

JPR

Did you ask them over the phone? I sent an email and received the unlock code back within a few days. I also requested it over the phone after sending the email and was told it could take 10 to 28 days  :o so it might speed things up if you email them as well quoting the phone model and IMEI number.

Yup - talked to them. Will now try emailing as well - thanks for the advice.

gromituk

To return to this thread after a long time... I had absolute hell trying to get Virgin to unlock the phone I bought. They didn't have a record of its IMEI on their database, but didn't bother to tell me this after I requested the code by phone. So, I wasted 28 days before investigating. They insisted it couldn't be theirs, even though it had their logo indelibly inscribed into it, showed their logo on the display, and came with their starter pack. First they tried to fob me off with stories that it couldn't be theirs if I'd bought it from another outlet. Then when I admitted I'd bought it on eBay, they basically told me it must have been stolen. They told me to take it into a Megastore to confirm it was genuine, but that didn't help. They wouldn't refund the £30 I had put on it, citing "terms and conditions" they couldn't quote. In the end they said they'd put another £10 on it if I took it to a market stall and got it unlocked! At this point I took the initiative and rang Sendo directly, to get them to confirm it was a genuine IMEI and they had sold it to Virgin. Sendo said they would send the unlocking code to Virgin if contacted via their usual channels. But even then, the call centre droid wouldn't accept that it could be unlocked. However, an hour or so later, the unlocking email mysteriously arrived.

An angry detailed fax to the head of customer services, and, a few days later, I got a very apologetic phone call and they've at least put another £30 on for my trouble - which was half a day off work, a trip to a shop, hours on the phone and a hell of a stressful experience.

So the usual story - if you want to speak to someone with more grasp of logic than a three year old, you have to leap-frog the frontline troops and go srtaight through to a level of person who gets paid more than £5 an hour.