Virgin Mobile Contract

rosegirl36

I am not very mobile savvy so hope someone can help?
My 14 year old son is on a 2 yr contact with Virgin Mobile with a £8.68 tariff which includes 100 mins and 100 texts,however checked bank today and they have taken out £88.
I went online and checked bill and it is correct,loads of 15p texts and 40p calls to other networks.So big telling off and phone confiscated.
So what next?
Cannot find anywhere in my online account stating how long is left on contract,how do i find this?
Do i have to wait for contract to end before changing tarriff etc?
Really want to keep monthly cost manageable,only paid around £9/10 per month before this bill.
Thanks

sudored

14 year old with a 2 year contract really? :rotfl:
you never heard of pay as you go?

with giffgaff a £10 TOPUP get you.
250 mins
unlimited text
and unlimited internet.

grumbler

rosegirl36 wrote: »

Cannot find anywhere in my online account stating how long is left on contract,how do i find this?

Do you not remember when it started just to add 2 years to this date?

Do i have to wait for contract to end before changing tarriff etc?

Normally, you don't have to wait if you want to switch to a more expensive tariff. Otherwise you have to wait.

Really want to keep monthly cost manageable,only paid around £9/10 per month before this bill.

'Manageable' and 'contact' are incompatible terms unless it is a capped contract. Some networks, like t-mobile and tesco mobile, do offer capped contracts. Ask Virgin if they can do something similar.

grumbler

sudored wrote: »

14 year old with a 2 year contract really :rotfl:

Funny? Would 1 year contract be any different? My son was on contracts since 12 as far as I remember - that saved me loads of money without causing any problems.

sudored

grumbler wrote: »

Funny? Would 1 year contract be any different? My son was on contracts since 12 as far as I remember - that saved me loads of money without causing any problems.

SORRY never meant to sound rude but a 2 year contact with an allowance of just 100 mins and 100 texts a month sound a little unrealistic for a 14 year old!
its about 3 texts a day over the month! how many 14 year old you know would send just 3 texts a day? imo the op was just asking for trouble! if he has not got a girlfriend yet just wait untill he has he will be sending 3 texts a minute then haha
again apologies for my first response.

rosegirl36

cant remember the exact date the contract started,would just like to find out,why is it not in the online account section,will have to phone them
Monthly charge was manageable at less than a tenner a month until son went on his calling spree

Stuart_W

Hello, Rosegirl36. :wave:

Unfortunately, most of the mobile phone companies has a rather nasty way of trying to make extra profit from contract customers by charging huge amounts once included minutes and texts have run out - as you have found out! 15p per text and 40p per minute is very steep, but becoming increasingly common across most of the major networks.

There are a few options open to you. Firstly, as you are in a 24 month contract for £8.68 per month, that is a commitment that has already been made. One option, if you contact Virgin, would be to see what alternative tariffs they would be willing to transfer you on to - this would mean paying more each month for a higher number of minutes and texts. This isn't always possible, and it may not actually be the cheapest option.

Another option, if you contact Virgin, you could ask how much it would cost to "buy out" the remainder of the contract and be transferred over to PAYG. This would usually mean paying all the remaining line rental due to the end of the contract (so, for example, if 12 months are remaining, it would be a charge of £104.16).

Once "free" of the contract, a PAYG phone cannot run up unexpected costs. Just sticking with Virgin, for example, a £10 top up would get 300 "inclusive" texts each month (so the £10 credit balance hasn't actually been used up) and the £10 credit could also be used to buy a 150 minute "bundle", so the £10 top up would provide 300 texts and 150 minutes.

If he stays on the current £8.68/month contract, but uses 150 minutes and make 300 texts, it would run up a monthly bill of £58.68! "Buying out" the contract may seem like paying money for nothing, but could actually be cheaper in the long run.

If the phone can be easily unlocked to work with any network, there are even better deals to be had (the same mobile number can be transferred to another company easily). Giffgaff, a PAYG outfit offers unlimited texts and 250 minutes as a £10 monthly bundle, that you buy from your credit balance. A smaller £5 monthly bundle gets 60 minutes and 300 texts. Giffgaff only charge 10p/min and 6p/text if the bundle has run out. You can chop and change each month. Orange offer 400 free texts with every £10 top up (Dolphin/Monkey), and a £5 bundle can provide 100 minutes. PAYG can be good value if you use top up rewards and bundles effectively.

Next time you are looking at getting a new handset for your son, worth looking at either TescoMobile or T-mobile's U-fix options, as you can fix the monthly spend on the bill - so no nasty surprises. Alternatively, look at a SIM-only deal from one of those capped bill suppliers and purchasing the handset separately is an option.

Hope this helps.

rosegirl36

Thanks Stuart
On my online account i can access the PUK code, if i can get the phone unblocked with this can i then use the phone with giffgaff, sounds daft but would Virgin know or mind, i could then let the virgin contract wind down while using giffgaff? so in effect paying no more than £20 per month

sdduk

Yes you can get it unlocked

PUK code is not Unlock code its if you put a password in the phone and then forget it you only have so many chances to put the right code in before the phone will be blocked
that's when you need the PUK code to be able to reset password

Unlock code is called a PAC code Not PUK

Virgin may not unlock the phone till end of contract

You could get it unlocked off a market stall/shop they can normally do it while you wait.

grumbler

rosegirl36 wrote: »

Thanks Stuart
On my online account i can access the PUK code, if i can get the phone unblocked with this can i then use the phone with giffgaff,

PUK and unblocking have nothing to do with unlocking.

Stuart_W

The unblocking code is slightly different from unlocking the phone. The PUC (personal unblocking code) would be used to unblock the SIM card if it has been blocked by the network (usually due to getting a PIN wrong or something). The phone handset, on the other hand, may be locked to a particular network - in this case Virgin.

Yes you could go to a market stall and get the phone "unlocked" (about £10) and then take the SIM card out, and put in a giffgaff sim card. This will mean that your son has a new phone number, and remember the cancel the Virgin £8.68/month contract once the minimum length has elapsed, because it will keep going until you contact them to end it (a minimum term contract is just that - it is not fixed length and does not automatically "end").

Hope this helps.