GiffGaff and rate setter 30 March 2014 at 5:05PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Mobiles 8 replies 2.5K views

stuartjl

Hi, my girlfriends contract is due for an upgrade on O2. But i have found a better offer on GiffGaff. It uses a company called ratesetter to finance its phones. What i want to know is anyone with GiffGaff, are they any good? is there any risk? in using Ratesetter that uses peer to peer lending.

Stuart

grumbler

Never heard of 'Ratesetter', but plenty of people here are with Giffgaff. Just search the board. It's cheap, but has some drawbacks.

Im_just_careful

The giffgaff network uses o2 so coverage will be the same.


It is very clear what the phone costs and it is possible to change the bundle to match usage.


I see little against it if the overall cost is attractive.


If possible pay for the phone over a short period, then until another phone is wanted all you pay for is the usage.

peachyprice

My husband bought a phone through Giffgaff & Ratesetter. He's pleased with the finance package, it's easy to change payment dates, payment amounts and make additional payments all through the online portal.

macman

How can there be any risk borrowing through a peer to peer lending co? You owe them money, not vice versa.

Im_just_careful

Having seen the Ovivo saga unfold, there clearly is a risk with MVNOs.


Not a very big risk in my view but a finite risk that the operator shuts and takes your number with them.


The phone purchase would seem safe whatever happens.

Li0nhead

Im_just_careful wrote: »

Having seen the Ovivo saga unfold, there clearly is a risk with MVNOs.


Not a very big risk in my view but a finite risk that the operator shuts and takes your number with them.


The phone purchase would seem safe whatever happens.

True but with Giffgaff being owned by the Spanish former govt monopoly (Like BT was here) Telefonica I doubt they would disappear over night.
If things did go bad I would expect them to push up prices till they make a profit or try to shove their customer base onto the other telefonica owned uk Network, O2.

macman

How many MNVO's have gone to the wall in the last five years or so? I can't think of a single one other than Ovivo-and they shut down because of an apparent licensing dispute, not directly because of being unprofitable.

cookie365

I personally think giffgaff is great, though you might find buying the phone itself sim free cheaper on Amazon - you don't need to buy a phone from giffgaff to use their sims.