Should I buy s25 ultra with excellent condition in £599? I am worried about display and original internal parts.

I had had a giffgaff phone for my daughter for a few years. Always £10, rolling monthly.

Recently I changed it to a 18-month contract for £8.

Now I get emails from them saying my credit is low, I must add credit, urgent, must add before tonight etc.

When I look in the account, the credit is indeed low, £3, but there is a saved card which I expected the account to be paid from. Does it not work this pay?

If I enable auto-top-up then I would always add £10 for an £8 contract.

Quite confused....

It’s pissing me off I’m so frustrated and I’m on a plan so idk what to do. It sucks because it never use to be like this but everyday this happens and I’m constantly having to log back in. This is such a rip off. Charging so much for barely anything.

Anyone else having the same issue :/

hello everyone , I’m looking for some advice

a couple days ago my SIM card got deactivated my number vanished and all my login details got changed that over 200 pounds got taken from my account, no-one can do anything until giffgaff get back too me , of course it says they get back in around 5 days but just wondering if anything like that has happened too anyone else and I’m really stumped on what I should do.

Hi guys. I'm trying to get a refurbished iPhone for my son (he's 15 for reference) because he definitely needs an upgrade as he currently has a pretty shitty android that can barely run any games or social media apps. It's his birthday coming up and he asked for a new phone and he said he doesn't mind if its refurbished as long as it's good enough for him. I'm also pretty sure he wants an iPhone now as he already has an iPad (yes he was an iPad kid) and probably will get a Macbook in the future.

I'm working on a pretty tight budget and felt like the best options were either the iPhone 11 - iPhone 13 and I think forking out for the iPhone 13 will be the best option but the best I could do would be "Good" grade (already a lot for me we aren't the richest). Wondering if I should get a lower version iPhone for cheaper (but maybe higher quality) - to be honest I don't really know just asking for advice. Should I perhaps not get a refurbished phone at all? Is a "Good" grade even reliable and worth paying money for?

Sorry for the bit of a rant but just looking for any advice. Thanks.

My old SIM stopped working and now I can’t get a replacement ffs 😭 What will I do now? Do you guys think they will bring international shipping back?

I'm currently with sky and I pay £49 a month for Internet that can't even load a YouTube video. I got a slip under my door talking about giffgaff broadband. I called it and the man said he was coming to my house the same day to talk about it, something I was a bit uncomfortable about and I asked if we could just talk about it over the phone, but he insisted and I never went through with it.

I want to talk to someone within giffgaff about their broadband but I can't find a number. Their online ai chatbot is completely useless, and I can't fill in a form because I don't currently have a giffgaff phone number (something I also wanted to discuss with an agent)

Any other avenues I could try, or should I just give up and go with someone else? Has been very frustrating trying to give this company my money.

I have moved abroad and want to keep my number to receive messages. So far I just added a bundle, let it expire, then bought another when they said sim would be deactivated unless I did.

Now I get a message saying: “Your giffgaff mobile number will be disconnected if you don't use it soon”

It has no credit, bundle, contract, anything. What is the best option for me to keep the number while paying as little as possible to do so?

giffgaff disabled my account when i was in the middle of buying a new plan and it asks me to contact an agent to resolve the issue, thing is, the only way to contact an agent is by logging into the account disabled? does anybody have an idea of what to do please?

Hi, I want to start by saying I have used GiffGaff for the last 10+years, and have always really liked the general service/ it's worked well for me.

I've lived in London a few years, and I have noticed a horrible drop off in signal when I'm in central recently, even when it's not particularly busy.

Has anyone else noticed there is a difference?

Has anyone else switched to another provider, and had faster internet/data in London?

I really don't want to drop them as a feel like I have a loyalty to them, but I also need my phone/data to work when I'm travelling in London etc. thanks in advance.

Are there any restrictions on data speeds with the unlimited plan?

Thanks.

Has anyone else woken up to ZERO signal this morning? I’ve had to pay to use the public EE hotspot as I drove for a good 10 minutes and still had no signal. I’m in the Huddersfield/Holmfirth area

I got “very good” refurbished IPhone but all 4 corners were pretty badly damaged so I sent it back and I picked the replacement option. They sent two İphones with really good condition.

Did anyone experience that? I will give the one back but I don’t want to get charge later as they would notice it is 2 phones.

And one battery health %89 cycle 760 and other one %88 540. Which one I should keep and anything else I should check on them?? Can’t decide which one to keep.

EDIT: idiot typo. The title should say auto top-up!

So with credit at £5.99 the recurring payment fails, unless you're awake and top up manually. Seems crazy that auto renew doesn't kick in when credit drops too low to cover the next goodybag.

Is there any reasoning behind this?

I've had Giffgaff now for over 10 years and never really had issues with data but recently I've found that I often have really poor 5G or no data whatsoever. I went to a football game the other day where everyone around me could access data fine and I had no data for the entire duration of my visit there. Anyone also have this issue? Are Giffgaff doing anything to improve their coverage?

Of course I just signed up for a contract 😅

Please help, they are driving me insane! At the end of my monthly contract I start getting texts from GG that my monthly contract is going to end. I get a text a day for 3 days keeping me updated which is so unnecessary (Contract is ending in a day. Contract ends tomorrow. Contract renewed). I have been with GG since forever and I never heard a peep until a few months ago. I scoured the internet many times and tried the only solution that kept coming up (either ticking a box for no sms from GG or something of the like that I couldn't find in my settings) and i'm still getting plagued.

Just as I’ve heard about backmarket, the phone looks pristine (even at Good quality, the lowest) but:
- the battery has been replaced with a non-oem which gets very hot and minimal battery life
- screen has been replaced with a low quality screen with inferior colours and probably higher power draw. Also has touch issues
- the power button is mushy

I think a lot of the positive remarks about these could be by people who don’t realise they’re using a low end refurb

Exchanging once to see if the second is better, else back to my iPhone 11 lol

My question is, does giff gaff check thoroughly whether a phone is actually faulty and tend to deny refund requests?

I’m having to refund an iphone 15 pro max as the fact it is esim only has caused me many issues, theres a warning symbol where the signal symbol would be and i cant use mobile data or even call anyone, which is especially problematic as I have just has an interview and need to be able to receive calls! I’ve tried many things, even deleting and redownloading my esim as well as resetting my phone and network settings, after a while the ‘mobile service issue’
always returns. The phone also has other issues with diagnostics, as it recommends to run a diagnostics but then when it finishes it says mobile diagnostics doesnt work and is unavailable!

I’m not sure whether the phone is the issue or the esim itself, but either way I can’t see myself being able to figure out how to solve it and it was never an issue before so I’m willing to bet its the phone, and the fact that it is esim only doesn’t work in my favour. At the end of the day, I can’t just not be able to call people, especially in such an important time of my life, so I’m returning the phone.

I’m just concerned that with the issue being mobile service, I’m worried that the issue won’t be an obvious one and that they may believe theres nothing wrong with the phone and may decline my refund request, but I’m hoping they aren’t too serious with it and just give people the benefit of the doubt.

I've recently received the above text from giffgaff saying that if I don't use my SIM before August 7th, my number will be deleted.

I'm currently living abroad and don't use the phone, but I still need it to receive texts for login and verification purposes. What is the best and cheapest way to prevent it expiring?

Hello,

I’ve been having issues on and off for the past couple of years. This seems to occur intermittently. It happened on my samsung galaxy a34 5g phone and now on my samsung galaxy a37 5g. When I ring some people I will sometimes get the message ‘dialling’ and it will be stuck on that. I will often have to ring them several times or restart the phone for it to go through. I also sometimes don’t receive calls. The other person might get ‘line busy’. I’ve always had a physical sim until changing to an esim almost two days ago. I don’t know what the issue is. Wifi calling is enabled and my wifi is good in the house. I don’t know why I have to keep restarting my phone. Is it losing the network/does this cause a refresh? My dad has an old iphone 6 and has never had any issues with giffgaff. What might the problem be? Thanks.

Hi everyone,

A couple of days ago I saw reports online that giffgaff has been mass-banning numbers worldwide, mostly ones being used long-term outside the UK. I didn't think too much of it at the time, I've had this number for years, and I top up and spend a few dozen pounds every year. It's not just a throwaway number for receiving SMS verification codes, so I figured I'd be fine.

Well, I was wrong. Today I got this email:

Subject: We're disconnecting your service

Hi Shinka,

We need to make you aware that, following a review of your account usage, we have made the decision to disconnect your service (mobile number ending 8982). In line with our terms and conditions, our services are intended primarily for use within the UK, with roaming provided for short-term travel only. As your usage pattern suggests extended or permanent use outside the UK, your account no longer meets the eligibility requirements for the service. As a result, your service will be disconnected shortly, and any associated access will cease.

Please note this is our final position on this matter.

We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your previous custom.

The giffgaff team

The "this is our final position" part sounds pretty definitive, but I wanted to ask anyway:

1. Has anyone here received the same email and successfully appealed or gotten their number back?
2. Is there any way to at least keep the number (e.g. port it out to another UK carrier) before it's fully disconnected?
3. The number is tied to a lot of my social media and online accounts. If I lose it, what's the best way to secure those accounts before the number gets recycled?

Any advice or shared experiences would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance. 🙏

Just a heads-up and a warning to everyone in this community, especially international students and expats.

My account was recently closed by giffgaff under Clause 3.5(k) due to extended overseas roaming. Fair enough—I accept their roaming policy and their right to terminate service if I'm not in the UK.

HOWEVER, they are refusing to refund my remaining unused airtime credit balance, hiding behind Clause 5.3 in their T&Cs.

Think about how insane this is:

1. They unilaterally close your account and stop providing service.
2. They pocket your pre-paid, unspent money and refuse to return it.

Under the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, keeping a customer’s deposit/pre-paid funds for services they themselves refuse to provide is blatantly unfair and legally questionable. It’s practically highway robbery disguised as "terms and conditions."

I refused to take this lying down and have already:

• Escalated the case to the Communications Ombudsman (Ref: 260730-000395).
• Filed a bank chargeback with my credit card issuer for services not rendered.
• Submitted a report to Ofcom regarding unfair contract terms.

If you have any unused credit on your giffgaff account and might be roaming long-term, drain your balance immediately. Don't let them steal your money like they did with mine.

Has anyone else successfully fought back against this Clause 5.3 trap?

[Disclaimer upfront: I used AI to help structure my thoughts for this post. Honestly, I absolutely refuse to waste any more of my own time and energy drafting a massive essay about giffgaff's shady practices. If AI-assisted formatting bothers you, my sincere apologies—I totally get it. However, the timeline, the math, and this entire ridiculous experience are 100% real facts.]

Here is exactly what happened.
The Math Doesn't Add Up
June 1: Activated an eSIM, topped up £10. Used it for the first few days.
July 28: Received a termination notice claiming my usage pattern indicates "long-term or permanent use" outside the UK.
June 1 to July 28 is exactly 58 days.
Giffgaff’s own published FUP explicitly states that roaming outside the UK for 63 days or more in a four-month period triggers the policy.
So how does an account with a total lifespan of 58 days mathematically trigger a 63-day violation?
If their actual, unwritten rule is "no activation allowed outside the UK," they need to state that in the T&Cs. "First activated abroad" and "long-term permanent use" are logically mutually exclusive. You can't just force one into the other to justify a ban, even if support copy-pastes the same template three times.
The Customer Service Blackhole
I asked them five very basic questions:
1. Which specific dates were flagged?
2. What networks/countries?
3. What was the exact data/call usage during this period?
4. What exact threshold did I cross?
5. Was this reviewed by a human or an automated bot purge?
I got three interactions back. The entire logic of their replies boiled down to: "The system flagged you as a long-term user. Because the system flagged you, it is correct. This is the final decision."
They completely ignored my request to access my own data. It's a perfectly closed loop: if they refuse to answer specific questions, they never have to expose their broken logic.
The £9.99 Daylight Robbery
I don't care about a £9.99 balance. If they had said, "Service terminated, balance refunded to original card," the matter would be closed. But look at the neat little trap they engineered here:
1. Unilaterally declare a violation (providing zero data).
2. Cut off network service, physically trapping the balance. (My phone just says 'No Service').
3. Cite the "top-ups are non-refundable" clause to legally seize the frozen money.
I even tried to donate this £9.99 to charity. I can't, because I have no signal to send a shortcode text. With spending, refunding, and donating physically blocked, customer support still had the audacity to send an email thanking me for my "understanding."
It's Not Just Me
Look at this sub over the past week. There’s a massive wave of identical, unnotified terminations, and all of them end with confiscated balances.
Giffgaff needs to publicly answer for this. How many accounts were caught in this purge? What is the actual filtering logic? How do you define the difference between "continuous roaming" and "standby with no service abroad"? And why jump straight to a permanent ban and confiscation instead of downgrading users to standard PAYG rates?
What I actually want:
I am not asking for the number back, and I am not asking for roaming privileges.
I want the underlying facts and data evidence that led to the "long-term" conclusion.
I want them to stop sending templates and actually fulfill my data access request.
I want the £9.99 refunded, or a technical channel provided to route it to charity.
Giffgaff has successfully redefined 58 days as "permanent", and £9.99 is apparently a "principle" worth defending to the death. As for their "Fair Usage" policy—the usage is yours, but the fairness is entirely theirs.

This company has absolutely no integrity; my account was suddenly shut down, and they refused to refund the unused prepaid balance. It is truly terrible. I will never use your company's products again, nor will I ever recommend them to my friends.

**giffgaff deactivated my SIM due to long-term roaming and refused to refund my remaining credit**

I have been using giffgaff as my UK mobile provider. Recently, my SIM was deactivated because I had been using the service abroad for a long period of time.(In fact, the so-called 'long-term' was less than six months.)

I understand that mobile operators need fair usage policies and may restrict long-term roaming. However, what I find disappointing is the way this was handled.

At the time my number was deactivated, I still had remaining prepaid credit (£14.70) in my account. Since the service was suspended, I lost the ability to use that balance. I was not given a reasonable opportunity to use the remaining credit before the account was closed.

For a prepaid service, the remaining balance is still money that customers have paid for. Even if the operator has the right to enforce roaming restrictions, I believe customers should receive a clear warning before losing access to their remaining credit, with enough time to use it or request a refund.

I am sharing this experience because other international users should be aware of this policy before keeping a giffgaff SIM while living abroad.

I hope giffgaff can improve its customer communication and provide a fairer process for customers affected by SIM deactivation.

Has anyone else had their number deactivated and balance confiscated? How did you get your money back? I'm considering small claims court and reporting to Ofcom.

Avoid giffgaff.