Giffgaff Hikes PAYG Prices But Boosts Data Allowances

Giffgaff will double the price of text messages and hike the cost of calls for customers using its already expensive standard pay-as-you-go services from next month.

From Sunday 26 February, Giffgaff PAYG customers will be charged 10p per text, up from 5p, and 30p per photo message, up from 16p. Phone calls to UK mobiles and landlines will increase in price from 15p per minute to 25p per minute.

The cost of using data on Giffgaff’s standard PAYG service will remain the same, at 5p per MB.

The mobile provider will simultaneously boost allowances on its monthly bundles of call minutes, texts and data, to encourage traditional PAYG customers to switch to its ‘goodybags.’

From 26 February all goodybags will come with unlimited minutes and texts, while the top-tier £20 and £25 bundles will see their current data or full-speed data allowances double, to 40GB and 80GB, respectively.

Giffgaff is owned by and uses the mobile network of O2, which itself stopped selling traditional PAYG deals in November, while expanding its range of bundles. 

Giffgaff’s pricing overhaul is a further signal that traditional PAYG mobile service may shortly be wiped from the market. 

In November, Virgin Mobile controversially introduced a new pricing model for its PAYG services, which could slap customers will charges of £6 a day for sending one text message, making a short phone call and using a small amount of mobile data. 

Following the changes, Virgin Mobile withdrew its PAYG deals from the market for new customers and encouraged its thousands of existing PAYG customers to start using bundles of texts, minutes, and data, branded ‘Jam Packs.’

Now customers who want a true PAYG mobile service will need to switch to Three. Its PAYG tariff charges customers 3p/min for calls, 2p/text and 1p/MB of data.