giffgaff riff-raff hacked off with lift-off of cash spaff giffgaff claims to be “the network run by you”, so perhaps it shouldn’t be quite so surprised when the online community objects to what was a mobile phone company suddenly deciding it’s a bank. The “run by you” bit means that the company worries a lot about what customers say in the forums. And what the “owners” are saying is …
Hold on, have you missed this bit: giffgaff will allow customers to take out a loan, using RateSetter to buy the handset with the mobile deal being SIM only
That doesn't sound like a bank at all, nor does it "hint that at ambitions to become a big lender". In practice this is an outcome of the fact that Telefonica has no money to lend, along with the challenger-business-within-an-incumbent-business model.
Giffgaff want to push sim only deals. They don't want to offer the same as O2, of two year contracts including an expensive handset on tick. By this model, giffgaff sim only customers can have a flashy new handset, are still on short term sim only contracts, and giffgaff don't have to find £400 to actually finance the handset. This also may help stop the churn out of sim-only as users' handsets break or reach end of life, and their only obvious option is to go back on contract with someone else. By using peer-to-peer they hope to avoid the toxicity of the financial services corporations, to avoid the restrictiveness of corporate credit checks, and overall to offer cheaper finance to the phone buyers.
It's not a stroke of genius, but it is actually a really, really well formed concept, and it's a pity that the existing customers don't seem to appreciate it - it's only one more option for them when they want or need to get a new handset.
"It remains to be seen what Three will do with giffgaff *when* it acquires O2." [My emphasis].
Does the article author have some kind of inside information which indicates the proposed acquisition of O2 by HWL (Three) is a done deal and the outcome of the investigation into it is a foregone conclusion?
I know we make snarky comments in these fair forums about corporate acquisitions being all about the £££/$$$ but, in this case at least due to it's four becomes three nature, I still think it's all to play for until that large woman over there with the big lungs starts belting out her closing musical number....
I hope 3 doesn't get O2 - I cannot see any situation where I do end up having to pay 3 much more.
(For the rare situations where the extra coverage might be a benefit I am almost certain just getting a fixed data sim from someone else will be less than the price difference).
3 in the USA is brilliant with the at home thing.
...while I was getting my PAC code.
I thought it might be peer-to-peer lending behind it, but that usually means the offer to loan out money as well as borrow it. But then I suppose that's not their demographic; people having spare cash.
Heading to Three and my greatest fear is that I see a 'GPRS' icon on my phone.
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