Thread by @rogerahicks

I got the attached email from #VirginMobile regretting that I'd cancelled my order for an up-grade to a new package plus iPhone, only I didn't cancel it. I just failed to confirm it, which was their fault rather than mine, although I'm now glad that I couldn't & didn't confirm.

I've been with Virgin Mobile for a long time & have no complaints about their service, which was just £5 a month for a SIM with 1000 minutes of calls & 1 GB of data, which was ample for my needs, until the end of June, when I left home & became dependent on my mobile phone.

I needed to be able to make limitless calls from my mobile & to use it as a hotspot for accessing the Internet, for which I needed more data. Virgin provided what I needed for £16 a month using the SIM & phone I already had. But then I decided I wanted to up-grade to an iPhone.

I phoned Virgin & was offered a contract that would give me limitless calls & data, plus an iPhone 11 for £34 a month over 3 years, which seemed like a good deal. Only then there was a problem with my credit rating, which the guy said was a glitch & that he'd get back to me.

My credit rating should have been fine, but he didn't get back to me. I phone the next day I was informed by someone else that my credit rating was adversely affected my the fact that I've just moved home, & thus couldn't have an iPhone.

I should have left it there & bought an iPhone directly from Apple, but instead I phoned Virgin again & was told that I could have an iPhone after all. The guy also persuaded me to go for insurance that would add £12 to the £34 a month, but said I need time to think about it.

He was supposed to phone me back the next day, but didn't. So I phoned Virgin Mobile again & removed the insurance from the contract. We were back to £34 a month for limitless calls & data plus an iPhone 11 over 3 years. I just had to respond to an email I would be sent.

I received the email & followed the link it said I should click on, & tried to provide the information it required, but the page I was on wouldn't accept it. So, I finally gave up & ordered an iPhone 11 from Apple.

It was only after reading the information on this page that I realised what I've fortunately avoided getting involved in: an "interest-free" loan from #VirginFinancialServices for an iPhone they were charging about £85 more for than Apple did. So much for "interest-free".