Submit: Great giffgaff Ideas - The giffgaff community

Online usage history (itemized billing)

Status:

by on

This is another idea that has been brought up several times in various forms (see usage-history tag), but

haven't yet made it to these pages. I feel very strongly about this and would like to promote this also here:

the idea is to implement a 'Usage history' or 'Itemized billing' under My_giffgaff on the webpage.

I prefer the 'Usage history', as i think the important aspects is that it enables one to monitor usage

(data is transferred, but of course also calls, and txt messages), not only the bill/balance at the end.

It would be a feature that underpins transparency and is very much in line with the philosophy

of giffgaff as an internet based and community oriented company.

Status:

Hey all. Meeta has posted a further update on this Idea over in Contribute, which can be found here - http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Contribute-Innovation-Promotion/Enhanced-Usage-Dashboard-beta-teste... She's looking for Beta Testers for an Enhanced Usage Dashboard Widget. Cheers, Hazel.

Pay As You Go - Blackberry Add-On

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So far only 2 mobile providers in the UK offer blackberry services on PAYG; Orange and T-Mobile. At £5 a month with Orange you get access to the Blackberry Internet Service (Email,Blackberry Messenger, MSN Messenger, Facebook, Twitter etc.). Orange however for texting and calling is quiet expensive. If GiffGaff were to offer Blackberry services on its PAYG service, it would give GiffGaff a competitve advantage in the market. It would firstly be an affordable choice for texting and voice calling, but what would set it out amongst the other providers even more is that they offer Blackberry on PAYG.

Status:

This is now live and implemented! http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/Blackberry-the-wait-is-over/bc-p/2923315#M13455

Handling multiple SIMs from a single company/family account

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This idea was brought up by several posts earlier (see 1,2) and Vincent has even posted

a partial solution, but apparently it hasn't yet made it to this page.

The proposal is to have the possiblity to handle more than one SIMs from

a single account. This would be useful for companies, families, couples

and any other groups, if handling of the SIMs' administration/finances

is performed by one person.

The point is not necessarily to have only a single account for the SIMs,

i understand that at the moment the system requires the creation of an

account for each SIM.

The point is much more to have the possibility to define a master account from

which you can access relevant settings of all the SIMs within the associated pool.

Not only to top-up (this is not a problem as you can top-up any number through

the giffgaff pages) but also to activate/inactivate auto top-up or set speding limits, etc.

Another important aspect of a company/family pool os SIMs would be to handle the

credits more flexibly: to have the possibility to transfer credit from one SIM to

the other. Tthere was some discussion about implementing some form of credit

transfere on giffgaff (1,2) - in my opinion company/family SIM pools would be a good

argument to push such a feature and also an excellent context for the development

and testing.

Status:

Hi guys, 3 years ago we set this idea as 'Not For Us' because the financial and technical impact was too much. Due to our 'Not for Us' series, it's clear this is an idea you wanted us to reconsider. This is being updated to 'future review' as at the moment, this is still too difficult for us to implement - but we are happy to put it in a position where we will review this at points in the future, for the moment where we're capable of implementing it. The members have spoken and this idea is 'active' again, Kind regards, Hazel.

giffgaff nano sims

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by - edited

Hi guys,

As giffgaff once discovered, the iPhone holds the top three spots as the most used mobile phone on giffgaff. News in the last few months rumours about the next iPhone (bound to become high in the leader boards for giffgaff like its brothers) and it may possibly have a nano sim on board which is considerable smaller than an ordinary sim. The link below shows about the possibility of Apple using nano sims:

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/06/01/apple-nano-sim-accepted-etsi/

So, if Apple really do have nano sims coming to their device supposedly due for the Autumn and it sure to be a big hitter for giffgaff users giffgaff may need to take the risk and buy some in ready for the release.

Why do this you may say?

Well, nano sims are being made already and being bought by some European countries, shown in the below link:

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/07/16/european-carriers-iphone/

Now your next question is going to be along the lines of "why can't you just cut them down like the micro sims were?", well it's not that simple. Nano sims are both smaller and thinners, this means they can't just be put in a cutter and cut down!

http://www.kompyuteran.com/2011/11/do-not-use-sim-cutter-to-have-a-nano-sim/

With nano sims a possibility for the next iPhone (bound to be as successful as its brothers) and non existent at GiffGaff yet, this could result in many hundreds if not thousands of lost members as they won't be able to use GiffGaff on their next iPhone. You may say "GiffGaff have just started doing microsims so they're not going to do nano ones anytime soon", that is true but when a large amount of members possibly leaving the network due to the possible sim change it is something which needs doing to keep members from leaving.

Thank you,

Jamie

(think_of_tomoro)

Status:

This is now implemented. Thanks for the original Idea and for everyone who voted and commented.

Auto Renewing Goodybags

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on

Would it be possible to have an option to set the goodybag to auto renew at the end of the billing month, or the system texts you to confirm if you want to renew ("reply YES to confirm") and then charges another £10/£35 etc for the next month?

At least this way it emulates pay monthly services but when you decide you don't want it you can just let it expire.

Status:

This has now been implemented

http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Welcome-and-News/Recurring-Goodybags-ARE-HERE/td-p/4813932

Do YOU want a MicroSIM ?

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With the release of the iPhone 4, there is obviously an increasing interest in obtaining MicroSIMS. However, I wonder how many giffgaffers would actually need one ?

I thought it might make it easier for giffgaff if everybody who does / will want one says so in the same place, instead of in multiple posts spread over the site.

May I suggest, therefore, that if you do need MicroSIMs to be available from giffgaff, you indicate in the usual manner, by clicking the star on this post ?

No reason why people can't add their comments as well, of course, but the main purpose is to give giffgaff a straightforward count of how many people would want one - and therefore whether / how soon it is commercially viable to provide them.

Regards

hg

Status:

Just to reclass this idea as implemented and update the relevant link! http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/Launching-Micro-SIM/ba-p/4256693

keep the ability to queue goody bags when recurring goody bags are introduced

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Queuing goodybags is one of the unique selling points of GiffGaff, recurring goodybags are not a USP (in fact they are basically one month rolling contracts which most network do).

There is no technical reason that make queuing and recurring goodybags incompatible. So there should be no reason to remove them.

Status:

Hi guys - the day has arrived - queued goodybags has been brought back

Dedicated giffgaff 4G news page

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The idea:

A dedicated giffgaff 4G ‘news and updates’ page, perhaps www.giffgaff.com/4g similar to www.tescomobile.com/4g and the other networks who have had, for several months, a page dedicated to the benefits of 4G and details of a likely timeframe. A way of registering for e-mail updates would also be fantastic.

Why:

There is huge interest in 4G from quite a significant number of users, myself included, who would like reliable updates on the giffgaff 4G situation, yet there is no recent official communication regarding 4G from giffgaff. Searching the giffgaff website for this information yields a lot of member opinion/speculation. A wider Google-search just yields an article from November 2012 featuring Gregg Baker’s (of giffgaff) comments, but this is very out of date, and again contains no specifics.

This leaves those of us wanting 4G ASAP in a state of limbo. Should we continue to wait for official communication on likely timeframes, or should we defect to one of the mainstream networks? An official giffgaff 4G news/updates page would at least give some certainty to the situation.

Status:

http://giffgaff.com/4g - thanks for the suggestion and congrats on being our 500th implemented idea. We will keep working on this page to add further functionality during the lead up to 4G next year.

Newbie goodybag warning

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This is more of a suggestion than an idea, but I believe that newbies ought to be informed that they do not have to buy a goodybag when activating their sim. Too many newbies think that they must buy a goodybag, often paying for something they don't actually want/need. Therefore, on the top up screen for sim activation; why not have a simple message readin along the lines of "You don't need to buy a goodybag upon activation; standard PAYG charges will apply if no goodybag is purchased"

Such a suggestion would reduce confusion among newbies wondering where their top up credit has gone; not realising that it was used to buy the goodybag.

Please click on the arrow if you like the idea, 10 or more kudos please.

Please give feedback too.

Apologies in advance if such a suggestion has already been made.

Status:

This idea is now implemented

4G at no extra cost

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Hello all,

As many of us are excited as 4G is finally rolling out in the uk. Has it not occured to you that it could cost extra, much like EE are charging loads more for the service.

Well as giffgaff is know as the 'affordable' network I belive that it should be implemented free or at very very little extra cost.

The network 3 (THREE) are not charging user anymore so it would be just like connecting to 3g everyday. This is a massive selling point and my friend has moved to three due to this news, so to stop users from moving we shouls annoce that there would be no major price differance if any on the new 4G network.

Thanks, please support me with a kudo if you feel its a good idea (only if you want to, Im not asking you to, but feel free to do so)

Status:

Hey Folks, we have a consultation in January about 4G and pricing where we'll be talking to all our members about what they want - we don't want to yay or nah anything right now before everyone gets their say in 2 months time, but thank you for starting off the conversation, Kind regards, Hazel.

Deleting a goodybag

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I think it would be good if there was an option to delete goodybags so you could buy a new one (before the month is up), especially when your minutes are low. This was a problem on my old network too, I had to wait a few days before topping up again because the 'bundle' hadn't expired yet.

Also, I can't see why networks don't have this option. My friend and I were talking about giffgaff the other day and he said he needs to top up again as he's used his minutes already, but this was only after 15 days. Sometimes people have months where they overtalk and need to top up again.

Status:

This idea, and similar ones around editing/re-buying/deleting goodybags is a consistent one that keeps cropping up. More flexibility is always a good thing. This core idea is something we are seriously investigating in 2014: once we have more details, we'll be sure to share it with you all.

Provisioning unused SIMs as replacement SIMs

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If a customer needing a replacement SIM, as in lost/stolen/broken etc, already has a spare SIM then giffgaff could provision that unused SIM to replace the missing lost broken one.

That way the customer does not have to wait 10 days for a replacement to arrive through the post.

Other providers do this over the phone. The customer needs only to give the agent the SIM number and code and giffgaff will know if the customer was sent that SIM. The agent can request the Tech Team to update the database. All this could be done within hours of the request being submitted to the agent.

When that status of the SIM changes from unused to replacement then the pay back on a SIM used for replacement is cancelled.

This would improve the service to customers.

Richard

EDIT = Also would be a great way to distribute NANO SIMs as it would minimise down time for existing iPhone users.

Status:

Thank you for the amazing Idea! - This has now been implemented - http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/SIM-swap-launches-Nano-SIMs-arrive/ba-p/6884758 Lovely Jubbly <3

Direct Relationship with Apple (+resulting possibilities)

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Hi guys,

As there is bound to be a new iPhone in a years time(1) and in the future there may also be yet smaller SIMs than the coming nano SIM(2) or maybe something totally groundbreaking and new that networks need to know about(3), I think it may be time that giffgaff get's hold of Apple and requests to be updated about coming features of product releases before the product announcement so their customers are not to be left potentially for months without required items to use their device (like the nano SIMs(4)) and instead can have what they need as soon as shipping happens.

I thought of this as the latest blog post(4) stated the following:

"since we do not have a direct relationship with Apple, we have been acting on assumptions and rumours like everyone else until yesterday"

Basically saying that Apple do not tell giffgaff about features which will be in the latest devices (probably because they don't sell iDevices). This is also occuring with other companies (not just mobile netorks) and they too do not find out about new features which could have a bad affect on their business (in giffgaff's case: lose of many customers, less people suggesting the network and looking bad to others not being upto speed with technology)

Now, I appreciate this may not be very easy to do as "giffgaff don't sell iPhones and Apple won't benefit so they don't bother to tell them etc..." or what ever the reason is but maybe giffgaff could come up with some other arrangment with Apple. Maybe one of the following just for example:

Agree with Apple on how many devices on the network are the latest version so Apple know that giffgaff will be helping them grow and it would be benefitial to tell them of latest features which could affect them
Agree with Apple that O2 can tell them as they are an MVNO
Pay a small fee to get info (maybe not the best but possibility as giffgaff would then be prepared)
giffgaff could sell the iPhone 5 and future versions as they are likely to sell and as I have been told, Apple only care about those who sell it so this could be easier
etc, etc, there are dozens of things that potentially giffgaff could agree with Apple on so they benefit on information when it's announced to big companies, just like other networks and make sure that they keep it all secret.

Why do this?

As we know, giffgaff are going to take a couple of months to get the nano SIMs needed (evidently too late for the release of the iPhone 5) but if they got told in advance (say when the other networks found out) next time then maybe they would be ready with the necesary technology for these devices and save losing customers and not benefit from the millions of devices to be bought which could use giffgaff.

It's clear that this major phone release was missed by giffgaff (not having SIMs needed) but next year or the year after when the next breakthrough, network dependent, technology is brought to a phone giffgaff need to be ready (so they can benefit from keeping customers and gsining more!) and will know just like the other networks.

Also, after the release and people have chosen wheher to go to another network who provides nano SIMs, giffgaf could show stats of how much (or maybe little they lost (although would be pointless in that case)) they lost by being kept in the dark to Apple to help them maybe be recognised and be updated from them to save them next time!

EDIT: As some comments have mentioned, having a relationship with Apple could also lead to:

Having asigned giffgaff internet profile on iPhone
Possibly hot spot tethering
Possibly visual voicemail
having the name giffgaff at the top of the iPhone instead of O2 UK
voicemail button could work

Cheers,

Jamie

Please support by clicking the gold star

(1),(2),(3),(4) within spoiler

Spoiler

(1)iPhone 6?

(2)diddy SIM or picco SIM?

(3)injected SIMs or network run trackers/identities? (who knows with Apple!)

(4)read the latest blof post for information regarding nano SIMs taking a few months to come here: http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/giffgaff-nano-SIM-update/ba-p/5953002

(1)iPhone 6?(2)diddy SIM or picco SIM?(3)injected SIMs or network run trackers/identities? (who knows with Apple!)(4)read the latest blof post for information regarding nano SIMs taking a few months to come here: http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/giffgaff-nano-SIM-update/ba-p/5953002

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60 day voicemail frustration

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A little known fact is that if you don't access your giffgaff voicemail for 60 days any customisation is lost (no pin, no personalised greeting etc) and you're not informed it has happened

If having gone to the trouble of setting these, to find if you did need to urgently check voicemail from another phone if would be very annoying to find you can't!

This is idea is very simple - once a PIN and/or a personalised greeting has been set - just leave it there without any time limits for it to be removed

voicemail

Status:

27th June 2013 - Hey guys, after this went back into the meeting this week, the guys think we might be able to implement, "A reminder text 7 days before voicemail goes inactive, to give us the chance to dial 443 if we want to keep the customisation intact?" as a stop gap for any future implementations, and I'll keep you updated with how that goes

Call Catcher on giffgaff

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Call Catcher gives you the facility to find out who has called if your phone has been out of coverage or switched off. Once your phone has coverage or is switched on, you will receive a text message telling you who called and the time/date.

Kudos this if you would want this feature.

Status:

This has had great support which is why we don't want to completely take it off the table, however for the moment, due to Project Chrysalis - this will be on hold til such a time we're happy to develop new features. Source: http://giff.ly/XmfL4X

International Goodybag

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As I mentioned in another forum section, I propose an international goodybag... where you get text bundles for sending texts abroad. Basically like your fiver bundle you have now but one that enables you to text abroad. Perhaps one with calls too though a text one would be better for me!!

No other networks offer this (as far as I'm aware) and giffgaff is already one of (if not the) cheapest networks to text abroad so this could be a big seller.

Status:

Since these Ideas were originally suggested, there have been some significant changes in the market and we've gotten more involved in international minutes/costs. Our current offering is quite competitive in the market. To include international in a goodybag (or launching a brand new one) gets a bit tricky. The prices of calls to international destinations can fluctuate pretty wildly. Adjusting the cost against credit is relatively easy for us to do but adjusting against a goodybag would be a lot more complicated, slow and financially risky. For example, if a price of a call is at 8p at the beginning of the month, but jumps to 20p half-way through, we would be operating at a 12p loss for every minute until we could roll out a new goodybag change. We could potentially look into including a few more 'stable' international locations into goodybags, but this needs further investigation in relation to cost and effort required. Right now, we'll be sticking with the current system but we'll investigate this as an option.

Calls & texts from laptops & tablets: o2 Tu Go for giffgaff?

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Just came on here to search for & give Kudos to any suggestions for this - the only thread I found was back in March when the feature was unknown & wasn't picked up - currently only available to o2 pay monthly , but this feature would go down a storm with GG users.

I have been testing it today & have to say (in agreement with a very good Android app review) that it does seem to work better on higher end phones (could not call on my SG mini, but on the SG note it works perfectly). This may be the thing that brought me back to GG after the data charging fiasco.

link to o2 page for those interested:

http://www.o2.co.uk/tugo/want-it

A couple of media links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21623810

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/03/o2s-tu-go-app/

http://www.mobilemadesimple.co.uk/tugo-the-low-down-on-o2s-latest-app/

Vodafone users looking jealous!

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Chill-lounge/Tu-Go/td-p/1367196

Please can you seriously consider this one? This plus the improved £10 GB could make me consider trying GG again.

Status:

Official Update: After a recent idea on calls over wifi doing well, the Top Team now want to seriously pursue a Tu Go style app in 2014 - Kudos the Idea to receive personal updates for it and we'll let you know what's happening.

'My giffgaff' Redesign

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My giffgaff is the heart of a users profile, the hub of information and details about that single user and every member has a unique 'my giffgaff' page. As 'My giffgaff' is the place people will start out to redirect to other personal options such as topping up, finding community details and looking at payback, it's important this page is created as a useable, informative and easy to use hub to every single individual user.

The problem:

The 'My giffgaff' page has a very standard and outdated design layout which makes finding links and information more difficult than it should be. As giffgaff grows, more information and more sections are added, to the point that it looks slightly unorganised.

The solution:

Iv created a graphic based redesign concept for a new 'My giffgaff' page.

Click here to see the full version

Click here to see the 'my payback' view

my giffgaff redesign post.png

The changes:

An entire new user experience with a clean design.
Search functions
Merged current 'my details' and 'community stats' sections into one contact card.
'Handy links' is now 'my dashboard' with all important links in one place.
Agent and community inbox indicators (on 'my dashboard')
A better focus on you with 'my' used on several sections to make identifying them easier.
Added 'my latest posts' section.
Added a my giffgaff version of the community led newsletter 'the gaff'
Added integrated giffgaff blog
Scrollable and movable sections of the page.
In 'my account' added 'live' indicators to goodybags with simple indicators to queue's, 'giffgaff to giffgaff' and auto top-up services.
In 'my payback' added points breakdown and clear links.
Removed sub tabs menu.
Features advertising.

The logic:

A user experience with information displayed for a single user made clearly visible and understandable.
A search to make it easy to use the new giffgaff knowledge base system for help.
My dashboard is now present with all account, help, and service related links all in one place to make them easier to find, each with icons making each option easy to identify.
Inbox notifications make it easy to know if you have any new messages from agents or in your 'private massage' inbox.
'My latest posts' makes it easy to identify topics you are taking part in and if they have new replies (topics go bold).
Integration of community projects with 'the gaff', a community led newsletter along with the latest blog post in 'giffgaff blog' (both integrated).
'my account' and 'My payback are layered ('my account' default) which slide to reveal one or the other at the top most important part of the page with clear user details including 'my number', username and community rank.
Features advertising under 'my dashboard' to highlight giffgaff features, services and top-tips.
Loads more...

If you like this idea, design, concept or feel the 'my giffgaff' page needs a redesign then please post your comments and support this idea

I hope you all like my redesign, feel free to give me feedback

Josh

Update: June 2012

Hey guys, cheers for your support. I'v discussed this with giffgaff and the elements of design and eveything else myself and athough It cant be implemented entirely, I believe it's elements and the idea of changing this page remain relevant. Glad you all support my idea, it was recognised and acknowledged by giffgaff and I appreciate all your support

Cheers peeps,

Josh

Status:

Hey! We've implemented some design features which were inspired by this amazing designs - to make them more in line with our current style guide. Thank you for contributing to the board - your amazing artwork is always appreciated ^_^

email and/or SMS notifications of network outages

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Hey folks, the above idea received some interest in our Revived Ideas Thread this week, but the original only has 7 Kudos, so what I'd like to do is assess current demand for us looking into this so I can take the new Kudos result into the meeting.

Simply - letting us worry about what's possible, and what might be spammy.

Would you personally like a text message to inform you when there's a servce issue that affects you?

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Make iPhone set up easy with an official carrier settings file

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by - edited

Right now if you join giffgaff with an iPhone, you're likely to need to enter a whole multitude of settings by hand to get things working properly, and even then there are a number of things you can't set yourself, including the network name, and really, who wants to stare at "O2-UK" all day?

That's why I'd like to propose giffgaff contact Apple (via O2 if need be) to put together and submit an official carrier settings (.ipcc) file containing all the settings needed to make an iPhone work perfectly with giffgaff. That file would then be distributed automatically via iTunes, prompting giffgaff customers with iPhones to install all the settings needed with just a single click, as well as hopefully preempting the possibility of O2-specific updates being pushed over the air, undoing giffgaff settings in the process.

Now, credit where credit's due, tobyriding has done a great job producing an unofficial ipcc file for giffgaff, but unfortunately (as he's noted) with the release of iOS 4.0, homemade IPCC files like his no longer work. Thus, we're pretty much in "giffgaff needs to do this themselves" territory, though at least it seems like most of the work we're talking about here consists of giffgaff contacting Apple, as these files aren't terribly complex to make.

Status:

Great idea, at the moment I am having to set it to 'future review'. This idea can only be implemented if we have an official relationship with Apple, which is something we are looking into - I will let you know if the situation changes, Kind regards, Hazel.

User	Kudos Count
wjack2010	201
alicepowell	186
bmw4175	149
nfh	125
bethanaaay	122

Yes, I want to see how it turns out
No, that's just silly
Maybe, I could be persuaded