Summary
Some giffgaff members who have bought a goodybag while using their airtime credit for mobile data have continued to be charged from their credit after the goodybag was bought, instead of the goodybag’s data allowance. We've since fixed the issue so that it shouldn’t affect anyone in future, and would like to apologise to everyone who's had this happen to them.
We're getting in touch with members who are due a refund directly, whether they're still with giffgaff or not. You can read more information about how we’re doing this in the thread in the Announcements forum.
This thread will have a little more technical detail as to the cause, and how to help members who may be affected if you see them asking questions in the Help forum.
Most Recent Update
01:23 - 28 Jun 2018
Hi everyone,
As you may have read in the Announcements thread, we recently fixed an issue that was causing some members’ airtime credit to be used for their data usage instead of their goodybag.
This would occur when a member had:
- Started using mobile data on airtime credit
- Bought a goodybag that then became active
- Continued using mobile data on their device
What should have happened in this situation is that mobile data usage should have come from the active goodybag allowance. Due to an error in our billing platform, however, it meant that would only happen if the member started a new data session once the goodybag was active - for example, by disconnecting from the network in some way and reconnecting again.
We’ve since gone in and fixed the problem, so this won’t happen in future - but if anyone is concerned we would of course advise them to restart their device after buying a goodybag as a precaution.
We’ve been able to identify every account that was incorrectly charged in this way, and we are contacting everyone to ensure they receive a full refund. We will be sending a combination of text messages and emails, depending on what is most appropriate for the person in question, and offering the refund.
In the case that someone is due a refund, we will contact them and offer them the option to take it in a method that makes sense for them. Members who are still with giffgaff will be able to take the refund as airtime credit. Anyone who is due £1 or over will be offered the option of taking it as a PayPal payment. If neither of these options are appropriate, members will have the option of taking their refund as a cheque. Members who have since left giffgaff will be offered PayPal in the first instance, with the option of taking it as a cheque as an alternative.
Once members have confirmed their choice, we will pay the refund shortly after. The method of refund that the member chooses will dictate how long it takes for them to receive it as follows:
Choice of airtime credit: Within 3 days
Choice of PayPal: Within 14 days (not including possible PayPal processing time)
Choice of cheque: Within 4-6 weeks (not including banks’ processing time)
Automatic airtime refund: Between June 28th and August 15th.
If they haven’t made a choice by August 15th, we will automatically make the payment via airtime credit to those who have an active SIM card.
This is an issue that affects a considerable amount of people, including some that are no longer with giffgaff. As a result we’re expecting this to be a very common topic in the community, and particularly the Help forum, over the coming weeks.
If you see people asking for assistance on this and would like to advise them further, please make sure that you’ve familiarised yourself with:
We will be contacting members who are affected directly, but it may take until August 15th for all emails and text messages to be sent. In the meantime, members can enter their details at http://giff.ly/refundcheck to see if they're affected and should watch out for an email.
I’d really like to keep this thread for discussion about technical detail and troubleshooting so that members can learn about the issue to give the best help to other members. If you have a question about that, please ask, and we’ll do our best to answer. If, however, you’re affected by this and have a question about how it will work out for you specifically, please take a look at our Knowledge Base article, and if your question isn’t answered, post it in the thread in Announcements. That way, we can make sure community helpers have the best information possible.
Thanks,
Will
Find out more about my refund Ask about how to help other members
Update - 11:50 - 18 Sept 2018
Hi everyone, a short update from us here regarding the refund activity for this billing issue.
At this point, we've successfully processed the vast majority of refunds for members who are due one. For those who have requested a cheque, the process is taking a little longer than we had planned. Unfortunately, we have recently encountered some further difficulties that meant that we weren't able to produce the cheques in the way that we were planning. We will make sure you have your cheque as soon as possible.
I also wanted to let you know that as of today, September 18th, Ofcom has announced that their investigation into this issue has now begun. We’re going to work with them to make sure that they have all the information they need, and will be working to implement any recommendations that they might make.
We'll make sure that we update this thread once we have more to share, so please keep an eye on it for further information.
giffgaff Community | Rewards and Recognition specialist
