Virgin Mobile23 reviews
This score is based on 23 genuine reviews submitted via BritainReviews since 2017.
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the site was easy and checkout was quick, so I assumed sorted. Then support proved the opposite — long holds every time (twenty to thirty minutes), robotic recorded messages, and being shuffled between teams like a hot potato. I spent hours on the phone, was promised the SIM would be posted, and it never arrived. It's more frustrating than dramatic, but honestly it's maddening when all you want is a working SIM. Tell your mates to expect delays.
Finally sorted
I'd been dreading moving away from my old provider after hearing horror stories, but I took a chance when my mate mentioned EE. I saw their ad first on Instagram, then asked around. The whole switch was surprisingly easy. EE placed the cease order for me, sorted the number transfer and kept me updated. Delivery of the new SIM and starter kit arrived fast. Customer service actually answered properly and were helpful, not what I expected. I'm proper grateful — saved time, no arguing, and it's all working. Really pleased, really. Very happy.
Nice concept, check the details
I liked the idea — competitive branding and the contract felt like stability, and I was actually excited, a bit hopeful, to try it. In practice the phone barely picked up signal at home, there was no Wi‑Fi calling or visual voicemail, and 8GB plus limited minutes felt stingy for a 36‑month deal. Customer support didn’t help much, so after a week I moved to O2. If you fancy trying them, test your coverage first and be prepared to push about the extras; I wish I’d checked earlier, really.
Not the bargain I expected
dodgy kit, really slow speeds at weekends and random little outages. After a year they quietly added an extra £20 and that was the final straw, so I cancelled. It’s a pain to pay a bit more to go back to my old provider, but I feel better now. My advice: check real speed figures and the small print, honestly.
Bit of a billing wobble, but delivery was ace
Expected a simple switch to a cheaper plan, got tangled in a billing mix-up — and yes, that annoyed me for a week or two. On the plus side delivery of the new kit was quick and the customer advisers eventually helped sort it out; a couple were really patient. I use this service daily for work calls and home stuff, so reliability matters. I'm actually quite pleased it's fixed now, but keep an eye on payments and remove card details if you're worried.
Small wins, bigger annoyances
one agent was blunt and unhelpful, another on web chat knocked a bit off the payout, which was a surprise. Delivery of the handset came early. After my contract ends I'll switch to Fido.
Signals and patience
Strange start — only noticed the problem on a work trip, and I needed reliable calls for meetings and to sort a move. Calls dropped all the time. My roaming bundle also refused to work. I spent ages repeating the same story to different advisers, felt like a broken record. One said it was a tower issue and nothing could be done. I kept at it though, got a small credit in the end and they moved me to a different roaming plan, which actually helped. Annoyed, but a bit relieved it wasn’t worse.
Not worth the hassle
about 4.3 Mbps down and 1.0 Mbps up, so browsing felt pretty sluggish. Setup seemed straightforward at first, but performance let it down. I rang to cancel within the 14-day cooling-off and was told I needed 30 days' notice or I'd lose the number, which didn't match what I expected. Live chat replies are painfully slow too.
Sorted in the end
I'd recommend them, despite my worries. I only signed up because I moved flat and absolutely needed a working phone for work — my old SIM died on me and I was panicking, really. I won't pretend the process was flawless: expect long waits on the phone, a couple of transfers and no email option, which annoyed me. But the reps I finally got were calm and actually fixed the billing mix-up, walked me through cancelling the old plan and activated the replacement SIM the same day. Price felt reasonable and ordering online was straightforward. I'm genuinely grateful — took longer than ideal but it worked out, and that's what mattered.
Halfway through shopping
over 35 minutes on hold, dreadful hold music, and the rep stuck to a script so closely it wasn't helpful. Eventually they sorted my contract question, and when I said I might leave they offered a better deal — predictable, but it did the job. It took a few days to get final confirmation. My advice: check indoor reception and brace for waiting; still, I'm glad it ended okay.
Bit of a weird rescue
Right, I thought it was all over when my Black Friday phone order just vanished — no email, no call, nada. I spent ages on the phone, bounced between agents and started to feel proper fed up. Then, weirdly, the turning point came with one calm person who actually listened, checked the system properly and offered a full refund plus a small gesture for the hassle. That moment — when they stopped talking in circles and did what they said — that’s when I felt relieved and like, actually, that’s acceptable. I’ve had worse run-arounds with other firms, so I wasn’t expecting much, but being heard made a big difference. Still annoyed it was messy, but grateful it ended without a fight.
Address mess, plain and simple
I'd be stuck for the cost. Dry, clunky process, but one adviser did apologise properly and the tracking info was clear, so at least I knew what was happening.
A bit of a circus, to be honest
steer clear if you can. They send overage alerts from weird, unknown numbers so you actually don’t get them. No proper emails, nothing clear. Support were polite but useless — quick to say it’s my fault and not a single helpful fix. There’s no real way to stop data once you’ve burned through it, which felt bonkers. I’d paid in advance, cancelled when fed up, and then saw another charge, after which they shut the account but left my card details on file. I’ve had far smoother rides with other providers. Slightly relieved I spotted the extra payment in time, otherwise it could’ve been worse. Not recommending this one.
Glove problem, swift swap
decent weight, pleasant finish, you know the sort of thing. Returning the wrong unit has been a faff though — still processing, paperwork back and forth, slow updates — that part annoyed me. On the plus side they added a second device to my contract and shipped the Note 8 I actually wanted quite promptly, which saved time. Overall dry, efficient service with a clumsy return process; I’m sticking with Virgin for now.
Handy idea, just fix the app
the service works but the app confused me and cost me money. I actually liked the roaming packs and the simplicity of buying data for a country — quick and tidy in the app. But here’s the catch. I bought a 20GB monthly pack for the US, then a month later bought a 4GB week pack for Nigeria. In Nigeria the phone started chewing up the 20GB. The app kept saying the 4GB was active, which made no sense. I contacted support and was told the app uses whichever pack you bought first, no matter the country. That was annoying, and a short trip ended up eating my larger allowance. The connection itself was fine though, no complaints there. I’d recommend this if you’re careful: double-check with support before you travel, or only buy what you need at the time. Hope they sort the UI soon — then it’d be much better.
Used to be good
I've been with them for over a decade and at first it was straightforward. I had three phones on the same account and home broadband, and I used to upgrade handsets every two years without fuss. The phones themselves felt solid, screens crisp and battery life was okay. Over the last year though things changed. Simple problems take ages to fix. I call and get bounced between teams, often to wrong department, and then I get different answers from people — eight variants felt right. You agree something with one advisor and the bill turns up saying something else. It wears you down. Using the service lately feels unreliable; calls drop, billing is inconsistent, and setting up a handset works but support is a headache. I would have liked to recommend them because the kit is fine, but the customer side is messy and time-consuming. If you want a smooth experience, look elsewhere.
Nearly didn’t bother, glad I stuck with it
I saw their adverts plastered on the bus and my mate kept banging on about “faster telly”, so I almost didn’t bother signing up — loads of online moaning put me off. I was half expecting days on hold and a live chat that never shows, but honestly, after a shaky start it’s been mostly fine. Setting up took longer than the website promised; I did get stuck and their chat was slow, I won’t lie. In the end someone did answer and sorted the main issue, which surprised me. The connection itself has been solid for our rubbish weather movie nights and the speeds live up to the hype. Price isn’t bargain-basement but reasonable for what we use, and delivery/installation turned up when they said they would. So yeah, I went from sceptical to actually pleased — still grumpy about the customer service wait, but overall I’d recommend it to a friend. Small wins.
A long, pointless runaround
I almost didn't call again, honestly. I’d been thinking about buying out my phone for months and was already uneasy—would it be straightforward, would they play ball? I rang at the end of October and that worry didn’t vanish. Spoke to four different people over a couple of calls. First time I asked to be put through to a manager I was left on silent hold for about half an hour, which is ridiculous. The second agent did connect me to client acquisition and said the buy‑out charge would show on 1 November, so I waited. When the bill stayed the same I phoned back, tried to get a manager again and was put on hold while the person pretended to be one — I recognised the voice so I hung up. The fourth person claimed to be escalation and promised the charge would appear on 1 December. So a whole month wasted, really. One agent was at least clear about next steps, but overall my doubts about their process were not eased. Dry experience, no real confidence gained.
Not terrible, but a right faff
unlimited Canada, a bit of US and 10GB. All fine. Then on 15 February I noticed a new offer — 30GB for roughly the same price. Bit annoying. I rang to ask if they could match it. Simple ask. Wrong assumption. The first person said she couldn’t do anything. She said she was Loyalty. She was also the supervisor. She was also stuck. I’d already had better service elsewhere, so I was surprised at how little wiggle room they had. The “best” alternative on the table was a tiny add-on — 2GB ongoing and another 1GB for three months — which felt like a token gesture. I told them I could just re-sign through Costco or jump ship to Fido for the newer deal. That seemed to help. I stayed calm, kept repeating the facts, and eventually someone higher up agreed to sort it out. It took patience and a bit of nagging, but they matched the newer promo after all. Not proud of having to fight for it, and I shouldn’t have needed to. On the plus side, once you hit the right person things moved smoothly and the price is now what I wanted. Service was clunky at first, but the end result is acceptable. If you’ve had good service with another provider before — I have — you’ll notice the difference. Overall mildly annoyed by the slog, but relieved the outcome was what I expected in the first place.
Slowly lost its spark — glad I jumped ship
quick, helpful, and generally reliable. Lately it’s been patchy — random outages, sluggish connection at peak times and those annoying moments where video pixelates and you have to refresh. What really wound me up was getting billed for double the data in the same month; I chased it and the replies felt like they came from a script, no real care. It’s the small things too — the app used to be useful, now it’s clunky and doesn’t reflect outages properly, so you’re left guessing.
Using the service felt like a compromise: decent speeds most days, annoying drops some days. I’d had better experiences with smaller firms before, so I kept waiting for them to improve, but I could see a restructure had affected staff morale and the help you get. Eventually I moved to a different provider (Fido, for anyone reading) and that change made me realise how much I’d tolerated — fewer interruptions, clearer billing, and just less faff. So, sceptical at first, but relieved now I switched. If you value steady streaming and straightforward billing, maybe look around — I did, and it made a difference.
About Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a telecommunications company that operates in several countries, offering mobile phone services. It is part of the Virgin Group, which was founded by Sir Richard Branson. The company was established in the United Kingdom in 1999 as the world's first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), which means it provides mobile phone services without owning a physical network. Instead, it leases network capacity from established mobile network operators. Virgin Mobile has since expanded its services to various international markets, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, among others. The company is known for innovative marketing strategies and customer-centric services, aligning with the broader Virgin Group's focus on delivering value and exceptional customer experience.
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Last update: January 2026
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