A couple of weeks ago ISPreview reported on how mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) had withdrawn their Pay As You Go (PAYG) Data and iPad SIMs (mobile broadband) from sale to new customers (here). But the big change this week is that they’ve now informing existing customers of their plan to close the service by 31st January 2025.
The Data SIMs allowed customers to choose from a selection of plans, each with a different allowance and expiry period. For example, you could pay £3 for 1GB (GigaByte) but that had to be used within a 24-hour period, or alternatively you’d pay £10 for 2GB lasting 90 days, then £20 for 8GB lasting 90 days or £30 for 12GB that lasted for 12-months.
The plans had some advantages for those who only needed infrequent access to data, and you can still buy preloaded O2 data SIMs via Amazon. But by modern standards they perhaps weren’t particularly good value for money, and these days data-only SIMs can also feel a bit redundant (i.e. it’s often cheaper to simply buy a regular mobile SIM and just not use the calls/texts side).
However, one of our readers, Julian, has now informed us that O2 have just sent the following message to existing users of these plans, which sets a clear end date for the service itself and only a few short months after they withdrew the SIMs from sale to new customers.
Copy of O2’s Customer Email
Closing down our Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband & iPad product
We’re sorry to let you know that we’re removing our Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband & iPad services from our portfolio on 31 January 2025.
Our customer account management portal will be closing on 17 December 2024 so if you want to check your remaining allowances, please do this before 17 December 2024.
You can continue to use your service until 31 January 2025, after which time your service shall cease. As you are a Pay As You Go customer, you’re able to leave your service at any time with no Early Termination Charges. In order to obtain a refund for any data not used on your account, you’ll need to call O2 customer services on 0344 8090222 to provide your contact details so we can process your refund request.
If you’re interested in alternative plans for iPad, tablets and mobile broadband, please click here to discover our great value Pay Monthly SIMs instead.
Thanks,
O2
The move will naturally have the biggest impact upon those who spent more to adopt one of their longest plans, such as the £30 for 12GB plan that lasts for 12-months. But instead of simply allowing existing customers to use up their data by the original expiry date, O2 has decided on a hard deadline and forced those users to phone them in order to get a refund. Not exactly the best approach to customer service, and O2 still hasn’t explained why they’re doing this.