A UK mobile network operator that runs on the O2 network and lets its members help each other, instead of using a customer helpline.
giffgaff is a UK mobile company that sells SIM cards and bundles it calls goodybags. It is a mobile virtual network operator, which means it sells mobile services using the O2 network rather than building its own masts. It is online only: there are no shops, and it famously has no general customer helpline. Instead, its members answer each other's questions on a community forum. In 2025 it also began offering full-fibre broadband in a limited roll-out using the Virgin Media network.
giffgaff launched online on 25 November 2009. Wikipedia says it was founded by Gav Thompson, a former marketing executive at Telefonica UK, and that it began in Slough. It is owned by Telefonica UK, which trades as Virgin Media O2. Its name is an old Scottish word meaning mutual giving, and the company says it tries to uphold that spirit. Members earn payback points by helping others, recruiting friends or sharing ideas, and can swap those points for cash or airtime credit or donate them to charities, which giffgaff matches.
Wikipedia lists the headquarters as Reading, which matches the company's parent being based at Green Park, Reading. Because the service is online, most of its staff work in digital, technology, community and customer-experience roles, with a contracted team handling account queries that members cannot answer. A group of remote moderators called Educators watches the forums. In December 2025 Kate Dohaney became chief executive after Ash Schofield, according to Wikipedia.
The model puts the community at the centre of the culture. Members are encouraged to suggest products and improvements, and giffgaff has used features such as Goodybags, Golden Goodybags, Good contracts and a Super recruiter status to reward participation. Those are the company's own approaches, so how they feel from the inside is not something we can report. Jobs in a company like this include community management, product, data, marketing, software engineering, customer support, finance and fraud and risk.
We have not researched entry routes. Because giffgaff is a brand within the Virgin Media O2 family, jobs may be advertised either on giffgaff's own site or on the Virgin Media O2 careers pages, so it is worth checking both. If you like online communities, social media, product design or customer experience, this is a good company to follow.
Website: www.giffgaff.com
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