Giffgaff Enhances its UK Mobile Phone Recycling Service via £40 Bonus

Mobile network provider giffgaff, which is owned by Telefónica and harnesses O2’s virtual operator (MVNO) platform in the UK, has moved to encourage more people to cash in their old phones by offering an additional £40 incentive via their recycle service.

The change means that giffgaff recycle will, for a limited time, also allow those who make use of the service to claim an extra £40 trade-in bonus when they trade in their old phone at the same time as purchasing a “Refurbished Like New” handset from the mobile operator (to be clear, this is available on any refurbished phone purchase, regardless of the grade).

The mobile operator hopes this may help to reduce the predicted 108 million of old mobile phones – worth an estimated £10.3 billion – that are still lying unused inside the nation’s homes.

Ash Schofield, CEO of giffgaff, said:

“It seems we’re a nation of phone hoarders, with millions of them lying around at home unused. But there’s significant savings to be made by trading them in towards a new or refurbished phone, and our latest trade-in offer makes it even more worthwhile. In doing so our members will not only be kind to their pocket, but it helps to reduce e-waste too.”

Mind you, the chances are still fairly good that you’ll get better value for your old handset by selling it on eBay, but experiences do vary. The added hassle of having to setup and run an auction (along with the fees) can discourage that approach.