Virgin Media have began transferring customers who have mobile phone contracts over to the O2 network, after a massive merger between the two telecoms giants was previously announced.
While it is expected that the switchover rollout will occur in stages, a number of mobile phone users have reported to have been moved already - with all transfers in their entirety expected to be made by the end of 2023.
The process comes in the next phase of a massive £31billion merger back in June 2021, and applies to all Virgin Mobile customers - both on handset deals as well as sim-only.
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It's been said that Virgin customers shouldn't notice too much of a difference after they make the switch, with O2 powering Virgin's mobile phone services since the back end of last year, replacing Vodafone as the underlying network. Nobody who has made the change should have seen the cost of their plan rise, however, there are some huge changes coming with the move.
The new plan sees all customers receive unlimited texts and calls, as well as either double or unlimited mobile data. So, should you get 25GB of data each month, you'll see 50GB once you move to O2.
As well as this, you'll be able to tap into O2 Priority benefits including loyalty deals like free Greggs and Odeon cinema tickets, and keep your free data roaming services in 48 destinations without any extra charge.
However, there's a catch. If you had data rollover with Virgin, this will come to a stop. So any leftover data at the end of the month will be lost completely, as oppose to being added onto your tariff.
And while the deal sounds pretty solid in general, with the negatives substantially being outweighed by the positive, some people aren't convinced whatsoever - taking to social media to complain about the switchover. One, wrote: "Also another first world moan, since I’ve switched from @Virgin to @o2 my internet signal is terrible."
Another, added: "Since my mobile contract was switched to @O2 from Virgin my signal / data coverage in and around my home has gone from crap to non-existant," while a third, penned: "@virginmedia Hi Virgin, since the move to O2, I have been unable to use any mobile data and can only access the Internet via WiFi. Is this issue common across the board since the switch?"
Meanwhile, a fourth, claimed: "@O2 I have just been switched from virgin mobile, I cannot get logged into myo2, it keeps saying the details are wrong to reset the password. It won't accept the last four digits of my virgin account number."
You will be notified of the switch the day before it takes place in a text message from Virgin Mobile. One Chronicle Live reporter's text for example, read: "Hi, you're moving to your new O2 mobile plan tomorrow. Please keep your phone turned on and charged.
"The switch will happen overnight to minimise disruption, and you may get texts from us as this happens. Learn more at: virginmedia.com/your-move-to-o2."
O2 will then welcome you to the network in a text of their own after the switch has been made with a series of texts. The first reads: "Welcome to O2. Use the My O2 app to check your allowances and keep an eye on your bills. Download the app here www.o2.co.uk/myo2/app."
The user is then informed of their unique O2 username, and receive their generated password in a separate text.
Have you been switched over from Virgin to O2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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