Orange Tiny Top Ups allows Brits to manage their pennies on pay as you go more closely than ever in 2011

January 26, 2011 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
As Brits feel the pinch after the indulgences of Christmas, 94% of people plan to tighten their purse strings this year according to a poll by Orange* – the first UK communications company to offer Tiny Top Ups**, a new service that lets Pay As You Go customers top up using their loose change from as little as 10p.

With one in four (25.7%) 18-24 year olds carrying less than £1 in loose change in their pocket, Tiny Top Ups puts the power back in the pennies making it easier than ever to stay in touch – welcome news for almost one in four (23%) Brits who normally wait for pay day before they top up their pay as you go mobile phone.

The research also reveals that running out of mobile phone credit has caused more than one in ten (13%) 18-24 year olds to miss out on a new job opportunity, 15% to lose a love interest and one in six (16.6%) to miss meeting up with a friend; however with Tiny Top Ups these missed opportunities could be a thing of the past.

Further findings revealed by the research include:
- The value of staying in touch is more important than other life essentials for over one in four (27%) 18-24 year olds who would least like to be without mobile phone credit, compared with only 18% who can't stand to be without a clean pair of underwear and 11% who refuse to be without make-up
- While over one in five (22%) of Brits admit texting "I love you" on a daily basis, text etiquette is evolving with almost one in ten preferring to say "I love you" to someone for the first time via text and 7% having split up with an ex-partner via text
- When it comes to voices of comfort, if the world was about to end, almost half (42%) of Brits would make their last phone call to their partner while 19% would call their mum and just 3% would call their dad. Surprisingly 1% of barking mad Brits would pick up the phone to their pet if they only had one last call to make.

Pippa Dunn, VP of Propositions for Orange commented: "Tiny Top Ups make it easier for Orange Pay As You Go customers to top up using their loose change. It's a big change to your small change; and with many people managing their personal finances more closely than ever, Tiny Top Ups will help people who are watching their pennies to stay in touch."

To celebrate the launch of Tiny Top Ups, Orange is giving away the contents of a huge tube filled with 10p coins to the first person to guess correctly how much is inside. Just follow @ConorfromOrange on Twitter and submit your guess using the hashtag #TinyTopUps.

Furthermore to celebrate the launch, Orange is doubling any Tiny Top Ups made in Orange retail stores across the country during the month of March. So for example, if a customer tops up by 50p, they'll be given £1 worth of credit.

For more details about Tiny Top Ups, please visit www.orange.co.uk for more information.

* The research for Orange was carried out between 04/01/11 and 07/01/11 across a sample of 1,019 UK adults who are Pay As You Go Users.

** Topping up by 10p allows Pay As You Go Users to send a text, topping up by 20p allows Pay As You Go Users to make a phone call.



About Orange UK
Orange is the key brand of the France Telecom Group, one of the world's leading telecommunications operators. With almost 131 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates.
In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population, and 3G coverage to more than 93%.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited.

On July 1 2010, the company became part of Everything Everywhere, one company that runs two of Britain's most famous brands - Orange UK and T-Mobile UK - with plans to transform the industry by giving customers instant access to everything, everywhere, offering them the best value, best choice and best network coverage in the country. Everything Everywhere Limited is the UK's biggest communications company, with a combined customer base of almost 28 million people and more than 720 retail stores across the country. Everything Everywhere Limited is registered at Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9BW under the registered company number 02382161.

For more information please call the Orange Press Office 0870 3731500, or visit www.orange.co.uk/newsroom

Full terms and conditions for the Tiny Top Ups competition on Everything Everywhere

1. This competition is open to all UK residents aged 18 or over, excluding employees of Everything Everywhere and their agents; their families or any other person associated with it.

2. The entry instructions form part of these terms and conditions, which by taking part, all competition entrants will be deemed to have accepted.

3. The competition will run from 17th January 2011 to 24th January 2011.

4. To enter, simply tweet the total value of the coins you think are inside the tube using #TinyTopUps hash tag in your guess. Clues about the amount will be posted on Twitter on a daily basis.

5. There will be one winner. The winner will be the individual who guesses the correct amount of money in the tube pictured. If no one guesses the correct amount, the winner will be the entry that comes closest. If more than one person has the same correct or closest answer, the first person to respond with the correct answer or closest entry will win.

6. Individuals can only put forward one entry per day from a single Twitter account. If a person submits multiple entries on any given day, they'll be disqualified.

7. Closing date for entries is 24th January 2011.

8. The prizewinner will receive a cheque with a value equivalent to the contents of the tube.

9. The winner will be notified via Twitter within 3 days; if the winner cannot be contacted within 3 days, an alternative winner will be selected.

10. All winners must supply Everything Everywhere with contact details and a valid UK postal address so that the cheque can be delivered. The cheque will be dispatched within 30 days of the closing date of the competition.

11. Everything Everywhere shall not be responsible for entries that are lost, corrupted or mis-transmitted. Proof of submission of your entry is not proof of receipt.

12. No prize alternative will be available. Prize is non-transferable.

13. Decisions made by Everything Everywhere is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

14. Everything Everywhere reserves the right to award a prize of equal or greater value and, in exceptional circumstances, to vary, amend or withdraw this competition on reasonable notice.

15. The prizewinner may be required to participate in some publicity.

16. The prizewinner's name will be published on www.orange.co.uk.

17. Any queries relating to the competition should be directed to the Press Office on 0870 373 1500.

18. The promoter is Everything Everywhere Limited, Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9BW.