Orange upgrade ~ further 12/18 month contract?

[shellsuit]

Hi

I rang Orange earlier for an upgrade.
They told me what was on offer, I accepted and a new phone should be winging it's way here.

I've just found out (from another forum), that I have started a new 12 or 18 month contract by taking the upgrade.

Nothing was mentioned to me on the phone about this at all.

Should I get some kind of paperwork through with the phone, because my OH had an upgrade from Orange in January and he didn't get any paperwork with his phone at all?

If I am tied into another 12 or 18 month contract (I wouldn't know which as nothing was said to me?), because there is paperwork with the phone, can I ring to return the phone and then just cancel my contract?

[buzby]

The price quoted for the phone (or was it free?) is always conditional on a nre contract, probably of 18 months, but you need to check. You can avoid this commitment by asking for the no-contract price, and you'll find the real price for the phone.

Either way, providing you do not activate the phone (or indeed accept it when it it posted out) you can cancel the upgrade and carry on as you did before, and you wont need to cancel anything, because the new contract won't have kicked in.

[shellsuit]

Originally Posted by buzby

The price quoted for the phone (or was it free?) is always conditional on a nre contract, probably of 18 months, but you need to check. You can avoid this commitment by asking for the no-contract price, and you'll find the real price for the phone.

Either way, providing you do not activate the phone (or indeed accept it when it it posted out) you can cancel the upgrade and carry on as you did before, and you wont need to cancel anything, because the new contract won't have kicked in.

The phone was free.

Say there is no paperwork with the phone and I activate it, then want to cancel in 6 months or so, what would Orange do if they told me I had agreed to another X months, when I hadn't done

What I'm saying is, I only know, because you and others have told me, Orange haven't told me themselves (assuming there is no paperwork with the phone).

What would happen then?

[buzby]

It would be their word against yours, but they are in a much stronger position than you are and are able to unleash DCAs and wreck your credit record - all for a point of principle that is weak. Think about it - why would your network give you a FREE phone with no additional commitment... because they think you're a great guy? Add to this that there is nothing truly in this world for 'free' there just had to be some quid pro quo for you getting a spanking new handset from them. Finally, you already HAVE a contract with them, so no additional paperwork is required to confirm this, and the phone itself sent in replacement only resets the minimum term clause for whatever number of months required.

Finally, and probably most importantly - these are not untested waters, the industry has operated this way (to my knowledge) since 1992 so after 16 years of this, if there was a major concern about this method of working it would have caused an outcry. The fact you didn't pay anything for the handset is justification for this. IF you paid £99 AND still were tied to a new contract, then that would be a different matter - especially if, by entering the original contract, THAT phone was free too!

[5layer]

Hello Shellsuit,

There is no paper contract when you upgrade as they just amend your original one.

The networks are currently pushing 24 month and 18 month contracts as standard unless like me you push them for a 12 month instead.

You have your standard 14 days cooling off period from the moment you receive the new phone. If you do not make any calls then you can just cancell the upgrade and continue on your old contract.

Hope this helps.

Good luck

[5layer]

I forgot to ask, how many months is your existing/old contract??

Thanks

[PrettyPaula]

what you need to do is return the handset when you recieve it, you need to contact orange when you recieve it to find out their returns method (some networks ask for their courier to collect, others give you a bag to return via a PO)

If you accept an upgrade then it is clearly the start of a new contract ALTHOUGH the sales and retention rep is required to mention this to you when arranging said upgrade

when you call them to request return info, ensure you take the name, dept and extension number of the person you speak to, ensure they are aware you wish to terminate the upgrade. in the meantime, shop around, see what other networks have to offer as i can guarantee there will be a better deal for you. DONT go to a 3rd party store ie phones4you, go to the network stores direct, take a bill from orange to give them an idea about your usage.

12 and 18 month contracts are still available. they are with the people i work for anyway.

and as a side note, it is usually a 7 day cancellation for upgrades not 14.

you can take your number elsewhere simply ask for a PAC code from orange. its free and they are legally obliged to give it to you.

dont agree things over the phone, get it all on paper from a person you can see, who you can go to back to with any issues or problems.

my job, and many others would be easier if more people went into stores.

hope that helps


also check out some of the sim only contracts around.. if you like the phone you have, get one of those, theyre cheaper, more value and only 30 day agreements so you can cancel at any time.