Orange VAT

[andyuk]

Hello

 

I am seeking advice on the following:

 

I will keep this simple. Six months ago I signed up for a new orange contract in a phones for you store. The contract i signed which i have copies of, clearly states that the price is £35 including VAT. However i have noticed that i have been charged on my bills £35 + VAT.

As this is a breech of the terms and conditions of the contract can i legally terminate the contract and if so what is the best way of doing so?

I dont wish to continue the contract after reading various posts on here and other similar websites.

 

Thanks in Advance

 

Andy

[jowalshy]

Hi Andy. Have you contacted Orange about this?

[andyuk]

I sent them an email via the orange website on friday 18/04/08 at 12 mid day. So far i have not had any acknowledgement of the email or any kind of automated responce.

 

Andy

[jowalshy]

I would write a letter to them explaining what has happened. Enclose, with your letter, a copy of the contract you have with the bit about the charge highlighted.

[lawbunny]

So does that mean that you are being charged £41.13 for your monthly line rental total? I only ask as that is a rather odd figure for a tariff, it's usually whole figures ie £35. It's maybe just a billing error, contact Orange to see.

[buzby]

All orange consumer tariffs are sold as being inclusive of VAT, business tariffs are not. Perhaps if you could tell us what tariff you've actually signed up for, we can advise accordingly....

[andyuk]

The tarrif i am on is Dolphin 35. It is a personal tarrif not a business one. Yes the bill amount is £41.13 every month since the contract started, then with additional charges (ie calls to numbers outside of inclusive minutes). It seems to end up being about £50-60 every month. I have had a reply from the email i sent through their website but it doesnt even acknowledge the fact i want to cancel the contract or offer any solution to the problem. It only advises me to call 150 but from reading other posts on the internet i dont think that will get me anywhere. i am going to send a letter, recorded delivery with copies of contract etc tomorrow and see where that gets me.

 

My question here is, can i legaly terminate my contract because of this?

[buzby]

The Dolphin 35 tariff is not designed for business use and prices are quoted inclusive of VAT. The tariff has two prices, depending on how you signed up... £35 directly at a retailer, or £30 online. Apart from the monthly fee, the bundles provided with each are identical. So, if your monthly fee is £41.13, you are either charged an additional £11.13 or £6.13 depending on how you signed up.

 

Assuming you signed up in-store, there is a possibility you have Orange's own insurance package as part of the monthly plan (sorry, I don't know the current price for this) and this is why it looks higher. The best route is to call 150 and ask what additional services have been added to the monthly subscription due to the cost discrepancy.

 

Email responses from any mobile network are usually ineffective, either missing the point entirely or only answeing part of it. Calling them for free during off-peak hours is more productive. There is little to be gained from sending wads of paper to Orange, especially when all an operator needs to do is check your account and answer your query.

 

As to your last question, can you legally end your contract? Nope, if there is an error they have to fix it but it's not an excuse to get out of the other obligations contained within it.

[OrangePrimate]

Hi

 

On page 3 of your bill, it will give you break down of your charges. your Dolphin 35 will have a value on the right hand side of £29.79, (all items listed here are exclusive of vat) then other items, both free and chargeable will be listed. If there is something there to the tune of £3.40 (£5 incl) then it is a bundle and could be for Data or something similar.

 

Then there will be the extra call/out of bundle charges. These could be where you have gone over your minutes, made international calls, sent pictures messages or anything like that.

 

The final line will give you your total, Exclusive of VAT. Then if there is insurance at £6.00 that will be iteminsed (insurance is a non-vat product)

 

so with Dolphin 35 with insurance, but no other extras or call charges your total would come to £41.00.

 

Just check the very top line - if it says the amount of £29.79, all is correct with that aspect of it, you will just need to see where the other charges are coming from.

 

Emails sent to the Orange website are only to do with the website and would land in the webmasters inbox, nothing to do with Customer Services. Emails sent to the Correspondence Dept are responded to in exactly the same way as letters, with an acknowlegment usually within 7 days. Unlike letters though, due to DPA they cannot be dealt with when it is ref account specific information due to there not being a signature.

 

Your best bet is to actually ring the billing dept with a copy of your bill in front of you and they will go through it with you step by step and explain all the entries and put your mind at rest. Alternatively an Orange Dealership would be able to help also.

 

Hope that helps

[buzby]

(insurance is a non-vat product)

 

Really? You'd better keep quiet about that - insurance has had a VAT rate of 5% for at least 6 years now....

[andyuk]

Ok thankyou for that. I have found that they are charging me extra for "chargeable umltd ev & wk ow" which is a bundle i have never signed up for and has been on since my first bill. I actually have two accounts, one for my partner which started a few months after mine and the same thing is on that account too.

[buzby]

Andy - you'll find this was probably offered to you free of charge at the beginning, and you had to cancel it once the offer expired... if you didn't, the monthly fee for it was applied!

[BeauBrummie]

Really? You'd better keep quiet about that - insurance has had a VAT rate of 5% for at least 6 years now....

 

 

Erm, are you getting it confused with "Insurance Premium tax" (IPT) which if my memory serves me right has been around for about 5-6 yrs and is nothing to do with "Value Added Tax"

Where is the value added in an insurance premium ?

Just thought I would point that out

Beau

[andyuk]

Well orange have removed it from my bill and credited my account for the costs. Thanks for your help guys, i appreciate it.

 

Andy

[buzby]

Erm, are you getting it confused with "Insurance Premium tax" (IPT) which if my memory serves me right has been around for about 5-6 yrs and is nothing to do with "Value Added Tax"

 

Fine, if you want to call a spade a shovel. The cost of IPT is 5% (17.5% if holiday insurance) and inexplicably is charged at VAT rates. As the point being made was that insurance is not 'exempt' from tax, the post remains pertinent.

[buzby]

Andy, out of interest - did they back-date it?

[andyuk]

Yeah they back dated both my accounts in full including vat but it wont show until my next bill.

[jowalshy]

Fantastic andy.

[OrangePrimate]

Fine, if you want to call a spade a shovel. The cost of IPT is 5% (17.5% if holiday insurance) and inexplicably is charged at VAT rates. As the point being made was that insurance is not 'exempt' from tax, the post remains pertinent.

Fine, if you want to split hairs and try to confuse the issue with your superior knowledge albiet with rather uneccesary info to this post!

 

my point in entering "non vat product" was as an explanation to why it would be listed seperately. that insurance was not included with other vat chargeable costs as it is not charged the normal vat rate of 17.5% vat. this was to ensure that if the OP wanted to work out their bill they would only add the vat to the upper section of charges, then to add on the £6, then hopefully finding the correct amount of their bill.

 

I am sure we will now witness a long winded debate as usual!!!

 

Anyway, I am glad the issue has been resolved and refunded in full for you Andy, as did expect that the data bundle would be the likely cause of the 'extras'

[buzby]

Yeah they back dated both my accounts in full including vat but it wont show until my next bill.

Excellent!

[buzby]

Fine, if you want to split hairs and try to confuse the issue with your superior knowledge albiet with rather uneccesary info to this post!

 

There's little point discussing it if all you're going to dois stamp your feet and throw a huff. What you call 'haur splitting' was simply a clarification. Insurance is no longer tax free and it was THIS point that was being made - not where Orange would happen to itemise it on their invoices.