Orange PAYG Phone - they wanted me to sign my consumer rights away

[2Grumpy]

I need a new phone so, being on Orange I went to an Orange shop

 

Before I could buy the new phone (not a cheap one I should add) they asked me to sign a form saying that if the phone broke down after more than 27 days I would accept a repair rather than a replacement.

 

If I did sign they wouldn't give me a copy

 

If I didn't sign I had to give them the form back (because it was the property of Orange)

 

Another salesperson said that she was a law graduate and demanded that I let her explain. (think of the women in the later stages of this years "apprentice")

 

I walked (my OH would have led me out be the ear if I hadn't) even though I still need the new phone ...

[Conniff]

First off, they can't get you to sign away your rights, if you had signed it, it would have had no legal standing.

 

Second, why not go back in and when they give you the form, pick it up and walk out with it and then you can post it up here.

[2Grumpy]

First off, they can't get you to sign away your rights, if you had signed it, it would have had no legal standing.

 

That's what I thought, but I was getting put off more & more with every word that came out of their mouths ... I was thinking that this was their policy anyway & that if anything did go wrong then that is all they would offer short anyway and anything else would need a trip down to the small claims court.

 

Second, why not go back in and when they give you the form, pick it up and walk out with it and then you can post it up here.

 

Was going to pop into another branch to find out if it was a 'local initiative'. If they wouldn't give me a copy I was going to take a photo ...

 

It was such good customer relations - trying to browbeat the customer into signing.

 

email already on its way to trading standards:-)

[2Grumpy]

I no longer get a signal at work.

 

Orange have confirmed that they have decomissioned the closest mast (shared with T-Mobile) - it was on the roof of a building that was demolished - and they say that they have no plans to replace it.

 

It's not long since I paid for a new PAYG phone that's locked to Orange - now virtually useless.

 

They have offered to unlock it for £20!!!

 

It's their fault that I no longer have a signal, I was thinking that they should unlock my phone for free & pay to port my number to O2 - that does provide a signal at work

 

Any advice?

[Human Writes]

The phone you bought is seperate from the agreement to supply network services, that being the case Orange's removal of a mast wouldn't give you an automatic right to have the phone unlocked FOC, although you could certainly ask them to waive the cost.

 

I don't believe you could sucessfully argue that the removal of one mast constitues a breach of contract, this would be very difficult to prove given that the agreement is for supply of network services across the UK and their network will consist of ten thousand plus + masts, mobile phone networks generally do not guarentee coverage in any specific areas.

 

The removal of one mast - due to factors outside of Orange's control like the demolotion of a building where the mast is sited is also arguably something the network couldn't be held liable for.

 

You mention the cost of porting, there doesn't appear to be a cost involved, a PAC is supplied for free, you can get a free SIM from another network and transfer your number without charge so I'm not sure what costs you believe would be involved other than unlocking the phone which I mention above?

[locutus]

2 prong this one.

 

Personally, (and I think HW knows what I'm going to say) Write to them

 

Orange Customer Services

PO Box 10

Patchway

Bristol

BS32 4BQ

 

Include your name, address and Orange phone number. Explain what has happened, and request a free unlock code for your phone as the only satisfactory outcome. If they are unwilling, as an alternative provide you with a DEADLOCK letter. Once you have an unlocked phone, request the PAC from Orange and make sure you use all your credit before the new network has taken your number (else you will have lost the remaining credit)

 

Now, the other side of the 2 prongs. Orange and T-Mobile are merging transmitters, so it may only be a temporary outage until they get the t-mobile one working on the orange network. If they do restore service and you want to remain with them, you may aswell get the unlock code in case of future disputes.

 

Keep us updated 2Grumpy

[buzby]

If you had a contract, they would release you under these circumstances, but PAYG is different. You can get it locked locally for £5-10 rather than paying Orange for the service. Then use a SIM from a better placed network.

 

I wouldn't bother with a protracted correspondence, you can probably (depending on the model) get it unlocked FoC by searching the web.

[2Grumpy]

Thanks for the comments

 

I thought of FOC unlocking - I did investigate but it's the wrong type

 

I must admit that I'm not as badly off as someone who just upgraded to an iphone and got told 'tough' by orange!