Orange mast Issues..

waynedear · July 22, 2010

I took out a 24 month contract with Orange in April, I decided to go with Orange as my wife has been with them for years and has always had a good strong signal at home..

As I have had a bad experience with the 3 NETWORK and my home signal I couldnt wait to change over.

A month into the contract both me and my wife noticed we were not getting a signal at home, I rang Orange on 2nd May and they told me there was a mast down in my area and would be fixed by 7th May, it wasnt, I called them after this date and was told they do not know when it would be fixed...

I have rang Orange over 10 times in the last couple of months and been given one story or another and have even had money credited to my account, all I want is a good signal at home so as I can make and recieve calls.

I spoke with one very well spoken Orange customer service member who when I asked if i could kindly terminate my contract on the basis of not getting a full service, this is what he said...He said he has sat down with his supervisor and put my case forward, whilst they can see I have been having problems since may, the activity on my account suggests otherwise as I am using quite a lot of my allocated minutes and text, I explained that during the day I am out of town and out and about and I use my phone a lot, but cant use it at home in the evening anymore, he basically told me under my T&Ts there is nothing I can do, this is why I am on here just to see of what he says is correct....

I really want to carry my buisness over to Orange but cant at moment as its pointless, so I am stuck with a contract and a phone number that i dont need or want, I could have just stayed with 3 if I didnt want a signal at home...

Any ideas?

Thanks

Wayne

buzby · July 23, 2010

Keep getting the monthly credits to your account. After 6 to 8 of them, you can ask for a release and it should not be unreasonably refused. Do remember than there is a massive merging of T-Mobile and Orange infrastructure so this may well be the reason you're suffering at the moment.

jacktheband · July 23, 2010

Also, let us know what type of phone you have. Some of them have UMA technology which means it might be able to derive signal from a home internet connection via wifi.

buzby · July 24, 2010

I've always looked askance at these ventures - after all, where's the discount for using your own infrastructure? Just like those Dual mode GSM/DECT handsets, I don't wonder if the technology will fade away...

waynedear · July 25, 2010

Hi the phone I am using is an iphone 3gs and my wifes phone is a Nokia N86...

Do you really think that If I keep asking for credit they will let me out of my contract?

buzby · July 25, 2010

No guarantees, of course - but Orange usually play fair if it was them who made the changes to infrastructure and where a customer loses service due to re-engineering or BTS configuration issues, the first step is always a credit to cover when the network is unavailable. It is always expected that this will be resolved, so there has to be a few months of the aame credit(s) until the realisation dawns that the service the customer had previously is never going to return, and a relaxation of the minimum term not unduly refused.

waynedear · August 7, 2010

I spoke to an Orange Customer service rep last week and he said he was going to speak with his manager and try and get my contract cancelled, he said he would get back to me withing 3 days, its been over a week now and I cant get hold of him, I called and someone said he was on a call and would call me back but he didnt, I rang again, to be told my service would improve by next week.....I just feel like im being taken for a ride by Orange....Bottom line seems to be I signed up for 1200 mins and unlimited text and I am averaging 1000 mins usage per month, under the T&C I am getting what I paid for, I explained I went with Orange to get a good service at home and for the first month this was the case and that my usage is outside of my home area, they assured me that all my problems will be resolved next week as the masts are being repaired over the weekend, I will wait and see.........Honestly I am one customer who must have rang and complained over 20 times since May, I have spent hours on the phone, you would think someone would have the decency to let me leave my contract and go with a service provider who can give me a decent signal at home....

buzby · August 7, 2010

As devil's advocate, WHERE does Orange guarantee coverage at 'your home'? They don't and never have done. If fact no network provides this. So nursing an injustice because you don't get service won;t get you very far. The network is certainly fit for purpose as your usage patterns show. If your home was built like a Faraday Cage, would it still be the networks' problem to resolve? The flipside, you get a network that DOES provide you with excellent coverage at home, yet when you go to your usual distant location (that worked fine) is now No Service on the other network. Wireless communications brings no coverage guarantees, and to believe so is unreasonable.

waynedear · August 7, 2010

Ooh was that a telling off I'm here to get advice that's all. The point being Orange has Always for 10yrs had a great coverage at my address, as my wife can testify, so we are within our rights to complain I understand they don't guarantee coverage, IF they could get there masts fixed in a reasonable period of time there would not be a problem!

buzby · August 7, 2010

No - not a telling off at all! I had 5 bars when Orange opened for business in 1995, greatr for 10 years until my BTS was taken away (the building was being redeveloped). THEY changed something, not me - so they were prepared to acknowlege it, but not to say that I had a right to coverage and were cancelling my contract. The usual route it to credit for the inconvenience, and after enough of those agree to a contract waiver as a goodwill gesture. The cannot guarantee coverage everywhere, but I've always found them fair in seeking a resolution.

davidcox · September 20, 2010

Hi Wayne, I am in the same boat! I took a 24mth contract this yr after experiencing good reception on my earlier contract. Soon after, the 2 nearest masts went down and are still down some 3 mths later. If I can manage to connect a call it is often dropped mid sentence.

I appreciate the fact that coverage isn't guranteed but it was always fine so feel trapped. I was advised fix dates and credited twice, now am told the fix is going to take longer than first though with no date advised. Despite a genuinely helpful person at Orange trying their best for me, I'm so frustrated as I just want to have back the service I enjoyed.

When I enquired about early cancellation the response (after checking with supervisor) was that this may be possible if a mast is removed, though if a mast is just broken then I must wait 'however long it takes' for it to be fixed. This suits the network provider nicely, but I think there's a case here on the consumer side that providers should be made to correct faults within 'reasonable' time?

I'd recommend asking Orange to call you every so often to save sitting on hold - they called me on the date promised to see how I was getting on. I will take your advice on the repeated credits and then if no improvement will also be forced to demand an early exit from the contract. I've always found Orange reasonable to deal with, so if it's not fixed I would like to hope this should be granted...

jacktheband · September 20, 2010

Orange are utilising their merge with T-mobile to improve coverage. There's a place you can register you interest at http://www.orange.co.uk/share which will tell you more.

I believe this goes live in October so this could be the answer you need if you live in an area of no Orange signal but good T-mob coverage (or vice-versa).

davidcox · September 20, 2010

Thanks v much for this information. I wonder whether Orange are purposely not rushing to fix some of these masts, due to the imminent join up, if T-Mobile have one in the same locality? If this merge is due as soon as October, then it's probably worth me hanging on a bit longer... something to look forward to!

incrediblesulk · September 23, 2010

Good luck, I'm in a similar position (check out my post here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?278057-Trying-to-cancel-Orange-contract.&p=3137570#post3137570), before I signed up Carphone Warehouse checked the signal for my error on their computer, total b/s. I have zero signal in my home though 02, who I was with before, works fine and Vodafone (my friend's girlfriend checked) is good too.

Orange have been making excuses for their masts since I first complained almost a year ago, absolutely useless, I wouldn't stick with Orange if they paid me monthly!

waynedear · September 23, 2010

I sent the following email to the Orange complaints dept and had no response...I then sent the same email to this email address...Executive, [email protected] this was there response..

Thank you for your email addressed to the orange executive office.

We appreciate the time you have taken to write to us, however in order to resolve any issues you have, you would be required to contact our customer service team. Our customer service team is equipped to deal with all issues relating to Orange Products and Services. Should you be unhappy with the response you have the right to make a request for your complaint to be escalated to a Team Manager and then if still unresolved to the relevant Operations Manager, in the unlikely event that your issue remains unresolved the Operations Manager will contact the Executive Office for further advice or alternatively they will escalate the issue on your behalf. For details of our complaints procedure please see the Orange Code of Practice for Consumer Affairs, a copy of which can be found online using the following link.

I advised them that I had sent Orange an email and had no response, this was there response...

Your request to escalate your complaint is acknowledged however, as the issue has not been escalated correctly via Orange customer service we are unable to assist. Please contact Orange on 07973 100150 (150 from your Orange mobile phone) or email [email protected] for contract customers or 07973 100450(450 from your Orange mobile phone) for Pay As You Go customers, whereby a member of staff will be happy to assist you and if necessary will escalate your issue to a Manager.

I have now sent my original email below to this address [email protected] on 22/09/10...Lets see...

ORIGINAL EMAIL

10th Sept 2010

Complaint

To whom it may concern

I am writing with a complaint with regards to signal issues in my area.

I decided to join Orange in March 2010 after much deliberation as to which network to go with, but as my wife had been a customer of yours for years and had always had a great signal at home I decided to go with Orange.

All was well up until May 2nd when after a couple of days of either bad or no signal for either myself or my wife we decided to contact you about our issues.

After all the handset checks were done and found to be ok, Orange informed us that there was a local mast down and explained what happens when this occurs, I was then assured that all would be fixed by May 7th 2010....That date came and went I was then told as the mast was on school grounds it was only accessible during school hours and that unfortunately no time limit on when it would be fixed was available.

Time after time I called to be given different reasons for my loss of signal, from the school theory, to other masts in my area being down, to Orange merging with T-Mobile, when I was told about the merger, I was informed that my signal would increase significantly by July 1st 2010...this date came and went, after speaking with another Orange representative, I was told August 1st would be the day...this date came and went, after speaking with another Orange representative I was told September 1st would be the day, guess what that date has come and gone and neither of our signals have improved in the slightest.

At first I was credited money to my account for my loss of service.

Terms & Conditions were explained to me and was understood.

Also as I work out of my home area most of my usage occurs during the day, it was pointed out to me that I under the T&C nothing could be done as I was getting what I was paying for.

What I am paying for is a contract which allows me Unlimited texts and 1200 mins per month I just do not agree with having a mobile phone and number that cannot receive or make calls at home out of my working hours, this is not good for me or my business.

I would like to ask to be let out of my contract so as I can get a provider which does enable me to recieve calls within my home area, I am willing to return the handset I was given with my contract.

If this is not possible then I would just like to state that I will not be renewing my contract nor recommending Orange to any other potential customers in the future.

Below you will find a list of calls made to Orange from my home landline with times and costs, as I was unable to contact Orange from my mobile due to signal issues, I would like full re-imbursement of my landline costs which total £34.35.

Yours Sincerely

**edited out name **

07/05/10

20 15:55

Orange

07973100150

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