Orange: "You MUST use out email server"

[stunned_monkey]

Okay this one is a little technical, but somewhere along the line Orange is potentially causing my business damage through the use of a restrictive practice.

 

My issue is I am on Orange broadband and they insist you use their outgoing SMTP server (for the teccie types, TCP port 25 is blocked from home users to anything but their own server)/

 

I own my own internet domain on which I rely for my business. I recently discovered through a customer in Belgium that some emails are disappearing. I send them, they never arrive. my other half has also discovered she can't send anything to her sister,

 

I should explain at this point that I used to work for a corporate solutions provider setting up firewalls, mail servers including anti-spam and so on. I am well aware of the issues of spam filtering and this isn't an example of that. It's almost certainly problems with receiving servers being set up to do a reverse lookup on the delivered email's MX record and compare it to the connectign server.

 

The ISP which holds my domain also offers an SMTP service and I used it for years with no problems. While the issue of emails not arriving is likely not a problem at Orange, but it's almost certainly related to orange not hosting my domain.

 

I'm hitting a brick will with Orange trying to get this resolved, I just keep getting "it's our policy" excuse when I'm telling them what the problem is and how to resolve this (add a single line in the firewall rulebase to allow SMTP access from my pool to the mail server which hosts my MX record). It's UK based and a reputable company

 

Tech support don't even know what "TCP Post 25" even means so I really need to get this up the chain to someone who can sort this out... does anyone have any suggestions?

 

I see this as a potentially restrictive practice: one way to solve it would be for Orange to host my domain... (like hell!)

[dx100uk]

the futures bright - the futures .................another isp!

 

dx

[stunned_monkey]

Okay, so I ring up a potential new broadband provider and ask "do you block SMTP from home users?".... chances of a straight answer?

[Conniff]

I'm with Virgin and have no restrictions whatsoever on anything be it email, domain hosting, ftp to host or the blocking of any tcp ports. This is a domestic installation and not a business connection. Email is also ssl encrypted.

Edited July 12, 2011 by Conniff

[MrShed]

I dont entirely understand the question to be totally honest - you seem to have answered it yourself. Use a different ISP.

[dx100uk]

bt are open

 

run one for years

 

dx

[stunned_monkey]

Despise BT thanks to dreadful customer service and extortionate prices. Do Virgin suport regular broadband, or just cable?

[dx100uk]

no both cable and adsl

 

dx

[MrShed]

Your other option could be to use secure SMTP (over TLS) and also use a non standard port...this will mean that Orange have no way of knowing the traffic is mail related.

[stunned_monkey]

I'm already onto the option of an alternate port, waiting on a response from my hosts (Gridstar, about whom I have nothing but good things to say!). My problem appears to be blacklist related - the behaviour is consistent even though this is an old link

 

http://www.wirelessforums.org/uk-telecom-mobile/orange-using-non-orange-smtp-server-12386.html

[Guest Orange Helpers]

Hi stunned_monkey I'd be happy to contact our technical guys for you, to see if they can get to the bottom of this. If you can send us your details via the "Send a private message" link on our Facebook page, I can make some enquiries for you. You can find a link to our page on our profile here. I hope we can help! ^Darren_OrangeHelpers

[stunned_monkey]

Hi OH, thanks very much for the offer. This is a very real issue for orange, support have admitted problems with Orange's smtp server being blacklisted - as of a couple of nights ago, even hotmail were refusing mail! I only ask that I be allowed smtp to the mail server that -IS- the mx record for the domain I can easily prove I own, it's not a spam risk to Orange. I'm replying here because this has coincided with my moving house! Currently I'm without internet and restricted to my BlackBerry, couldn't find a link to Facebook in your profile.

[MARTIN3030]

Hi stunned_monkey I'd be happy to contact our technical guys for you, to see if they can get to the bottom of this. If you can send us your details via the "Send a private message" link on our Facebook page, I can make some enquiries for you. You can find a link to our page on our profile here. I hope we can help! ^Darren_OrangeHelpers

 

 

Orange Helpers-to me it does not look as though you are living up to your user name whilst appearing here.

The purpose of offering you official recognition here to deal,as with all Customer Service Reps on the site,was for you to offer to deal with CAG members,not divert them to your pages on Social Networking sites,if they wished to do that,they would not be here in the first place.

I note that you have only responded twice since your registration in January 2011,frankly this is pathetic,and I put it to you that there has been no improvements from what we have seen here from Orange in the last couple of years.

Well that is your choice,but not something we are happy to see.

If you cannot be bothered to deal with our members complaints on this site,then we will withdraw your permissions to do so,and find other mobile sp's who will be more forthcoming.

[watchinginvestigation2011]

Orange Helpers-to me it does not look as though you are living up to your user name whilst appearing here.

The purpose of offering you official recognition here to deal,as with all Customer Service Reps on the site,was for you to offer to deal with CAG members,not divert them to your pages on Social Networking sites,if they wished to do that,they would not be here in the first place.

I note that you have only responded twice since your registration in January 2011,frankly this is pathetic,and I put it to you that there has been no improvements from what we have seen here from Orange in the last couple of years.

Well that is your choice,but not something we are happy to see.

If you cannot be bothered to deal with our members complaints on this site,then we will withdraw your permissions to do so,and find other mobile sp's who will be more forthcoming.

 

 

Hear hear xx

 

The service you get in many areas of the orange group to be fair can only be seen as pathetic once they have your signature. They really need to reconsider retraining all of their customer service staff especially that of the ceo office themselves as the alienate people rather than help them and act like kiddies doing a tit for tat fight:mad2:

 

Why when asking them to see sence does if feel like being thrown into a bitch fight akin to harry hill tv show xx

 

Perhaps they would like to offer me the job I am funny enough not prejudice to any illness or person, just thought I would add that helpfull addon, sell myself an such l ike xx

[Guest Orange Helpers]

Hi stunned_monkey. If you click on the Home Page link on our profile, this will take you to our page, where you can send us your details privately. We can then make some enquiries for you. MARTIN3030, I'm sorry if you feel we are not living up to our name. I would hope you can appreciate that we may need to request a customer's account details in order to look into their issues, and this is why I had directed stunned_monkey to our page. The Orange Helpers page is separate to the Orange and Orange UK pages and exists purely to help resolve customer queries. I hope this helps! ^Darren_OrangeHelpers

[watchinginvestigation2011]

WOW ORANGE GET ON MY THREAD QUICK:whoo:

[watchinginvestigation2011]

Site team they are the same orange helpers as in the facebook page, people appear frustrated with generic apologies and really they appear not to have much authority at all apart from can check signal issues or refer to alternate depts.

 

So for individual threads can I suggest the ceo office of orange should be involved and perhaps liase with cag to improve their image:madgrin:

 

I know a thread they could start to interact on:lol:

 

Orange helpers can only act in the most basic of instances it would appear!!!!!! So surely not fit for purpose.

[watchinginvestigation2011]

Hey you wanna do some good orange helpers contact your ceo office and tell them you are aware they have forgot about a reply today She is ranting about it everywhere till its sorted:!:

 

My thread has been going on a while:mad2:

 

 

OP apologies for sneaking in there re my issue just noticed the orange helpers does not come to the mobile phone boards xx

[watchinginvestigation2011]

[email protected]

 

ceo is:

 

[email protected]

 

 

Hope you get sorted OP xx

[MARTIN3030]

MARTIN3030, I'm sorry if you feel we are not living up to our name.

 

I not only FEEL...I can actually SEE it !

Your apologies to me wont solve our members issues.

You are welcome to post a link to your customer services or even a phone number,but please no Social Networking sites.As long as the complaints are dealt with this is all that matters,but we want to see this happening-and be assured that our members will update on their threads here.

[locutus]

I see nothing here that actually needs you to identify the poster. He's stating his problem quite clearly, and it is Orange's system that is blocking him. If there is a way to "unblock" TCP port 25, post it here.

[MARTIN3030]

Our members did not have to visit facebook to take out Orange phone services,so neither should those with complaints be expected to have to go there when things go wrong.

In any case,Facebook is not for everyone,and any expectation that a customer with a complaint needs to go there,in my opinion,creates an unfair relationship.

CAG forums are littered with Orange complaints.

Just to illustrate how many there are in proportion to the rest of the Mobile Service providers on here,I will be grouping them together.

We saw many complaints following the re-branding to Always and Everywhere....which is a bit of a parody as regards Orange CSreps seen here....NEVER and Nowhere.

[stunned_monkey]

Orange limited SMTP to their own server(s). This is how one must -send- email. Open SMTP access means anyone can install a free local SMTP server and send tons of email anywhere pretending to be from anyone (ie spam). So actually it's a fairly sensible policy... Until, that is, Orange's server gets blacklisted! My request is that I be allowed SMTP (which stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol by the way) access to the server hosting the domain I can easily prove I own (vie a WHOIS lookup). This will allow me to continue using email reliably. For this I must be able to communicate privately, but can't get into "proper" facebook from my Blackberry to which I'm limited for at least a week. At least emails sent via the BB aren't blacklisted!

 

My email exchange with Orange support got somewhere inasmuch as they admitted the problem, but are now just patting me on the head and telling me to run along while their engineers deal with the problem. Unfortunately being blacklisted is something over which they have no direct control!

[Mark&Janice]

Can't you use POP on port 110?

Edited July 16, 2011 by Mark&Janice

[stunned_monkey]

Pop is for collection, not sending.