orange - disputed international roaming charges[phone was cut OFF!] passed to various DCA's - ORANGE WILL NOT HELP!!!

[shell0604]

Hi I am new to this and was hoping for some help and guidance hers the story so far:

 

Ran up a phone bill debt with orange while abroad i was charged for roaming charges

even though the mobile was not being used so was suprised to be met with a hefty bill (unsure of exact balance) .

 

I tried to fight this but orange wouldnt back down so months passed with no payment being made and nothing more said other than a few letters being received from orange.

 

Then in January of this year i received a letter from Moorcroft dated the 11/01/12

stating they had been instructed by orange to collect the over due debt of £3124.79,

 

another letter followed dated 14/01/12 about the debt once more and

then on the 14/03/12 they said that the debt had been passed to the home collection dept,

 

I stupidly rang them and was bullied into agreeing to repay £40 per month

 

I never made any such payment as was not in a position to do this

 

once more a letter came dated 16/06/12 saying they would accept £50 per month or court action may be taken, I ignored this letter and hid away

 

In august however a new letter arrived from Direct Legal chasing repayment of this debt the figure they seek is £3060.66

 

I made contact to agree a repayment plan but they would only accept £61 nothing else via d/d

this was agreed in principle but was later cancelled after i sent a letter requesting they delete any bank details held

and send me there details to arrange a s/o but to a lesser amount of £20 more affordable for me,

 

they have now sent me a letter dated 6/09/12 enclosed is a income and expenditure letter

along with a request for me to send in my wage slips or proof of income

 

i dont want to run away from this debt any longer and do wish to start making payments

but to the amount that i feel affordable, do i have to complete this I&E form and provide the wage slips ect??

 

Also when reviewing my credit report the debt in question still shows under Orange communications

showing default date at 17/01/12 when in fact i defaulted last august when the bill was generated

no payment was ever made, and also showing the balance to be £2395

 

Please help! Thanks

[Bandit127]

It looks like they are only agents for Orange according to you CRA file.

 

Ignore DLC's requests for a I&E and wage slips - they have no right to this information whatsoever. On DLC's letter you should have the details of their bank account on a giro slip - set up a standing order using those and the account number they used at the top of the letter if you feel you must pay them. Make it £20 a month if that is what you can reliably afford.

 

Personally I would suggest you SAR Orange to get a complete breakdown of charges on the account and CCA DLC insisting on a complete Statement of Account including all credits, debits and charges.

 

The CCA to DLC won't stop them on an agreement but the requirement for a complete SoA will slow them down.

 

Lastly - they have no legal rights at all. Don't fall for the "if we apply for a CCJ, the consequences might be.." threats - they are idle.

Edited September 10, 2012 by Bandit127

[Bazooka Boo]

Easy peasy lemon squeazy..

 

STOP talking to them over the phone from now on. ONLY ever deal with this in writing.

If they ring in future tell them 'everything in writing' laugh and hang up.

 

Get back onto Orange, and more importantly their complaints procedure, what were your usual monthly bills? Certainly NOT 4 figures I bet!

 

As for their silly little I&E form, feed it to your hamster, there is absolutely no legal requirement to fill in these forms, only a Judge can order you to do so.

[dx100uk]

you cant CCA a mobile phne debt - its not credit.

 

dx

[shell0604]

Thanks all for your replies.

Ive just rang orange directly to find out what my outstanding balance is,

the man on the other end advised it was with dlc and to contact them and he hung up!!!

 

was less than happy with this so rang back got through to another man who advised my balance is £2395,

 

i requested the address to send the SAR to (which i will action and send this week)

to which he supplied me with this and

 

I also spoke with a manager on the floor about the 1st man who hung up on me and now they are trying to trace the call etc

 

NOT happy at all with how orange have treated me so will see this compliant through as far as possible.

 

Bazooka Boo my bills where no more than 3 figures never once had a bill like this before,

 

orange was not willing to discuss the balance as they stated its now out of their hands so unsure who i can speak with to maybe get this balance down

as they state the balance is £2395 but with dlc its £3060.66

so if I discuss a reduction with dlc it still will be in excess of what my actual debt is even with a potential reduction?

 

How can i proceed please,

as stated i will be sending a sar request to orange with £10,

but still have a I&E request from DLC to respond to dated 6th,

comments above advise me to ignore this?

 

is there any correspondance i can send to advise that i dont legally have to send this information

 

This is really starting to stress me out,

i am willing to make payments but only what i can afford (£20) but feel like i keep hitting a brick wall! Any advice will be much appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[PGH7447]

Did you ever ask for a call log for the period you were away?

£3k seems a bit of laugh for roaming charges if the phone was never used,

personally, I would tell the DCA's that this sum is in duspute with Orange due to none providence of any proof

that the phone was used and that you will not be dealing with any of them until the dispute is setled with orange

[shell0604]

Hi PGH7447,

i disputed the balance when it was first produced

but they stated it would stand at that amount

so I then ignored any correspondance as was not in a position to pay this amount,

 

I am now going to send the SAR to orange requesting all the information they hold

and will then review all this data and see what my next steps can be

(cant loacte the bill in question to review),

 

I will contact DLC in writing to inform them that until this data has been received

I will not be communicating further with them as will be disputing this figure,

thanks for the quick reply!

[PGH7447]

as for the I&E request, file under who gives a sh*t, they have no legal powers to demand this

[dx100uk]

and put at the top of the DLC letter

 

i ack no debt to you.

 

dx

[dx100uk]

thread moved & title changed

put on orange twitter feed too.

 

dx

[Bazooka Boo]

DLC have NO legal powers over you or anyone at all.

 

They cannot do a single thing except send out empty computer generated threat letters, ignore them, just send them this then ignore them totally.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?426-A-letter-when-the-account-has-been-passed-to-another-debt-collection-agency

 

This is for Orange to sort out and deal with, if they don't want to accept responsibility for this, then you owe nothing.

[shell0604]

Sorry maybe my original post wasnt as clear as it could have been this is all so stressful:

 

I went abroad with my Iphone and the first few days i did use it for the odd text but switched it off in between

and never kept it constantly on so NO-WHERE near the amount of £2395 was used,

 

then within a few days my phone was cut off (hence the not in use comment on original post) as my due bill had not been paid

(due to me being away and forgetting) so they cut me off!

 

then i noticed i could still access wifi

 

every other day or so i would switch the phone on and use the wifi as i couldnt use any texts/calls/data usage as it had been cut off,

 

when i returned home a bill was generated for the amount of £2395

 

i called orange who confirmed the phone was not used and that the bill was made of mainly 'JUST' roaming charges,

 

i argued that my phone had been cut off

why was costs occuring after this when the phone should of been rendered unusable?

 

they didnt agree with my argument and stated the amount would stand,

 

i then proceeded to hide away and ignore letters etc,

i feel the charges are excessive and unjust

but now im trying to get on top of this and finally deal with it

 

orange wont help at all!

 

I feel like im never going to get this resolved,

i dont dispute that some charges are justified (texts etc)

but no way is £2395 something i am willing to pay,

 

i will be sending a sar to obtain all information possible as i wish to argue this amount further

but unsure how to proceed,

 

as if i deal direct with dlc i will have to pay £3060.66 and orange wont entertain me at all

so feel like im hitting a brick wall,

 

can possibly manage realisitically £20 a month only if the bill is reviewed.

 

Thanks again! all help is much appreciated

[shell0604]

Thanks bazooka, ive tried to deal with orange today and 1st advisor cut me off after telling me to deal with dlc only, and then 2nd advisor supplied me with the balance and the address to send the SAR, dont know who else to contact within orange to actually discuss the debt in depth and try get some resolvement in place, they dont seem to care so im almost thinking well if you dont care then why should i, but i would like to get this resolved some how as this is getting to stressful now and i dont want this affecting my credit rating etc,

thanks very much for all replies!

[Bazooka Boo]

Your hitting a brick wall because your talking to idiots over the PHONE!!!!

 

Relax, calm down, there is nothing urgent about this whatsoever, if Orange were the slightest bit bothered in getting their grubby mitts on this money they would have asked you for your proposals of payment, and if none were forthcoming, handed it to their legal department and issued a summons.

Instead they have farmed this out to a toddler group to try and collect.

The fact that the first one cut you off is exactly why you should NOT discuss any financial matters over the phone.

 

You have no evidence that you have attempted to get any information regarding this, nor that you have even contacted them, in all essence they will say you have ignored all attempts to bring about a satisfactory solution.

 

So, EVERYTHING in WRITING!

That way then you have irrefutable evidence that you have attempted a resolution.

 

Send Orange the SAR with £10 fee and wait for them to supply you with the info.

 

As for DLC, send them the letter I linked in my previous post, and then ignore them.

 

Stay OFF the phone, you will get nowhere.

[Missdion]

I agree,

do not bother with the guys over the phone.

Its only when you complain in writing you actually get somewhere.

 

Also make sure when you do write to them,

send as recorded delivery and make copies of everything you send them.

That way they cannot deny you sent anything.

 

What you need to ask for is a complete breakdown of every single charge,

any calls/texts/data use that they charged you for.

 

If it were me id also ask for copies of the call logs (the conversations you have had with every single advisor on the phone since this incident)

 

If they hung up on you and were unhelpful and rude it will be proof of that too.

 

Good luck and i hope it gets sorted for you

x

[2Grumpy]

I would send the same via letter and email to orange.

 

You need an itemised bill before paying anything. Ask for one along with the SAR. Ask for all of the information they hold about you. Don't send a fee, if there is one, they will promptly ask you to pay if there is one. If they take an age to open your letter they lose the right to charge for the SAR, but still have to deliver in 40 days.

 

You should have had some correspondence from them before this was farmed out to their pet DCAs. Time for a complaint if they didn't.

 

There's no need for registered mail just get a certificate of posting (free) from the post office. That's all that's required - letters are deemed delivered a day or 2 later.