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So I ring up orange today as according to my calendar today is the day i can finally leave their shoddy service forever. However, much to my dismay it appears that they silently regraded my contract to an 18 month one when i upgraded last year. I'm absolutely sure I didn't agree to it as I really didn't want one. Orange CS are basically useless - but where do i stand in this, I have no proof of the fact that I did not agree and they are saying that they can't do anything till the contract expires in December. So far my best option is requesting a copy of the vocal agreement I made - has anyone actually succeeded in getting one of these yet? I assume they must exist.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Simon.

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So I ring up orange today as according to my calendar today is the day i can finally leave their shoddy service forever. However, much to my dismay it appears that they silently regraded my contract to an 18 month one when i upgraded last year. I'm absolutely sure I didn't agree to it as I really didn't want one. Orange CS are basically useless - but where do i stand in this, I have no proof of the fact that I did not agree and they are saying that they can't do anything till the contract expires in December. So far my best option is requesting a copy of the vocal agreement I made - has anyone actually succeeded in getting one of these yet? I assume they must exist.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Simon.

Hello Simon

It would help if you could say what tariff you went on when you upgraded last year. The majority of tarifffs, especially if they had extra incentives added, (line rental discounts, free weekend mins etc) would have been subject to an 18mnth contract. Also dependant the the phone you chose, to get it greatly reduced or free, it may have again depended on agreeing to an 18mnth term.

It is not neccessarily lies from Orange, and a contract would never be 'silently' regraded, there are strict guidelines that have to be followed when changing contract terms, and it is amazing how many times evidence can be produced, but the customer has 'forgotten' what they agreed to a year ago.

Sorry you feel that Orange CS are basically useless and the service shoddy, if you have had issues over the past year, hopefully you would have reported that and had the issue dealt with and resolved at the time you experienced such treatment.

please can you give more info on your upgrade last year and i may be able to help.

Anything I post is my own opinion and views based on experience. My posts may not represent the views of my Employer, work collegues, or my Mum, i thought them up all by myself!

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Hi and thanks for the reply -

I'm quite sure I didn't agree to the change - I had no intention of using the phone I was upgrading to (ericsson 810i, I believe.) but expected there to be something worth getting in 12 months (I needed to change talk plan as I was spending a fortune). I can categorically state that I would not have agreed to it in principle, it's not something I would do. At the same time I cancelled orange care as a result of the fact that orange were unable/unwilling to allow that to continue on the old handset (treo 650) so it was totally worthless. This, however, was only cancelled after numerous requests over the next 6 months. The tariff I moved to was select 500 with 250 text messages @ 25UKP a month. The phone was free at the time of upgrade, but my bills previously were horrendous, which makes a difference. Orange is not the company it was when I joined over 6 years ago - Their on-going policy of subscribing people to 'value added services' (that you pay for if you don't cancel) doesn't fool anyone. I've been mis-billed for data services that I had to take the time to resolve. Useful services have been withdrawn, such as itemised billing, which lets be honest - adding a 'we will start charging next month' on a 10 page bill doesn't get noticed - I wonder how many people ended up paying as a result of that. I'm not sure when I'm going to next be 'mugged' by Orange, but the general consensus between my friends/family is the same too - most, if not all, have left or are going to leave at the end of this contract period.

 

Thanks,

 

Simon.

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Up until the 1st April 07, Orange had a policy (which is why i do not offer Orange), that when a customer upgrades and is on a 12 month contract, they will enter into 18 month contract to getthe 12 month contract benefits.

 

If they were on an 18 month contract they would upgrade onto a 24 month contract to get the 18 month contract benefits.

 

They seem to be back in real world now, and have cancelled the 6 month extension.

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Hello Complete, Agree with you, the 6month extension was a nightmare, but it needs to be pointed out was only applicable to non-direct dealers, and there really wasnt any point in extending a 12 mnth to an 18mnth term because there were absolutley no benefits added onto a 12mnth term anyway!

 

Hi again Simon,

The select 500 tariff is a retentions tariff. with that amount of txts and a free phone at £25 a month would definately have been an 18mnth contract. Despite previous post giving impresion there are 'benefits' on a 12mnth term, there isnt any! basically, take a free phone, bog standard tariff = 12mnths, take incentives, no phone = 12mnths. take BOTH = 18mnths minimum term.

So sorry you you still feel unhappy with Orange CS, we do try out best, but we are bound by rules/procedures and 99.9% of staff agree that the 'value add' bundles rolling over on to a chargeable unless you cancel are not that fair.

Charging for itemised billing is a good idea, itemised bills can be viewed/printed from website and its amazing how many people can do with that 10-12 pages dropping on their doormat every month, it saves a few trees!

Its an ever changing business, and in defence of all networks, the amount of loss made in handset subsidies, horrendously cheap line rental for loads of inclusive minutes, charging for itemised billing to cover costs of printers, postage ect does now have to come into it.

Anything I post is my own opinion and views based on experience. My posts may not represent the views of my Employer, work collegues, or my Mum, i thought them up all by myself!

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I should really state that at all times the customer representatives i have spoken to have been as helpful as I think they could be considering the policies.

I'm almost 100% sure i wasn't told I was moving to an 18 month contract, which is my major gripe, its something I would listen out for. There should be a requirement to ensure a written contract is delivered, the same way it is the first time you join.

It should clearly set out what you are getting, the cost of calls after you exceed your minutes/texts and overseas charges and the contract length.

With regard to the itemised billing, I appreciate the green argument, but Orange has always offered itemised billing and by removing it would be nice if the savings were passed on to me. Instead, in true Orange style, they made an extra £1.50 or whatever from the majority who didn't notice that small print on their previous bill. BT have been offering online billing for years, do Orange offer a totally paperless solution as I would be interested.

 

Thanks for your replies and I must re-iterate orange CS are still among the friendliest team I've ever dealt with.

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hi Purge,

Thanks for your comments ref Orange CS, its good to hear a good word now and then!

Yes, Orange do offer a 'paperfree' billing system. If you go non-itemised, you will get a one sheet 'statement' telling you what that months charge is, no breakdown apart from it showing pre/after VAT.

To see it fully itemised, go to Orange UK Home Page on upper right side 'My Account' go in there and register as new user, you will need your account number and your mobile phone with you as they send a security text. once that is set up you can administer your account on line and from the day after your billing date (before you get it in the post) you can view last 3 months itemised bills.

And on this:-

"Instead, in true Orange style, they made an extra £1.50 or whatever from the majority who didn't notice that small print on their previous bill."

It was printed in bold, 12 typeface on the very front page of every customers bills for a full 3 Months!! so sorry gotta disagree with you there!

As for the contract renewal issue, the majority of csr's will now send out a basic text message to state new contract term, inclusive bundles, monthly contract costs etc to the customers number when carrying out an upgrade when done direct with us on phone. Customers can and do ask for this. We have always placed notes on the account, but as said in other post, 12 mnths down the line the conversation is 'forgotten' or we are called outright liars! we have been doing the texts for the last year or so, because that actual text is stored on the system.cant be disputed then!

But must say the worst offenders of actually not confirming anything about length of a further contract term are the 3rd party dealers that call you and claim to be the Network (whichever network they are being that day!) we then get stuck in the middle and have to go through the hassle of getting a recording of the call from them to determine if they did it right!

Anything I post is my own opinion and views based on experience. My posts may not represent the views of my Employer, work collegues, or my Mum, i thought them up all by myself!

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Yes, Orange do offer a 'paperfree' billing system. If you go non-itemised, you will get a one sheet 'statement' telling you what that months charge is, no breakdown apart from it showing pre/after VAT. [snip]

I mean paperless, as in 'no paper', not even a single sheet, like I've had with BT for 4 years.

 

"Instead, in true Orange style, they made an extra £1.50 or whatever from the majority who didn't notice that small print on their previous bill."

It was printed in bold, 12 typeface on the very front page of every customers bills for a full 3 Months!! so sorry gotta disagree with you there!

Yes and obviously it wasn't enough. Top of the bill, in the place where the amount is usually shown would have been better. The space they used below the figures is usually reserved for crappy offers™ thus I usually ignore it. Even better, 'we will remove itemised billing from your next bill, if you would like to keep it text etc,etc'. The decision to tack on a charge was indubitably avaricious.

but as said in other post, 12 mnths down the line the conversation is 'forgotten' or we are called outright liars! we have been doing the texts for the last year or so, because that actual text is stored on the system.cant be disputed then!

It should be policy, for sure. I'm almost certain that I didn't agree to 18 month contract, the reason being is that I knew i wasn't going to use the phone I was upgrading to, but I thought in a year there might well be something. I guess i'm going to have to demand that the phone recording be referred to sadly.

 

Thanks for your help.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I too have had similar issue with Orange. I was contacted in Jan 06 (just when my 12 months was up) asking did I want an upgrade. At the time I was quite happy with Orange and they offered me a nice new Sony Walkman phone, so I asked them would I have to sign a new contract and was told no. So my phone duly arrived and my bill for my £60 a month service plan too. I was quickly on the phone to them and was told that was the service plan I would be on the get the phone free but I can reduce it after a few months. So come June I call to reduce my plan (after racking up over 2000 rollover minutes) and was told that I was 'locked into it', but I'm not on a contract I said and was offered no explanation. So at the start of August 2006 I wrote to them giving my 30 days notice to leave their "service". September starts and I'm still with Orange, I call to find out why and am told that they did not receive my notice ( yeah right). So I duly dispatch another letter this time recorded delivery and call up two weeks later (after checking royal mail for delivery) and was told that I need to send in notice in writing! Thye claimed not to have received the second one, luckily I was able to say 'well can you ask mr suchand such in your postroom what he has done with it as he signed for it, after 15 minutes on hold (amazing that they don't have a landline number for us non-ornage customers!!)I am told that yes we have received your letter but you cannot cancel as your contract is until Jan 07. What contract I screamed? I asked was I on a new contract and was told not. So after a lot of phone calls and letters (incl. one call with a young lady who kindly informed me that I was not on a contract!!) at the start of December they said that they would as an act of goodwill for my long service terminate my contract and sent me a bill for £229.29 (incl. a £10.61 discount off my Decembers line rental!!). I (foolishly) dug in my heels and refused to pay until they provided me with proof of a contract and I also felt I was being charged for 3 months line rental unfairly and I actually didn't use the service. So I then endure countless phone calls and letters from the Orange Collections dept demanding payment. Until Jan07 when they send in the big boys Moorcroft Debt Recovery (don't even get me started). So on the advice of my solicitor to prevent any damage to my credit file and until we pursue the matter legally I pay up. So in Feb I battle thro' the Orange phone system ( you think its hard speaking to them when you are a customer try speaking when you're not) and give my cc details and pay up £229.29, thinking this would be the last. Alas no, here we are in JUne and I am still getting the threats. Firstly I was supposed to pay Moorcroft (no chance will I ever send a penny to those animals) secondly Orange can't seem to find my payment (whoopsie). I have sent both companies my credit card statement showing 19th Feb £229.29 going out but still it goes on. Please can someone offer some advice? How can Orange (or any other company) get away with this.

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Not sure what to suggest here but one advice I always heed myself is to never even entertain anybody who calls your mobile number asking if you want an upgrade!

 

They are never from Orange directly (I've had the same account with them since 1999) but always third party resellers offering loads of deals... these people I find are not trustworthy and are cold calling just to make a sale.

 

Obviously the final contract may be with Orange themselves, but you didn't actually buy it direct from Orange.

 

(p.s. not being too rude but the use of paragraphs do help if you want people help and to read after the first few lines or so without falling out of their chairs with head pain! :p )

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