Leaving orange!

kellanne78

hello......hope someone can help and advise me?!

My orange contract runs out on nov 22nd 2009, i have had no end of hassle from orange, phone problems, billing, customer service.....the list is endless! i now have my heart set on a iphone.
what is the usual protocol on leaving a phone company for another one....i have been told by a friend that i need to get a PAC code but when? on the 22nd or 30 days before? and will they charge me for the PAC code ( i guess i could just get a new mob number )i would love to leave orange now but know i will be stung with a huge bill for not seeing my contract through.....but from what i've been told they may still charge me anyway!!!! these companys aways seem to have a loophole they only they know about!!! If my contract runs out on the 22nd i shouldn't receive anymore bills should i ??? oh the stress!?!?:huh:
please help.......kellie x

robt_2

The contract will run until you cancel it, it won't just stop on 22nd of November.

big_bad_ben

As I understand it, you can request your PAC code 30 days prior to the last day of your contract (in your case, 22nd October). You then give the PAC code to your new phone provider who contact Orange to tell them that you have a new contract. Orange then cancel your contract with them and send you out a final bill (which will charge you for the full period until the 22nd of November).

I would advise you to call Orange and ask them to give you a "best plan" review; they'll look at your current usage and may offer you a lower monthly tariff that is more suited to you. They'll do this without making you extend your current contract, and it might make the last few months with them a bit more bearable.

Alternatively, you can opt to change your plan to the next cheapest from your current one - you can do this once a month so that after a few months you're on the cheapest plan that Orange offer. Then you can cancel your contract early and pay off the equivalent monthly line rental in one go (e.g. If you're on the £15/month tariff, and you've got 3 months of the contract left, you'd pay them 15x3= £45 and your contract would be terminated 3 months early).

Good luck!

kellanne78

Thank you for your advice.......i'll give that a go!!!
kind regards kellie x

macman

You won't be charged for a PAC. However if you terminate your account before you are out of contract, then you wil be charged for the balance owing to the original end of contract.

gjchester

macman wrote: »

You won't be charged for a PAC. However if you terminate your account before you are out of contract, then you wil be charged for the balance owing to the original end of contract.

Slight clarification of that should be ..

Although you will not be charged for the PAC, Company policy may be that they will choose not release it to you until you've paid that balance owning to the end of the contract.

big_bad_ben

macman wrote: »

You won't be charged for a PAC. However if you terminate your account before you are out of contract, then you wil be charged for the balance owing to the original end of contract.

Indeed, that's what I meant: If you call and get your PAC (for free) on the 22nd of October and hand it over to another phone provider on the 23rd of October, Orange will cancel your contract but they will still charge you line rental until the 22nd of November.

As gjchester said, I'm pretty sure that Orange won't give you PAC unless:

1) You're within 30 days of the end of your contract, or
2) You've paid off all the fixed costs of the contract (i.e. the line rental) in advance

Hope that helps!

macman

gjchester wrote: »

Slight clarification of that should be ..

Although you will not be charged for the PAC, Company policy may be that they will choose not release it to you until you've paid that balance owning to the end of the contract.

Correct.
What I was suggesting was that early termination is entirely pointless from a money-saving point of view.

gjchester

big_bad_ben wrote: »

Indeed, that's what I meant: If you call and get your PAC (for free) on the 22nd of October and hand it over to another phone provider on the 23rd of October, Orange will cancel your contract but they will still charge you line rental until the 22nd of November.

Minor point but calling and getting a PAC IS NOT a way to cancel a contract as such. If you get a PAC and don't use it in time then the port fails and your old contract continues on as before.

The Cancellation only happens once the number ports and you'll be generally charged 30 days notice after the port in lieu of notice.

kellanne78

:rotfl:
Thank you all for the tips!
Just got off the phone to orange and amazingly spoke to a very helpful man!
They have reduced my dolphin 35 tariff (35 pound) to 15 pound line rental, also taken off the £1.50 itemised billing and £5.00 a month for the internet that i never use!!!
So far so good!!!!:j
Next question is, if i call on the 22nd of october for the PAC number will they give it me over the phone or will they make me wait and post it? how will that work on the time limit i have to get it to o2 for my iphone?
have a good evening
k x

gjchester

kellanne78 wrote: »

:rotfl:
Thank you all for the tips!
Just got off the phone to orange and amazingly spoke to a very helpful man!
They have reduced my dolphin 35 tariff (35 pound) to 15 pound line rental, also taken off the £1.50 itemised billing and £5.00 a month for the internet that i never use!!!
So far so good!!!!:j
Next question is, if i call on the 22nd of october for the PAC number will they give it me over the phone or will they make me wait and post it? how will that work on the time limit i have to get it to o2 for my iphone?
have a good evening
k x

You may find in accepting the Orange deal you agreed to another 12 month contact. Probably worth clarifying that with Orange

Normally you would get a PAC then go phone shopping, that way if there is an issue you have just bought a 2nd phone you didn't need with a new number