Orange Price changes ?

love_my_2_boys

Doobdonk wrote: »

I got nowhere with the calls other than directed to ofcom, so was given the address to write to the compliance team.

I promptly wrote a letter, printed ready to post (postal strike today) but i also emailed it word for word to the CEO office.

They have since rung me, asking if they could phone, email and write to me their response once the legal team has evaluated the case.

Incidentally i have never exceeded my minutes and am 5 months into a 24 month contract.

I was impressed they called within 2 hours of receipt, and the CEO dept are much more friendly than retentions.

Do you have the e-mail address there?

AgentGibbs

Also what have people written in their letters? Just a bullet point on each paragraph would be helpful!

Joe1682

I rung up friday and spoke to 1 advisor, the sales manager (who was coky and made a note on my file which I should thank him for now!) and someone else. They said I couldn't cancel and marked my file.

Basically you just have to do it in this order :

Ring Ofcom > 0207 981 3040 > Tell them about the changes in T&C and they'll say no company can alter there contract by more than 10% or something and that Orange cannot predict if you'll go over your minutes in the future (if they fobbed you off with the "you aint never gone over so it wont effect you") so they are going against the contract you signed when you started it. They'll give you orange's CEO number which is : 0800 0790 134.

When you ring them up, they'll ask if you have rung the sales department to see if you're eligible to cancel. Tell them you have and then they'll ask for your ofcom refrence (Make sure they know you have rung ofcom, made a complaint and know your rights, I think I ended up mentioning the 10% thingy to which she didn't reply) She put me on hold and came back conveniently saying that I was "misadvised" on friday and that I DID ring a few 0845 numbers (Which is bs lol as i dont think I did, maybe just answer phone?) and i'm eligible to cancel which I did.

She said she has posted my new PAC code (I didn'teven ask/make sure you get if they said you've just been cancelled!) which will arrive in 2-3 days and that when I give that to my new service provider the contract with Orange cancels (you have 30 days to register your new PAC number until it gets cancelled/lost)

Hope this helps anyone with trouble. Do it asap though before Orange find another way to wiggle out. No matter what you get told, YOU CAN CANCEL!

Ringing up OFCOM was really helpful and gave me a number to go to as well if orange refused, a number to call after you wrote a letter. Just hope you get a nice orange advisor called Linda! Also just mention to them that one way or the other you WILL get out this contract so to safe time can they just do it now!

cifpower

Well that was very simple and pain free. Rang up and said, "I'm ringing about the text I received about the change in call charges and I would like to exercise my right to cancel the contract." She doodled about on her computer for a minute or two and it resulted in a PAC code being sent out. Yay!

marknbrandon

I just spoke to OFCOM and seemed to get a different story from them.

The lady i spoke to in OFCOM said that the company can increase the cost of calls legally as long as the cost per month was not in excess of 10% per month.

To me this sounds really stupid, because what is to stop orange increasing the cost by 9% each and every month?

According to what OFCOM said, this would be within their legal rights.

Everyone seems to be getting a different message here now and it is getting very confusing.

Orange are wrong, we can all see they are wrong and they have even agreed they are wrong by cancelling contracts.

Why should it matter if in the last 3 months i have not gone over my limit?

Can the predict the future? They must be able to if they know this will not affect me!

If i called them back and asked for the winning lottery tickets for the next 3 months - do you think they will be as certain about that?

Joe1682

marknbrandon wrote: »

I just spoke to OFCOM and seemed to get a different story from them.

The lady i spoke to in OFCOM said that the company can increase the cost of calls legally as long as the cost per month was not in excess of 10% per month.

To me this sounds really stupid, because what is to stop orange increasing the cost by 9% each and every month?

According to what OFCOM said, this would be within their legal rights.

Everyone seems to be getting a different message here now and it is getting very confusing.

Orange are wrong, we can all see they are wrong and they have even agreed they are wrong by cancelling contracts.

Why should it matter if in the last 3 months i have not gone over my limit?

Can the predict the future? They must be able to if they know this will not affect me!

If i called them back and asked for the winning lottery tickets for the next 3 months - do you think they will be as certain about that?

Hmm, I'd re-ring ofcom. The advisor i spoke to was adamanet orange was in the WRONG on this new change to contract. Maybe that advisor was not one familiar with the new contract change orange has brought out.

eaglesrest

When I called Orange on this subject, the CSA asked me "Do you want to cancel". I replied "I'd like to transfer my number and cancel with no penalty to me". He replied absolutely, your PACs in the post. It's arrived, I bought an iPhone on O2 and number transfers tomorrow.

What is a little worrying, perhaps unneccessarily, is the statement that comes with the PAC letter about your final bill: "If you have asked to port during your contract, you will be charged for the remainder of your agreement period and any outstanding balances "Port Out Termination". Standard text, call me paranoid but until I get that final bill showing no further charges I'll not be 100% convinced.

In reality the only proof I have that they agreed to release me from my contract early is a telephone call with a CSA.

Anyone had their final bill yet?

Doobdonk

love_my_2_boys wrote: »

Do you have the e-mail address there?

[EMAIL="compliance@orange-ftgroup.com"]compliance@orange-ftgroup.com[/EMAIL]


I can't help but think that the outcome of this will be that Orange will pull any changes to their t&cs

Joe1682

customer.servicesATorange.co.uk (AT = @) You send emails to there and here is a template email people have been sending (obviously change to your stuff where nes) :

Dear Sir/Madam,
At 19:21 on 7th August 2009 I received a text message stating that Orange were altering pricing structures for calls that are not included in my plan.
This is an alteration to a contract which I signed and agreed on 26th June 2009.
In the terms and conditions of the contract to which I agreed, the contract clearly states:

“4.3 You may also terminate your Contract if we vary its terms, resulting in an excessive increase in the Charges or changes that alter your rights under this Contract to your detriment. In such cases you would need to give us at least 14 days written notice prior to your Billing Date (and within one month of us telling you about the changes). However this option does not apply if:
“4.3.1 we have increased the Charges by an amount equal to or less than the percentage increase in the All Items Index of Retail Prices published by the Central Statistical Office in the Monthly Digest of Statistics in any 12 month period.”

As a result of the contract alteration (varying of terms) by Orange, I made contact with Orange customer services three separate times around approximately 09:15 on 8th August 2009 to begin the process of cancelling the contract since I do not agree to the new contract terms and conditions.
I was advised by at least three separate Orange representatives that I was not “eligible” to cancel as I was not exceeding my plan minutes. However, as stated in the text message sent by Orange:

“Hi from Orange. From 14 September we’ll be changing the cost of some calls that are not included in your plan. See (this site wouldnt let me send the url :S)

This message clearly states that the alterations Orange are making are outside of my plan, therefore I am affected and therefore I have a legal right, under the terms and conditions of the contract, to cancel.
My requests to cancel the contract were repeatedly ignored by telephone and I was categorically told in the rudest possible manner that my contract would not be cancelled because I was not “eligible”. Orange is in breach of the contract’s terms and conditions and is not abiding by a request to cancel the contract without penalty buy-out clauses.
I am notifying Orange as requested in writing, stating my disagreement with the alterations to the contract terms and conditions and, under the terms and condition of the contract, request that the contract is cancelled immediately with no penalties and a Porting Authorisation Code (PAC) be forwarded to allow me to transfer my telephone number. I expect this to take no longer than seven days.
If I do not receive any response within seven days, I will raise my complaint directly with Ofcom for them to deal with on my behalf.
Regards
Lewis Roberts

marty1888

Just got my text through this minute.

Not sure whether Im going to leave or not but may ring to see what the story is and if possible blag a bill reduction and some more free texts!