Orange broadband confusion

morrit

Back in 2007 my girlfriend took out an 18 month contract with Orange. We had an orange broadband account in my name. After she took out this mobile account (therabouts) we stopped receiving bills from orange but continued to have a broadband service. About a month ago they contacted me telling me that I owed them a lot of money and subsequently cut us off. A few days later a letter landed on my mat saying the account in my name was closed and I owed them £365 odd.

I contacted them and they claim to have emailed me and tried contacting me by telephone to talk about the money that I owed. Now, I'm of the opinion that I don't owe them as much as they say, that there has been some confusion regarding free broadband for my girlfrined who lives with me, the fact that we have had uninterrupted broadband for over 2 years.

I was assuming that due to there being no bills and we wern;t being cut off, that this was the free broadband for my girlfrined.

I am more than happy to pay for the amount owed, no problem at all, but only if it;s correct, and I can't afford to pay it in one go. I asked for a repayment scheme and they denied my request, but looking through the internet, surely they can't bill me for things that are over 12 months old, or is that just utilities?
I'm very confused as the girl I was speaking to was getting very flustered and angry with me having to repeat herself and I was getting more and more confused and annoyed with how the amount accrued without being notified. to add to the confusion they have no record of the dates when they tried to contact me.

So... in a nutshell, my question is this - Do I wait for debt collectors to contact me to arrange a repayment scheme or shall I tell them that the bill is in dispute? Orange say have allegedly tried ringing me 7 times in 2 years to talk about this with numerous letters, all of which they have no dates, but in all this time they didn;t cut me off. I'm saying I've not had any letters or phonecalls (which I haven't) and I reiterate, that if I owe them money I am more than happy to pay, just not in one go. I'm not trying to find a loophole I just want to pay exactly what I owe, and have my broadband back, because I find Orange the best ISP...

I've had money problems in the past but I'm trying to get myself debt free, last mnonth I paid over £6,000 to clear my debts and then this happens... It's so infuriating.

macman

They can pursue the debt for up to 6 years after it is due. 12 months applies to gas and electrcity accounts, whereby they can only back-bill you for a year if they have failed to bill at all.

Orange_Company_Representative

Hi there, I work for Orange and might be able to help.

Please send an email to [EMAIL="customer.services@orange.co.uk"]customer.services@orange.co.uk[/EMAIL], including your personal contact details and username from this site, and I will give you a call to discuss.

In order that your email is forwarded to me quickly, please add "Jonathan Orange Response" in the subject field and also in the first line of your mail.

Kind regards,

Jonathan
Orange Response Team

morrit

Hi Jonathan

Have just sent the email and hopefully speak to you soon!

Cheers

morrit

Quick update

Thankyou to Johnathan for sorting this out, goes to show what someone who actually cares can really do, Orange have reduced bill significantly and it is now paid off for the correct amount

Dare I mention the next battle I have with carphone warehouse......and Orange

Orange_Company_Representative

Hi morrit,

Thanks for getting in touch as advised. Happy we could help! If you need anything else please feel free to drop me a line.

Jonathan