Anyone else been caught out by the notice period when cancelling Orange?

DannyYoung_2

Glad I read this thread as thinking of leaving Orange.

Our Orange Braodband went down over 2 weeks ago, was told it woud take 48 hours to fix. 3 days later contacted Orange who told me that their line search on our service had crashed and they had not realised (if I had not called in they would never have checked). That it would take 5 days to fix that problem then another 5 days to fix our broadband. 12 days later and still waiting........

So here's one for you. If I cancel Orange on the basis that they are not providing any service who do I sit vis-a-vis the cancellation period?

Any advice on this and recommendations on a decent broadband provider eagerly awaited

syko29793

The simple way around this is to get your new isp to set the transfer date to 30 days from when you place your order.
30 days is then given and avoids extra charges.
You will have to ask your new isp as they default to earliest date.

CrabPaste

syko29793 wrote: »

The simple way around this is to get your new isp to set the transfer date to 30 days from when you place your order.
30 days is then given and avoids extra charges.
You will have to ask your new isp as they default to earliest date.

Your suggestion wouldn't work, because Mac Code's are valid for 30 days, then they expire and are useless.

Even if the new provider used the Mac Code on, lets say, day 29, you're no better off, because 30 days notice only begins when the new provider informs the old provider the Mac Code was used. All this would achieve is staying with the old provider for longer.

principa

I stumbled on this thread from google.

I transferred from Orange to the PO and have had exactly the same issue paying twice for 30 days after transferring providers.

Orange told me that this is standard practice across the industry. I await their refund next month as they billed me for the full month as my 30 days stretched into it.

The practice is anti-competitive and makes a mockery of residential broadband competition. One for OFCOM, I think, if only because the term and condition is not made clear to customers in transfer correspondence - "We will continue to charge you for your orange service 30 days after terminating it"

goodbye Orange !

CrabPaste

principa wrote: »

I stumbled on this thread from google.

I transferred from Orange to the PO and have had exactly the same issue paying twice for 30 days after transferring providers.

Orange told me that this is standard practice across the industry. I await their refund next month as they billed me for the full month as my 30 days stretched into it.

The practice is anti-competitive and makes a mockery of residential broadband competition. One for OFCOM, I think, if only because the term and condition is not made clear to customers in transfer correspondence - "We will continue to charge you for your orange service 30 days after terminating it"

goodbye Orange !

The agent explains this when you request a Mac Code. Even if they didn't (which they do, but people tend not to listen to everything that's said) the email and or letter explains the 30 day notice.

Not to mention......

http://help.orange.co.uk/orangeuk/support/selfservice/forwardrendererurl.jsp?DocId=236809

here’s how the MAC process works:

1. Contact us for your MAC:
call 0844 873 8586 (or 0844 871 0079 if you’re on our Home or Broadband Starter package). Lines are open 7am-11pm, 7 days a week (calls are charged at national rate and may be monitored for training purposes).
write to us: Customer Care, Orange, PO Box 486, Rotherham, S63 5ZX

2. We’ll then send you your MAC by letter or email within 5 working days.

3. Get in touch with your new service provider and give them your MAC. While they’re moving you across, you can carry on using your Orange broadband service as normal.

4. Your new service provider will contact us to let us know they’ve got the code.

5. We’ll then cancel your Orange broadband account, which will take 30 days from when your new broadband provider tells us you have used the MAC.

.....and

http://www.orange.co.uk/terms/5506.htm

21. Termination


21.1 In the event that your telephone account as referred to in Clause 16.2 is terminated or you change the services on the telephone line on which you currently use is unable to operate normally, we may terminate the Service on 30 days notice and you will be liable for the Charges that would otherwise have been payable during the remainder of the Minimum Period.

21.2 In order to transfer your Service to a different provider you need to request a MAC Code from us that you should give to your new broadband provider. You can request to receive the MAC Code by email or letter. We aim to provide the MAC Code to you within 5 working days of your contacting us. A MAC Code expires after 30 days of issue. We can only provide a new MAC Code once the previous one has expired. The request of a MAC Code does not immediately cancel your account.

21.3 When you terminate your Agreement and after the Minimum Period has expired the termination is subject to 30 days’ notice that will be applied to your account when the MAC Code is used. Further details about MAC Codes are available here.

21.4 If you terminate your Agreement and do not request and use a MAC Code we reserve the right to make a Charge which you agree to pay. This Charge will be to cover the cancellation fee that we must pay BT for disconnecting customers in this way. The amount of the Charge can be found at http://www.orange.co.uk/time/disconnection. Such a Charge will not be payable by you if you Move and have subscribed to our Service(s) at your New Home or if we are unable to provide the Service(s) at your New Home.


You can't deny that information, whether you bothered to read it or not, it's all there in the Terms of Use, that you legally agreed to.

principa

CrabPaste wrote: »

You can't deny that information, whether you bothered to read it or not, it's all there in the Terms of Use, that you legally agreed to.

I don't deny it is in the small print or that this information is given to you when requesting a transfer. However, the practice is underhand in sofar as the financial penalty for leaving is not explicitly stated as such.

Orange may as well have said "Sorry you are leaving, we don't value or want your business again"

punto123

**deleted **

mrtom21

CrabPaste wrote: »

Your suggestion wouldn't work, because Mac Code's are valid for 30 days, then they expire and are useless.

Even if the new provider used the Mac Code on, lets say, day 29, you're no better off, because 30 days notice only begins when the new provider informs the old provider the Mac Code was used. All this would achieve is staying with the old provider for longer.

Actually you can use a MAC code up until the 30 days. If you use the MAC code on day 30 the order still goes through. It doesn't have to be valid still for the whole order process it is just for placing the order it needs to be valid so you could get your new ISP to set the date for 30 days.

myxbox

Hi flier and peaches2472 , how have you found the post office broadband is it any good, as i am thinking of moving to them

CrabPaste

mrtom21 wrote: »

Actually you can use a MAC code up until the 30 days. If you use the MAC code on day 30 the order still goes through. It doesn't have to be valid still for the whole order process it is just for placing the order it needs to be valid so you could get your new ISP to set the date for 30 days.

Where exactly did I say you cant use a Mac Code on day 30??

I gave an analogy, which you've also quoted so must be fully aware of what I actually wrote, that used day 29 simply as an example, in response to the specific post that I quoted. Nowhere did I state or infer you cant use the Mac Code on day 30, did I?

What's the point of your post (?), directly quoting me, arguing something I haven't said.

The fact remains, in answer to my post (which you've misconstrued) 30 days notice begins on the date the new provider informs the old provider the Mac Code was used, regardless of when it was requested or when it expires.

The answer the poster gave (to which I quoted and replied to) would leave the customer paying for their broadband for longer, not save them time or money.