ORANGE - I gave 30 days notice but they still bill me?

big_gus

Guys, I'm hoping someone can help. I was on an 18-month Dolphin contract with Orange, which expired on September 15. So on August 15th I rang up and gave 30 days notice and informed them I wouldn't be renewing the contract.

The lady seemed fine, gave me a PAC number, said it needed to be used within 30 days or it wouldn't be valid (or something).

Anyway, I haven't arranged a new mobile yet (waiting for the i-phone to become available on Orange and other networks when the exclusive O2 deal runs out next month - as it will be cheaper).... and have been waiting for Orange to just cut me off. They didn't, however, and I forgot about it. I noticed the direct debit continued to come out of my account at the end of Sept...(despite contract ending) and so cancelled DD and stopped using phone. I kept an eye on my phone, expecting it to die, or to come up with a message saying NO EXTERNAL CALLS or something to indicate the contract had ended.

The phone STILL works today (Oct 12) and they have written saying why have I cancelled direct debit and I still owe for October.... even though I gave 30 days notice to end the contract when the 18 months ran out on Sept 15?????

Please help.... for what its worth, I may end up staying with Orange when they get the iphone (supposed to be in Nov or Dec).... however, I can't be certain as it all depends on their tariff, obviously.

What do I do about this Orange deal/non deal?

Thanks for any help,
Gus

Jon_01

If you ask for your pac but don't use it, your contract continues. The contract only end when the pac is actioned by the network you move to.

You either ask for pac to move to another network OR cancel your contract.

baldelectrician

You either cancel and give 30 days notice or you ask for a PAC code and use it.

If they cancel your account without you moving to another network you will lose your number.

To make sure you cancel call them up again and get a PAC code and use it.
You can transfer your number away on to a pay as you go SIM and transfer it back when you get your new contract.

This is why you were told you had 30 days to use the PAC code.

big_gus

As I said, I CANCELLED the contract and gave 30 days notice, 30 days before the 18-month deal ended.

I didn't use the PAC and as far as Orange are concerned I no longer have the use for a mobile phone.

So why hasn't the contract ended?

mrochester

big_gus wrote: »

As I said, I CANCELLED the contract and gave 30 days notice, 30 days before the 18-month deal ended.

I didn't use the PAC and as far as Orange are concerned I no longer have the use for a mobile phone.

So why hasn't the contract ended?

If you outright cancelled the contract, you wouldn't get a PAC. If you get a PAC, you have to use it to terminate the contract. If you don't use it, the contract continues. You can't have a cancelled contract and a PAC at the same time. Since you asked for a PAC, the contract would have cancelled when that PAC was used, within the 30 days that it is valid. Since you didn't use it, the contract continues as normal.

big_gus

Thanks for the replies - and I feel heartily stitched up if that's the case. I never asked for the PAC, the lady offered it to me and I just shrugged and said yeah, ok. She didn't at any point suggest it would affect the fact I'd just cancelled my contract.

Does this mean I'm now on another 18-month deal without knowing?? What happens when I cancel now? If I can just cancel, then I suppose no harm done..... as long as I've not been led into a new lengthy deal?

Thanks for the help...

mrochester

big_gus wrote: »

Thanks for the replies - and I feel heartily stitched up if that's the case. I never asked for the PAC, the lady offered it to me and I just shrugged and said yeah, ok. She didn't at any point suggest it would affect the fact I'd just cancelled my contract.

Does this mean I'm now on another 18-month deal without knowing?? What happens when I cancel now? If I can just cancel, then I suppose no harm done..... as long as I've not been led into a new lengthy deal?

Thanks for the help...

Yes, it should have been explained to you that by getting the PAC the contract is only terminated when the PAC is used. You're on a rolling 1 month contract now, and would either have to give another 30 days notice to cancel completely, or get another PAC and use it within the 30 days.

baldelectrician

you can cancel any time as you have to give 30 days notice

you will probably be on a 30 day rolling contract

Fork86

You can't cancel a contract over the phone. You have to write in and give your 30 days cancellation notice.

You were given a PAC code which you had to use within 30 days to port your number to another mobile network and thus automatically cancel yours existing connection.

If you don't use the PAC code, your contract will roll over for another 30 days.

If you are just waiting till Orange/Vodafone start offering deals on the Iphone, I suggest you order another PAC code and transfer your number onto a free PayG sim (t-mobile, 02, Orange all seem to be giving these away). Note though, you can only transfer your number AWAY from your existing network.

Once you find a good deal, use another PAC code to transfer your number again onto that deal.

Andyblizz

Or you can just ask for your contract to be turned in to PAYG.

That way you can continue to use your present phone and number until you decide on which network provider to use for the iPhone.

Regards

Andy