charges for 07744 simply-fone/merged

blinker

yep.

i posted somewhere else -- if u have 02 & t-mobile u can still use 0774497 4333 / 0774497 4363 / 0774497 3333

good luck!

Raz_1606

I just received my phone bill from Orange and they started to charge for 07744 numbers from April 6th, even though they did not put a warning message until April 15th.

I tried to reason with customer service but they are not willing to listen, what Orange are saying is that Simply Fone say 'that you may be charged' and that is what they are using to justify charging, so much for Orange customer service its a case of stuff you! no matter how long you have been a customer.

My question is can Orange use the warning from Simply fone to slap on a charge?

BargainHunter_2

Raz_1606 wrote:

I just received my phone bill from Orange and they started to charge for 07744 numbers from April 6th, even though they did not put a warning message until April 15th.

I tried to reason with customer service but they are not willing to listen, what Orange are saying is that Simply Fone say 'that you may be charged' and that is what they are using to justify charging, so much for Orange customer service its a case of stuff you! no matter how long you have been a customer.

My question is can Orange use the warning from Simply fone to slap on a charge?

Same story as above for me. The warning did not appear till 14th April I think ( please advise if I am wrong) and I am being billed for calls on the 9th April. Surely they should waive these- granted the loophole is now closed and cannot be used anymore but these calls were not being charged that we were aware of until the warning message was there

any comments out there??

lomna10

i am also one of the victims of orange. had been usin 07744 since january this year and was shocked to find in my recent bill that i have been charged for the calls from 6th April onwards , there was no warning as to its being changed to premium rate number until 10 April. After complaining to customer services i was told by a rude lady that i should be chrged for the previous calls made to 07744 no. prior to 6th April also .

benji_3

lomna10 wrote:

After complaining to customer services i was told by a rude lady that i should be chrged for the previous calls made to 07744 no. prior to 6th April also .

that's a damn cheek!!!

i only took out an extra orange contract BECAUSE!! i was getting 07744 included in my allowance of minutes!

now i wanna give back or change my contract to have more peak-time minutes included & they tell me to 'take a hike!'

Actually, if they had any sense they'd keep 07444 inmcluded in their plans allowance because I kow many students who took out contracts with orange for this BUT they not only used these minutes but used MANY, MANY MORE too ................. so Orange actually made lots of money outa us!

i believe most people i know in Uni don't use orange much any more cos they p....d off with that company.
(o2 & t-mobile are popular now in Uni as people are moving over to them now -- especially o2 as they have some very good plans and good recetion here. :T

carmenes82

I'm not sure whether this has been posted before, but I was stunned to get a response from OFCOM in just 24 hours, although less stunned at the reponse:


"Thank you for your recent email to Ofcom, in which you advise that Orange have been charging you a high rate for dialling 07744 number.

BT is the only telephone operator who is obliged to offer access to indirect access call resellers over its network.

Orange’s decision to charge you at a higher rate for calling the mobile number 07744 is purely a commercial decision of the company.

When you have made a mobile call via your call reseller, it is the reseller and not the mobile company that gets paid for this call. Orange will only receive a small interconnection payment for this type of call; this payment does not reflect the actual cost of carrying the call across its network. This charge does not apply if you are using the call reseller from a BT landline as they are obliged to offer access to these types of services, and the company for accessing them will charge no premium.

If you feel that Orange have not made information clear to you about their call plans and tariffs, I would suggest that you contact Orange to make a formal complaint by following their complaints procedure.

Ofcom does not become involved in settling disputes that consumers have with their service providers. Ofcom’s role is about encouraging the communications industry to take ownership in addressing and resolving these. If your dispute cannot be resolved then the service provider is obliged to belong to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme that residential or small business consumers can take their dispute to. This is an important piece of consumer protection as ADRs are free and independent services to use. Service providers must abide by an ADR’s decision.

Orange is a member of Communications & Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) for dispute resolution. A consumer can contact CISAS if their dispute has not been sorted out within 12 weeks by their service provider or their service provider sends them a ‘deadlock’ letter saying for example that they have given their final position. CISAS can be contacted at CISAS, c/o Dispute Resolution Services, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 12 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2LP: Phone 020 7421 7444. Website: https://www.arbitrators.org/cisas

You are not bound by the decision of the ADR scheme. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your dispute, then you are free to consider legal action against your service provider.

Yours sincerely





Belinda Toussaint
Ofcom Contact Centre"


Another case of OFCOM being hopeless or do they have a genuine point?

Car.

michaels

It would be better if ofcom did not quote the number as a mobile number on their website.
Plus what is the difference to orange between 3 charging orange 25p a minute and poceting it all and simply-fone charging orange 25p a minute, pocketing some and using the rest to pay for the 'forwarded' part of the call

michaels

For those charged after the 6th - I called orange on about the 12th? and was assured by the operator that I would not be charged - I asked for a note to this affect to be put onto my account - unfortunately I don't have an email or anything to this effect otherwie I would share

Raz_1606

My disgust with Orange has been their approach in customer service, it would seem that they are happy with a heavy handed approach and are not interested at all in trying to keep customers happy, so much for their current advertising campaign.

When I phoned Orange, my complaint to them was that their message stating that 07744 numbers were premium numbers did not appear until I used my phone on April15th. When the message appeared it allowed me as a consumer to terminate the call, i.e. I was able to make an informed decision, prior to the message I was under the impression that the costs were covered by my cross network minutes (as viewed on previous bills). Rather than taking on board the points that I had made the operator went straight forth to threaten me that previous calls should have been billed, i.e. hedging his bets that I would stop complaining with this veiled threat. After further discussions it was clear that he was unwilling to budge from his stance and I was wasting my time complaining.

I don’t know if there is an equivalent to the Razzie awards but if there is one for customer service then I vote for Orange to be given the award for Company with worst approach to customer service.

seaniboy

michaels wrote:

It would be better if ofcom did not quote the number as a mobile number on their website

indeed, regardless of what the number offers (excluding data calls) Ofcom state its a mobile number, and thus it should be from your inclusive minutes!

Complain to the body Ofcom state in the above email, Orange may have the right stop you using another telco from a short code, but from a regulatory body(Ofcom) stating this is a mobile number its not on really is it!