Orange Mobile, Obscene Bill

DarkConvict

MarsdenCuckoo wrote: »

Good luck but think asking to pay it in instalments is about your best option. In my experience, Orange are not open to writing off any unexpected bills.

A while ago an old handset of mine went to an auction (overseas) - inadvertently with a SIM card in place. Resulted in a bill over £600 for one month's useage. SIM hadn't been used for years (when I got the bill I didn't even recognise the number until they reminded me it was a SIM I'd ordered quite a few years previously for emergency use for my child - up until then the highest bill (4/5 years previously) had been £20 a month. I tried to argue that Orange had a duty of care for unusual useage but they would have none of it. They wouldn't even have their Fraud Dept. look into it. :mad: Their answer was that I'd signed for responsibility and the fact that I'd forgotten to cancel it was my problem.... Strictly speaking, I guess, they were right but in this computerised age then maybe not.....

After 6 months they tend to disable your sim if you have not used or topped it up.

Jemma-T

coolcustomer2010 wrote: »

Beware to all mobile phone internet users,
Dont use your mobile phones internet abroad...
I used my iphone internet in Canada for a few minutes and have been landed with a bill for £1,551.83!!!!!
I cant pay it, and I wont pay it as I dont beleive its my fault.
before I travelled I contacted Orange for price charges in Canada, I was told I would recieve this by text message, In the one message i recieved It said prices "warning could be substantial", there was no prices.
So I thought to myself...substantial ok, £100.00 maybe £200? but who would have thought nearly £1.600.00????
Orange Says "pay it or else they will send collections officers to my home"
all they have done is offer a payment plan of £90.00 per month, which I cannot afford with 4 small kids.
The actual cost of telephone calls is only £79.00.
VAT, Line rental etc and internet at £8.00 per Megabyte = £1551.83!!!
Orange have barred my phone, cancelled my iphone insurance, and I am stuck with them untill my contract runs out in 2 years!!!!
who knows when I will use my iphone again??
Orange have mugged me!!
I will Never ever ever will sign a contract again especially with Orange

I would like Help/Advice who to complain to / Should I pay?? What to do about this matter...

Show us some evidence of these charges.

M4RKM

There is a setting on an iPhone that says - Roaming Data, and a slidey switch, saying on / off..

It is DEFAULTED to off, and underneath it states, Turn data roaming off when abroad to avoid substantial roaming charges when using email, web browsing and other data services.

You must slide the switch to ON, if you want to use the internet while abroad, so I think the naiivety isn't washing with me.

You state you got an text saying it was substantial, but didn't investigate further. You state that you've only just signed up for the contract, but didn't investigate out of package charges further.

I've just been on the Orange website for less than 5 minutes, and pulled up the documents that state my charges for using a phone abroad, and it clearly states that GPRS, EDGE or 3G Data will be charged at £8 per MB.

£200 is not substantial by any stretch of my imagination when you are talking about mobile phones, data, and using them abroad. You are not the first, and won't be the last with a very large bill.

I've tested, how much I use my iPhone when abroad, and over 2 separate weeks it has worked out to be about 75mb per week. With o2 this is £6 per mb, and would have cost me £450, and Orange £600, this is extortinate charges, especially when I can use a local sim from a local provider (In this case AT&T), and pay $20 for 100mb data.

There is a lot to say about doing a bit of research, Orange said they would send a text, and they did, giving you the words - warning - substantial, but you didn't heed this, and you didn't research any more when the text didn't have any more information in it.

The only avenue of complaint is that you were told you'd get a text with prices on, and you got a text telling you it'd be bluddy expensive, which you ignored. It's a hard one to call whether you can actually complain, because you basically ignored warnings from your Mobile Operator.

M

macman

markymoo wrote: »

There is a setting on an iPhone that says - Roaming Data, and a slidey switch, saying on / off..

It is DEFAULTED to off, and underneath it states, Turn data roaming off when abroad to avoid substantial roaming charges when using email, web browsing and other data services.

You must slide the switch to ON, if you want to use the internet while abroad, so I think the naiivety isn't washing with me.

You state you got an text saying it was substantial, but didn't investigate further. You state that you've only just signed up for the contract, but didn't investigate out of package charges further.

I've just been on the Orange website for less than 5 minutes, and pulled up the documents that state my charges for using a phone abroad, and it clearly states that GPRS, EDGE or 3G Data will be charged at £8 per MB.

£200 is not substantial by any stretch of my imagination when you are talking about mobile phones, data, and using them abroad. You are not the first, and won't be the last with a very large bill.

I've tested, how much I use my iPhone when abroad, and over 2 separate weeks it has worked out to be about 75mb per week. With o2 this is £6 per mb, and would have cost me £450, and Orange £600, this is extortinate charges, especially when I can use a local sim from a local provider (In this case AT&T), and pay $20 for 100mb data.

There is a lot to say about doing a bit of research, Orange said they would send a text, and they did, giving you the words - warning - substantial, but you didn't heed this, and you didn't research any more when the text didn't have any more information in it.

The only avenue of complaint is that you were told you'd get a text with prices on, and you got a text telling you it'd be bluddy expensive, which you ignored. It's a hard one to call whether you can actually complain, because you basically ignored warnings from your Mobile Operator.

M

Which indicates that the OP has done rather more than 'just a few minutes internet', if 194MB has been billed.

gjchester

watcherman wrote: »

Just profiteering on their part, I am sure if they were liable, like the credit card companies, they would have something in place to detect out of pattern usage :mad:

Not really, billing is not instant, the OP coiuld have used that upo in a day (we don't know how it was runup) and Orange not sent the billin info until the next night.

If you don't like the charges don't use the service

in_the_Cotswolds

Do Orange not do an International Roaming package. I had the same problem last year. Went to Norway last March for 9 days and wanted to take my BlackBerry. O2 do a BlackBerry international roaming package. In Norway I left the data on, called home, sent texts and was on MSN for about one hour. My bill for the month was a total off I think £79. The MSN part was £18. My next months bill was my usual £35.

Jon_01

Not even profiteering on Orange's side. The costs are from the network roamed on not the home network. So its the network in Canada that are passing the cost on to Orange.

pelirocco

you always get a warning when you are abroad ,it specifically states it will cost you a fortune ( words to that effect) if you choose to use it

dolphinstwins

mrcamp wrote: »

It sounds like you were using an iphone or another smartphone that silently uses data, such is pushing mail, etc. Like others said, talk to someone there and see if they will reduce it somewhat or lat you pay it in installments.

That was my initial thought - but I don't have an iphone so wouldn't have a clue (I don't even know how to check these options on my Omnia ii! lol - despite searching)

As per other posters, you may not get much in the way of disputing the bills based on 'not knowing' (regardless of whether you did or not)

Depending on how you used it I personally would've tackled them on the lack (?) of notification of 'hey dude your bill has topped £500 we'll limit your service' - only saying this because my Gran a number of years ago was in Europe when my Aunt went into hospital unexpectedly whilst on holiday in the Maldives herself. - she ran up a £300 bill within a couple of days and Orange called her to advise of the high value of calls notched up...

A £grand bill is stupidly expensive...

An alternative - providing they've not physically blocked the phone from use (as they would for a stolen handset rendering it unsuable) you could get a PAYG sim perhaps to tide you over in the meantime (if the phone is locked to Orange you may need to get it unlocked)

I hope you can get it sorted mate - I'd be sick as a dog with a bill like that.
*Pats gently

drbesty

Orange have millions of accounts, they can't monitor them all, especially with international data charges becasue the charges are not passed on from the originating network immediately, it can take a few days. Pleading ignorance won't work either, the OP was warned that the charges would be 'substantial'.

Orange can't block the phone itself, they can only block the sim and the account