Are Orange breaching contract? Help please!

doughtypam

Hi folks,

Hopefully someone out there can help me with this little problem I'm having with Orange.

I've been the long term user of a mobile phone and have been a 3rd party to the contract for many years, although I have not been the contract holder.

Recently, on 19th January, a request was made for the contract to be transferred over into my name. The contract was transferred on 22nd January.

Once the contract had transferred, Orange brought it to my attention that I was due for an upgrade and had been since 19th January (the day the transfer request was made) as the contract expires in April.

I have also been told by Orange that as the contract has transferred, I have lost over 12 years of customer loyalty with them. Apparently this (the benefits) doesn't transfer with the contract, only the detriments do, even though I have never been told this and I can't find it in the T&C's.

Is this right as it seems extremely unfair? Or should the rights and benefits of the contract pass to me as well as the liability and detriments?

Hopefully someone can help me as I've got nowhere with Orange on this one.

Thanks

OneADay

Loyalty - well thats at their discretion and nothing to do with t&c.

doughtypam

Thanks for the reply OneADay

Ah ok. I just assumed that as it had been a consideration when dealing with previous years upgrades on the contract, then the loyalty would still be a part of the contract when I took it over. Accrued benefits and all that.

I don't know! Well, seeing as they don't recognise me as a loyaly customer for the past 12 years, I'm feeling like my loyalty was misspent. Seems things don't work both ways with these companies.

drbesty

If it isnt in the T&Cs of the contract then which part of the contract are they breaching? It does seem unfair, did you speak to a team manager about it?

lufcgirl

Hi,

What you were advised was exactly right. As in effect the only things that transfer is the phone number and contract dates then any loyalty under the previous persons name is lost with their details.

Give it three months to build up some history and you'll be able to upgrade and get some loyalty. The positive thing I can see is that if your contract ends in April and if you upgraded now you'd have had the extra three months added to the end of the new one. Least that won't happen now! And there may be newer and better phones by April too!

doughtypam

The part I meant about not being in the T&C's was that the contract would change and benefits wouldn't pass when a contract was transferred. Isn't the loyalty an accrued benefit that becomes part of the contract and which would still be there had the contract not been transferred to me? And if this is so, shouldn't all accrued rights and benefits pass with a contract, along with any detriments? Or am I mistaken?

I couldn't manage to get through to a team manager, I was told by a helpful customer service person that 'I'd only be wasting there time and would be put back onto them'. They simply refused to put me onto one so I ended up hanging up.

As I say, the contract ends in April, so if I can't get anything sorted by then I'll just have to leave them. The worst thing is they don't seem that bothered! Whatever happened to keeping customers happy?

doughtypam

Thanks lufcgirl and drbesty.... seems i've lost that 12 years of loyalty then

If only I had have known (or they'd have told me) I'd have upgraded before transferring the contract. Ah well, lesson learned! Thanks for your help

OneADay

What sort of benefits are you getting at the moment which would disappear - that would help to know if the loyalty thing is worth it.

doughtypam

Hi OneADay.
The benefits were basically every time previously when I had upgraded, they had been able to offer me a better tarriff and a free phone - good deals as well. This time I was told that they couldn't offer me any improved tarriffs and that I would have to pay for any new phone. No incentive for me to stay me thinks.

OneADay

So how much are you paying per month and what do you get?. If you shop around there are lots of good deals to be had at the moment. Even on orange itself you could end up paying less than now with better add ons and free phone.

If you go down the path of a new deal with orange via a retailer - just have to be vary that keeping number means porting out the number and back in.

doughtypam

I pay £25 a month for 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet usage with free Orange Care.

They said I can't have free Orange Care anymore, so it'd go upto £30 a month and I'm in need of a new phone as mine has seen better days, so I'd also have to pay for that.

Porting the number sounds like a good idea and I've been reading on the forum there seems to be a lot of good deals for outside companies like Phones4u and Carphone Warehouse, so may give them a try.