Orange say I can't give notice yet

boliston

I have had a Blackberry on an 18 month contract which ends on 22/8/10.

As I don't use the phone anymore I have just called them to say that I want to end my contract on that date (to prevent it rolling over for another month).

They are now telling me that I cannot ring them until 22/7/10, which is another 10 days.

I tried to explain to them that I am calling them now because on 22/7/10 I might be busy and not have time to call them, especially as there is often a long queue to get through to them.

I get the feeling that I'm being fobbed off as by calling them today I am giving them sufficient notice in order to legally end the contract on the correct date. I suspect that they do this in the hope that customers will forget to call on the exact 1 month date and then they get rolled into another month of a contract they do not want.

robt_2

You can end the contract with 30 days notice right? It isn't 30 days yet.

It is not there problem you 'might be busy' on the 22nd.

boliston

robt wrote: »

You can end the contract with 30 days notice right? It isn't 30 days yet.

It is not there problem you 'might be busy' on the 22nd.

I'm pretty sure that "30 days notice" is the MINIMUM notice that they legally require rather than the maximum.

For example if I'm renting a flat I will normally be required to give "30 days notice" to leave, but usually it's possible to give notice a few days before the actual 30 day deadline has arrived.

Also lets say I decided to write rather than phone my notice. What happens if the letter arrived on 21/7/10 instead of 22/7/10, would they send the letter back saying "sorry you are a day early"?

Tony5101

The OP's minimum term of contract expires on the 22/8/10 - and in order to cancel completely, the service provider requires 30 days notice - therefore notice will be accepted 30 days prior to the end of the minimum term. your 30 days can be given at any time after the 22/7/10 - just not before.
It's quite simple, and doesn't need to be any more complicated than making a quick call to cancel on 22/7/10.

NJW69

I wrote to them to cancel a contract I have, after about three weeks I received a reply saying that my letter was unsigned and therefore under the DPA they couldn't cancel my contract.

I need to write back to them again but haven't done it yet which means I have rolled over into another month.

Lynsey

boliston wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that "30 days notice" is the MINIMUM notice that they legally require rather than the maximum.

I believe that as well, it's a minimum of 30 days notice - you can give your notice to quit anytime before that, even on day one of your contract.
I had a similar problem once and had to escalate it to a supervisor - sorted straight away once pointed out it was indeed a MINIMUM of 30 days.

Lynsey

mobilejunkie

You were fortunate; I recently spent hours (dozens of them) trying to do just that with a T-Mobile contract. They are a complete nightmare and absolutely refuse to a) take more than 30 days' notice or b) let you speak with a manger (as they're supposed to). After a formal complaint (they ignored several by phone) the person dealing with it finally called, made lots of promises which they immediately failed to keep (ANY of them) so it all started again. They are actually worse than Vodafone - and THAT takes some doing!!!

Lynsey

I'm surprised at you MJ, but the simple way would be to put it in writing, recorded. Contacting the right person does obviously help and if you need an "on the ground contact" for T-Mobile, I can pass on a good one. The normal ploy is to inform you they will get will get a manager to call you back within two hours - they don't understand fully how long two hours is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regarding Orange though, they have been pretty good..................so far. Any problems just ask to be put through to the escalations dept.

Lynsey

mobilejunkie

I didn't have any problems cancelling an Orange contract. With T-Mobile, it's not just the two hours they don't "understand", but the concept of returning or call in the first place - even when they have a so-called customer charter (which they ignore!). After several months I also now have what appears to be a reliable contact in T-mobile; but I remain completely unimpressed with them. Like many large organisations nowadays it appears they don't value their existing customers in the least!

It's good to surprise now and then!!

david39

To see what is required to give notice, you need to read your T&Cs.

It's no good guessing what's in there - you are bound by the terms when you signed the contract.

Does it say MINIMUM 30 days notice or just 30 days notice. If the latter then you need to make sure you follow those instructions.