Why should PAYG Orange customers pay to call customer services?

student100

DonnyDave wrote:

If the free-phone numbers don't work, as I said before, it would be cheaper to phone from a landline. If you register with 1899 you can call them for 10p/min with a 3p connection fee.

You can use the likes of Telesavers/Telestunt etc. to call UK mobiles for 10p/min without registering. (just dial the 0871 access number)

andy88_2

almahadeus wrote:

I was out when my credit ran out, not near computer.

I'd like to see Orange's written apology for this glaring oversight in the design of their systems ...

almahadeus

andy88 wrote:

Now we see that you had a way of calling Orange for free all along. Either call 150 for free or 07973100450 from included minutes and ask to discuss your phone.

Offer withdrawn

The fact that my husband has an orange contract phone is beside the point because I shouldn't have to use his phone- and in any case he was out (with his mobile) when I needed to call them.

Offer wasn't withdrawn, I rejected it.

almahadeus

student100 wrote:

You can use the likes of Telesavers/Telestunt etc. to call UK mobiles for 10p/min without registering. (just dial the 0871 access number)

I already have 1899. Still costs money to call CS though.

almahadeus

andy88 wrote:

I'd like to see Orange's written apology for this glaring oversight in the design of their systems ...

Being sarcastic just shows you have no real answer to my point that CUSTOMER SERVICES SHOULD BE FREE, wherever you are and whichever network you are calling and whichever phone you are calling from. And if they had a free CS number I would have been able to call them to top up with my debit card while I was out, not wait to travel 40 miles back home to use my landline. Phone boxes and computers don't exist in the countryside.

student100

Ok, so it comes down to this: life sucks. Companies won't give you anything for free, even if you think it should be free. You pay for it one way or another. You won't get free first class customer service if you only pay for their "economy" package (PAYG is ultimately less lucrative for phone companies than contract services, so they will inevitably treat PAYG customers less kindly).

The solutions to this have already be mentioned in this thread: switch to a different network (which still may charge PAYG customers for CS calls, but it might be cheaper (e.g. Virgin charges a 10p flat rate)), or upgrade to a contract which does provide free CS (or use one of the several workarounds suggested). I guess you don't want to do either of these for one reason or another (probably because ultimately they may cost you more). In which case you have obviously decided that you are better off where you are. Yes, you may like Orange to give you something extra for nothing, but it aint going to happen (just as I would like Sainsburys to give me food for free). You can moan about it till the cows come home, it won't make any difference.

As the saying goes, you pay your money, you make your choice.

andy88_2

almahadeus wrote:

Being sarcastic just shows you have no real answer to my point that CUSTOMER SERVICES SHOULD BE FREE, wherever you are and whichever network you are calling and whichever phone you are calling from. And if they had a free CS number I would have been able to call them to top up with my debit card while I was out, not wait to travel 40 miles back home to use my landline. Phone boxes and computers don't exist in the countryside.

If you plan your day more effectively, you wouldn't be blaming us for your oversight. If your credit was already low, why didn't you use your husband's phone to top it up, or at least update the card detail so the automatic free system would work again, the evening before? If you make so many calls in a day that it's hard to keep track, why not top up with a huge sum that will last a while? Why not go back to a contract? Why is all of this the fault of Orange? Guess what - another idea - you can set up a direct debit that will make a regular monthly credit to your account

You've rejected any number of patiently set out helpful suggestions. You're conducting an argument with everybody that answers. Twice derrick suggested an 0800 number that was not secret; but you knocked him down. Others suggested cheaper ways - no! Why doesn't Orange have free customer service phone calls? So they don't have to spend 2 hours a week maybe cross-network (£££'s a week) hearing your abusive and intransigent whingeing. I should think they've been over-polite in the circumstances. No I don't have a real answer that you keep asking for. It's not my responsibility.

andy88_2

almahadeus wrote:

... service for PAYG customers is absolutely rubbish (or non existent). One example: my credit ran out yesterday and I wanted to top up my account using my debit card. Simple you might think? Wrong. Following the introduction of the new chip and pin cards I was sent a new debit card and so these details did not match the ones on Orange's system and so I couldn't do the top-up on their free automated system.

Seeing as you keep blaming Orange for everything, just ask yourself how they could possibly have known that you had a new card (did it really have different numbers; probably only the expiry date). Orange's system at fault? - no, you forgot

student100

um, I know I'm not the board guide here and that I got involved in this discussion too, but do you think we could control the slanging match a bit?

At the top of every page: "please be nice to other MoneySavers"

aliasojo

Note from board guide:

It seems to me that everyone has had a chance to make their point now, and the discussion has degenerated into something of an argument.

In light of this, I am now going to lock the thread.