Conned by Orange?

sickie

At the start of this month I phoned Orange to find out when my contract expired and was told I could leave by giving 30 days notice

I went bargain hunting on the net and found the phone I wanted (HTC Desire HD) on the cheapest deal I could

Rang Orange back to notify them and was put through to retentions who then set about trying to match this. They came pretty close and so I decided to continue my contract to save on hastle

The one sticking point was the data, the other deal offered 1Gb of data whereas Orange was only offering me 500Mb. I queried this as I have never owned a smartphone before, and was told that I would never use it all unless I was constantly streaming movies and music, she even went on to say a "friend" of hers repeatedly downloaded and still never reached the limit.

I was told the phone would be dispatched in a couple of days and that my new contract would start on Feb 14. I also had a one off 500 Mb pack stitched onto the end of my old contract as i didnt want my new phone for a fortnight without being able to use it

All good so far eh!

So its now 4 days into my new contract and Ive checked my Orange account to find to my horror that 200 of my 500 meg has gone already, BOOM, gone

Bearing in mind I have done all of my setting up/downloading on my Wi-Fi connection and havn't streamed a damn thing, have I been conned, and if so where do I stand?

drbesty

500mb should usually be enough for general browsing and email usage, maybe as the handset is new it's been downloading updates in the background, phone Orange and query the usage

teamcullen

Is it not that the total you're seeing there includes your usage using wi-fi too?

drbesty

The figure on the Orange account page won't include wifi usage, its mobile data only

sparky93

is it possible they only put on a partial amount as u have joined midway?

sickie

In the Orange account it says Ive used 198Mb, so i dont know.

Could it be that the data gets updated on the 1st of the month rather than on the date of my contract?

I hope its something like this and Im just panicking over nothing, but if this phone is genuinely eating this much data under normal usage and I was sold it on the premise that 500mb was more than adequate, do I have any chance of telling them to stick it? (or have they right royally stuck it up me?)

john1

Sparky93 may be right

I have just checked my previous bills and yes this is confirmed

When I opted for the 500Mb bundle the initial allowance and charges were pro rata so to synchronise the bundle with your existing billing dates. I was advised this by orange upgrade team.

Although I’m on the 500Mb bundle since the contract start, I have hardly used 100Mb a month let alone 500 as most updates and large downloads etc. occur whilst at home via Wi-Fi.

I don’t think you are being conned, just Orange staff not explaining the initial start-up procedure

sparky93

also, its the start up date, not the month start.

sickie

Checked the Orange account again and under internet browsing it says...

remaining......308Mb
used......192Mb
total......500Mb
next update.....25 days

...so im doubting this has been worked out under some pro-rata basis.

At this rate my data will run out after 12 days!!!

What should I do? Ring Orange? I dont really want to pay any more money as I took this deal on the basis that it was comparible with the other I found (which was how it was sold to me aswell!)

atruefaker

Download the app 3G watchdog on the andriod market, it really helps in keeping on top of your usage (and is free!).

You have time to cancel the contract I'm sure if you are not happy.

I was told I had unlimited usage on Orange, but later into the contract I found that I too had a 500mb limit. I went over this on my last two bills by about 50mb, and wasn't charged.

Lawpf2001

atruefaker wrote: »

Download the app 3G watchdog on the andriod market, it really helps in keeping on top of your usage (and is free!).

You have time to cancel the contract I'm sure if you are not happy.

I was told I had unlimited usage on Orange, but later into the contract I found that I too had a 500mb limit. I went over this on my last two bills by about 50mb, and wasn't charged.

I 2nd this post. I got my Desire HD coming to the close of Jan. Have currently used about 622mb. However, I would say I use the internet alot. Although i have unlimited data through 3.