Orange mobile & broadband - no signal!!

saffron1_2

Please can you help me. I am near to breaking point!! I have had an Orange contract phone for about 18 months now (was taken out for 3 years). The reception for making/receiving call and texts has never been that good (used to have to go upstairs and hang out of my bedroom window or wander from room to room) invariably I would get cut off mid sentence. I moved to a flat (3 doors away around the corner) in January and the reception is even worse (despite the orange website stating there is a good reception for my postcode). I have complained over the phone to customer services and was advised that I could also get Orange T Mobile as well. I have tried this method – still lucky if I get one bar of signal and then it cuts out mid call. Texts can take several hours or even days to deliver or be received.

I sent an email to orange customer services expressing my frustration and got no response whatsoever.

Foolishly I signed up for Orange Mobile Broadband for £5 per month (special deal as I already have my mobile phone account) overlooking the fact that if my mobile couldn’t receive signals then the same would apply to the reception of mobile broadband. I have spent many hours so irked by the time it takes to initialise and then connect, then, when I finally get on-line it takes ages (of course my session time is ticking by) to get into a site and then I lose the signal before I have had a chance to surf – but by then my 45 minutes per day allowance is well and truly used up! So I will now incur additional costs for going over the allocated allowance (which is due to connecting and not due to my being lax).

I telephoned the customer services and after almost 40 minutes I spoke with someone about this problem. I told them that as I was paying for a service that I was not receiving I would like to close both my mobile phone and mobile broadband account with them. Despite reiterating this many times they advised that I was in an area of good reception and if I chose to cancel my contract I would have to pay £150 to do so. After another 30 minutes of discussing this matter they would not accept that I was not receiving a proper service and refused to close my account unless I paid.

Is there anything that can be done as I am in a really bad dilemma – often times I receive an important text after the event or not at all, other people get my texts hours or even days after I sent it – if at all. Furthermore, if it is deemed that I am in an area where they say Orange reception is good then this is actually untrue and I have been sold something which isn’t “fit for purpose”.

Please can you help me as this is causing me a great deal of distress and frustration.:mad:

gjchester

saffron1 wrote: »

Please can you help me. I am near to breaking point!! I have had an Orange contract phone for about 18 months now (was taken out for 3 years). The reception for making/receiving call and texts has never been that good (used to have to go upstairs and hang out of my bedroom window or wander from room to room) invariably I would get cut off mid sentence. I moved to a flat (3 doors away around the corner) in January and the reception is even worse (despite the orange website stating there is a good reception for my postcode).

You chose to move so Orange does not have to do anything. It was your choice to move not Oranges. There are many issues affecting signal, from local topology, local mast setups and the fabric of a building.

saffron1 wrote: »

Foolishly I signed up for Orange Mobile Broadband for £5 per month (special deal as I already have my mobile phone account) overlooking the fact that if my mobile couldn’t receive signals then the same would apply to the reception of mobile broadband.

I telephoned the customer services and after almost 40 minutes I spoke with someone about this problem. I told them that as I was paying for a service that I was not receiving I would like to close both my mobile phone and mobile broadband account with them.

Please can you help me as this is causing me a great deal of distress and frustration.:mad:

I'm sorry but I fail to see how this is Oranges fault. You know you have a bad signal but then took out another contract. I can't see how you can justifiably ask for a cancellation when you knew from the phone that the signal would be bad.


You can cancel at any time but there will be an early termination fee. If you had cancelled the mobile when you moved on the strength of a bad signal you may have got further with a goodwill gesture, but by taking out an additional contract *AFTER* you moved you can't say you were not aware how bad the signal would be.

Welshdebtor

This may help you get some answers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/03/mobile_charges_but_no_signal.html

saffron1_2

gjchester wrote: »

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You chose to move so Orange does not have to do anything. It was your choice to move not Oranges. There are many issues affecting signal, from local topology, local mast setups and the fabric of a building.



I'm sorry but I fail to see how this is Oranges fault. You know you have a bad signal but then took out another contract. I can't see how you can justifiably ask for a cancellation when you knew from the phone that the signal would be bad.


You can cancel at any time but there will be an early termination fee. If you had cancelled the mobile when you moved on the strength of a bad signal you may have got further with a goodwill gesture, but by taking out an additional contract *AFTER* you moved you can't say you were not aware how bad the signal would be.

Hi - Many thanks for your response. However, the point I am making is that (a) the Orange website maintains that the area in which I live (via postcode) receives a very good Orange signal - this is in fact untrue. (b) when I got the mobile broadband I was advised that since Orange customers can also get Orange T mobile I would be fine in receiving a signal to get on line.

I do appreciate that it was indeed my choice to move but the area is exactly the same (3 doors difference) and it does definitely stipulate on the Orange website that this is an area where orange signal is very good.

All I am trying to do is explain that I am continuing to pay for a service which is not being provided and wondered if there is anything I can do - eg: if I buy water from a provider and only drips out every other day then this is indeed not a decent and acceptable provision and I would complain and switch provider.

Kind regards,
Ruth

Jon_01

The coverage maps are only a guide.

My mate used to have full signal, then some builder put up a block of flats between him and the closest mast. result, one bar if he's lucky. The coverage map still say he'll get a good signal. Whose fault is it?

As GJ says above, you chose to move and have changed your side of the contract Orange need to do nothing. As its a mobile phone it will still work in some places and no network promise 100% coverage any way.