problems with Orange?? - we can help!!

vincentk

I am currently dealing with ORANGE and trying to gather some momentum to deal with their ridiculous complaints procedure. I have emails and recorded phone calls which I plan to use, however to get any real traction with the BBC / Watchdog I need others who have gone through or are going through problems with this company.

Can anyone in the same position (especially with a good story to tell / any evidence) get in touch with me via [EMAIL="theorangecomplaintsociety@gmail.com"]theorangecomplaintsociety@gmail.com[/EMAIL]
I will be able to advise you of some of the direct contacts for people in HQ and possibly help you out. This is all about not being fobbed off by an organisation that does not give a funk about its customers - those of us who can prove it need to do so to stop them being able to get away with it.

I look forward to hearing from you.

mrhongkongdave

Here is our letter to Orange. Excuse any parangraph or tab errors just cut and pasted in from word.


I was having probs any way but thought as they run this poor network coverage 14 days return policy I could test the new device and if it didn't work I'd just take it back.



This was on day of purchase/upgrade!!! They would not budge , they wouldn't take back the phone and after I placed the phone and contract (pre-signed saying cancelled etc) in a returns box just inside the open door of the manager's office they said they were gonna get me done for tresspassing!!!!!!


If they just let me run out my existing contract I would of paid for another couple of months and moved. Why do they make it so hard??? Worst customer service experience in my life!!! Shouting at us with 3 people around us at one point and in front of other customers, some of which walked out so at least some people saved from this hell!





F.A.O. Complaints / Cancellations Department

Upgrade Cancellation – "Number Deleted" - The Orange Shop, Unit 1, Sovereign Centre, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1HL – Manager Emily Cooke

Hello I would like to start by saying that up until today I have had a good relationship with Orange who have always been very helpful with any problems I’ve had. However today I went into my local Orange retail shop where they said I could upgrade my deal.

I have recently moved to a new address, I have provided my old address for your records: "address deleted"


I work all over the UK and have had problems with my reception for a while but thought that it was my phone that had been playing up. On return to my house with the new phone I discovered that I was having the same problems with the signal. After reviewing the coverage at my new address and in general I have come to the conclusion that this is not acceptable. I would like to take advantage of your 14 days return policy. I have returned to the store twice today to return the new phone and contract, however I was informed that I could not cancel this contract and return the phone. After showing your representative the terms on the back of the receipt informing me that I can return the device and terminate the contract if the coverage does not meet my expectations, I was told that they have checked the signal in the area and there are some slight problems but nothing that should affect me. Regardless of this I am sure you are aware that this is a mobile device and as such relates to the use of this service wherever I take it. Your terms do not say that the policy depends on a test at your address or any other postcode related search, it simply says that if it doesn’t meet your expectations you can return it within a 14 day period.

The store would not accept the mobile device and contract as they said it could not be left out in the store. So with a witness it was placed in the manager’s office for safe keeping. I have provided full witness details at the end of this letter should you wish to contact him. This will also be on your CCTV in store.
Also when checking the receipt I have discovered that a phone care insurance has been added when I was told it would be included for free, it appears that only the first month is free. This has been mis-sold. Also I was not given a copy of the terms and conditions and when I returned to the store they still didn’t give me a copy. I was not asked for proof of identity or address. This is not in accordance with Ofcom General Conditions:

23.1 A Mobile Service Provider must comply with this General Condition with respect to a
Customer of its Mobile Telephony Services, except that clauses 23.4(b)(iv) and 23.5 –
23.10 do not apply to Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services and SIM Only Contracts.

23.2 (a) engage in dishonest, misleading or deceptive conduct.
(b) engage in aggressive conduct. (At one point two reps and the manager were arguing with me in the store front after I had already suggested just dealing with the manager in the office as I did not want to have an argument in the first place let alone in front of lots of people.)

I have been given a phone that I was initially interested in, however this phone was not demonstrated to me and I have now discovered that I cannot use this phone as I had hoped. The deal that has been given to me is £31 per month for 300 mins!?! 500mb data and free texts, I was informed that this was the best deal on the market. I have since found out this is untrue. Another mis-selling.

I have logged a complaint over the phone with customer services who have told me that for retail issues I must visit the store, the store has told me to deal with head office in writing. I am not happy with the coverage, the mis-selling, the phone, the insurance or the deal. I was willing to run out my original contract until completion and keep a spare phone for the next few months but my experience with your Orange representatives and managers has left me feeling completely and utterly disgusted and as such this is notice of my cancellation of my original contract and the new contract. I will of course pay the remaining line rental for the original contract only.

All I want is for the contracts to be cancelled, I do not want any compensation at this time, however if this is not possible I will continue with legal proceedings and bring your attention to the article attached.

Please contact me by phone and letter on receipt of this letter with your response.

Yours faithfully,



Mr. ***


Witness: Neighbour
Mr. ***, "number and address deleted"






Attached / *** / "number deleted" / 23-07-2011



[FONT=&quot]Tom Prescott, 32, took Orange to court after signing an 18-month contract, only to find he could neither receive nor make calls in and around his home. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When he tried to cancel the deal, he was rebuffed. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He said: 'As soon as I realised I could not get a signal, I tried to cancel it. But the phone networks are using bullying tactics and would not let me off the contract.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]'Dealing with Orange was awful. I would ring them and it would take 15 minutes to get through then my phone would cut off and I'd be at the back of the queue.' [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mr Prescott, of Richmond, Surrey, turned to his local county court in Brentford where he was awarded £500 and the right to cancel his contract. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Although county court rulings are not binding, the case will serve as a useful precedent. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mr Prescott argued that having been sold an 18-month contract by the mobile phone operators there ought to be a reasonable expectation of service. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]'I started an 18-month contract and the phone never really worked as I couldn’t get any reception,' he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mr Prescott, aged 32, was so fed up by the gap between the services promised by Orange and the reality of the reception that he tried to cancel the contract, but they would not let him.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]'As soon as I realised I could not get a signal, I tried to cancel it. But the phone networks are using bullying tactics and would not let me off the contract,' he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Eventually, Mr Prescott was so exasperated that he turned to the courts for help.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Following his successful hearing, he urged others to follow his example.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]'I hope people who have the same problem now realise they can do something about it,' he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]'I didn’t take them to court to try to get the money. It annoyed me that you have this huge great company that advertised this great image, but when you deal with them they take you nearer and nearer the edge.'[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A spokesman for Orange said it could not comment on the case as it was awaiting details. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]However, a spokesman said the company provides high quality coverage to 99 per cent of the UK population and continues to invest in its network. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]She added: 'As with all mobile operators, it is worth noting that continuous network coverage cannot be guaranteed and network coverage can be affected by factors outside of our control.'[/FONT]

Techhead_2

When was this? Because I saw a couple of blokes acting in a very aggressive and intimidating way towards the staff in weston Orange. If it was you, then shame on you, you scared our child. If I was Orange I'd call the police and report you. Can't believe you've posted your real names.

Heretic_osjc

mrhongkongdave if you entered the back door to place something inside the manager office then YES YOU ARE TRESPASSING as you are not supposed to be in the back of the store. I would have also phoned the police to have you escorted off the premises if it was my store! The stores are private property so they are within their right to ask you to leave or ban you from the store. Just because you are a customer would also not give you a right do this. You are lucky they did not call the police as I said I certainly would have.

mrhongkongdave

Techhead:

First of all we did ask multiple times to speak privately to the manager with her associates in the rear of the premises but they would rather stand out the front to have an argument.

When you have been told you can take something back (on the sameday) and later informed this is not the case and now you are locked in regardless for 18 months on a phone you can't get signal on, you would be a satisfied customer?????? Give me a break!

Heretic:

We didn't enter the rear of the shop, the door opened we were stood in the entrance with the tray by the door the phone was placed in the tray? We didn't barge through the door or anything!

Ofcom have enforced our case and all is sorted, so I guess we were right!

I am on Vodafone and have perfect signal.

Techhead_2

Nothing excuses the behaviour I saw. You gave a very poor impression of yourself.

As for Ofcom, they don't investigate individual cases.

MissKeith

You honestly expected staff members to let you, a customer who a witness says was threatening and intimidating, into the back of the shop where they keep thousands of pounds worth of stock? Are you having a laugh?