Orange 'scamming' by using disingenuous marketing?

WibbleSnarf

I got a text from Orange a couple of days ago. I'm 10 months into a 24 month plan and the text is part of their 'best plan' promotion which lets you know when you're not on the cheapest plan based on your usage over the last 6 months.

Great, I thought, so I logged into my account to have a look.

It said the following:

Current plan: Panther 35 (24mth)
Monthly subscription: £35.75
Inclusive minutes: 600 anytime minutes
Inclusive texts: unlimited texts
Inclusive mobile internet browsing: 0
Itemised billing: £1.50

Avg monthly spend: £38.39

Best plan: Dolphin 35 (24mth)
Monthly subscription: £35
Inclusive minutes: 700 anytime minutes
Inclusive texts: unlimited anytime texts
Inclusive mobile internet browsing: 0
Itemised billing: £1.50

Avg monthly spend: £36.75

You could save £9.80 (over 6 months)!!

Yay!

Well, perhaps not. Here's the problem.

My current plan doesn't have "Inclusive mobile internet browsing: 0" at all, it has "Inclusive mobile internet browsing: 750MB".

My so-called 'best plan' doesn't have "Inclusive mobile internet browsing: 0" either, it has "Inclusive mobile internet browsing: 500MB"

So, in effect, they are misleading me into moving onto a tariff that reduces my monthly inclusive mobile internet browsing by a THIRD!

I called them up to talk it through and they said their system doesn't look at inclusive mobile browsing when it performs its calculations!:shocked::shocked::shocked:

Why the flipping hell not?

Am I being paranoid by suspecting that Orange are simply using a disingenuous ploy to try to manoeuvre people off of contracts that entitle their customers to more inclusive data than they would prefer?

I've raised a formal complaint now as I believe Orange are misleading their customers - it'll be interesting to hear their response (which I'm told I'll receive within 24hrs). Anyone else see anything similar if they log into their Orange account and look at the 'best plan' that is currently available to them?

flashg67

I'm already on the best plan apparently so it only suggests a 'get more' plan. Interestingly though, it does show 'inclusive internet browsing' as '0' when in fact I do actually get 500MB. Also they seem to be trying to tempt me onto the 'get more' plan by saying I'll get 'unlimited anytime texts' as opposed to just 'unlimited texts' that I already get - can't see the difference there!

WibbleSnarf

flashg67 wrote: »

I'm already on the best plan apparently so it only suggests a 'get more' plan. Interestingly though, it does show 'inclusive internet browsing' as '0' when in fact I do actually get 500MB. Also they seem to be trying to tempt me onto the 'get more' plan by saying I'll get 'unlimited anytime texts' as opposed to just 'unlimited texts' that I already get - can't see the difference there!

Thanks. It's both reassuring and worrying to know that it's not just me.

My 'best plan' makes the same claim as yours in regards to texts too - the obvious inference that they want us to draw is that there are certain times of day when we pay to send texts but, if we move, we get to send texts any time of day for free.

Disgraceful.

Dan:)_7

all dolphin plans come with 500mb data.

Hope this helps

WibbleSnarf

Dan:) wrote: »

all dolphin plans come with 500mb data.

Hope this helps

Thanks Dan.

The point, though, is that Orange mislead you when you are presented with your new 'best plan'. According to Orange, if I were to switch from Panther 35 to Dolphin 35, my Inclusive mobile internet browsing allowance wouldn't change - something which is utterly untrue!

They are effectively trying to mislead me into signing up to a tariff which, if I then downloaded, say, 700MB of data in a month, would allow them to hammer me for some extra cash.

It's misleading at best, downright devious and disingenuous at worst.

lufcgirl

WibbleSnarf wrote: »

Thanks Dan.

The point, though, is that Orange mislead you when you are presented with your new 'best plan'. According to Orange, if I were to switch from Panther 35 to Dolphin 35, my Inclusive mobile internet browsing allowance wouldn't change - something which is utterly untrue!

They are effectively trying to mislead me into signing up to a tariff which, if I then downloaded, say, 700MB of data in a month, would allow them to hammer me for some extra cash.

It's misleading at best, downright devious and disingenuous at worst.

Looking back on your bills, have you ever used 750mb of data in a month? If you haven't and you've used on average under 500mb then it could well be that it is the best plan for you (especially if you've ever used over 600mins)

And if you're looking at your bills online, get rid of the statement through the post as that's costing you £1.50 extra every month!

Dan:)_7

i know theres a problem with the displaying of the data side of things.

if you ring CS, they'll be able to help further!