Nightmare with orange prepay master card - money vanishes

seaspray1998

Dear ALL,

Going through an utter nightmare at the moment with this card!

After having purchased this card from the Orange website, I went on the 09th November 2011, into the Orange store (now known as Everything Everywhere) in West Ealing London - none of the staff had ever heard of Orange ever having this card, and had no idea how to load the money onto the card.

When the staff contacted Orange to ask on how to do it, Orange refused to tell them via the phone and then re-directed them to go to their website and look up the instructions on there as to how to load the money!

It gets worse - I then found out on the 12th November 2011 after checking my Orange prepay card online account, that the first loading of the money was not showing the correct amount that I had given them in cash to top up.

Worse still the second top up on the 11th November 2011 (again when I went in the staff member had never heard of the existence of their own prepay card or how to load the money onto the card and I had to wait for the previous member of staff) of £120 cash had not registered AT ALL - and has simply vanished into the ether!

The one geographical number supplied just has an automated response system - no human being to speak to, and the other number where there is a human being to speak to is 50p a minute!!!!! And then they!don't!do anything and pass the buck back onto the Orange store.

Ringing the head office results in getting nowhere fast - and AGAIN nobody right up the chief execs office has any clue about the existence of their own Orange prepay card, and even got almost into an argument with one operative who kept on insisting that they Orange didn't do this card - to which in the end I said YES YOU DO - GO LOOK ON YOUR OWN WEBSITE!

In between rang the store - AGAIN the staff member who answered didn't have a clue about this card or that the Orange 'customer service' wasn't open on a Sunday (only found this out after doing the rounds of trying to speak to anyone within Orange head office) and wouldn't at my request phone to find out to save me coming all the way down to the shop, even though I told them I had mobility issues

Rang them again on Monday 13th November 2011 - the manager openly agrees with me that the whole thing is a total utter disaster and a nightmare (frankly they're having as much trouble from their end in trying to deal with Orange itself, to sort out this matter) I was assured that he was onto a number of people, that all he had to do was email them to confirm the amounts of money missing and then I would have the money returned and that I would also get a phone call from a Nicky within Orange Cash card customer service.

NO PHONE CALL - NO MONEY.

Tuesday 14th November - checked my online account again - NOTHING!

Rang the store, the manager was under the impression that my money had been returned/credited to my account, I informed him that this was NOT the case and he again said that he would get onto this Nicky and that she would give me a phone call back.

To date: NO MONEY NO PHONE CALL!!!

I had my food order by Tesco rejected and a phone call from them because basically it looked like I was trying to be fraudulent.

I have contacted!Off-com!but they will not get involved as this is a financial matter despite Orange being a telecoms company, the FSA will not get involved as they!don't!take on individual cases, the financial ombudsman will only put forward a complaint to the company that is partnered and who have 8 weeks to respond - Prepaid logisticals - with Orange, to!apparently!administer their card; I contacted them also and was promised a call back but still nothing to date.

I also contacted Barclays who are the bank that is partnered with Orange but nobody had a clue about this card and were unable to help me.

I contacted Consumer direct and first was given incorrect advice, and when I rang again I was agreed with that Orange were in breach of contract law etc, but didnt give me any detailed information and simply emailed me a template letter of complaint.

I live in Ealing which!doesn't!have any law centre, any CAB and the only one that will speak to me which is withing the courts of royal justice, I have to wait until next week at the very least before anyone can possiblyyy help me, and the guy on the advice line!didn't!know what to do

I am on Incapacity benefit and all the money I had I put onto that card - and am unlikely to get a crisis loan due to these circumstances and also do'nt want to get into debt, which I can ill afford.

So to sum up I have NO MONEY, NO FOOD AND NO MONEY TIL I GET PAID IN 2 WEEKS TIME - and Im both deeply angry, upset and at my wits end as what to do!

Sea

Jeff_Bridges_hair

I have no answers to your problem but what were you doing to pay for goods online before you got this card? And can you go back to that way in future until this is all sorted out?

did you get reciepts from your transactions? Can you not show these to the crisis loan people to get a crisis loan? Dont worry about getting into debt with one of these loans for the social they will only take a small amount out of your benefits each week - or you could pay it all back at once once you sort out with Orange about getting a refund.

dont go without money/food because your too stubborn to get a crisis loan.

bod1467

You should have got receipts for loading the cash. Did you?

And if you had so much trouble with the first load, why did you do it again?


Any particular reason you chose this card? There are many options available.

seaspray1998

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

I have no answers to your problem but what were you doing to pay for goods online before you got this card? And can you go back to that way in future until this is all sorted out?

did you get reciepts from your transactions? Can you not show these to the crisis loan people to get a crisis loan? Dont worry about getting into debt with one of these loans for the social they will only take a small amount out of your benefits each week - or you could pay it all back at once once you sort out with Orange about getting a refund.

dont go without money/food because your too stubborn to get a crisis loan.

I was very happily using an O2 prepay visa debit card for over a year, but then they decided to shut down entirely the card, and although there is another newer version planned, it was not put in place when the other one was shut down - hence me having to take the Orange one.

As regards to Crisis loan - you do everything over the phone - long gone are the days when you could go to the local office and sit down and speak to a human being - so showing any reciepts are null and void and plus on them would be the amount of money I had paid, which would hardly look like I was in the poor house!

Secondly it can make a difference as to what benefit you are on - for instance as I'm on Incapacity benefit I cannot get a crisis loan if say my
cooker blows up, or I need a washing machine desperately, or clothes or any furniture what-so-ever (new rule brought in this year)

I am only allowed a crisis loan for food and again considering the circumstances not having been mugged, not say fridge freezer breaking down and all my food spoilt, but this all the fault of Orange and my money being somewhere still 'out there,' it is highly unlikely that I would be granted a crisis loan.

Even when I was entitled - it was an utter nightmare process to go through and I had an operative (after being very nasty) hang up on me because I dared crack a joke, so he deemed that I therefore must not be in true need/distress if I was able to make a joke!!!

I kid ye not!

If only life was so simple! lolol

Sea

seaspray1998

bod1467 wrote: »

You should have got receipts for loading the cash. Did you?

And if you had so much trouble with the first load, why did you do it again?


Any particular reason you chose this card? There are many options available.

I was unaware that there was a problem until I checked my online account AFTER the 2nd loading of cash.

Sea

seaspray1998

Just to let you know I have FINALLY had my money returned and credited back to the Orange card - although they still are out by £10.

Also had one of the managers of the partner company that Orange has to enable the administration of this card - Prepaid Logistics - ring me today about this mess.

The best thing about coming on here is that I found the Chief Exec of Orange - Olaf Swantee - email address and quickly fired off a VERY LONG email detailing the complete systemic failure of his product.

I think it had a bit of an effect!

Sea