MSE News: Orange to raise monthly mobile costs

Guys_Dad

This thread is becoming p**s & wind.

Why? Well the regulator has been informed and is looking into the legality of the increase. We have loads of armchair lawyers on here claiming the rise is illegal without actually having the knowledge to back that up.

Unless anyone actually is prepared to go all the way and win a challenge to Orange in the court, then all the ranting in the world is only letting off steam and there is a different forum for that.

The sensible contributors on here seem to have been the ones who negotiated a reduction in their monthly plan, so that's the route to take if £1.50 or so is a material amount for you. It equates to 5 cigarettes, half a Whopper, less than half a pint, a Krispy Kreeme donut, or 1 pkt of chips from the chippy!

As for all the hot air on loyalty, just how much loyalty do you have to your providers when contracts end? Mobiles, insurance,utilities for example. Do you not use comparison sites and go with the best value at contract renewal? Of course you do, otherwise you shouldn't be a member on here. So loyalty is a one way street then?

So either be polite and ask a friendly CS rep to help out if you are strapped for cash (keep trying till you get a friendly one and be nice) or wait till the regulator delivers their view.

And when the contract ends, either cut your nose off to spite your face by ditching Orange regardless, or be smart and look for the best value deal again.

Human_Writes

marcjleesmith wrote: »

Hi all,

So this is where I am currently... as and when I recieve a response I'll post it here for all to see. My personal expectation is to have to wait the 8 weeks then apply to CISAS.

The irony being that it would cost Orange more to fight the CISAS case than it would to release me from the remainder of my contract... but ho hum!!

To rehash my earlier comment, I do not believe Orange will provide a CISAS reference number for this, they will probably also try their utmost to reject any complaints put to CISAS as it is arguably outside of CISAS' remit.

Human_Writes wrote: »

From CISAS' website:

http://www.cisas.org.uk/InfoforCustomers-4_e.html

I have a complaint with a CISAS member, but they say I cannot use CISAS. Why?

If your complaint is about one of the following matters, CISAS cannot deal with it.....

• Business decisions a company has made on whether or not to provide a product or service, and the terms under which they will provide a product or service.

So if your planning to argue Orange's business decision to change T&Cs etc you may find difficulty in pursuing your complaint via CISAS, you may also find that trying to argue points of law such as the General Conditions of the Communications Act 2003 and what is or is not a material detriment (it is not defined in the statute), or whether the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 apply in this instance, will not work either.

From CISAS' rules:

j) The dispute must not involve a complicated issue of law.

http://www.cisas.org.uk/SchemeRules-12_e.html

robbies_gal

i just got the text this morning was very vague just asked me to go to their website

im still wondering if the increase is based on the priginal tariff or the discounted amount anyone know?

ACG

Original email - Sent Tuesday or Wednesday.

Reason for email: complaints
Query: Hi,

I have just been informed that you will be increasing prices on my Orange contract.
I have also been told that you are saying that as per your terms and conditions you are not allowing people to cancel their contract despite this being against the rules set out by ofcom.

I would like to cancel my contract without any buy out fee before this increase goes ahead. If you are not able to do this, i would like this in writing as i will be taking it to ofcom to investigate.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Their response received this morning:

Thank you for your recent email outlining your concerns about our impending price increase.
Inflation is impacting businesses and consumers alike and we are aware that many customers will be experiencing increased charges from other service suppliers. Orange Price Plans will rise by less than the rate of inflation, as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI), which currently stands at a 20 year high at 5.4%.
All other call charges, including out-of-plan voice, text and data charges remain unchanged. Our Pay Monthly Terms and Conditions (T's & C's) allow us to increase charges by up to the RPI figure in any 12 month period and we have tried to keep these costs to a minimum at just 4.34%. In the event that you would like to check your T's & C's I would like to draw your attention to section 4.3 and 4.3.1 which relate directly to this issue.
Whilst we are increasing the base cost of your Price Plan I would like to reassure you that Orange are still committed to providing excellent Customer Service and value for money. With this in mind I would like take this opportunity to offer a few money saving tips that can potentially more than offset the small price rise.
If you are currently receiving a paper statement each month and would be willing to instead view your bills online you can save yourself £1.54 per month.
If you are paying your bill by cash, cheque or Debit/Credit Card you could save £3.58 per subscription each month by choosing to pay by Direct Debit.
In order to remove paper bills from your account or set up a Direct Debit you can either login online at https://www.orange.co.uk/youraccount or call our Customer Services by dialling 150 from your Orange Pay Monthly phone or 07973100150 from a landline 7 days a week where a representative will be able to assist you further between the hours of 8am to 10pm.
I hope this email has given some context as to why we have introduced the price increases and trust that this clarifies our position.
Kind regards

Daisygirl

I signed up for a 24 month contract on the 23rd August this year (switching from orange PAYG to contract) as they offered me a good deal, I had to phone them last week as they messed up what they were charging me for 2 months - I was put on the 'paid for' internet bundle, they will now be reimbursing me.

Now this - I am on a tight budget already, ok it's not going up by THAT much, but still over what I wanted to spend per month and the amount I was paying suited my budget. I'm very annoyed tbh.

gribbles123

Complain to Ofcom, after being refused to be heard by Orange, log a complaint to them. Then under General Condition 9.6 log a formal complaint to Orange stating you would suffer material detriment due to the 4.34% price increase. if enough people log complaints to Ofcom something will be done. dont get mad get even....if no joy, theres always the other providers waiting upon my renewal and my friends and most of my family members renewals too

daleski75

Guys_Dad wrote: »

This thread is becoming p**s & wind.

Why? Well the regulator has been informed and is looking into the legality of the increase. We have loads of armchair lawyers on here claiming the rise is illegal without actually having the knowledge to back that up.

Unless anyone actually is prepared to go all the way and win a challenge to Orange in the court, then all the ranting in the world is only letting off steam and there is a different forum for that.

The sensible contributors on here seem to have been the ones who negotiated a reduction in their monthly plan, so that's the route to take if £1.50 or so is a material amount for you. It equates to 5 cigarettes, half a Whopper, less than half a pint, a Krispy Kreeme donut, or 1 pkt of chips from the chippy!

As for all the hot air on loyalty, just how much loyalty do you have to your providers when contracts end? Mobiles, insurance,utilities for example. Do you not use comparison sites and go with the best value at contract renewal? Of course you do, otherwise you shouldn't be a member on here. So loyalty is a one way street then?

So either be polite and ask a friendly CS rep to help out if you are strapped for cash (keep trying till you get a friendly one and be nice) or wait till the regulator delivers their view.

And when the contract ends, either cut your nose off to spite your face by ditching Orange regardless, or be smart and look for the best value deal again.

I totally agree with everything you have stated here and to me it really looks like everyone is basically trying to push their luck and use this to get out of a contract early and go elsewhere.

But what happens if everyone wins they are happy and they all go off on their merry way to another provider and they then get hit with the same thing but worse will they then scream detriment, illegal practices and open yet another thread on MSE?

It's not as if Orange have doubled the price of their contracts most of them will go up by around £1.50 not £10.50 which it would seem like the way everyone here is carrying on.

If a £2 increase is going to break your budget or cripple your finances then get a pay and go cheap !!! mobile phone and quit complaining.

Yes it's a bit of a kick in the teeth for existing and some what new customers but come on get over it everyone here probably wastes more than the increase on booze, fags or mcdonalds.

GTT

Right I went looking at Oranges website last night.

I'm a Panther 35 Customer (no longer exists but costs £35 a month)

Their new contracts are now Panther 36 customers, £36 a month

So the price increase means that I will now be paying more than their new Panther 36 customers and getting less (they get all kind of extras I don't such as sky sports, streaming tv etc)

So how is that fair? OK I know its only 50p in the grand scheme of things but if they are raising my price to make it more in line with their newer customers surely I should be getting the same benefits?

xxsadiaxx

So my price is going up from £25 to £26.06 sure it doesn't sound like a lot but im barely 6 months into my contract and as a student im already living off vouchers and coupons, i am absolutely appalled I've been with orange since i can remember and this is how they repay - so much for loyalty

Jaxx_uk

The way I see it, Orange are within their rights to raise the price of the contracts as it is stated in the Terms & conditions of the contract we all signed when we signed up to the contract. Offcom have confirmed that Orange are allowed to rise the price of their contract, as it does not go against the Terms & Conditions. What they are doing is not allowing people to cancel their contract without penalty fee, which, as confirmed by offcom goes against offcom regulations. So why when you ask to leave your contract do Orange keep replying stating they are within their rights to increase their monthly contracts! I know you are, thats not what Im asking, Im asking why I'm not allowed to cancel my contract without penatly fee, as with offcom regulations!

It annoys me when Orange won;t listen to what we are asking! I will probably end up settling for a decreased monthly amount from CS in the long run, but my arguement is not that I cannot afford the rise (not that I will be telling Orange that), it is that I am fed up of Orange and their ways!

I agree that for some that extra amount is going to be a struggle, even at £2, that can be a lot for some people, and it appears BT are increasing prices, energy prices have increased, whats to say that other's won't follow suit, so that £2 extra a month from Orange can be included with a range of other increases. I could potentially be looking at paying £15 a month extra Jan 2012 over Jan 2011, so although £2 is a small amount, it all adds up!

I will wait until there are more motions from complaints and offcom before I play my move

Jaxx