MSE News: Orange to raise monthly mobile costs

Mhadf

DUTR wrote: »

And you don't think that is just a box standard reply email?

My gut says it probably isn't. I requested that I did not have a cut and paste response as I found that inadequate. If/when this goes further it wouldn't look good if they were found to not be adequately investigating customer concerns.

I'd expect a quick turn around on this by their legal team though, so if I hear nothing towards the end of the week I'll assume the worst (was cut and paste) and try and ring the person in Exec Office again to see what is happening and follow it up with an email to confirm what was said

DUTR

Mhadf wrote: »

My gut says it probably isn't. I requested that I did not have a cut and paste response as I found that inadequate. If/when this goes further it wouldn't look good if they were found to not be adequately investigating customer concerns.

I'd expect a quick turn around on this by their legal team though, so if I hear nothing towards the end of the week I'll assume the worst (was cut and paste) and try and ring the person in Exec Office again to see what is happening and follow it up with an email to confirm what was said

I used to be on an orange mailing list, you can rest assured that is a box standard reply you have recieved.

Mhadf

I've already told you I will take this as far as necessary, including court. One step at a time though.
Complying with the law to go court involves
1st Orange complaints,
then ADR if applicable,
and then court.

So far I am on stage 1, however when that is done CISAS should send a letter as it involves business decisions and complex aspects of the law. Only then can I apply for court.
The waiting builtin to this is a royal pain, but I just use it to gather other relevant info for Court Paperwork

However, I can't recall anyone else saying they would go that far (feel free to prove me wrong :P )

Mhadf

Thanks DUTR, I guess I'll be ringing them mid week then

johnnyboyuk1

I have no intention of cancelling my contract as I am happy to fulfill my end of the bargain which I knowingly agreed to. I do however, wish to pay only for the sum I pre-agreed for the duration of my contract.

The issue is this is a double charge as I noticed a significant decrease in minutes etc for the same £35 this year compared to last. Not only that but a contract named the Panther 35 last year is now the Panther 36 this year. That's roughly 3% increase already surely?

DUTR

olip74 wrote: »

Ooh, touchy. I didn't say you didn't, just that you're turning this thread into a flame war rather than one for people who think they have a case against Orange to seek information and courses of action.

People don't have to go to court, they just have to register a complaint with Orange and with Ofcom/CISAS. We'll see the outcome in a while. If no one complained Orange would just get away with it and all the other providers will follow. If their stunt fails or does enough damage to their customer base and reputation, it might at least put the others off.

If you look, it is all the new posters that are flaming me (or trying to)
I've said it before and I will say it once more, they (orange) are very very unlikely to reverse the descision, now of course that is not what people want to read, so they can now ignore my posts.
People said the same when energy prices went up, the prices still went up and we all use gas and electric, the difference here being we don't have to have a mobile phone.

teamcullen

DUTR wrote: »

If you look, it is all the new posters that are flaming me (or trying to)
I've said it before and I will say it once more, they (orange) are very very unlikely to reverse the descision, now of course that is not what people want to read, so they can now ignore my posts.
People said the same when energy prices went up, the prices still went up and we all use gas and electric, the difference here being we don't have to have a mobile phone.

You say that, however back in 2008 (I think) they tried to raise minimum call charges and ended up letting thousands of people out of their contracts without penalty and then backtracked and reversed the decision to raise out of bundle charges. I know it's not entirely the same but it has been done.

I think that the way they word that a customer can move onto one of the new talk plans to save money isn't right.

Eg- A customer on 18mth Dolphin 20 (£20.42, 200mins, unlimited texts) - Closest package Canary 26 18mth (£26, 300mins, unlimited texts)
Or Racoon 20 (£20.42 either 300mins, 100 texts, unlimited landlines or 200mins, 300 texts, unlimited landlines) - Closest package Racoon 26 (£26 per month, 200 mins, unlimited landlines)

So in some cases the new packages are of no benefit to the customer. I hope the decision is just reversed (I'm not an Orange customer and have no intention of being). I think it should (and has) have the prices raised for new customers or people going onto a new tariff but going for existing customers on old talkplans is a mistake. Alienating the people who have stuck with Orange out of loyalty for years and years is a way to lose people quite quickly.

Guys_Dad

I don't know - you go away from this thread for a couple of hours and it all turns nasty with 3 new pages all in a few hours!

What I don't understand is why no one who is threatening some sort of action has addressed the point that all networks have the right to increase charges in their contracts and how moving from Orange - who presumably will stick to the new rates for a while- to another supplier who has yet to implement any increases, will be a good move.

And those of you who are hoping for some regulator help, can any of you see any major difference between Orange's price increase and the one Vodafone did in October? If so, please enlighten me. Now if it is a matter of "principle" or legality of raising the charge, then why has nothing happened about Vodafone's increase as far as regulator intervention goes? Just stop and think about that point.

As far as DUTR's comments go, unless there are some people who post views that suggest an opposite view to the hopeful majority, then there may be some contributors who, spurred on by the seeming overwhelming number of posters that cry "illegal", may actually decide to cease paying as "all these people can't be wrong".

I do admire those contributors who have quietly gone on to negotiate some sort of reduction rather than the Don Quixotes who threaten to tilt at windmills.

moorw003

The bottom line is when you take out a contract, it says £20 a month for 24 months. A company should honour that... if inflation is a problem and it's deemed not high enough... the contract should be £21 from the start of the contract.

You might say this is the case now with the current tariffs being £21, but if in 12 months they put the prices up for current tariffs, I'd argue the same point.... give a price you are happy to receive for 24 months don't get greedy half way through. Inflation exists, but if you charge £21 and increase to £22 you'll annoy people. If you charge 21.50 from the start, no one complains.

That should be watertight IMO and the regulators and law makers have to change what is and isn't allowed. It's not the increase that is incensing people, it's the principle.

I'm personally baffled by what Orange have done, it's alienated so many people and more importantly caused a big media storm. The net result cannot be positive in the long run!

DUTR

moorw003 wrote: »

The bottom line is when you take out a contract, it says £20 a month for 24 months. A company should honour that... if inflation is a problem and it's deemed not high enough... the contract should be £21 from the start of the contract.

You might say this is the case now with the current tariffs being £21, but if in 12 months they put the prices up for current tariffs, I'd argue the same point.... give a price you are happy to receive for 24 months don't get greedy half way through. Inflation exists, but if you charge £21 and increase to £22 you'll annoy people. If you charge 21.50 from the start, no one complains.

That should be watertight IMO and the regulators and law makers have to change what is and isn't allowed. It's not the increase that is incensing people, it's the principle.

I'm personally baffled by what Orange have done, it's alienated so many people and more importantly caused a big media storm. The net result cannot be positive in the long run!

terminating your Contract because Orange has changed its terms
4.3 You may also terminate your Contract if we vary its terms, resulting in an excessive increase in the Charges or changes that alter your rights under this Contract to your detriment. In such cases you would need to give us at least 14 days written notice prior to your Billing Date (and within one month of us telling you about the changes). However this option does not apply if:
4.3.1 we have increased the Charges by an amount equal to or less than the percentage increase in the All Items Index of Retail Prices published by the Central Statistical Office in the Monthly Digest of Statistics in any 12 month period; or