MSE News: Orange to raise monthly mobile costs

sellers0208

daleski75 wrote: »

The only thing I find puzzling about this whole debacle is the whole 'material detriment' how would anyone prove that an extra £1-2 coming out of your account per month is going to cause hardship and despair in a law court?

I am guessing it's for people on the breadline but for people here who have a good income and possibly joint income the detriment would surely be much harder to prove?

And I know it's the principal of the matter and a small increase across their customer base would net them a shed load of extra money per month however they are a business and if that extra money goes into improving their network, coverage and not lining greedy pockets then at least the money will be put to good use.

Don't think for any reason I am backing Orange's decision on this matter just my thoughts on here

i get that but for people like us who are struggling already it is quite an increase. it's around £72 for the duration of mine and my husbands contracts which is the cost of our home insurance. i'm glad lots of others are fightng on principle too though as what orange are doing is wrong. i sill doubt with all the legal quotes etc we all send off to justify our rights to orange that orange will back down though.

sellers0208

needuradvice wrote: »

hi guys,

I've accepted an upgrade by orange yesterday. I stay on the same deal and get a better phone as well as more minutes. At first i was told by their sales team that its £20.54pm @ 24mths contract. Now that i've received my phone, I rang their customer services. They are saying that since i didn't actually take out a new tariff, my price will rise in january to £21.66pm.

I thought that those who are renewing their contract, this price rise doesn't apply? So is it only those who still are on an old tariff? So confused...HELP ME PLS!

surely cooling off period applies here? so you could cancel if they don't agree the original terms. plus all calls are recorded so you have proof on what amount you agreed to pay...

Del_Astra

daleski75 wrote: »

It looks like Orange have made their position very clear judging by the letters/emails which people are getting here so where does that leave everyone?

Up that creek without the paddle.

It was never the cost it was the principle in my book and everything will end up like this from now on.

So to answer your question where does it leave everyone, I would say once renewal comes up, do you need a new handset? Do you have to have the latest handset? Do you really want to be paying £30ish a month for 2 years, if you can get something for a tenner a month that offers rolling monthly plans (mean you can walk at short notice), giving you minutes, texts and data then why not give it a shot? What the worst that can happen? Rubbish reception, so you try something else next month, doesn't meet your needs, again what would.

Rather than just get the latest handset at renewal time, think about what you actually need. If you want a new phone then I would consider purchasing it sim free, failing that plenty of decent 2nd hand models can be picked up from ebay or CEX or the like if you have one near you and prefer to see before you buy. Basically I don't want to tie myself into another 18 month contract that they can increase in price, will ask for unlock code and PUK code when renewal comes up. I'm also happy to use the phone I currently as it does everything i need, which is really just calling and texting, some photos when I don't have digital camera to hand.

sellers0208

eggsarnie wrote: »

just had this reply from orange

"Thank you for your recent email outlining your concerns about our impending price increase.
We are obliged, as are all UK operators, to abide by condition 9.6 of the OfCOM/EU Framework for EU Regulation.

Condition 9.6 sets out what we must do if a change is of material detriment to a customer. We must provide 30 days notice and allow customers to terminate their contracts without paying a termination fee.

When changes are not of material detriment, we need to provide 30 days notice (as stated in our terms), but the customer doesn't have the right to terminate their contract without paying a termination fee.

We believe the 4.34% tariff charge increases are reasonable, as they are below RPI, and therefore in real terms are not a material detriment to our customers. RPI for the last 12 months, as published by the government is 5.4%, and we have increased prices by less than this. So a customer paying £15 a month, will see their monthly tariff rise by 64p to £15.64 (inc. VAT) and a customer on a £20 a month tariff will see a 86p increase to £20.86 (inc. VAT) and so on.
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
Lisa
Orange Online Services"


their bold not mine .


like the "in real terms" bit, christ i almost feel sorry for them now !

so it is of material detriment ?? but not in real terms ??? !!!!!! !!!

aren't we meant to be getting individual responses and treatment? my second email back from orange reads exactly the same as yours! they have missed the point that material detriment and the RPI have no relationship whatsoever!

gjchester

sellers0208 wrote: »

surely cooling off period applies here? so you could cancel if they don't agree the original terms. plus all calls are recorded so you have proof on what amount you agreed to pay...

Technically no, upgrades are outside the scope of the Distance Selling Rules. Orange may offer something over an above the legal minimum though.

If you canceleld you'd go back to the pre upgrade costs and T&C thought.

eggsarnie

sellers0208 wrote: »

aren't we meant to be getting individual responses and treatment? my second email back from orange reads exactly the same as yours! they have missed the point that material detriment and the RPI have no relationship whatsoever!

funnily enough before i saw your reply i said the same thing to them, i have told the company im not happy with that response and asked it to go someone more senior.

ive asked them to state the conditions from ofcom that say material detriment in real terms is allowed

DUTR

jasonwatkins wrote: »

As much as I've tried to ignore your wittering, I think "flogging a dead horse" certainly applies to your campaign against people involved in this dispute.

You are, of course, as entitled to an opinion as the next person but when you've consistently and doggedly dismissed and denigrated anyone who's expressed any kind of anger over this decision it really starts to paint you as nothing more than an orange company stooge.

I won't be immature by ignoring your whining, there is no campaign against people fighting the issue, sometimes , it is advantageous to sit on the fence and realise that the resistance to the price increase is futile, this was said long ago in the thread and sadly it is proving to be true, the price increase will go ahead and as others have realised there are more important issues to worry about. Yes Orange or any other company could save money by not investing in future technolgies. And I'm sure as you are people would be more agrieved at that, don't you think the running costs would have increased energy prices have risen and it affects the corporates as well. People could do well by switching to a Virgin sim only , though attacking my posts are certainley not going to resolve the fuss right now.

liannee22

Please respond to executive.office@orange.co.uk

Dear Mrs Jackson,

Thank you for your email.

As you probably know, inflation is at a 20 year high, which is having a significant impact on businesses and households alike.

Unfortunately, we have had to re-evaluate our prices and are sorry to say that there will be a 4.34% increase in our monthly plan prices. Out of plan charges, such as calls, texts and data will not be changing.

We are obliged, as are all UK operators, to abide by condition 9.6 of the OfCom / EU Framework for EU Regulation:

Condition 9.6 sets out what we must do if a change is of material detriment to a customer. We must provide 30 days notice and allow customers to terminate their contracts without paying a termination fee.

When changes are not of material detriment, we need to provide 30 days notice (as stated in our terms), but the customer doesn't have the right to terminate their contract without paying a termination fee. Orange feel this change is not of material detriment to our customers. Our Pay Monthly Terms and Conditions allow us to increase charges by up to the Retail Price Index figure in any 12 month period. RPI for the last 12 months, as published by the government is 5.4% and we've increased prices by below this, at 4.34%. I acknowledge you feel the spirit of the law should allow customers to disconnect without cost, however Orange feel equally that we have resisted this increase for as long as possible and must therefore advise that you would not be able to leave the agreement early without cost to yourself.

We understand that a price rise is never good news but we would like to assure you that you will always get great value and benefits from Orange. For more about this, visit orange.co.uk/more for details.

Whilst I appreciate that this may not be the response you had hoped for, I trust that I have gone some way to explain Orange's position in this matter.

Yours sincerely

my reply also!!! its really quite annoying!!! has anyone had any joy??

simax

liannee22 wrote: »

has anyone had any joy??

No-one will have any joy. Staff have been given clear instructions that everyone must be treated the same. If one person gets a termination out of it, it sets a precedent.

You won't get anywhere. Move on. Nothing to see here.

liannee22

simax wrote: »

No-one will have any joy. Staff have been given clear instructions that everyone must be treated the same. If one person gets a termination out of it, it sets a precedent.

You won't get anywhere. Move on. Nothing to see here.

LOL! who rattled your cage!!! i have infact had joy, ive been offered
600mins, 1gb internet and unlimited texts for £27 with no price increase guarenteed, which is better than my current plan and £5 cheaper!!! I was mearly asking about other peoples experience, on a public forum, how rude of me