MSE News: Orange won't face price hike investigation but door open for complaints

jasonwatkins

gabbyevs wrote: »

its not necessarily within the 30 day period yet though as my text said my bill would increase from feb

It's in the 30 day period for me, as my price is expected to rise on the 8th of January.

This seems to apply to you though ..

Most will see hikes from 8 January. However, users who agreed a deal between April and the end of September this year, or whose bill date is earlier than the 8th of each month, will see prices rise in February.

fusionblue

Does anybody know if pay monthly sim only users will see a price increase?

Guys_Dad

stringman20 wrote: »

You have completely missed the point. To help do your thinking for you; how do you think orange would react if all of their contract customers suddenly pulled the plug?

There is no chance at all that this would happen. I for one, being an Orange customer, will stay with them as long as it is in my interests.

And the risk analysis of the extra £1.50 or so per month for the rest of anyone's contract -v- the hassle and damage of cancelling their DD's would only appeal to someone who had no financial acumen.

We are dealing with the real world here and, at present, OFCOM have not helped when they refuse to take a stance on their own regulation.

And to remind you, all the networks have this increase clause built in and Vodafone and Virgin have already increased mid-contract, albeit with much less organised complaint.

lindaj4

Hello guys
Whatever you do don't cancel your direct debit because you'll be charged £3.50 non direct debit charge, which in most cases is higher than the price hike and you could also be registered as a defaulter if bill not paid on time. Like Guys dad said other firms have already done this and did not inform customers before doing so.

74Shadow

jasonwatkins wrote: »

It's in the 30 day period for me, as my price is expected to rise on the 8th of January.

This seems to apply to you though ..

It may be me...but how can you be so certain your price will go up from the 8th of January, if you hadn't received the text???
Because if you say you have spoken to Orange and they have told you that your tariff is going up on the 8th, then they have informed you - giving the 30 days notice period. The notice does not solely have to come in text format.
But good luck to you

jasonwatkins

74Shadow wrote: »

Because if you say you have spoken to Orange and they have told you that your tariff is going up on the 8th, then they have informed you - giving the 30 days notice period. The notice does not solely have to come in text format

Well yeah, there is that. Either way, the 'material detriment' fully applies to me given my current financial situation. I was just hoping for the lack of notification to make things easier really.

gjchester

jasonwatkins wrote: »

This kind of applies to me - as i've recently been placed on the appeal-rate ESA benefit, which represents around a 40% cut in my income, my outgoings are now more than my income.

I'm not sure thats relevent. Your income loss is not in Oranges control, and although this proice rise is unwelcome you already have problems.

You'd have to show that this increase was the cause of your detriment, and with that sort of income loss you would be hard pushed to show it was *just* down to the price rise alone.

Good luck in your circumstances.

jasonwatkins

gjchester wrote: »

You'd have to show that this increase was the cause of your detriment, and with that sort of income loss you would be hard pushed to show it was *just* down to the price rise alone

The relevant part of the T's & C's as I can see is this ..

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:

The part that I believe applies in my situation is the first part - ".. if we vary it's terms resulting in an excessive increase in the Charges .."

Nothing about causing there. Because my income has been cut so severely and my outgoings are now more than my income, any increase in charges is excessive.

gjchester

jasonwatkins wrote: »

The relevant part of the T's & C's as I can see is this ..



The part that I believe applies in my situation is the first part - ".. if we vary it's terms resulting in an excessive increase in the Charges .."

Nothing about causing there. Because my income has been cut so severely and my outgoings are now more than my income, any increase in charges is excessive.

I understand that but any change in your circumstances could be seen as excessive, but all the contract deals with is the price rise, ie a few quid. Is that excessive in relation to the cost of the contract? Yes to you but not generally as it's under the RPI.

Your case is different to most, but material detriment would generally only look at the effects of the change in price of the contract with respect to the contract, not the income drop elsewhere.

DUTR

jasonwatkins wrote: »

The relevant part of the T's & C's as I can see is this ..



The part that I believe applies in my situation is the first part - ".. if we vary it's terms resulting in an excessive increase in the Charges .."

Nothing about causing there. Because my income has been cut so severely and my outgoings are now more than my income, any increase in charges is excessive.

With due respect Jason, your individual situation is not reflective of the millions of Orange customers, even if Orange took pity and gave you an exception, it is sensible to assume that it will not be the case for many many others