orange 'gesture' tied me to a new 6month contract!

wen-tom

has this happened to anyone else?
My contract on my iphone 3gs was ending in sep 11. one night i got a call from the orange 'loyalty team' to tell me that they could reduce my contract to £25 a month because the new i phone was delayed (back then there was rumours of the IP5 due for release)

I remember the conversation really well and remember asking whether this was tying me to anything and they said it was not and that i could upgrade as soon as I wanted or when the new Iphone was out. I agreed as it was cheaper. They didn't explain anything else at all.

So recently I started to think about upgrading to the iphone 4 and looked online at my account to see my contract listed as 'upgrade' and that my contract was due to end in may 12?? confused so I called orange.

I was told that i had been put onto a new 6 month sim only contract by the loyalty team and that in their notes I had agreed to this!

I am so angry! the girl I spoke to couldnt do anything because it wasn't done by her team (?) but sent an email to the loyalty team to ask them to call me. She suggested that it would be ok as they record all the calls!

What can I do about this?

my iphone 3gs has just started to rapidly drain the battery so I was considering upgrading but there is no way i want to stay with orange now but to get out I will have to pay the remaining contract!

Guys_Dad

1. Deny taking out a new contract.

2. Ask for transcript of telephone conversation to prove either way.

3. Write your complaint to their CEO.

4. I didn't know Orange did 6 month sim-only contracts. Check.

5. September to May is not 6 months. How did they calculate the extension length? Was "one night" last May

wen-tom

thanks guys dad.
i denied it yesterday but the retentions team couldn't/wouldn't do anything about it.

I can't see a 6 month sim only contract on their website but it could have changed since september. In fact there is no £25 contract at all listed.

Lets see if they call me back...

Guys_Dad

Wendy- see my point 6 again. Check when they rang you and also look into the discrepancy over the September - May - 6 months as one of these has to be wrong.

Good luck.

ps - they have never offered a 6-month sim only

wen-tom

my online account gives my end date as 28th May on
pay monthly plan: iPhone SIM Only 25 (6mth) , 8 months.

I'm not sure what that means.. (6mth), 8 months?

My account history shows the change sometime between my september and october bill..they called me in september. I vaguely remember them saying that they can't effect the september bill because it was too late but that the october would be the £25 a month. sep - may would be 8 months.. could that be what the (6mth), 8 months is referring to? i have no idea what that means!

Guys_Dad

It seems very strange to me. The 6-month sim only may very well be an internal thing, but you need to speak to a manager and ask about the 8months bit and how that could come about.

I would deny strongly the whole business of agreeing an extension, particularly as to the inexplicable 8 month addendum and demand they check the tape.

Seems that they had some sort of incompetent person who rang. Also confirm from Orange that it was an Orange cs person and not 3rd party, despite the claim to be the loyalty team.

wen-tom

its all v strange to me. i did confirm yesterday that it was orange who called. it was as they have the notes on their system.

i'm going to give them until lunchtime today to call me and if they haven't I will be calling them back!

stugib

Guys_Dad wrote: »

ps - they have never offered a 6-month sim only

They did specifically in this circumstance because I took them up on it in May last year - they were ringing iPhone 3GS customers coming to the end of their contracts, that they wanted to tie in until the new iPhone 4 release date (which they told me in May was expected September 2011, so seems strange they should be telling the OP the same in September a few weeks before it was actually released).

OP - were you at the end of your contract in September or did it have a couple of months to run, so the 6 months was added to your current term? They were clear with me that it was a 6 month term, but not all operators are as honest of course!

Guys_Dad

stugib wrote: »

They did specifically in this circumstance because I took them up on it in May last year

wondered if it was an internal thing rather than a general offer, but the bit about 8 months on her file is decidedly odd, unless her original contract actually ended in November. But I am sure Wendy is clued up on that.

Cleo27

If they didn't send you out any terms and conditions or an agreement letter to state you were entering into a contract then they cannot legally tie you in a contract. Hope this helps

grumbler

How can a letter change anything legally? It can get lost in post or the recipient can throw it away.