Beware early upgrades?

Noodled24

When my last contract with Orange expired I took an upgrade that they offered me. It was a great deal at the time at £15 per month.

Fast forward to now, I've just learned that because I upgraded early last time the loyalty offers that they gave me 2 years ago have expired 2 months before the end of my current contract. Meaning that for the past 2 months they've been charging me 60p per day for access to the internet. This alone comes to more than my line rental!
Am I wrong in feeling that I should have been notified and given the chance to disable my mobile internet so as not to incur these fees?

On top of that, they also apparently had a £5 line rental discount as part of my "loyalty" package. Which has also disappeared.

I was not notified of these extra charges and it really feels like I've had the rug whipped out from under me. My contract is only £15 per month. Which has just jumped up to £21 + Line rental at £15. It seems like a HUGE increase.

Surely (if only for reasons relating to customer service) they should notify customers to let them know about changes to their account?

Guys_Dad

I empathise with your post. Yes, they might have informed you that there were going to be changes and they should have, if for no other reason than good practice.

But you are right to warn about early upgrades, If only people could curb the "gimmee gimmee" need to get their hands on the latest "free" toy/handset and wait till they had the upper hand at contract renewal stage, they would save a bundle.

You won't be caught again, hopefully, and a good warning to others - though doubt few will heed it! :beer:

latecomer

Have you tried complaining about this and asking whether they could retrospectively add a data bundle in the same way they do for people who get caught out abroad?

If not then request your PAC and join another network.

Noodled24

I've complained to customer services but they were fairly dismissive. Apart from asking me about an upgrade or if I wanted to pay the outstanding balance. A bold move on their part given they'd just doubled my bill without warning!

I'm waiting for a call back from another variation on a customer service team, which apparently they can't do until Sunday (coincidentally the same day my contract expires)

latecomer

Phone up and request your PAC code - this triggers the leaving process and might get you a little more attention. It should also get you a call from retentions who have more power to offer deals etc so might be able to sort it out.

If you dont use the PAC (it expires after 30 days) then you simply carry on as before but presumably if you dont get a good deal then you'll be leaving anyway?

Lum

And next time you replace your handset, consider buying one unlocked on a 0% card. Then go for a much cheaper contract, and set up a standing order for the difference to pay off the card.

Be sure to do the sums and make sure this method is actually cheaper for your circumstances and chosen handset, however.

Noodled24

Lum wrote: »

And next time you replace your handset, consider buying one unlocked on a 0% card. Then go for a much cheaper contract, and set up a standing order for the difference to pay off the card.

Be sure to do the sums and make sure this method is actually cheaper for your circumstances and chosen handset, however.

I don't think it's possible to get a cheaper contract. When I signed up it was £12.50 a month, with Oranges charge for not paying by Direct Debit this brought it up to about £15. Which was fairly reasonable.

Whats happened is that whoever I spoke to when I upgraded at the time must have set certain details as "loyalty" offers, which apparently expire before the contract runs out. Meaning my July bill is now closer to £35 - I'm just annoyed that nobody told me my bill was set to double for the last 2 months of my contract.

Lum

It may still work out cheaper. Comparing to, say, the £10/month giffgaff deal you are paying an extra fiver a month. If that's a 2 year contract then you have overpaid £120

How much was it to buy your handset standalone?

In my case I was on a £35/month T-Mobile contract, now switched to the £10/month giffgaff deal, so I was overpaying by £25/month for 18 months, I also had to contribute £60 to the cost of the handset, so I ended up shelling out £510 more than I needed to for my "free" handset.

I've just got myself a new handset off eBay USA for £360 (including import duty) that does everything I want and then some. Got exactly the handset I wanted even though it's not available in the UK. It's on a 0% card so providing I pay the extra £25 a month that I would have been giving to T-Mobile, it'll be paid in 14 1/2 months.