Orange 'Free' Broadband

moon777

Update:

I have now spoken to my solicitor in a free advice session, basically he says we are right and Orange is very much in the wrong! This is miss selling and is to my financial detriment, it is also a breach of contract and trust. He was astounded by Orange’s decision and attitude in dealing with the situation, and the additional stress caused to myself by Orange.

I am now also in possession of an email from the car phone warehouse confirming that Orange told them at the point of upgrade I would continue to get my free broadband for the length of my contract (Until October 2013) – and they expedited the upgrade upon that basis for me.

Because Orange will not co operate and Ofcom are doing nothing I have been advised to send one final ‘letter’ (not email) to Orange demanding the continuation of my free broadband for the duration of the contract, or the immediate termination of my mobile contract at no cost to myself. In this letter I will also be stating the options I have over what I intend to do if they do not cooperate.

I have been advised I have two choices that I can afford: small claims court, or stop paying Orange when the broadband ends for my mobile contract and see what transpires from that – my solicitor is confident I will win if Orange take me to court, or that we can have the debt written off if they sell the debt on.

As such I am going to: write the letter to Orange and be prepared to wait until my broadband expires in October for a sensible decision from Orange. Should Orange do nothing I will allow the broadband to end then sign up elsewhere, and cancel my direct debit for my mobile – then allow Orange the next move over the remaining year on the contract. Of course I will sign a new mobile contract the minute I cancel my DD with a new provider.

I will now write to Orange and then sit back and await the termination of my broadband – I am also hopeful that during this time Orange may back track on the attitude and decision for customers who where paying over 30 a month to get the broadband as part of their contract.

My preferred outcome is the termination of my mobile contract as I want nothing to do with this company again, however financially if they were to fulfill the free broadband for the length of my contract I would stick with them until it expires!

Gadgetmaster

syco1 wrote: »

Checking through Quidco there are lots of offers. The best for me seems to be switching Home Phone and Broadband to Plusnet and paying the line rental one year in advance. So for the first year it will be
£9.49 a month line rental
£0.99 caller display
£3.24 Broadband (limited to 10Gb, but that will do) Free Router.
TOTAL £13.63 a month & £28 or £38 cashback from Quidco.
The broadband element doubles after 12 months, but I am free to switch then. In six months my mobile contract ends so I can be free of EE/Orange forever.
Can anyone see any drawbacks in all this ? Anything better ?

Looks like the same deal that I am considering...after a week of research, it is the best that I have found for my needs.Deffo a thumbs up from me

nickbirkin wrote: »

To all disgruntled folk; Orange tell me that they do not charge for a disclosure request under the Data Protection. (Companies are allowed to charge up to £10.00)
As we are now getting to the stage where one of weakest legs Orange has to stand on is the mis-selling element due to the fact that, whether they want to see the two contracts as linked, we all stayed with them BECAUSE the FreeBB made the mobile contract cost effective.
The Sale of Goods Act terms it as “Induced”.
For those out there unfamiliar with this request, by law Orange and anyone else who holds customer records, has to supply you with a complete copy of all your customer records and audio recordings of when you were discussing contracts etc with them.

Perhaps if they get thousands of requests for what causes them a certain degree of inconvenience they might become aware of how hacked off people are.
If the file, when it comes, is missing anything you know should be there ( a call, a contract change, anything really) then make sure you report it to the ICO.

Excellent post (it is number #280 for those that want to read it in full). I spent an annoying 50 minutes being passed from pillar to post when requesting this...India, UK, back to India, Mobile, Broadband (WHY!!!) repeat etc Upshot is, I ended up with a helpful chappie on the mobile team who advised that it is unlikely they will have a recording from 18 months ago, but asked if I had any written confirmation that I would receive the free BB for life of contract, other than a copy of the terms. As I did everything on the phone, I do not, hence my need for the recording in the upcoming court action.
Oops, court action??? Chappie will speak to the adviser who arranged the contract to see if he remembers (from 18 months ago!), then will ring me back within a day or so to see what they can do for me.
This does make me wonder if others have been able to retain the free BB if Orange are aware that court action is pending?
Time will tell...much time no doubt, as I am still waiting for a reply to my complaint letter of over a week ago

you_llneverwalkalone

I,ve also received the letter today.

Phoned the number on the letter but its like talking to a wall they would not listen as they just kept on spouting their terms & conditions to me.

Complained to Ofcom after coming off the phone to orange. Waiting for the ofcom reply.

One things for sure orange will NOT be getting anymore money from me & when my contracts up i,m off and NEVER again will i use orange!

mnbvcxz

If it was me I would work out how much the free broadband was worth to me. Say ten pounds a month (it was fairly crappy broadband). If I had nine months left on my mobile contract then I would demand ninety pounds as compensation for losing the broadband.

I would go through their complaints procedures making it clear my intention to go to the small claims court. If they still insisted on canceling my broadband I would move it to another provider.

Then I would go to the small claims court and say that as a consumer, unlike a business, I am bound by what is fair and reasonable under the sales of goods act rather then just the terms and conditions and demand my ninety pounds compensation.

You might win, you might lose. But it would not be very expensive.

Then when your mobile contract ends you can move it to someone else.

I think this would be a better plan than just stopping paying your mobile contract unless you really are a masochist.

I of course am not a lawyer and may be completely wrong.

Dragunov

Hi all, just got this back from Ofcom:

With regards to you stating you were mis-sold, I should explain that this is only likely to be the case if a customer is given incorrect information at the point of sale. As the broadband was free at the time you agreed to renew your mobile contract and withdrawn some time later, it is unlikely to be considered as mis-selling.

With regards to our regulations, we state that whilst a provider can make a change to the terms and conditions of a contract, including its tariff, they must give the customer at least 30 days notice. If the customer considers the change it to their material detriment, the provider must inform the consumer of their ability to exit the contract, penalty free. As your mobile contract is separate from your broadband one, and Orange is releasing you from the broadband contract free of charge, it appears they are doing nothing wrong.

Eva49

Dragunov

Can I refer you back to post #251 & #254 page 13

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/phones_tv_internet_and_computers_index_e/consumer_problems_with_contracts_packages_and_offers_e/product_or_service_has_been_mis_sold_to_you_tv_phones_and_internet.htm

The above link will tell you about mis-selling

passatrider

*Update*

I'm now signed up with Plusnet after requesting my MAC code from Orange recently. The changeover was smooth and trouble free - plenty of updates along the way too!
Moved my Orange PAYG phone over to GIFF GAFF too so looking forward to much cheaper call charges.

I'm so glad to be shut of Orange and it's dire customer service network to be honest.

Good riddance!

Dragunov

hmmm...in a very interesting turn of events I have been on a call with the mobile team explaining the position and what I wanted in terms of a resolution and I have been told that they will arrange it so that I will not have to pay the line rental fees and still retain my home broadband for the duration of the existing mobile contract...

Time will tell if this is the case as the broadband is due to go dark in October, but I am calling this a result!

chanz4

passatrider wrote: »

*Update*

I'm now signed up with Plusnet after requesting my MAC code from Orange recently. The changeover was smooth and trouble free - plenty of updates along the way too!
Moved my Orange PAYG phone over to GIFF GAFF too so looking forward to much cheaper call charges.

I'm so glad to be shut of Orange and it's dire customer service network to be honest.

Good riddance!

but you were happy before with the rubbish service

neil9313

passatrider wrote: »

*Update*

I'm now signed up with Plusnet after requesting my MAC code from Orange recently. The changeover was smooth and trouble free - plenty of updates along the way too!
Moved my Orange PAYG phone over to GIFF GAFF too so looking forward to much cheaper call charges.

I'm so glad to be shut of Orange and it's dire customer service network to be honest.

Good riddance!

So your the very first person that I have seen on here that had Orange PAYG with the free BB, I can see why your moving because you now have to pay for BB