Orange 'Free' Broadband

Eva49

Thank you for posting that and well done on your success!

Lets hope orange are beginning to wake up and smell the coffee!

Hope they are going to put that in writing to you?

diamonds

moon777 wrote: »

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!

INDEED, I already posted such but make sure your letter of legal position is sent to the REGISTERED OFFICE of Orange parent company EverythingEverywhere

diamonds

Dragunov wrote: »

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!

it seems Orange have woke up and had a coffee....taking a compensation loss on the issue at hand to protect the future of the Orange brand & revenues from a ill legal advised cancel all free broadband blanket policy position ! expect loads of PM's from folk wanting your account/mobile number to quote Orange if others are not getting such Dragunov lol people power over corporate disregard for legislation

Flicka

Hi .I'm new here. I've tried working my way though this thread but gotten myself confused.
Yes I've been with orange since freeserve/wannado days for internet and I took them up on their broadband offer in 2006 with my mobile phone.
Firstly they are STILL sending out emails with the first paragraph sating that "since you no longer have a pay monthly plan" when I clearly do . They have not yet rectified this error.
I renewed my mobile in feb this year for a 24 month contract. At the time I asked in the shop twice if this would still include my free mobile and was told yes. If they had said no I would have gone elsewhere.
When I called today I was told i would only have free mobile if I took out my home phone with them.
Where do I stand legally . Can I cancel my mobile phone contract ??? They seemed to think not
To be honest their broadband is rubbish . I can't even watch iplayer on it as it spoends forever buffering

syco1

Not having a go Flicka, but if you are trying to watch iplayer, I can almost understand Orange - the free broadband was only supposed to be 2Gb per month. I am sure I must always go over that and am grateful no one has said anything, but I have never watched videos/TV online, I wouldn't dare.
Apart from that, if the best we can all hope for is continuing with broadband until the end of our current contract, I don't think it is worth the effort. Better to never have anything to do with Orange again.
Exec Office never rang me back on Friday, but I will be asking for a recording of the conversation I had with them back in April.

Flicka

To be honest I have no idea of what it would take to go over 2GB .. and don't watch that much tv ...
But it's more the way they have handled this . Surely they could have phased it out slowly . Ie not renewed at next contract or something . To pull the rug from under our feet seems unfair esp when so many renewed mobile contracts on the basis of the broadband. I think I'm going to head over to BT they seemed quite helpful on the phone.

Eva49

syco1 + Flicka

If you go to your online account, it is easy to check if you are eligible for free BB it will show in your 'bundles'... if it shows now......then you must have been 'eligible' when you renewed

syco1

Entirely agree Flicka. I have been with Orange solidly since 1996 and used to recommend them to everyone, but they have changed their attitude to customers drastically. I suppose it works both ways these days - no customer loyalty, it's all about cashback, short term offers, and move on.
I was very upset with Orange back in March/April, when it became apparent that they didn't care if I stayed or moved. I was upset when they made the mid-contract price increases, and I was upset when they started charging 35p for a two second call to my answerphone. The only reason I stayed was that "THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE" said "you will keep your free home broadband for as long as you keep the mobile number you are now on". That was good enough for me. They gave their word ! Now I just want away, whatever they say, they LIED.
AS for BT... I spoke to them on Friday and they tried to get me to sign up to their Broadband. I was tempted, it obviously meant a lot to the Indian lady who I was talking to. But even after the 6 months free, you are still tied to another 12 months at £13 a month, which is almost double other providers. Whatever you do, please look at Quidco, and get some cashback for yourself. Check out Quidco compare for Broadband and also the individual offers which are sometimes better. If you do sign up thatw ay, clear all cookies and make sure you click through from Quidco to BT, Plusnet, or whoever, and keep screen-shots if possible.

syco1

This is what it says Eva -
Orange Broadband charge -0.00
eligible_for_free_bb_offer
Consumer Broadband

This is what my Orange Broadband Account says -
Broadband Starter - free with your Orange phone - up to 2 Meg speed, USB Modem and 2GB usage allowance.

I used to have the option to upgrade for an extra £5 a month, but now that has changed to £5 + £13.50 line rental per month.

Eva49

Which surely 'eligible' for free BB is what they refer to when you renew contracts?
Mine is Broadband Plus - nothing about speed or allowance