Orange 'Free' Broadband

diamonds

If the SAME letters are coming out still its not even being reviewed on a case by case situation, it seems as usual the exec office is being ignored by Orange top table.

youcangoogleit

montage wrote: »

Was you a free broadband customer or one of the £5 variants?

I am currently on a £35 tariff with free broadband. Have been for a few years. I had wanadoo broadband anyway and an orange contract of about £25 and then upped my monthly tariff when I upgraded to take advantage of the broadband offer. Must have been a few years now. I think my contract is almost done so wondering if that will have leverage at all?

moon777

MAC code used! :beer:

I was going to wait for orange to cut off the broadband, but as they have given me 2 dates for this the 2nd date is after the half price broadband deal offered by plusnet, so I have now paid and used the MAC and will have Plusnet before next weekend.

Chatting to plusnet over the weekend was the deciding factor – excellent support compared to Orange / EE – plus only £5 for a static IP one off payment, half price broadband for a year! Moved my home phone to them as well from BT – quid’s in really. Oh and no Contract just monthly!

Mobile: I rang up Orange CS last week and moved to a 15.50 a month package. I will cancel this DD next month and see what they try and do – can’t wait!

Wife’s mobile: was orange PAYG now O2
Daughter 1 mobile: was orange PAYG now O2
Daughter 2 mobile: was orange PAYG now O2
They all topped up by at least 10 a month for free texts.

So Orange / EE have lost 20 from my mobile contract (so far) and 30 from my family – that’s 50 a month minimum.

Next my dad: have just got him to ask for his MAC, he will be moving his home phone and broadband from Orange / EE, and that’s another 40 a month usually.

It’s not a case of the cheapest deals for me really; even if Orange had caved in and given me free Broadband I simply will not use a company that cheats its consumers – again and again and again.

EE / Orange – not to be trusted.

I will carry on the fight to have my mobile contract ended due to EE mis selling etc.

moon777

Just in case you did not know:

For those worried about leaving Orange / EE mobile due to its good coverage: Virgin uses the same masts as Orange/tmobile – so Virgin has exactly the same coverage these days as Orange.

And your monthly contract – can be changed after half way through, so when mine hit 12 months of its 24 a week back, I was able to ring up and tell them to move it from 35 to 15.50 contract.

Gadgetmaster

moon777 wrote: »

Mobile: I rang up Orange CS last week and moved to a 15.50 a month package. I will cancel this DD next month and see what they try and do – can’t wait!

It’s not a case of the cheapest deals for me really; even if Orange had caved in and given me free Broadband I simply will not use a company that cheats its consumers – again and again and again.

Like you, my wife and I will be leaving everything Orange, as will both sets of parents, so that is over £1000/year they are losing!

Just be careful if you cancel the DD though, as you could find yourself with a black mark on your credit rating. May I suggest that the better/safer option would be to cancel the mobile contract, then sue EE for the penalty charges through the small claims court.

carolwat

Ive also just received the email stating my free BB will come to an end in November. I have called them and spoke to someone who just talked over me constantly and basically said 'tough, we can do what we want, OFCOM said were doing nothing illegal and were allowed to do it'. I played the material detriment card and she told me it didnt stand as they would pay whatever it cost me to get out of my BT contract. I dont want to change providers on my land line because I dont want to be forced into another long contract. My mobile isnt due for renewal for ages so I cant get out of that contract and leave orange altogether. Are we really just stuck with this?

Gadgetmaster

carolwat wrote: »

Ive also just received the email stating my free BB will come to an end in November. I have called them and spoke to someone who just talked over me constantly and basically said 'tough, we can do what we want, OFCOM said were doing nothing illegal and were allowed to do it'. I played the material detriment card and she told me it didnt stand as they would pay whatever it cost me to get out of my BT contract. I dont want to change providers on my land line because I dont want to be forced into another long contract. My mobile isnt due for renewal for ages so I cant get out of that contract and leave orange altogether. Are we really just stuck with this?

I certainly hope not! I would suggest a letter of complaint, then possibly small claims court action for the early cancellation penalty. See Eva49 post #407 and my own post #423 for possible wordings. I am currently waiting to hear back, having given notice under compliance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct...in other words, sort this, or I'll see you in court

I will keep you all posted on any updates.

nickbirkin

Had a journalist friend ring their Press office this week and this is their company line......
Press Release recieved last week.

“Free broadband for 18 months was a limited time offer that we ran between October 2006 and the end of 2009. Although the offer provided customers with a free service for only 18 months, as part of our commitment to great value, we have continued to offer those customers the service. Following a recent review of our home broadband portfolio, we can confirm that we will shortly be making changes to the plan, requiring customers to switch their existing line provider to us – potentially helping them to make even further savings on what they pay today. As a result, we are currently contacting those customers who will be affected by a variety of channels including emails, voicemails, SMS and letters to inform them of the changes as well as the options available to them. Rest assured, we remain committed to offering all our customers the best value home broadband we are able to.”
Who on this forum took this deal to mean the above?
Has anyone out there managed to find a copy of the ads? Cos I remember a tabloid ad stating free broadband for life.....and yes any doubters we did take that to mean as long as we kept up a valid mobile contract.
It was a client retention excercise at a time where customers were chopping and changing contracts as better deals were coming onto the market on an almost daily rate.

Eva49

Well that's not correct! In fact I would go as far to say it is a blatant lie!

My initial contract for Free BB started 7th July 2006

When I renewed 18months later, THEY told me it was included AND for life! ie as long as I kept/renewed a monthly mobile phone contract.

In fact, they reaffirmed my free BB when I renewed my contract in March 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/may/25/news.mobilephones

watchdog

Orange's press statement (posted above - thanks nickbirkin) is utterly mendacious.

This broadband offer was 'free for life' provided a mobile contract was maintained. Ask the front line sales staff - they all know what they were told to offer, to earn their bonuses !

Are Orange seriously suggesting that 1,000's of their customers are mistaken, or suffering dementia ? This 'free bb for life' offer was mis-sold, end of story. Orange know that, and are now knowingly mis-representing the facts.

Hell will freeze over before they get my landline. How can they be trusted not to ensnare me again ? I do not have the time to fine tooth-comb every word, of every page, of every agreement and contract that I sign. I want to deal with suppliers and providers who I can trust not to use slight of hand, and smoke and mirrors, to spirit a meal off my meagre table onto their own groaning table.

It is clear from all these postings, and not least the number of page hits, that the worm is now turning !