Orange 'Free' Broadband

neil9313

montage wrote: »

I think anybody who's on their £5 broadband will loose it come upgrade. I haven't heard of anybody on £5 packages receiving a letter.

There is one, iscopoa on here.....opps spelling, they paid £5 extra for talk & wireless.

redandwhitewizard

I have been reviewing this thread as a result of receiving the 'letter', but in my case no txts or emails which is just one inconsistency from Orange/Everything Everywhere (EE).

Having got the letter I contacted them by phone and was originally told that the only way to complain was via email. Whilst trying this and checking details I cam across their own complaints process which indicated a slightly different email address with '-' replaced by '.' and also that I could start escalation by phone alone.
I decided to email anyway but got an automated reply indicating that due to technical issues they were unable to handle emails, but technicians were working hard to resolve. I tried again and also used the online form over the next couple of days and got the same result, so much for the hard work to resolve.

I finally decided to phone again and this time finally got through to someone to discuss in detail and complain about the cancellation, failure to follow their own documented escalation process. Comments were made about the business decision and it being due to viability but no details and that they would respond by letter.

I had to ring again several days later as I still hadnt received the letter that was supposedly send immediately. Having now finally got their formal response it is interesting to note the words "As the removal of free and £5 Broadband is a business decision, we are unable to offer customers deadlock to take the matter to independent arbitration" and there is therefore no mention of CISAS or Ofcom.

They say it is "no longer viable for us to offer a free broadband subscription ... we have implemented cost effective alternatives going forward".
If it is no longer viable to offer free broadband at a quoted cost of £5 does that mean Orange/EE will also be cancelling other services which cost them money such as Orange Wednesdays, the promotions they keep running for PAYG customers to get extra minutes etc at no extra cost & also the constant stream of ads on TV, radio, magazines.
If the cost of free Broadband is not viable at present, what is the difference if we do change our line rental. Yes, they will get extra money from this, but they presumably still have to pay BT for the infrastructure which cuts into their profit.

At the same time as this the EE promotion is indicating fibre will be available at some time, but no-one appears to know when this is. It seems more that coincidence that this is being pushed at the time that our free Broadband is being stopped. I might be tempted to switch if transferring would give me this capability, but at the moment it's hard to make a decision without knowing the dates & costs involved.

As with others the original 'letter' has now been followed by a later one informing me that the service will now be stopped in November compared with the original stop date of October.

With regards to both the formal and verbal contracts. Orange originally stated "free for life" and promoted this extensively. A renewal is a renewal of the original contract not a new contract and surely any changes in T&Cs must be made clear in any verbal communications and explicit on any forms. I have renewed my mobile contract by phone and in a local Orange franchise and whilst the length of the renewal and monthly premium may have changed and been noted, I have never been told about any changes to the terms of my additional services such as free Broadband.

Having contacted Ofcom, they say it is an issue for CISAS. But CISAS say as it is a business decision it is not handled by them !
So much for regulation of the industry.

Perhaps one of the lawyer chains who offer to solve issues at no cost to the plaintiff would be interested to take this on as a class action.

Alternatively we can all start small claims procedures which would be interesting as they would be handled in local courts and Orange would have to keep sending legal representatives everywhere at costs far outweighing what they are saying is not viable.

From an Orange/EE perspective the easy answer is to hold their original promise of free Broadband based on the current non-fibre lines, and make clear when the new services will be available and give customers the choice to transfer based on the costs & added speeds etc provided by fibre.
Many will probably choose to stay even with a line rental transfer given the right incentives, retaining & increasing revenue for EE compared to the losses incurred by an exodus of customers to other suppliers for both Broadband and mobile services due to the current siutation.

carolwat

well ive rang the exec office and was asked how id got that number and when I told them the internet I was told I shouldnt be calling them. I quickly pointed out that I had an ofcom number and wanted to log it and I was suddenly ok to call. Gave my details and logged the number, got a case reference number and was told all about the special team set up who would call me. I remained very nice and polite throughout and questioned as to whether they would actually call considering they arent calling anyone else. I also asked that considering the email stated I should contact orange to stop me losing my free BB and id now done that did that mean I wouldnt lose my free BB. Was told he didnt know but then said hed be lying if he said yes. So my complaint is logged, I await my call but wont hold my breath. I was told not to follow my complaint up via email but I did anyway as I had it ready to send as soon as I got the name of who I was talking to. I have now just received an email from orange with a different date for stopping the BB. The new date is 20 days later than my original email stated.

We recently contacted you asking you to call us about your home broadband plan. There's still time to keep your free broadband and we've got loads of special offers created just for you.

Just give us a ring now on 0800 294 4747
Our lines are open 9am to 8pm weekdays and 10am to 7pm on weekends and bank holidays.

If you don't get in touch, unfortunately your broadband will stop working on 2012-11-26.

We look forward to hearing from you.
The Orange home broadband team

carolwat

my response from the exec office. They seem pretty sure it can be resolved. hmmmm. It also seems to like if they say it enough times they will believe it themselves eventually. Email exactly as received


Hello,

Your query has been passed to has been passed to a specialist team,
you will receive a call from a member of staff who will be able to resolve your issue.

Orange Executive Office

montage

Eva49 wrote: »

I have just got off the phone to CISAS

Having explained the situation to them, they will not be able to adjudicate on this case, as it was......wait for it and I apologise to montage in advance!

A BUSINESS DECISION!

So, it would appear, and CISAS agreed, we may as well get on with any legal action we may each be considering.

No use waiting 8 weeks at all:mad:


Additionally I was told to phone trading standards due to being mis-sold; I did that already, yesterday!............Cannot go through to trading standards only CAB, and all I got was they can do it due to T&Cs even though it's mis-sold.

I am going to disappear somewhere if I keep going round in ever decreasing circles!
Think it has to be Court and let the Judge decide

..............

This may stand if it was a Business Decision complaint but my complaint isn't about the removal of the free broadband, its about being miss-sold my mobile contract and being promised something i am not now going to be receiving. Its irrelevant what that item im not receiving is.......

Is my angle.

Eva49

montage wrote: »

..............

This may stand if it was a Business Decision complaint but my complaint isn't about the removal of the free broadband, its about being miss-sold my mobile contract and being promised something i am not now going to be receiving. Its irrelevant what that item im not receiving is.......

Is my angle.

That was my opening shot.........mis-sold contract

montage

Eva49 wrote: »

That was my opening shot.........mis-sold contract

Maybe they don't like the thought of the work load......

Eva49

On phone to CAB update shortly

moon777

Small claims court - how to and the process:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/Makingacourtclaimformoney/DG_195812

I am hopeful my solicitor will go no fee no win on this with me, or for the allowed legal advice fees of 260 to help me put it together, i am seeing him tomorrow pm over this. Will keep you informed.

I need to claim the cost of buying out my 11 month mob contract, the 260 for legal assistance, compensation for the hours on the phone dealing with Orange / EE, and the court fees. This will cost Orange / EE more than just ending my contract, which i have afforded them the opportunity to do for the last 4 weeks.

Eva49

Just got off the phone to CAB who will pass this on to Trading Standards

His advice, after my quoting the page on mis-selling from their own website:

He confirmed a breach of contract, which we know already, on the basis it does not comply with what we were promised.
Also, there is a case for misrepresentation at the point of renewal of contract and inducement to renew.

Options suggested
Write another letter of complaint stating breach of contract.......giving them a deadline for a response........send by recorded delivery.
Or
Wait for the outcome of the Ofcom talks!

I any event, he is of the opinion this can only be decided by a Judge via legal action.

Whilst Orange, cannot prove we were not promised 'free BB for life'...........nor can we prove we were as it was a verbal promise.

Think that has been said in a previous post and came from Orange themselves