Getting out of contract with Orange after large first bill.

dodgy_gooner

Does anyone have any advice on how I might get out of a contract with Orange for Home Phone and Broadband. I took out a contract with them for Home phone and broadband which now I have my first bill (£45/ month) is way above what I was previously paying with BT (Phone) and Orange (Broadband) also they have dropped my broadband speed from around 6.5Mbps to 4Mbps for which they claim is a coincidence.

I have just rang them and spoken to a supervisor who advises me that the cooling off period was 7 days and it's tough if my bills are more because they have fulfilled all their obligations over the phone (They are checking this) If I wish to get out of the contract then it will cost £160.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

macman

Did you not check the price before signing up? Once you are connected, your contract has begun and you must either complete the minimum term or pay the ETC.
A speed of 4MBps does not void your contract.
How can your monthly bill be £45? Can you break that down?

staffie1

Agree with macman. The answer to your question lies within the terms of the contract you have agreed to with Orange, which you should have made sure you understood before signing up.

dodgy_gooner

Unfortunately my Wife signed up and I did not check out the package in time. The package is £33.50 / month for line rental / Broadband and off peak calls which seems a lot and we have used just over £11 of peak calls which are not itemised as Orange don't provide that as a service.

I guess I am now stuck with it for another 11 months before I can get out of it but I'd certainly not recommend Orange on this basis.

societys_child

Of course Orange provide that service,
all your calls are itemised, number called/ date/ time / duration (and cost if chargeable). Just log into your account on the Orange homepage, it's all there.


The package you say your on appears to be £19.50, can find no mention of a £33.50 package. (there's £23.50 anytime package)
Most expensive package seems to £28.50 which includes 1000 mins to mobiles, anytime calls and 30 international destinations. Think you've got something wrong somewhere.

[edit] Just a thought, does it include an Orange mobile contract?
another thought, inclusive calls are limited to 1 hour, then you need to hang up (before you reach 60 mins) and re-dial otherwise you'll be charged.

diamonds

£18.50 for Orange mobile customers, £23.50 without, add £11 & Orange have messed something up in billing.

The Broadband and Off Peak Calls plan has a 12 month minimum connection period and costs £5 a month for Orange pay monthly (excluding mobile broadband) and pay as you go customers. The plan costs £5 more a month for non Orange customers. Existing pay as you go customers must have at least £1 in their Phone Fund to get the £5 discount offer.See the full terms for Phone Fund at www.orange.co.uk/mobileterms. This offer is not available to business customers or existing broadband customers who already have a promotional offer. If you take out this offer and then cancel your pay monthly plan for whatever reason, you will lose the £5 discount for the remainder of your broadband plan's 12 month term.
This price assumes payment by direct debit. If you want to pay by debit or credit card there will be additional separate payment handling charge of 50p a month. You'll also need a BT line and have to pay £13.50 Orange line rental a month on top. These prices are available to customers who live in an Orange broadband network area, which is 85% of all UK homes. ****If you don't live in an Orange network area you can still get Broadband and Off Peak Calls for an extra £10 per month****
Your inclusive calls are to UK landlines starting with 01, 02, 03, 0845 and 0870 using your landline between 7pm to 7am weekdays and all times at weekends. You can call for up to one hour, redial as often as you like and calls are subject to our fair use policy of 1000 minutes a month. If you go over that amount we reserve the right to monitor your usage and/or suspend or terminate your service. We will give you reasonable notice of our intention to suspend or terminate the service and give you the opportunity to reduce your usage. Calls to some telephone numbers starting with 08 will cost up to 12.5p/min and calls to 09 numbers cost up to £1.83 p/min. Please see our price list at www.orange.co.uk/homevoiceguide for details.
If you want to use voicemail you'll need to activate it. When your home phone is connected we'll send you an email explaining how. It can take up to 48 hours to activate your voicemail. If you do not access your voicemail for more than 90 days, we reserve the right to deactivate it. You will be able to reactive it again for no charge if you wish.

All Orange Broadband is delivered by BT and "Orange network area" no longer exists since Orange handed it "own network" to BT to disband & move to BT Wholesale - I BET you are paying that additional £10 charge....

Nice to see Orange have updated the terms and charges since BT Wholesale took over !!!! SHOCKING as ever, the upper management of Orange is just hopeless & has been for years.

Infact I'd say make a complaint via Ofcom, how many more Orange customers are paying £10 a month when Orange's own terms contradict a "own network" that does not exist since BT Wholsale took over ? As I said it's SHOCKING !!

diamonds

If you spend £11 regularly on calls you would be cheaper with the middle or top plan that gives unlimited 01/02/03 calls, or the top plan that includes 1000 mobile minutes. £10 or £15 a month more on line rental as a Orange customer, £5 more on each for non Orange mobile customers.

billsavings

Another alternative to keep the cost of your peak calls down is to use www.18185.co.uk if they dont allow direct access via 18185. Use the Freephone Access Number http://www.18185.co.uk/mobilerates.php not as cheap but a lot cheaper then Orange.

dodgy_gooner

This is what is currently on my bill

Account Charges
Broadband & Off Peak Calls Monthly Price Plan 09/09/2012 - 08/10/2012 £ 33.500
Total £ 33.500

I have just looked at the information diamonds has provided and it would look like I am being overcharged. I will follow this up and let you all know how I get on.

diamonds

would be great dodgy_gooner if you update us

dodgy_gooner

Just had a call from Orange and they have listened to the call and it was all in order and my Wife agreed to the service. I tried to argue that as they were telling her it would save her money over our existing arrangement the sales tactics were incorrect. Orange say that whilst they say they will save you money they can't guarantee it, I have argued that with Sky as an example I can get free broadband so how could I possibly be better off paying 33.50 a month with Orange.

As for the £33.50 they claim it is because BT have not upgraded my exchange and that they have to charge the extra £10.

Based on this I will now be cancelling as soon as possible and also cancelling my T-Mobile contract and moving elsewhere.

Very unhappy with the service and they will not budge or even try to orref any sort of discount or anything.