Orange upgrade after 2 years just before leaving?

digitaltoast

A more, ahem, "senior" friend of mine has an extremely basic phone from Orange which comes with 300 minutes and texts and no internet for which she'd been paying ... £30 a month!
"Yes, but I get free home broadband". When the "free broadband with mobile" offer stopped this month and she was forced to shop around, she realised by how much she'd been ripped off.
(Yes, I know she could keep it by moving her phone line to Orange, but come on! She's old, not mad!)

Her contract ends 6th Jan, her phone is on its last legs - is there anyway she's going to be able to now get the upgrade she turned down before and still end the contract on time?

I tried helping her by phoning Orange - it made phoning BT CS seem like a joy. Utterly depressing, they just tried to flog her more tat.

She doesn't seem to have any online account either.

So, what exactly do I have to do/say to get her a new phone which she can unlock and use with GiffGaff while she's still contracted to Orange? I've tried the T&C and they aren't helpful either.

MissKeith

buy a phone and shove her SIM in. there's no way that Orange will just give you a free phone without entering you into another contractual agreement.

Jon_01

Taking a new 'free' phone will lock you into a new contract. (the phones aren't really 'free' you know).

iritchie

Yeah your friend may well have been overpaying for the latest majority of their contract, but no company will give out new handsets without a fresh committment to stay with them to cover the costs.

If they've been happy with a very old handset for this long, then they probably don't need a shiny new £600 smart phone in any case, so PAYG will still probably work out the best deal for them.

chanz4

£20 carphonewarhouse you will find a cheap unlocked phone

talkshowhostess

Ask the customer service agent to get an average usage of minutes and texts, then get the appropriate tariff, if she uses 300 mins a month, but then gets a tariff that only gives 100 mins included, which may only be £15 a month or so, the extra minutes she spends on the phone over the inclusive 100 will make her bill skyrocket- Orange will tell you what your average usage is over the phone, and that way you will know the best option. It is unfortunately up to the customer to make sure they are on the best deal. And that means keeping tabs on what you are paying. I am an ex orange employee, and not in any way promoting their service, but you have to play hard ball to get the best deal! They will also upgrade you in store and that way you can talk to a normal person!

MrSilk

The threads I've been reading on here lately amuse the hell out of me, they really do.

digitaltoast

MrSilk wrote: »

The threads I've been reading on here lately amuse the hell out of me, they really do.

Wow - you really are easily amused. May I recommend Michael Macintyre as your comedian of choice. You'd find him incredibly funny.

Meanwhile, back in the on-topic world..

... found that Orange contracts are still as ridiculously expensive and stupidly named as they're always been.

"The Orange Axolotl is the ideal plan for all your neotenic salamander needs. Includes 2 minutes of included calls and one text every month for just £25 a month. Add 25kb of internet for just £35/month".

Anyway, bottom line is no new phone, contract ended early, GiffGaff £5/month SIM in the post.

Sorted.

Earthworm

Orange's tariff names are also not relevant to the post, and are hardly making good stand up sets across the country.

Ultimately the advice you've been given regarding a new phone has been answered.

Gift Gaff is the right option by the sounds of it so best of luck.

Herongull

She could consider Ovivo - free bundle of calls, texts and data every month. No need to topup for a long long time.