Whats the lowest / cheapest Orange tariff i can go to ?

topper_harl

Currently I am on Racoon £35 - some 250 mins, 12 months contract.
I am about to complete my 6 months in few days and since I dont use any minutes (due to having more minutes on O2), So I want to go to the lowest / cheapest possible tariff on Orange.

I called Orange Customer Services (and you guessed in Asia), and they said i can only go to the next level down £30, but i told them that i dont use any minutes at all, so i want the lowest possible.

Whats the cheapest tariff I can go on, since i dont even use a single minute on Orange ?. : )

Please help.

richardjames73

The cheapest tariff orange do on 12 months is £20. With regard to downgrading of tariffs I am not sure on oranges current policy.

Reestit_Mutton

topper_harl wrote: »

Currently I am on Racoon £35 - some 250 mins, 12 months contract.
I am about to complete my 6 months in few days and since I dont use any minutes (due to having more minutes on O2), So I want to go to the lowest / cheapest possible tariff on Orange.

I called Orange Customer Services (and you guessed in Asia), and they said i can only go to the next level down £30, but i told them that i dont use any minutes at all, so i want the lowest possible.

Whats the cheapest tariff I can go on, since i dont even use a single minute on Orange ?. : )

Please help.

OCS are right...

Their current policy is that you can only downgrade a maximum of one time during your minimum term (after 6 months on a 12 months contract and 9 months on an 18 months contract). You can only downgrade to the next highest price point in their range.

Thus, if you are on £35/month then you will only be able to downgrade to a £30/month tariff.

HtH
Reestit Mutton

richardjames73

Are you sure? I thought that was 3's policy. Just had a quick skim through the terms and conditions and the only thing I can see is this, point 15.1

You may switch to a lower Service Plan as often as you like after 6 months following your Connection to the Network, unless otherwise stated.

Reestit_Mutton

richardjames73 wrote: »

Are you sure? I thought that was 3's policy. Just had a quick skim through the terms and conditions and the only thing I can see is this, point 15.1

You may switch to a lower Service Plan as often as you like after 6 months following your Connection to the Network, unless otherwise stated.

That must be an old Policy. Their policy changed about a year ago and then changed again at the end of last year:

http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/content/15397.asp

Of course, if you've purchased prior to this point you should be measured under their previous downgrade terms - however, what *should* happen and what *does* happen in practice can be two very different things and you may have to push to get your way.

The previous terms (valid from 01 April last year IIRC) also limited downgrades to one step down in price point at a time, but allowed for one downgrade of this type per month. So the answer to the OP would remain largely unchanged i.e. that OCS are correct.

HtH
Reestit Mutton

richardjames73

Nope not an old policy, taken from the website, under pay monthly, point 15.1

http://www1.orange.co.uk/mobileterms/

Reestit_Mutton

richardjames73 wrote: »

Nope not an old policy, taken from the website, under pay monthly, point 15.1

http://www1.orange.co.uk/mobileterms/

Ah... think I know what this is then...

Orange must be applying differing policies according to whether you purchased direct or via a reseller. The article that I linked to highlighted new terms that were designed to combat bad sales practices among resellers where they costed a package on the basis of the customer's ability to downgrade to the cheapest tariff.

e.g. TalkWorld Online (when they were still in business) were well known for advertising 12 months free line rental deals which were only free if the customer downgraded to a £15/month tariff after 6 months.

and the previous terms that I referred to were originally listed on the Carphone Warehouse site.

Networks hate this sales practice with a vengeance and this was Orange's response to the problem.

Alternatively, they could have simply messed up and forgotten to update their online copy of the T&Cs.

Reestit Mutton

topper_harl

Where does that leave me then ? : )

Can i lower my tariff to £19/£20 as i bought this from a proper Orange Outlet.

richardjames73

Do you have a copy of the original contract you signed? if you signed up through an Orange shop, when you call back customer services refer them to the online terms and conditions I have posted above.

topper_harl

Yes i do have the contract copy which I signed when taking the contract.
And the signed contract does have a 15.1 mentioned in it & is the same as
http://www1.orange.co.uk/terms.html/

but does the foll. statement from 15.1 imply that i have to comply with the new rules:
We do, however, reserve the right to vary the terms of this Contract from time to time and to make changes to your Service Plan.

I will try with OCS : ).

richardjames73

As long as they communicated this change in terms and conditions to you.