Orange took all my money!

lob_3

Hi there!
I have a problem I was wondering anybody could help me with.

My phone contract is with Orange (don't laugh) and it broke a few weeks ago. I phoned Orange up and they said no problem, send the phone back and we'll replace it one for one swap no charge, its a common fault apparently.
So happy with that I sent the phone back and they sent me a new one free of charge....or so I thought!
Then a few weeks later I see more than £400 has been taken out of my bank (no warning from them at all).
So ofcourse I phoned them straight away and the lady who I could barely understand and reading from a script told me because the phone that was broke that I sent back was not 'Orange branded' they would be charging me full price for that particular new model.
Also if I sent the new phone back to them then I would be reimburst the money on my next bill....up to which I have missed other bills and struggling with payments because they took the money without warning.
Now I never would have a agreed to the swap if i knew I would be charged full price for it.
Hope that all makes sense, thanks for anybodies advice on this matter.

Luke.

d123

lob wrote: »

Hi there!
I have a problem I was wondering anybody could help me with.

My phone contract is with Orange (don't laugh) and it broke a few weeks ago. I phoned Orange up and they said no problem, send the phone back and we'll replace it one for one swap no charge, its a common fault apparently.
So happy with that I sent the phone back and they sent me a new one free of charge....or so I thought!
Then a few weeks later I see more than £400 has been taken out of my bank (no warning from them at all).
So ofcourse I phoned them straight away and the lady who I could barely understand and reading from a script told me because the phone that was broke that I sent back was not 'Orange branded' they would be charging me full price for that particular new model.
Also if I sent the new phone back to them then I would be reimburst the money on my next bill....up to which I have missed other bills and struggling with payments because they took the money without warning.
Now I never would have a agreed to the swap if i knew I would be charged full price for it.
Hope that all makes sense, thanks for anybodies advice on this matter.

Luke.

Why would anyone laugh at you having a mobile contract with a mobile network?

Let me guess a little about your handset, you have sent a phone back to Orange that wasn't the phone Orange supplied originally?

If you could confirm that it would make comment easier.

oopsadaisydoddle

d123 wrote: »

Why would anyone laugh at you having a mobile contract with a mobile network?

Let me guess a little about your handset, you have sent a phone back to Orange that wasn't the phone Orange supplied originally?

If you could confirm that it would make comment easier.

I agree with this!

Where did you get the phone from that was faulty and was it that exact one that you sent back?

grumbler

Even if this was the case, Orange are in the wrong regardless.
Firstly, their incompetent CS could have easily checked whether the handset was supplied by Orange before advising to send it to Orange.
Secondly, they had no right to charge the OP without authorisation.

And the offer to reimburse £400(!) to the next bill (instead of to the bank account) is simply laughable.

lob_3

Because I've since found out through experience to me it has the worst customer service.
That's right, it was from phones 4 u and yes it is exactly the same phone.
Thanks

grumbler

You have to deal with either p4u or the manufacturer then: Consumer Rights

How do you know that Orange are the worst? Have you tried '3' and Vodafone to compare?

lob_3

I just suck it up and let them take the money and wait a month with nothing 'till I get it back with the next phone bill? Seems wrong for them to do that.
I've tried them all except Vodafone.
Thankyou foryour help.
Luke

oopsadaisydoddle

In that case they should never have replaced it anyway.

Have you escalated it through customer service manager? As they have replaced it when they should waive the charge immediately. You should do a DD indemnity through your bank and they should refund it straight away for you if you tell them you dispute the amount. It is part of the DD guarantee.

oopsadaisydoddle

oopsadaisydoddle wrote: »

In that case they should never have replaced it anyway.

Have you escalated it through customer service manager? As they have replaced it when they should waive the charge immediately. You should do a DD indemnity through your bank and they should refund it straight away for you if you tell them you dispute the amount. It is part of the DD guarantee.

ETA - the bank should refund it straight away. You can then dispute it with Orange.

Techhead_2

But the OP says they have done this because the phone is not Orange branded. That could mean that the phone had been debranded (flashed with generic firmware which will invalidate the warranty). There is no way to know that until the returned phone is examined.

Or did the OP upgrade at a third party retailer and not inform the insurance (which would be for Orange supplied handsets).

There are several possibilities.

oopsadaisydoddle

Techhead wrote: »

But the OP says they have done this because the phone is not Orange branded. That could mean that the phone had been debranded (flashed with generic firmware which will invalidate the warranty). There is no way to know that until the returned phone is examined.

Or did the OP upgrade at a third party retailer and not inform the insurance (which would be for Orange supplied handsets).

There are several possibilities.

He said he got it through P4U which means it shouldn't have been covered under Orange Care anyway, or replaced.

If he had been paying for care then they would honour a claim but with an admin fee - OP doesn't mention that.

So I think they have in error replaced it (when they shouldn't have anyway because it's generic and from p4u).

So OP needs to escalate the issue through their complaints procedure.

As I said, the DD indemnity is best for getting the money back asap.