Mis-sold contract on Orange

chrisshayess

First post on here so bare with me.

I signed up to a sim only 12 month contract with Orange in Feb this year. I wanted a contract where it was possible to upgrade at any point and so I was very interested in the month to month contract. After speaking to the Orange upgrade team, they offered me a the sim only 12 month contract for £16. I confirmed to the sales person that I wanted to upgrade whenever I wanted and he said that was fine and for me to call whenever I wanted to upgrade. Great! (I thought)

Now, I am wanting to upgrade. Went into the Orange shop and they said I am unable to upgrade as I am on a 12 month contract. Right but the Orange upgrade team told me I was able to upgrade whenever. As you can imagine I am getting quite annoyed at this point. So, I call Customer service and they said the exact same thing "You are unable to upgrade at the moment" Right but that's not what I was told and what I signed up to. Having speaking to customer service for a long period of time and getting no where I asked to speak to a manager who at that point was unavailable (typical). So I was told someone will contact me the the next day in the morning (being today 28/5/13) Having waited till 1pm, I decided to call Orange as find out what is going on. I explained once again the situation and then they passed me to the upgrade's team who told me I could UPGRADE! At this point I am fed up and wish to cancel the contract as I have found a better deal somewhere else (funnily enough its with Orange). The Upgrade team told me they have to speak to a manager and they will call me tomorrow to discuss my options.

Later on today I get a telephone call from Orange (mornings telephone call that I was expecting) and they explained to me that I could NOT upgrade and that I CANNOT cancel. Clearly they don't read the notes they put on file or they don't write any.

I am extremely annoyed with Orange's customer service and their 'communication' with each department. How can I cancel this contract and what grounds do I have to stand on? I am being messed around now and one person is saying one thing and someone is saying another.

Any advice?

grumbler

chrisshayess wrote: »

... I confirmed to the sales person that I wanted to upgrade whenever I wanted and he said that was fine and for me to call whenever I wanted to upgrade....

'Upgrade' is a pretty vague word. I think what she actually meant was that you could switch to a more expensive sim-only tariff with higher allowances if needed.

A "12 month contract ... where it was possible to upgrade at any point" with getting a new handset just makes no sense.

d123

grumbler wrote: »

A "12 month contract ... where it was possible to upgrade at any point" with getting a new handset just makes no sense.

I would agree, and say a contract where it's possible to upgrade at any time is commonly known as a 30 day rolling contract.

It seems pretty obvious that a 12 month contract is exactly that, a contract that ties you in for 12 months.

lufcgirl

You need to get the name of the tariff you're on.

I'm guessing you're on iPhone/Panther 21 with a £5p/m discount on it. If that's the case it's what's known as a bridging tariff. So if the customer wants to leave Orange, they need to wait until the 12mths is up. If the customer wants to upgrade, they can come out of it at any time in order to get a new handset.

It sounds like this is what you were on, especially at £16p/m. Standard 12mth sim only's were £15.50 and £20.50 at the time.

chrisshayess

They told me several times that I was unable to upgrade (upgrade usually means to upgrade to a more expensive tariff with a new phone). They seem to be confusing themselves by saying I cannot upgrade but then I can upgrade then I can't?

I believe I have been mis-sold the contract as they never kept their word.

Do they record and keep all calls made to them? If so I am going to ask them to review them and I will then find out what was actually said.

lufcgirl - I am on the £21 a month 12 month Sim only with the £5 discount.

daveuk1

chrisshayess wrote: »

They told me several times that I was unable to upgrade (upgrade usually means to upgrade to a more expensive tariff with a new phone). They seem to be confusing themselves by saying I cannot upgrade but then I can upgrade then I can't?

I believe I have been mis-sold the contract as they never kept their word.

Do they record and keep all calls made to them? If so I am going to ask them to review them and I will then find out what was actually said.

lufcgirl - I am on the £21 a month 12 month Sim only with the £5 discount.

Your problem lies with your assumption in bold. "Upgrade" could be in reference to your tariff, handset or both. Arguably the most common understanding in the mobile industry is a handset upgrade. Another common understanding in the industry is that a 12-month contract is a contract for a minimum term of 12 months.

There is also the fact that you purchased a 12-month sim only contract. How you get from that an understanding that you can change it at any time (but specifically in less than 12 months) to a contract with a handset, I don't know.

While I appreciate that you may have been misled, you have to protect your own interests to a certain extent and if it sounds like it doesn't make sense, then question it until it does and you have confirmation to that effect in writing.

robbies_gal

why does it mean u can upgrade with a handset at any time? your on a sim only deal for 12 month the clue is in the name

lufcgirl

chrisshayess wrote: »

lufcgirl - I am on the £21 a month 12 month Sim only with the £5 discount.

You're definitely on the bridging tariff. These were originally brought out for customers waiting for the new iPhone last year but they kept them until the refresh earlier in May.

You need to call up 150, option 1,4,1 and speak to upgrades. Explain you're on the bridging tariff and you'd like to now upgrade. They'll then do it for you. Don't speak to customer services as they won't be able to tell

chrisshayess

lufcgirl wrote: »

You're definitely on the bridging tariff. These were originally brought out for customers waiting for the new iPhone last year but they kept them until the refresh earlier in May.

You need to call up 150, option 1,4,1 and speak to upgrades. Explain you're on the bridging tariff and you'd like to now upgrade. They'll then do it for you. Don't speak to customer services as they won't be able to tell

I finally got through to them after speaking to a Manager on the Upgrades team. They have now upgraded me and said that I WAS ENTITLED for an upgrade but Customer Service were unaware of it. Customer Service was basically being stubborn and wouldn't budge from their first answer of no upgrade. My new phone will be dispatched shortly!

Thank you lufcgirl.

:T

chrisshayess

Still annoyed however. I tried to get a new Orange contract via third parties, Phones4U and Dial-a-Phone and both purchases failed due to my credit rating. I don't know how or why they fail has I already have a contract with Orange. This will have a massive affect to my credit report.

How do I stand with this? I was told the credit checks are done by Orange so I guess the fault lies with Orange?

Please advise...

chanz4

chrisshayess wrote: »

Still annoyed however. I tried to get a new Orange contract via third parties, Phones4U and Dial-a-Phone and both purchases failed due to my credit rating. I don't know how or why they fail has I already have a contract with Orange. This will have a massive affect to my credit report.

How do I stand with this? I was told the credit checks are done by Orange so I guess the fault lies with Orange?

Please advise...

You may only be agreed upto 1 connection, I had 3 but been with them years