Refused mortgage day before moving because of Orange/EE's mistake!

jb1991_2

I have put a copy of the transcript I sent to Equifax and Orange to dispute my 4 x late payment marks - which has turned an excellent credit report into a poor one. I was due to move into a brand new home today but Halifax turned round the day before and withdrew the offer . . . THE DAY BEFORE!!!!!

'Having started a new job where a lot of international travel was involved, I received a massive bill from EE Orange, the first of which was debited from my account 28/01. I rang up to query this amount and the advisor said that it was all data roaming charges and there were further charges to come in February and March, but they were unable to give an accurate total for (as they would have to wait for the information to arrive from the foreign networks.). The amount billed in January was £543.92 and the debit went through but left me overdrawn (my normal bill from EE totals approximately £41,) as you can understand with a bill of this size I was understandably frustrated and spoke to the advisors at Orange. Looking back over the previous texts I had received while using data abroad Orange had advised there was a cap of approximately £40 on data roaming charges per month (but it appears this cap was removed without my knowledge. When speaking to the advisors (after Orange had debited the amount in January in full and after I explained I was happy to pay it after a full breakdown had been given,) one of the advisors suggested doing a direct debit indemnity, after which their payments team would contact me and agree a timeframe for me to pay it back either in full or in instalments by around April, rather than me being overdrawn. Orange advised that as long as I made a nominal payment to show willing to pay the bill there would be no penalties, I made a debit card payment to Orange on the 9/2 of £40. AGAIN I SAID I WAS HAPPY TO PAY THIS BILL AT THAT TIME, BUT ORANGE SUGGESTED A DIRECT DEBIT INDEMNITY TO PAY THE BILL IN FULL AT AN AGREED DATE. I agreed with EE to do a direct debit indemnity as the £543.92 bill, rather than the usual £41 had left my budget significantly constrained. The direct debit indemnity was processed on the 6/2 and £543.92 was credited back to my account. The advisor, as I mentioned earlier had said that there were some further data charges to come, I advised that I would pay the next few bills in full and pay the £543.92 at the date agreed by Orange, less the £40 I had paid on the 9/2. After clearly explaining to Orange my circumstances (WHICH WAS CAUSED IN THE FIRST PLACE BY THEM REMOVING THE MONTHLY CAP ON MY DATA ROAMING CHARGES WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE,) and agreeing with them to make payment for the £543.92 in April, Orange then decided to bill me my February bill of £356.19 (which I had advised I was happy to pay in full for that month to avoid my account balance rising further) PLUS the remaining £543.92 I HAD AGREED TO PAY IN APRIL AT THEIR RECOMMENDATION! The £900.11 bill obviously severely impacted my budget, and again at their suggestion another direct debit indemnity was processed for £900.11 on the 28/2 - they suggested the £356.19 February bill be settled in April along with the £543.92 previously agreed. Through out this time I stayed in constant communication with Orange and paid my March bill of £118.66 in full on the 27/3. The date agreed with Orange in April was the 16/4 and I had the funds in place to make full payment, I rang prior to this date and explained I was awaiting a new bank card in the next few days and asked when the latest I could make payment would be without incurring any penalties, the advisor said the 26/4 would be acceptable due to the size of the bill and the previous customer service problems and mistaken billing that had occurred on the 27/2. I made full payment of £977.10 on the 26/4 and as far as I was concerned this was the end of the matter. Now I find I have 4 late payments on my credit report, tarnishing my otherwise good (even excellent in many areas) score. The late payments were recorded in March (when I paid in full £118.66 on the 27/3) and 3 in May (when I had already settled my full bill of £977.10 on the 26/4, I also paid in full my May bill of £101.65 on the 28/5.) None of these payments were late, they all left my bank account at Oranges request, I appreciate that Orange was trying to do me a favour by suggesting a direct debit indemnity and paying at a later date to help me - but I explained I was able to pay in full and did so as all the direct debits on the above dates were processed, however reversed at their suggestion and at their agreement. I feel these late records are completely unfair and could have now potentially have lost me my dream home. I would like these removed from my credit report immediately, especially after the £40 per month data roaming cap was removed without my knowledge.

I have raised this dispute with Mike in your call centre and with Equifax, I look forward to your reply. Bank statements are available on request.'

Joe

jb1991_2

Just a further update I have tried to ring Orange several times today, they are apparently too busy to take my call and hang up . . .

Great customer service from the UK's largest network . . . boycott anyone?

[Deleted User]

Goodness me. I think my eyes are bleeding.

Could you put a few paragraphs into that and I'll have another go at it later?

jb1991_2

Apologies. . .

'Having started a new job where a lot of international travel was involved, I received a massive bill from EE Orange, the first of which was debited from my account 28/01. I rang up to query this amount and the advisor said that it was all data roaming charges and there were further charges to come in February and March, but they were unable to give an accurate total for (as they would have to wait for the information to arrive from the foreign networks.). The amount billed in January was £543.92 and the debit went through but left me overdrawn (my normal bill from EE totals approximately £41,) as you can understand with a bill of this size I was understandably frustrated and spoke to the advisors at Orange. Looking back over the previous texts I had received while using data abroad Orange had advised there was a cap of approximately £40 on data roaming charges per month (but it appears this cap was removed without my knowledge.)

When speaking to the advisors (after Orange had debited the amount in January in full and after I explained I was happy to pay it after a full breakdown had been given,) one of the advisors suggested doing a direct debit indemnity, after which their payments team would contact me and agree a timeframe for me to pay it back either in full or in instalments by around April, rather than me being overdrawn. Orange advised that as long as I made a nominal payment to show willing to pay the bill there would be no penalties, I made a debit card payment to Orange on the 9/2 of £40.

AGAIN I SAID I WAS HAPPY TO PAY THIS BILL AT THAT TIME, BUT ORANGE SUGGESTED A DIRECT DEBIT INDEMNITY TO PAY THE BILL IN FULL AT AN AGREED DATE. I agreed with EE to do a direct debit indemnity as the £543.92 bill, rather than the usual £41 had left my budget significantly constrained. The direct debit indemnity was processed on the 6/2 and £543.92 was credited back to my account. The advisor, as I mentioned earlier had said that there were some further data charges to come, I advised that I would pay the next few bills in full and pay the £543.92 at the date agreed by Orange, less the £40 I had paid on the 9/2. After clearly explaining to Orange my circumstances (WHICH WAS CAUSED IN THE FIRST PLACE BY THEM REMOVING THE MONTHLY CAP ON MY DATA ROAMING CHARGES WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE,) and agreeing with them to make payment for the £543.92 in April, Orange then decided to bill me my February bill of £356.19 (which I had advised I was happy to pay in full for that month to avoid my account balance rising further) PLUS the remaining £543.92 I HAD AGREED TO PAY IN APRIL AT THEIR RECOMMENDATION! The £900.11 bill obviously severely impacted my budget, and again at their suggestion another direct debit indemnity was processed for £900.11 on the 28/2 - they suggested the £356.19 February bill be settled in April along with the £543.92 previously agreed.

Through out this time I stayed in constant communication with Orange and paid my March bill of £118.66 in full on the 27/3. The date agreed with Orange in April was the 16/4 and I had the funds in place to make full payment, I rang prior to this date and explained I was awaiting a new bank card in the next few days and asked when the latest I could make payment would be without incurring any penalties, the advisor said the 26/4 would be acceptable due to the size of the bill and the previous customer service problems and mistaken billing that had occurred on the 27/2. I made full payment of £977.10 on the 26/4 and as far as I was concerned this was the end of the matter. Now I find I have 4 late payments on my credit report, tarnishing my otherwise good (even excellent in many areas) score. The late payments were recorded in March (when I paid in full £118.66 on the 27/3) and 3 in May (when I had already settled my full bill of £977.10 on the 26/4, I also paid in full my May bill of £101.65 on the 28/5.) None of these payments were late, they all left my bank account at Oranges request, I appreciate that Orange was trying to do me a favour by suggesting a direct debit indemnity and paying at a later date to help me - but I explained I was able to pay in full and did so as all the direct debits on the above dates were processed, however reversed at their suggestion and at their agreement.

I feel these late records are completely unfair and could have now potentially have lost me my dream home. I would like these removed from my credit report immediately, especially after the £40 per month data roaming cap was removed without my knowledge.

I have raised this dispute with Mike in your call centre and with Equifax, I look forward to your reply. Bank statements are available on request.

McKneff

Wow,OP, it is very hard to read, I gave up after 6 lines.

If you put some paragraphs in people will be only too happy to read it to the end and offer some help.

_Andy_

Please rewrite the post to be succinct about what has happened and what advice you want.

StuC75

Needs to be shorter an More Succinct.

Months of Data roaming charges - a very common complaint on here.. To be honest I would have stopped using it after the first month. such a payment dispute would have knock on affect on credit file.

Was such usage business or personal related?

has this been building up over the months? or as a result of an indemnity claim rendering previous payments as recalled??

jb1991_2

They landed me with a massive bill, which I rang and complained about. My usual bill is £41 but they took £543.92 from my account in January. I rang and they suggested doing a direct debit indemnity and agreed that I could pay the amount less my usual £40 bill in April. They then took the original £543.92 plus another £356.11 in February, a total of £900.11 all at once! This was despite Orange's suggestion and agreement that I pay the £543.92 in April! I would have been happy to pay the £356 just not the amount they had agreed to collect in April. I rang again and they said to do a direct debit indemnity for the £900.11 and pay it in April with the other money. I paid my March bill as normal and repaid the remaining sum in April, as well as paying my April bill at the same time. My May bill was paid on time on the 28/5 in full. Yet they have said I had 1 late payment in March and 3 in May, I have raised a dispute with EE and Equifax, but I was supposed to move in today and Halifax turned round at 1707 yesterday and refused the funds after a new credit check - I am heartbroken.

pompeyred

I have done the shortening for you - it might help get you a better response. (Personally, I think your only remedy will be on the basis that the cap was removed without your knowledge - can you prove it was ever in existence....?). Good luck with the mortgage though, there will be people who can help with this.

I travel lots with my new job and noticed I had a bill of £543.92. When I called I was told that this was for data charges and to expect further charges in February and March but at that point they could not tell me the amounts.

I was confused and upset by this because I believed there to be a £40 per month cap on roaming data charges.

I spoke with Orange and was advised to do a DD indemnity and to pay a nominal amount. I did this and made a card payment of £40.

I maintained with Orange that I was happy to pay the full amounts and was told I could pay the £543.92 payment in April.

In February I received a further bill of £356.19 for which along with the £543.92 meant a direct payment was taken for £900.11 on 28/02.

On calling Orange I was advised to do another DD indemnity which I did.

In March I had a new bill with a balance of £118.66 and I paid this in full on 27/03, at this point I had confirmed with Orange that I would pay the now total outstanding amount on 16/04. However, within this month I had to get a new bank card and renegotiated the payment date to 26/04.

I made a full payment of £977.10.

I now have 4 late payment markers and I need some help to dispute this as I feel I have been unfairly treated twice. Firstly, I was happy to allow the direct debits but reversed them on the advice of Orange, secondly if the data cap wasn’t removed I would never have been able to incur these charges.

Please can you offer some advice….?

StuC75

Very surprised that your solicitor hadnt already requested the funds before yesterday, especially if you were due to complete today? Had exchange already happened?

Do you have evidence of what Orange had agreed to? anything advising of how such a payment arrangement May affect your credit file?

You have since paid the full amount, so clearly Orange have not accepted any liability for any cap removal that you felt should have been in place to mitigate your actual costs.. So all this demonstrates is that the arrangement to pay has affected your credit file in this way..


Be thankfull that you hadnt already exchanged otherwise you would really be in the muck now..

pompeyred

StuC75 wrote: »

Very surprised that your solicitor hadnt already requested the funds before yesterday, especially if you were due to complete today? Had exchange already happened?

Do you have evidence of what Orange had agreed to? anything advising of how such a payment arrangement May affect your credit file?

You have since paid the full amount, so clearly Orange have not accepted any liability for any cap removal that you felt should have been in place to mitigate your actual costs.. So all this demonstrates is that the arrangement to pay has affected your credit file in this way..


Be thankfull that you hadnt already exchanged otherwise you would really be in the muck now..

I've read this a few times now, I would be thankful of nothing. If texts on the phone show that a cap was in place and there is no evidence to request removal then Orange have generated the bills. The OP has paid them which is wholly irrelevant of accepting any mistake.

I would be raging (strong word I know and yes I would be raging) if the events were exactly as described.

I would be looking to chase some Orange directors and getting them to intervene.