Orange - third party selling scam - please help / advise

katesohm

HELP _ HELP _ PLEASE - HELP - woman in trouble -

Please can someone out there help I am at a loss as what to do..........

Last Wednesday I got a call from a man saying he was from Orange and would I like my 10% discount applied to my account as I was NOT upgrading with orange. I said yes (bearing in mind I know about these companies phoning and saying they are from Orange and they are not) I did not enter into any further conversation with him - the number he phoned on was withheld - the call lasted 30 to 45 seconds; NO details were given or confirmed.

This Wednesday I got another withheld number and a man said you have not responded to the card we left through your door, about your delivery. I replied what delivery, I am not expecting anything, and He said well you probably lost the card when you throw away any junk mail or newspapers. He then gave me a phone number for a delivery company and a reference number. He said you need to phone them and let them know when you are in for delivery, I asked what is it. He said he did not know. I checked the number on the web and yes it was a delivery company I phoned the woman confirmed they had a delivery for me. I asked again what is it she did not know. She asked for my address and I replied you must have that if you have a delivery for me, she did have the right address I again gave her no information,

ON Thursday Orange switched my sim card off, when I returned home that evening and contacted them on the "Helpline" 0797 - which translates to a land line call to a mobile costly was waiting 45 mins to be connected - I was told that I had upgraded on the Thursday of the week before!!!!!!! I had not - I then realised what had occurred and was told by Orange do not accept delivery of the phone tomorrow - I asked for my sim to be reconnected they said I could have it back on for 24 hrs great!!!

I then contacted the delivery company in the morning and explained I would not accept delivery of the phone, orange had given me details of Mobile city upgrades as the 3rd party who had done the upgrade with me - and orange said they could not cancel the contract even though they accepted that I had not entered into one. I phoned the company mobile city upgrades in the morning to be told at 9 am that it was a residential number and they had never heard of the company this was reported back to Orange - who said nothing we can do you need to get the company to report back to us that they are cancelling the contract!!!!

Eventually I got someone to answer the phone at mobile !!!!!! upgrades - and he said I had never been called!!!! And that the computer had authorised an upgrade on its own " a software glitch" I explained politely that if they had never called then it was a simple call to Orange to explain the error and I could be left alone with orange and no new contract, however the man at city said no as they did not have the phone and also that they could not call orange!!! More lies.... I was going round in circles I explained if I asked orange to call them now would they verify that they never called me and I had never entered into a contract with them..... Yes he would GARY STEVENS - I phone d Orange relayed the conversation and the helpful orange guy said how about I call and I listen in while you ask the man in the mobile city place to repeat that he never called you and it was in fact a computer error - great I said we are really getting somewhere now..... Guess what we rang and rang and it was never picked up just an answer phone,

Position left in :mad:

1. Orange will pursue me for the full 18-month contract at a higher price than my original old contract – but I don’t have a working phone see below

2. Orange are cutting of my old sim tonight as I have a new phone and new sim to register – they do not seem to comprehend that I don’t have the phone as I refused delivery.

3. Mobile City Upgrades are claiming that I have a phone that I refused delivery off and they admit I never agreed to – the software just sent it to me

4. I am out of pocket two days wages with loss of phone and trying to sort this out and the cost of phoning from a BT line to orange trying to sort it out

5. I DON’T HAVE ANY PHONE :mad:

6. And I feel really cheated and alone in trying to resolve this issue when I did nothing wrong


How the hell did this company get all my details – and how comes I am trying to sort out something I haven’t done, why is Orange not protecting me or taking my word for it that I don’t want this contract and that this company is running a scam


Please some one help I don’t know what to do – incidentally Trading standards just say write to them and if they do not respond then small claims court!!!! But how long will that take – even if they do respond which judging by past – they wont!!!!

Mobile city upgrades - is the third party seller based in St Annes has anyone else had dealings with them

HELP PLEASE

katesohm

please help

magic

wow, sorry to read all that. i dont know what to suggest.... try speaking to someone higher up at orange? also how can mobile city claim you took delivery of the phone? do they have any proof or a delivery signature?

good luck.

espresso

Try emailing your position to executive.office@orange.co.uk as they have been known to sort out problems in the past.

katesohm

Thank you I will try that link -

Mobile city know I do not have the phone as they can track it with the ANC website which clearly states consignee refused and its current status is that the phone has been returned to sender.

Any other suggestions?

And if contract does manage to be cancelled by the shop - who ends up paying my out of pocket expenses a without the phone (lost work) - phone calls to orange "helpline!!!" which registers on my land line as 65 min calls to mobile number - (should have made it my best friend number before calling!!) and the stress and hassle trying to sort out. Inc postage of all recorded delivery letters to: -
Ofcom
Trading standards
Watchdog
The Times
The Guardian
Orange
and the of course the third party shop which there are two of in St Annes –
DO not use this shop pls..

Can you tell I mean business here with all the letters - I am so angry that through no fault of my own I have been inconvenienced and it has cost me

---

any remedies for a very stress woman in Sussex lol....

katesohm

well today a nice lady phoned from orange from her own personal mobile - and requested that why had the electrician not turned up at her home address !!! she made this call to my land line. so not only are orange giving out our mobile numbers but they are abuseing the land line numbers too - great


however i have the lady's number and guess what when i had phoned her back three times - she got Orange to phone me straight away - funny that !! she also said could you please stop ringing... i said its anoying when some one has your details and number and you never authorised it isnt it?

lol any one had a simalar experiance

researcher

Report it to your local police - they will have an officer who deals with this type of thing - and if the company who 'missold' you are reported repeatedly they can be prosecuted.

edwara

katesohm, what a nightmare.

Only thing I can suggest is that you try your local CAB. They will be able to write on your behalf etc, they can advise you of your rights etc. CAB are also have a Social Policy department which collates all incidents like this as evidence and if enough come in about one issue or company will lobby parliament or regulating bodies for changes in the law. They will particularly like it if you are media willing.

These third party retailers are getting away with this all the time. Often even if you did agree to take out the contract they dont; send you any paperwork so if you have a prioblem you can;t cuse your orignal contract to complain. the problem is that your contract is with the third party not Orange (or whoever) so Orange have no contract with you. #I also agree with you that Orange sholdn;t be selling numbers to anyone to call you, when you get your number back register it with TPS online. I got fed up with the sales calls when I was on Orange not had nearly so many since I moved to Voda then Three and have reg with TPS.

I think this has potential for Martin to get on a campaign about. These contracts are often sold unscrupulously liek has happened to you or are very vague etc so people don;t have paperp work or are not even clear who their contract is with. when I bough ta vodafone contract from Carphone warehouse I didn;t realise that technically I wasn't a vodafone customer, CPW had their own call centres etc you couldn't use the vodafone website etc. At least you got paperwork and coudl walk into CPW .

Got everythign crossed for you. If I think of anything else I will. Really good luck and I don't blame you for being mad.