Orange/EE Online Account Problem

rick.p85

Hi guys, first time poster.

This is a long wall of text, short version at the bottom.

For the past 3 months i had been unable to access my online Orange mobile phone account. Every time i tried to log in i was greeted with a screen that said my bill was "overdue" and i was effectively locked out of my account until i paid them. The problem with this was that i had been paying my bills on time (if not early) since i've had the phone.

I called the customer service (150) and explained my problem to them. After they confirmed that my bill had indeed been paid and was up-to date i was told to wait a few days as they were updating the online system and try again. So, like a good customer i wait a few days and tried again, only to be greeted with the same problem. Called 150 again and after 15 minutes on hold, i was told that they still hadn't finished sorting out the site and to wait another week, then try again.

So i waited....and waited...and waited...a week passed and i tried to access my account yet again, and surprise surprise i was greeted with the same screen telling me i was £20 overdue on my account. Que another phonecall to 150, another 10 minute wait on hold and another person telling me to wait a week, after responding with "i've already tried that and i'm still locked-out" i was passed on to Tech Support....after another 10 minute wait of course! Tech Support wanted to try a different tactic and said they would reset my online account and then request that i start a new one. So i stayed on the phone while the techie deleted my online account, then told me to wait (i'm getting good at that) 10 minutes (very good at that!) and re-open/reboot my account. I think this was their way of telling me to turn it off and on again. 10 minutes later, i re-opened my account, attempted to log-in and.....i was still locked out!

A few personal circumstances meant that i couldn't chase them up for a couple of weeks after the reboot attempt, but when i finally got a chance to check my Orange account again i found i was now £40 overdue!! Straight on the phone to 150, i was again told that i had paid my bill on time and everything was clear on their end. I was passed straight through to Tech Support this time, who informed me that they would try something their end and call me back before the end of the week (you can see where this is going). A week and a half later i still hadn't received a phone-call, so i call them back again (still using 150). Through to Tech Support again, who tell me that they no notes on my account about attempting to solve it and they are having issues with their online system, blah, blah, blah, wait a few day and try again!!

By this point i had not been able to access my account for over 2 months and still had no answers!! So instead of calling them, i decided to send them a complaint email via the EE website, giving them an ultimatum of either fixing my problems or losing a customer. I also gave them a deadline of a week to contact me (considering they aim to reply within 72 hours i thought this was reasonable). Skip forward 9 days later and i receive a voice-mail saying they had tried to contact me and to call them back. I had no missed calls and they left no number to call back on!! So i call 150 and ask to be put through to the Tech Support person who may have called me, only to be told that they don't have a direct line to Tech Support and everything is now down via email?!? So....email i did, again!! By this time my overdue amount had risen to £60!!

A week after my second email, i finally get a phone-call from Tech Support asking me what the problem is! I calmly explain and they tell me that they have to send my issue to Level Two Tech Support (ooooooooo) and that they will call me back as soon as they've sorted it. That was over a week ago, and i finally received a phone call last night asking to try and access my account. Obviously i was out at the time and couldn't, so they asked me to checked when i got home and they'll call me tonight (do i hold my breath?). My online account is now fully accessible and seems to be working fine.

When/if i get a phone-call from the Tech Support guys tonight, have i got any grounds to end my contract early (ends in Oct 2014) or at least ask for a free upgrade/money off my bill/s due to the time i've wasted?

Short version: No access to online account for 3 months, stating i was £60 overdue, never missed a bill payment date, crap customer service and Tech Support, account finally working, can i request any compensation for rubbish service?

ste_wilko

You won't have grounds to cancel your contract, as in reality the online account access isn't a necessity to manage your Orange/EE account as you can always call them to sort things out.

You could write a letter of complaint about the whole facade and request some sort of gesture of goodwill, though. Whether they do or not will ultimately be up to them though

mobilejunkie

Calling them is a waste of time - they NEVER sort anything out. You have a right to a free paper bill though since their systems simply don't work. I've had to resort to that with both Orange and T-Mobile for months.

phona

I heard quite a similar story from a work colleague. He had a contract with EE and was unable to log in for ages, though he didn't mention it saying his bills were overdue. He tried to leave the contract on the grounds he hadn't received a bill but didn't get anywhere with that. They tried deleting and recreating his account, like you said, but that didn't get anywhere.
Not sure of the details, but now he has some ridiculous amount of 4G data per month because he complained and they offered him that. Personally I'd have held out for cash...

My point is: hold out for something after all this; make a written complaint if necessary. EE just love seeing what they can get away with!

lukieboy96

I changed fom Payasugo to pay monthly and since April cannot access my account online. I have phoned them countless times and they say they know there is a problem, as also affecting others too. I received a text to say it is sorted and guess what, it is not!!!!! Cannot even set up new account with my number as they do not recognise it. It is absolutely ridiculous and they need to sort things out. Charged for non DD, even though they knew I was in credit from Payasugo. They say they reimbursed, then charged for paper bills, but again reimbursed as I told them It is there fault I cannot access account online and that is why they sent me paperbills!!! If not sorted out soon I would like to know who I can contact higher up.Also told it would be passed to level 2 technical support!!! It also takes ages to actually talk to a human as constantly press this, press that and so on!!!

mobilejunkie

Send a formal complaint to [EMAIL="complaints@everythingeverywhere.co.uk"]complaints@everythingeverywhere.co.uk[/EMAIL] and when they've ignored it after week complain to CISAS asking for suitable compensation, free paper bills and a letter of apology. Once CISAS have the complaint EE will immediatley concede to all your demands.

rick.p85

Thanks for all the advice, in the progress of emailing a complaint now.