Orange - 12 months ended and now being charged loads! please help!

leeus1

Hi, my friend has been on Orange for a while and her 12 months recently came up on her contract. She's been shopping around and hadn't contacted Orange about upgrading/negotiating her contract etc.

She recently got a bill of £95 for one month from them. She called Orange and was told that since her 12 month contract was up, she no longer got her 1000 free texts, and had been charged for every one she had sent. She had no idea they had changed the terms of her contract. When she contested this with Orange they just said that her 12 month contract had ended so she was no longer entitled to these benefits..

Are they allowed to do this? Especially after not contacting her first. She's really upset about this and feels that she has to pay the bill.

If anyone can help we'd really appreciate it.

many thanks

custardy

hmmm 1st ive heard of orange changing the contract after 12 months.
however that would depend on the T&C's of the contrct she took?

Skeksis

That's a bit naughty - she could go back to them and say if it was the end of the contract why didn't they cancel it anyway, but then they will probably say it was up to her to cancel it.

I've never heard of that before, I always thought the contract rolled on after the minimum term until or if you wanted to cancel it, and any terms and conditions that change after the minimum term should be in the contract. Tell her not to pay it and play hell with a customer service manager!

Thanks for the tip off, I will watch out for this when my Orange contract is up in 12 months!

leeus1

I've also never heard of this before which is why i thought of asking you guys. I was always under the impression that when contract terms are up, it just stays as it is until you do something about it. Be it cancel or negotiate something new.

I've told her not to pay it but wasn't sure how to play it with orange.

custardy

how was the contract set up?
direct with orange or through a dealer?

leeus1

Sorry for the late response, I just wanted to get my facts sorted..

The contract was set up in one of Orange's physical stores.

It was an 18 month contract with 1000 texts and broadband for £30 a month over the 18 months. The contract ran out at the start of Jan and she was not informed that it was coming to an end, and was certainly not informed she would lose her 1000 texts which caused the £92 bill. Unfortunately she has a direct debit set up, and they took the money on monday.

If anyone can suggest what to do or give their thoughts, i'd most appreciate it.

Regards

reehsetin

i remember the 1000 texts promotion, im pretty sure it was just that 1000 for 18 months, check on the contract she was given if that was written i dont think she can say much if it was just 1000 texts then she can argue that she was never told and ask CS to do something as a gesture of goodwill, it depends aswell if shes going to stay with them if shes not im not sure how much goodwill they would want to show
the reason it changed and they didnt tell her was it wasnt part of her talkplan her talkplan is still the same, it was an extra promotion on top which ran out

andyboyo

reehsetin wrote: »

i remember the 1000 texts promotion, im pretty sure it was just that 1000 for 18 months, check on the contract she was given if that was written i dont think she can say much if it was just 1000 texts then she can argue that she was never told and ask CS to do something as a gesture of goodwill, it depends aswell if shes going to stay with them if shes not im not sure how much goodwill they would want to show
the reason it changed and they didnt tell her was it wasnt part of her talkplan her talkplan is still the same, it was an extra promotion on top which ran out

I've just had the same happen to me this month. I signed up oroginally for the Dolphin 30 package - 200 minutes with 500 free texts and an extra 1000 texts on top for 18 months FOC. They cancelled the 1000 FOC texts from January without telling me. I gave them a call and they've put me on their current package of Dolphin 30 - 200 minutes and unlimited texts when i threatened to leave.

diamonds

^ surely £5 more for 600min & unlimt text is better ?

ka7e

A friend told me the same had happened to him - he only realised when he got a bill for £42 this month. He has phoned Orange and they said "Sorry"! I think he said they offered him 400 mins and unlimited texts for £25.

youandwhosearmy

An almost identical thing happened to me. Looking at my old bills it did say 18 month promotional offer (or words to that effect) regarding the free texts. When I renewed my contract however I did ask whether my free texts and minutes would remain the same for the duration of my contract to which the answer was yes. As yourself, I was shocked to see that I had been charged for my texts. I rang Orange and informed them at the time of renewal I was told my texts would last the duration of my renewed contract. Eventually they re-instated them "as a gesture of goodwill" and credited my account the following month for the texts charged for. Might be worth trying that angle. Good luck.