Help Needed with non-valid orange contract

abi1008

hi i need some help with the following problems im having with the mobile orange.

basically im 17 and in april 2007 my mum took out a orange £35 a month contract which i was going to use and pay each month. everything was going fine untill january this year when i went into the orange shop in the trafford centre and enquired about upgrading my phone. the man i spoke to rang up and said the phone i wanted to upgrade too would cost me £50 and would go on my bill. i then asked if my contract would still finish in august 2008 as it was a 18month contract. the man said that it would and the noly change is that its a different phone. he then gave me a form and said sign and date it which i did. he also said if i took a old phone into the orange shop i would get £150 cashback onto my bill. so i took the old phone in but the credit didnt go on the january, february or march bill. so just after i recieved my last bil i rang orange to see where the £150 was. it was then the woman told me that when i upgraded my phone the contract started anew and the £150 was £10 per month. the woman on the phone then said because i upgraded my phone in the trafford centre id need to go back there and sort it out.

me and my mum have now just got back from the trafford centre where mum asked to speak to the manager and explained the situation. the mangeress then said there was nothing she could do about it because even though im 17 its still in a contract in my name because i signed the form (which i then discovered had been written on saying it was a new 18month contract after id signed it) and if we wanted to cancel the contract or take it further both me and my mum would be charged with fraud!

so bascially the contract was oringally in mums name when i went in and upgraded the phone all they did was ask for my name. as it was a new contract in a new name they should have asked for proof of ID and address and my date of birth which they didnt.

so we just need help with what to do next?

nellytheelephant

I'm not sure how it would work, because (from what I'm reading) it's an upgrade, rather than a new contract?

abi1008

nellytheelephant wrote: »

I'm not sure how it would work, because (from what I'm reading) it's an upgrade, rather than a new contract?

They have said it is a new 18 month contract due to the upgrade and is now showing in my name rather than my mums (I'm only 17 and not old enough to have a contract)

Jon_01

OK, so your mum took out the cotract, yes ? So it's in her name, are you named as a third party on the acc (ie, if you call in would they talk to you ? did you have your own password etc.).

If the contract was JUST in your mum name and the shop upgraded it for you, then their in the wrong and as you say at 17 you can't sign a contract anyway.

If YOUR name is on the contract as a third party it get more sticky as technically you are able to upgrade as your mums given you access by naming you on the acc.

If the first case is ture, call in the helpline and get them to call through to the fraud dept (Not a customer facing dept, you can't get through to them yourself) and they'll sort it out for you.

If it's the second then it's down to the shop...

(the fraud dept is only open office hours and til 12:00 sat and sun).

abi1008

thats where it gets confusing when i upgraded the phone the contract is now in my name only somehow

nellytheelephant

abi1008 wrote: »

They have said it is a new 18 month contract due to the upgrade

It's not a new contract as such, it's another 18 months added to the original contract. Originally you would have been tied in for 12/18 months.

Also, as long as it's not over 14 days you have the peace of mind guarantee.

reehsetin

it can't be upgraded into your name, for the contract to change name they have to go through account transfers and do a credit check which you would not have passed
im in a rush at the moment but i can help you out when i get back!

reehsetin

nellytheelephant wrote: »

Also, as long as it's not over 14 days you have the peace of mind guarantee.

theres no 14 day on upgrades in store

reehsetin

I'll try and answer as best i can, feel free to pm me if you dont want to reply on here

abi1008 wrote: »

enquired about upgrading my phone. the man i spoke to rang up

did he ask for ID? and for your name and address?
whos name was written on the CIF (contract)? did he do it through the phone or on the computer?

abi1008 wrote: »

the man i spoke to rang up and said the phone i wanted to upgrade too would cost me £50 and would go on my bill.

the £50 was an early upgrade fee, because your contract wasn't finished you were effectively buying out the rest of your contract so you could start a new one (just so you can understand what everything that happened was)

abi1008 wrote: »

i then asked if my contract would still finish in august 2008 as it was a 18month contract. the man said that it would and the noly change is that its a different phone.

i'm not trying to have a go but did you really think they were giving you a free new phone for absolutely no reason at all?

abi1008 wrote: »

he then gave me a form and said sign and date it which i did.

what did it say? you say it was later written that it was a new 18 contract after you had signed it, i'm telling you now that is not possible, whether it was a handwritten CIF or printed from the computer it has it pre-written on the form that if you are upgrading you sign into a new 12 or 18m contract. he may have written it onto the form as most people will do for re-iteration

abi1008 wrote: »

he also said if i took a old phone into the orange shop i would get £150 cashback onto my bill. so i took the old phone in but the credit didnt go on the january, february or march bill. so just after i recieved my last bil i rang orange to see where the £150 was. it was then the woman told me that when i upgraded my phone the contract started anew and the £150 was £10 per month. the woman on the phone then said because i upgraded my phone in the trafford centre id need to go back there and sort it out.

correct the £150 will go on as not £10pm but around £8pm off the bills, (this has been the case since at least November-ish) it is the stores responsibility to sort out, they need to send a buyback query and get the credit put on

abi1008 wrote: »

me and my mum have now just got back from the trafford centre where mum asked to speak to the manager and explained the situation. the mangeress then said there was nothing she could do about it because even though im 17 its still in a contract in my name because i signed the form (which i then discovered had been written on saying it was a new 18month contract after id signed it) and if we wanted to cancel the contract or take it further both me and my mum would be charged with fraud!

so bascially the contract was oringally in mums name when i went in and upgraded the phone all they did was ask for my name. as it was a new contract in a new name they should have asked for proof of ID and address and my date of birth which they didnt.

so we just need help with what to do next?

basically you need to let me know exactly what happened for me to help you!
there is two ways for you to upgrade either on the phone in which case your full name and address need to be given and will be verified with someone on the phone, some stores will take ID but its not compulsory
the other way is on the computer where just the postcode is needed the staff should have still verified your details
did you ever explicitly say it was in your mums name? or give any of your mums details?

if it was the phone method with a handwritten contract you should have written your name on it, this works in your favour as it shows the staff messed up by giving it to someone with the wrong name than on the account, regardless of whether you signed for it the contract will not have been 'transfered' to your name, according to orange they will still regard your mum as the customer no one has changed these details therefore it is her who needs to dispute everything with orange

if it was a printed contract from the computer the blame could fall onto you as you will have signed a copy which would have stated your mums name not yours!! they will say you should have read the contract before you signed and like i said orange are unlikely to penalise the store as they dont HAVE to ask for ID

unless you tried to pass yourself off as your mum by not telling the staff you were not her but just giving her details THEY WILL NOT DO YOU FOR FRAUD
just dont think the store want you to pursue the complaint.

any complaint needs to be made by your mum as i promise you she is still the account holder!
i dont think you/she can argue that you weren't told it was a new contract because like i said on both types it is pre written that it is a new contract and cancel the contract that way

your mums main complaint is that (dependant on you not passing yourself off as her) is data protection, the fact that the store allowed someone other than her to upgrade in her name, because of this hassle it will cause them and if the store is at fault they should do something as a gesture of goodwill, she needs to make a complaint not to the store, but to orange head office.
if the written contract has your details on it though it will be very hard to argue.