Orange 'Free' Broadband

calamity_h · 23 August 2012 at 1:53AM

neil9313 wrote: »

I suspect if your in contract you will keep the free BB

Unfortunately not, £13.50 pcm if I want to stay with Orange for broadband only (first month free), or £23.50 with £5.00 discount for being a mobile customer if I take the home phone and broadband package. I asked about terminating my mobile contract when the free broadband ends but was told a big fat NO. Across the remaining term of my mobile contract, my supposed free broadband will cost me £270 if I stay with them. They said that at the time of my renewal 7 weeks ago they didn't know that BT were going to increase their charges to Orange, charges which BT have said have actually decreased. Trying to get anywhere over the phone with anyone from Orange is about as easy as herding cats!:mad:

jods73 · 23 August 2012 at 9:42AM

I renewed my mobile contract last Friday! I even metioned that the monthly price was a little more than I wanted to pay but at least I get free broadband as part of the package. Surely a perfect opportunity to tell me that within three days I would receive a letter telling me my "free" broadband is being withdrawn. Is this not mis-selling?

nobby1963 · 23 August 2012 at 4:56PM

jods73 wrote: »

I renewed my mobile contract last Friday! I even metioned that the monthly price was a little more than I wanted to pay but at least I get free broadband as part of the package. Surely a perfect opportunity to tell me that within three days I would receive a letter telling me my "free" broadband is being withdrawn. Is this not mis-selling?

You may have a `cooling off` period in which you are able to cancel ?
Worth a try if you ask me.

absolutangel · 23 August 2012 at 8:57PM

I've been with Orange since their Wanadoo days too, and have always kept my phone contract with them to get the free broadband. Every time I have renewed a contract I have specifically asked that it definitely included the broadband in the price and been told yes. I'm now in a position where my contract doesn't end until April 2013, to buy it out would be over £300 and come 16 Oct 2012 I'm not going to be getting broadband anymore unless I stump up for their home phone service. How on earth can this be right? Tried to speak to someone tonight but got fobbed off with the relevant department being shut. I'll be really interested to see if anyone finds out anything about the legality of this.

calamity_h · 23 August 2012 at 11:16PM

jods73 wrote: »

I renewed my mobile contract last Friday! I even metioned that the monthly price was a little more than I wanted to pay but at least I get free broadband as part of the package. Surely a perfect opportunity to tell me that within three days I would receive a letter telling me my "free" broadband is being withdrawn. Is this not mis-selling?

That has to be sailing very close to the wind re. misselling - their emails started coming out on 19th and it would have taken them a while to devise their new scheme at world domination so they would definitely have known. They told me that when I renewed 7 weeks they didn't know which I don't really believe but 2 days before your renewal they would have. Maybe we need to highlight this to Watchdog or Rip Off Britain?

Normski3 · 24 August 2012 at 2:03PM

I too have been with Orange since Freeserve days and have had free broadband with a monthly mobile contract for longer than I can remember. When I renewed my contract just over a week ago I checked whether the free broadband was still included and was assured that it was. Today I got the letter threatening to end my broadband if I didn't take out their landline package. Like others I got no help from Orange on this when I rang the number given and their explanation was that mobile and broadband were two different parts of Orange and that the broadband deal was unconnected with the mobile contract. That's not what they said when I first got the deal!
I am now stuck with an 18 month Orange mobile contract which was only a good deal because of the free broadband. I don't want to change my landline to Orange but unfortunately they have me over a barrel if I don't want to increase my costs substantially. I really hate their cheek.

mw2655 · 24 August 2012 at 6:21PM

hi,

i'm in the same boat..

been with orange since the freeserve days..

took out a new orange mobile plan 2 months ago which is only competitive due to the "free" broadband.

been on the phone to customer services and the best they could come out with was "it's not illegal what we're doing"

maybe not illegal but certainly immoral!!

i only agreed to take out the mobile contact on the understanding that the package also included broadband and they should honour this.

cheers matt

absolutangel · 24 August 2012 at 7:17PM

Last night I filled in a contact form for Ofcom and have already had a response that includes this para - "While all providers will reserve the right to vary their contracts, Ofcom regulations are in place for protecting consumers. If consumers are being notified of a change which is likely to cause them material detriment, the provider must, under Ofcom regulations, give them one month’s notice of the change and inform them that they are entitled to terminate their contract without penalty if the change is not acceptable to them. As regards whether material detriment occurs, this depends on the particular nature and circumstances of the variation at issue. It would be for a consumer to pursue with their provider if a price change will cause a significant increase in their bills (and thus a material detriment) and can leave their contract without penalty."

I'd say having to find broadband elsewhere and paying for it must be a material detriment, so I'm going to push to be allowed to cancel my contract.

mw2655 · 25 August 2012 at 10:16AM

hi,

right, if enough of us complain to OFCOM which can be done online..

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/sales/mis-selling-mobile-phone-services/

OFCOM might open an investigation, they cannot however deal with individual cases.

The address for Orange to write a complaint to is..

Complaints dept
Orange UK plc
Po Box 486
Rotherham
S63 5ZX

once I have complained to orange and we don't agree and they send a deadlock letter or 8 weeks from the initial complaint..

i can then go to CISAS http://www.cisas.org.uk

which is the independent ombudsman covering orange who can deal with individual complaints.

cheers matt

mw2655 · 25 August 2012 at 10:20AM

here's the letter i've sent to orange in case anbody wants to use/modify it..

Dear Sir/Madam

Mobile account : xxxxxxx broadband number : xxxxxxxx

I am writing to complain to you and would like my complaint dealt with as per your complaints procedure.

I have been a customer of orange for 12 years now. Since 2005 I have benefited from your free broadband with a regular pay monthly mobile phone contract. The free broadband has always meant your mobile phone packages have always been competitive. This was also the case 2 months ago when I renewed my contract for another 18 months. As always I checked if I would still receive my free broadband and I was told yes I would.

However this week I received a letter from Orange regarding my broadband. I rang your customer support team to be told unless I took on line rental with orange I would lose my free broadband in October despite my 18-month contract. When I complained about how unfair and wrong this was I was told “what we are doing is not illegal”.

I am appalled by your extraordinarily poor customer service. I expect you to honour the free broadband for the rest of my contract. I will not hesitate to take this matter further and have already informed OFCOM of your questionable practice.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

cheers matt:)

Orange 'Free' Broadband

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