Just a quick post in the event it might serve as a warning to any other unsatisfied Orange customers.
For the past 3 months I've been attempting to cancel my account with Orange with little success and thought I'd point out a few of my experiences to serve as a warning to anyone else intending to cancel their accounts:
1. THEY CUT YOU OFF
During my first attempt to cancel my details were taken down and the call was abruptly cut off. Believing I had canceled the account I thought no more of it. Upon calling back 2 weeks later I was informed apparently I had terminated the call myself and therefore the cancellation had not been applied.
2. DIRECT DEBITS
I used to pay my account via a monthly direct debit which I canceled when I thought I'd paid my 30 day notice period. Due to the above reason Orange threatened me ultimately with court action over non payment of bills.
3. MAC CODE
The deeply unpleasant gentleman in customer care refused to provide me with a MAC code to migrate to my new service provider stating it was Orange's policy not to supply these. He then told me the cancellation process would take 30 days followed by a further 30 to 60 days to remove the tag off the line. This information is factually incorrect, sadly I didn't know it at the time however the Ofcom regulations state Orange can not refuse to supply you with your MAC code.
4. REQUESTING A MAC CODE AFTER YOU CANCEL
Apparently it is Orange's policy that if you don't request the MAC code or as in my case you are refused it and then request it at a later date they will provide you with the code BUT they will restart the whole termination process from scratch.
5. TAGGING YOUR PHONE LINE
Through speaking to BT I found out my phone line since moving house wasn't tagged by Orange, however interestingly since I served notice they placed a tag on the line presumably in an attempt to block my new ISP from accessing the line. If you've just moved house a quick call to BT may prove useful as you new ISP may be able to take over the line without any problems if Orange haven't got there first.
My whole experience of Orange has left me bitter as a result of what I can only describe as a series of bullying tactics in the hope of retaining customers. Needless to say I'll now refuse any Orange related products on principle.
I am outraged by the fact that Orange is getting away with this disgracelul service. Why isn't there a monitoring body that is able to intervene in such matters? It's because Orange doesn't appear to be held accountable for its appaling behaviour that it continues in this vein.
To add one final update to my tale of appalling service and support from Orange I thought I'd seen and experienced just about all they could throw at me... until today!
After having different stories regarding MAC codes I thought I'd give it one last shot to attempt to obtain the code and eventually spoke to someone in their Customer Services Dept. In spite of an Orange representative promising me a MAC code verbally over the phone today I was informed no request had been made and it would take 2 days to obtain a code. It took 2 calls to get this far as I the caring customer care team decided the best option was to cut me off when I call first time round.
Upon arriving home from work this evening I decided to contact Orange again quoting stories from this website where MAC codes have been made available more quickly. First call I was advised all systems were down and nothing could be done and to call back in at least 30 mins. I waited 30 seconds and called back again to this time find the systems were working perfectly well. When I spoke to someone I discovered Orange had terminated and closed my account without my consent or prior notice earlier in the afternoon. After been made to feel like a liar protesting this was not at my request nor knowledge I spoke to customer services who by their own admission could not explain what had happened.
The outcome of all this is now I am reliant upon Orange removing the LLU (piece of hardware on the exchange) before I can commit to a new provider which will take 14 days and now the account is closed they can not provide me with a MAC code. At the moment BT Wholesale haven't had any instruction from Orange to undertake the LLU removal.
The best bit came about an hour ago when I received a phone call from Orange calling to provide me with my MAC code. They attempted to contact with the 'customer couldn't care less' dept and they refused to speak to me or give me the MAC code. When I requested to speak to customer care directly they cut me off again.
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