Came across your forum whilst trying to find out more about the server outage affecting Orange BB customers within the London Area. It looks like I'm not alone in getting a soddy service. Therefore have decided to move away to another provider but I thought before I finally go, I'd express my experience here.
Been with Orange since 2001 initailly starting via DialUP with Freeserve. Never moved 'cos I am a heavy user as I worked in IT until a few months ago and downloaded evaluation software, patches and upgrades. Also, my kids tend to download / uploads videos etc quite a bit & thus BB means a lot to us. Overall the Service has never been that great but since the Orange tookover, it has actually gone downhill.
Since Sunday, my BB connections have been up & down like a yoyo but with more downs. Talked to Orange T/Supp who initially tried to fob me off by saying its my own modem/router that is at fault. Having told them that I tried using an old modem/router and that my background is IT, they finally admitted that a server was down affecting the LOndon Area. Subsequent calls were similar with final statement stating that service will be available in the next few hours. Enough to fob you off for a few hours..
Finally gave up yesterday & rang Cust Servs., to get my MAC code. To prevent me from leaving I was offerred a true 8Mg connection for £9.99 with the first 6 months free. Sounds good, considering I have been paying £27.99 (yes £27.99 !!) for unlimited and what I thought was 8Mg. What he failed to mention is that with this offer is that I will be tied in for another 12 months and will be capped at 2GB download a month. If I exceed this capped limit, they will be sent a letter and will be charged per GB. If they can monitor this, why can't they provide their customers with monthly usage. The answere is simple - people would then lower their service levels. Needless to say, I declined their offer & am waiting for a MAC code.
In a nutshell, Orange service has deteriorated over the years. I know you are doing a good job and you need keep the pressure up on Orange. Hopefully, they will improve once they realise everyone is leaving. Just remember that the end of the day, all ISPs are the same especially those that offer cheap rates.
regards
Last edited by nileshpa1 on Fri May 18, 2007 11:26 am; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 12 Jun 2006Posts: 907Location: Weston-super-Mare, UK
nileshpa1 wrote:
Finally gave up yesterday & rang Cust Servs., to get my MAC code. To prevent me from leaving I was offerred a true 8Mg connection for £9.99 with the first 6 months free. Sounds good, considering I have been paying £27.99 (yes £27.99 !!) for unlimited and what I thought was 8Mg.
regards
We are seeing this every day, long established customers leaving.
Orange are obviously worried now, offering to give away the service to keep customers.
What I don't like to see is Orange telling blatant lies when they know they have a fault.
My story is exactly like yours...been with Freeserve since 98...the last year in general the speed and constant disconnections have been bad...esp the last month
Enough is enough, I phoned up for my MAC 4 days ago which I have now got! bye bye Orange
They also tried to swing me the same deal that they offered you, I just reapeatedly asked for my MAC code and they soon got the idea
Thanks for the support and I'm glad that I'm not the only one disappointed with Orange. It is really sad to see old timers who have subscribed all these years actually leaving. Like us, there are many others who do not want to keep moving by looking for cheaper deals. All we ever ask for is a decent service for at a reasonable cost.
All I can say is that No senior Management within a company can be that ignorant and start to lose revenue with such a mass exodus. I do feel sorry for the Indian call centre who have to bear the brunt in this Fiasco.
Personally, I would have stayed with Orange provided,..
1. they were upfront & said they have a major issue with the London servers.
2. Given me some assurance & timescales when the issue would have been resolved
3. Compensated for the loss of service
4. Agreed to give me a decent service at a decent price.. Not try to put me on a basic package & tie me up for a year (Orange have no idea about Loyalty).
Thats all we want....
Incidently, my o2 (now Sky) contract was comng up for renewal in July and was contemplating getting a combine Mobile & Internet package with Orange. So Orange have lost out on that as well.
BTW, Chris - since you have got your MAC code, who are you moving to.
Those who are leaving / have left Orange - Any suggestion on which ISPs are worth considering. ?
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
My recommendations are IDNet excellent ISP free support unlimited email addresses Bethere who im very happy with at the moment also ukfsn its also advisable to check out their and any ISP's forums HERE and ISP ratings HERE where you will see Orange is at the bottom of the main list among the other big providers.
IDNet and ukfsn 1 month contract
Be 3 months contract on Un Limited package.
Good luck with whoever you go with.
_________________ ex Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange Blog
To prevent me from leaving I was offerred a true 8Mg connection for £9.99 with the first 6 months free. Sounds good, considering I have been paying £27.99 (yes £27.99 !!) for unlimited and what I thought was 8Mg
This is the sort of thing that Orange continues to do, and really riles me up to no end.
'True' 8meg connection? Are they actually confirming that there are people on the unlimited package who are not getting 8meg and because you are leaving they'll actually 'do' something to your connection to give you 8 meg?!
To me this seems like unless you are not actually making a fuss or threatening to leave they're not going to do any 'upgrades' which you should rightfully have automatically?!?! Anyone shed any light on what this agent is exactly saying. Because if they mean what I think they mean its f***ing outrageous. Or its BS they are feeding you...
Congrats on deciding to leave, remember to tell others i.e. friends, family, colleagues about your terrible experience with Orange- people need to know about them and to stay away from them.
Both, IDNet and BE look good but BE seems to be the preferred choice as they are now part of o2 (now Sky) - Big company backing but lets hope service doesn't deteriorate
Do either of these guys provide utilisation stats? I'm questioning this because I'm debating between Lite & Unlimited pakages as the main difference is usually the capped limit. YOu can always upgrade but may not be able to downgrade.
Its just that my download has now dropped dramatically as I quit IT last year and my kids have now gone to Uni. So usage is lreasonable but difficult to tell.
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
From what i have read o2 (now Sky) isn't rolling out its broadband till september and may be run totally seperate from bethere they have however stated they are not going down the "free" route.
Be-lite is a 12 month contract and if you go over the bandwidth allowance 4 gigs you just pay the extra of what u use. additional 5 gigs is £5
Be Un Limited is just that and is a 3 month contract and a 1.3 meg upload it has a fair user policy but they have never implemented it.
You do not get an email account with any package you get 5 for £2 pm extra and can also pay extra for a static IP (with IDNet a static IP is standard)but most just open a Gmail account free which u can POP enable in whatever email client u use.
Bethere general info
Hope this helps
_________________ ex Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange Blog
exact same story here as well. long term Freeserve user (since the dial up days in the late 90s)... stuck with them through the Wanadoo era (no complaints) , and the service just went down the pan when Orange came along.
got my MAC code, and i'm now with Fast
(no complaints - great, friendly service and ENGLISH tech support...)
I'm still waiting for my MAC code which is why I havn't made a decision on who to go to & what package to select. Looking at the others threads on this forum, FAST seems also to be a favoured choice. Believe at the end of the day all these independant/small ISP are the same i.e small enough to care but big enough to provide a stable service unlike Orange.
Will update in the next few days,
Many thanks for all the help.
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
Hi nileshpa1
That is very true as long as you stay away from the big ISP's with long contracts just do a bit of research first on the ISP you are interested in and you will be fine good luck
_________________ ex Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange Blog
& anyone else who is unsure about changing ISPS because they are worried about all of the hassle for switching over (like I was) JUST DO IT!, u will not regret it.
Well done Chris, no doubt you're experiencing the joys of the internet as it should be and not through Oranges eyes- heavily restricted, severely underspeed.
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