After a month or so of lurking on this forum nodding my head silently with everyone else, I have decided to step up and actually do something about Orange's abysmal so called 'service'.
Below is what I plan to do. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions on how it should be done or if there are any hidden things Orange will throw in to try an screw me over again.
I will ring up Customer Services and tell them the problems I am experiencing. These include slow download speeds (15kbps) when BT's line checker says my line supports up to 4mb, 2000-4000ms latencies during peak times in World of Warcraft, incredibly slow loading webpages etc. I will then tell them I have had a line test done last week which has not improved anything, so doing it again won't help. I will then give them ten working days in which to drasticly improve my speed. After this time is up, if it hasn't improved, I will ask to take the broadband off of my account. If they throw the cancellation fee at me I will say I will say I will complain to Ofcom and ISPA.
There is one problem with this and that is the fact I have the '£30 a month phone (which to be fair is fine, always has been for the 4 years or so I have had an Orange mobile), £5 a month internet' fee. Is it possible for them to cancel the broadband fee (if they decide to) without me paying a penny but keeping the phone (which as I say is fine so there is no grounds to cancel that)?
Ideally it doesn't improve in ten days so I can get out of it and they agree to this and provide me my MAC, and I cancel my direct debit for the broadband (I believe the two are seperate).
I had the same problem, I changed my broad band to the free package before I asked for my MAC code as then the cancellation fee is 12 x £0.00 = 0. But ask before you do that as they may "renew" your mobille contract for a further 12 months, which means you will have to keep your current phone for a while?
Oh asked for my MAC code friday got it today and have just been told by my new isp that i will be connected to them on the 30th.......
Right, so if I change my package to the free one, it kicks off a new 12 month contract for the broadband or the phone? Because the phone has 12 months left on it anyway.
Either way if I then change it to the free broadband, then ask for a MAC to migrate, I'm effectivley paying them £30 for the phone a month and no more, whilst still having another ISP? Is this correct?
Or should I change it to the free one and then ask to cancel it? I heard they charge you the full £14.99 a month for the remainder of the contract even if you pay £0 a month because of the phone...
Joined: 08 May 2007Posts: 18Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
I'm in a similar position to you and have just downgraded my bb package from the "8"meg to the "2"meg which is free with my mobile phone and agreed another 12 month bb contract at 12 x £0.00. I rang up a few days later for my MAC and Orange customer services just said "Oh yes, you're on free broadband, I'll just put you through to the care team" and the care team attempted to get me to ring tech support until I told them they were a dead loss and I wanted my MAC. There was no mention of any charges or my mobile phone contract and if they try to sting me for another Three months they'll have a fight on their hands . But, I'm pretty sure the two aren't related. Anyway, if you've still got 12 months left on your mobile contract you're sorted.
I checked last night and my phone contract had been renewed for 12 months, which is ok as I had about that left anyhow. I just asked for my MAC code and was told that I would get a refund of about £3.00 since I paid a month in advance. There was no mention of any charges for breaking my BB contract and customer service were well aware of what I was doing, they even said so !! You must change to the 2mg BB before you ask for your MAC code tho, otherwise they will charge you £5.00 per month of your contract you have left to run. Also wait until you get your e-mail confirming that the change has happened. On the plus side they only took 2 working days to get my code to me and it worked as I get moved to Be on the 30th. Good luck I hope it works for you .
I rang up Customer Services and said to them I want to cancel my broadband account and get a MAC. I was told you can only do one, is this correct? I asked for a MAC in the end and was told I needed to pay a cancellation fee. I explained about the abysmal speed and that I shouldn't have to pay a penny. They asked me to call Technical Support, which I did, and explained it again to them. They got me to do a speed test and said they would run another line test (surprise surprise) and asked me to call them again the next day with the results of another speed test. I made it clear I wasn't happy doing another line test but said I would give them 10 working days for them to sort it out and would this be a fair length of time, to which they replied yes.
So I shall call them tomorrow and see if they have enough 'diagnostics' for me to cancel otherwise it's ten days til they hear from Ofcom.
Joined: 08 May 2007Posts: 18Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
For once they were right, you can either get a MAC or cancel, not both, when the migration process takes place your account should be cancelled anyway (it's worth checking). I got my MAC last night and finally decided to go with Be Broadband. After registering I went to their on-site forum and there were people complaining because they only had 8meg download speed!!! One guy (who had 24meg download speed)was even whining because of his signal/noise ratio and attenuation were wrong, although he was shot down pretty quickly. It's a whole different world and I'm joining it on 31st May. I'll just have to keep an eye on Orange to make sure they don't sting me for any charges, although having checked the contract terms, I couldn't find a cancellation charge.
For once they were right, you can either get a MAC or cancel, not both, when the migration process takes place your account should be cancelled anyway (it's worth checking). I got my MAC last night and finally decided to go with Be Broadband. After registering I went to their on-site forum and there were people complaining because they only had 8meg download speed!!! One guy (who had 24meg download speed)was even whining because of his signal/noise ratio and attenuation were wrong, although he was shot down pretty quickly. It's a whole different world and I'm joining it on 31st May. I'll just have to keep an eye on Orange to make sure they don't sting me for any charges, although having checked the contract terms, I couldn't find a cancellation charge.
You beat me to this.
I could not believe pple complaining on the BE forum becos their speeds were averaging 8M - 17M.
I just thought about some of us here and laughed.
I am waiting for my MAC .Hope it gets thru by Friday.
Like you guys I am off to Be should go live on the 30th. Orange did not say about a disconnection charge infact they refunded my about £3.00 !! Will be happy with 8 to 17 mg....... Bette than the 470kbps I am getting at the mo.........one thing Orange have capped my line at 1mg.....b'stards..........
Phoned technical support today. Got through to the Indian call centre (should have phoned earlier...maybe the English staff were still in) and asked for the results of my line test. They argued the toss saying I had to call another number (an 0875 number, sod that) to get to the 'Livebox department'. bull***t. I was asked to call Technical Support today, not another bloody premium rate number.
Either way I'm not phoning it. Instead I shall contact the ISPA and send an email to Eric Whathisface or something, because this is getting me nowhere.
EDIT: I've sent a complaint to the ISPA. Hopefully they will deal with these knuckleheads accordingly.
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. But, I'm pretty sure the two aren't related. Anyway, if you've still got 12 months left on your mobile contract you're sorted.
