I ordered my Orange broadband on 18th May and was scheduled for connection on 31 May.
Of course I was not connected on 31st May because Orange told me there was a line problem at the BT exchange.
I found this confusing but accepted the revised activation date of 16 June.
I decided to make a call today to check we were on track and I did not like the answers I was getting from Orange. I thought the answers were evasive.
So I called BT and they said Orange had not "tagged" the line and BT could connect me on 15th June 2007.
When I rang Orange back they said that BT had notified them that the line had been fixed on 6 June and they placed the order for my Broadband on 9th June (yes today)
I am considering ringing BT tomorrow and asking them to connect me. If it comes to it I don't mind paying Orange off on the contract because it means more to me to be connected with a reputable service provider.
Any views? Should I go with BT before Orange tag my line? All comments appreciated.
Yes I would definitely go with BT.
Avoid Orange at all costs, they are absolutely useless to say the least.
As for paying them for the remaining contract - I wouldn't as you haven't had anything from.
You can leave within a certain amount of time after starting a contract with them anyway, not sure how long.
Reagrdless of that all they've given you is the usual 'line fault' excuse and not provided you with a service.
It sounds like there was likely some service or issue on the line simply preventing the broadband being ordered fully until removed. That would explain the time taken and only the recent line tag order. Seen them myself many times in the past, least they're less common these days due to the widespread adoption of broadband and dealt with quicker too.
Cosmicdance as for contract there isn't one until the line is activated.
On a side note as Orange have now placed the order you'd need them to cancel it in order to go with BT if you so choose. Waiting for them to activate and then asking for a MAC would be the quicker option but you'd be technically in contract at that point and be hard pressed to migrate without some sort of fee.
Cosmicdance and Elhana thank you both for your helpful replies.
Elhana when you say these line problems are common - that helps me appreciate the problem may be real but it does not explain why Orange didn't just tell me that instead of having me calling back several times on the 31 May/1June.
Calling a spade a spade is always helpful in these situations.
I am nervous because I am migrating from the very worst multimedia provider in the UK - Virgin Media and I don't want to find myself in another impossible situation where I have no service and no-one helps.
I pretty certain that no service provider can be worse Virgin Media so that is a good starting point. I am also old enough to know that no ISP provides "good" service.
Maybe I will let it ride and see if Orange do deliver. I am in two minds. I think BT will service in by the end of the week. I think the risk is that Orange will still be talking a good game but no service.
On the other hand if the Orange service actually works the VOIP benefits are immense.......
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
I would advise you to go with BT believe me when you do have any problems once your contract starts then you will see the attitude of Orange CS as many have stated on this forum they are truly awful check out DSLZone UK ISP ratings and check out the comments for Orange and it will give you some insight as to how bad they are im talking from experience with them too in my opinion you have had a lucky escape.
Good Luck
_________________ ex Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange Blog
Done!!!!!! I called BT who told me that Orange had still not placed the order despite the lies from their supervisor yesterday so my line is now "tagged" by BT and I will have BT service on Friday 15 June.
If Orange ever get around to placing an order on BT they will find my line tagged by BT and they can't touch it however at their current rate of progress the order is not likely to be placed until sometime in 2020 so no immediate worries.....
Yes go with BT they are streets ahead of the pile of useless rubbish known as Orange.
I changed after two years of excuses and general nonsense,and have never looked back.
And for those who followed my story I never did get my 186 quid back from them despite all those promises..........but Ive converted 200 of their customers to different isps so far,and until my 186 quid appears I will carry on doing so!
Joined: 21 Apr 2006Posts: 94Location: Fallowfield, Manchester
The_Grim_Reaper wrote:
Done!!!!!! I called BT who told me that Orange had still not placed the order despite the lies from their supervisor yesterday so my line is now "tagged" by BT and I will have BT service on Friday 15 June.
If Orange ever get around to placing an order on BT they will find my line tagged by BT and they can't touch it however at their current rate of progress the order is not likely to be placed until sometime in 2020 so no immediate worries.....
Thanks to SteveLondon, Elhana and Cosmicdance
Well done in avoiding Orange. If you have given them any direct debit details then be careful to check that they haven't set one up - if they have cancel it ASAP.
We are currrently with BT and are looking to get out. All the problems I am reading about on this site associated with Orange Broadband we have experienced with BT.
Our Homehub (equivalent to Livebox?) keeps dropping its connection and when we call BT technical help (in India no less) – at least that's a plus in Orange's favour, yes? – we are on the phone for over an hour at a time trying to connect it. of course they say that it will never happen again but it does usually while you're searching the internet. We've had to do this so many times now. Frankly, we're fed up with BT, and because we've always been happy with the service provided by Orange we thought we'd give them a try. Honestly they can't be any worse than BT. We pay around £30 a month for our BT Broadband and it's a terrible, terrible service.
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
whattodo? wrote:
We are currrently with BT and are looking to get out. All the problems I am reading about on this site associated with Orange Broadband we have experienced with BT.
Our Homehub (equivalent to Livebox?) keeps dropping its connection and when we call BT technical help (in India no less) – at least that's a plus in Orange's favour, yes? – we are on the phone for over an hour at a time trying to connect it. of course they say that it will never happen again but it does usually while you're searching the internet. We've had to do this so many times now. Frankly, we're fed up with BT, and because we've always been happy with the service provided by Orange we thought we'd give them a try. Honestly they can't be any worse than BT. We pay around £30 a month for our BT Broadband and it's a terrible, terrible service.
This has got to be a wind up
_________________ ex Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange Blog
Joined: 01 May 2007Posts: 10Location: Ripley / Derbyshire
Whatever you do ,don't jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.BT don't have very good ratings as an isp either.They also have a 12 month contract,which you should avoid like the plague.
Alot of isp's now have a 1 month contract.This is obvioulsly better.The isp know that if they give you a dodjy service you will leave next month,which is why you will get much better service with them .
This link will take you to the isp ratings .You can see that all of the isp's that people know about due to tv adverts etc don't rate very high at all
They have a 1 month contract ,costs £19.99 a month,is up to 8mb,has a 30 gb download limit (peak) , 300gb (yes 300gb) download limit off peak (off peak is between 22.00 - 08.00 weekdays and 22.00 friday night - 08.00 monday morning ).All weekend at off peak.Their technical support is excellent.
DON'T GET TRAPPED INTO A 12 MONTH CONTRACT AGAIN !!!!!
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