like everyone else I have had my very old freeserve account deleted by Orange. this was my only email account and I have had it for many years. I have accessed it almost daily for years without using dial - up and I have never recieved an email warning me that any action was impending. My account was not 'suspended' because I have used it frequently. It was just deleted. Again like many people I have spoken to the call centre to be told my information is irretrievable. The problem is huge to me, I have flight information, hotel bookings, car hire vouchers all now deleted. As well as this, trying to change information for websites involves you putting in your oringinal email for them to send to send a 'confirmation' to which you need to reply regarding the changes (i.e. my new email address), or they won't activate the changes. I need HELP!! and quickly. I will never use Orange again for anything. My entire family will be closing their accounts and their mobile phones as soon as the contracts allow. This is an outrageous thing for Orange to do, without any notification or warning.
Happy to put my name to any action that could reclaim my emails.
It looks like i'm in the same boat. I tried to log in tues morn to find my account has been wiped off.
I'm not sure what to suggest, luckily for me, for the last year or so i've been using a different email address which then redirects to my freeserve account, i've just changed the redirection.
But sadly, anything before a year and a half ago is kind of a mystery to me too.
It's awful service from Orange again. I can't beleive it. After using the email address for pretty much 8 years.
Hi hinchliffe160 and you have my sympathy. I also have lost my email account with several years of use meaning the loss of a lot of contacts I am sure (including work leads).
Orange no longer want to host a free email site and while they should honour freeserves commitments it is a thorn in their 'corporate side'.
They could not legally just close all these accounts but they have come as close as they think is legally possible by changing the terms and conditions, but only posting this on their website and not contacting each member individually. This is their weakest position legally.
Secondly they changed the manner in which the accounts were kept active very subtly and in such a way no one would actually know until it was too late. Previously you knew when to reactivate an account because you could no longer log on, this was changed (as I say without notification other than on their website) so that it continued to work during the period in which it needed to be renewed (only no one knew!).
Apparently everyone's accounts were changed the same day and so everyone fell foul of the same sting and in one fell swoop nearly every account was closed (and no one can warn anyone else).
Clever in a way but totally dishonourable and of course many people will have suffered for supporting freeserve at a time they were trying to compete with Hotmail.
I suspect what they have done is illegal or morally unnacceptable to the regulators but who can afford to take them to task. If someone does start a class action or some joint complaint then they have my full support.
On this link on the Orange website there are a few people to whom you can complain inside and outside of the company which is what I intend to do - http://www.orange.co.uk/terms/...5594.htm
How do you access your email account? If you use the free email service (ie do not buy any services from Orange) then you are in danger of losing your account. I beleive if you use Orange's services you maybe okay although there is another thread on this forum on this subject (with some 5000 reads) where even paying customers have had problems.
Chris.
Eltagi wrote:
What defines a "very old Freeserve account"? I'm still using mine perfectly OK - used it today in fact.
Not for much longer, Orange monitor these pages !!
I think "very old" and "Freeserve" are synonymous aren't they ? Wanadoo operated for several years after and now it's Orange. I wouldn't think age of the address entered their decision process, probably the name "Freeserve" was enough.
I'm just waiting for the same to happen with my Wanadoo address, fortunately I also use Outlook and Googlemail.
_________________ An ex-Orange guinea pig
"The first third of our lives is ruined by our parents, the second third by 0range then along comes 02 and you die happy."
I think "very old" and "Freeserve" are synonymous aren't they ? Wanadoo operated for several years after and now it's Orange. I wouldn't think age of the address entered their decision process, probably the name "Freeserve" was enough.
The process works the same no matter the domain of the account, be it freeserve or orangehome. It's probably just more likely that a freeserve account is just being used for email and no longer dialup than the newer accounts.
I think you've hit the nail on the head Chris. My Freeserve account isn't one of the freebie jobs (though I do have a freebie fsnet.co.uk account as well which I access via Orange webmail).
I can rest easy - well, easier - now.
Cheers - Jim.
cdhoole wrote:
Hi Etagi,
How do you access your email account? If you use the free email service (ie do not buy any services from Orange) then you are in danger of losing your account. I beleive if you use Orange's services you maybe okay although there is another thread on this forum on this subject (with some 5000 reads) where even paying customers have had problems.
Chris.
Eltagi wrote:
What defines a "very old Freeserve account"? I'm still using mine perfectly OK - used it today in fact.
I too have had my e-mail address deleted I was using orangehome. Orange said that I was on dial-up and because it was not used for over six months it has been deleted. I have never had a dial up line with Orange.
It was about Decmber that that I went on to wireless connection which I am most unhappy about, as during May I was with connection for nearly a month.
I too have had my e-mail address deleted I was using orangehome. Orange said that I was on dial-up and because it was not used for over six months it has been deleted. I have never had a dial up line with Orange.
It was about Decmber that that I went on to wireless connection which I am most unhappy about, as during May I was with connection for nearly a month.
Any non-paid for account is a pay as you go dialup account so will everntually be deleted.
Orange gave me an anytime 0808 account (linked to my broadband username) to use when my broadband connection wasn't working. I hope the de-activation of this doesn't screw up my broadband in any way
If the anytime account uses the same username as your broadband account then it is just a flag on the system, it's deactivation shouldn't mess with the broadband settings. If it's another username then it's completely seperate.
If you are on Orange broadband, your monthly payment keeps your account active for access for as long as you keep paying them, and keeps your email account active for as long as you keep paying them. If you cancel the account, you are in effect then transferred back to a pay-as-you-go dial-up account. (As long as you drop the @fs off the end of the username you get to keep the same details too).
If you are on Orange pay-monthly dial-up, your monthly payment keeps your account active for access, and keeps your email account active. If you cancel the account, you are in effect then transferred back to a pay-as-you-go dial-up account.
If you are on Orange pay-as-you-go dial-up, your 0844 dial-up call payments keeps your account active for access for up to 210 days after the last time you dialled in, and keeps your email account active for up to 210 days after the last time you dialled in.
If you are on a "webmail account", you are in effect actually on a pay-as-you-go dial-up account, and you need to dial the 0844 pay-as-you-go dial up number and log in with your user name and password once every 210 days. I am sure that a few years ago, the limit was in fact only 90 days. I see some people saying the limit is now 260 days.
Whatever, you need to spend at least 10 pence per year on the 0844 dial-up number in order to keep the account active.
-- Correction --
If you use webmail then be aware that there are two types of account.
One of them is called a "webmail account". If you have one of those (i.e. you have an fsmail.net address) then you simply need to use the webmail service at least once every 90 days to keep the account open.
All other types of email (freeserve.co.uk, fsnet.co.uk, wanadoo.co.uk, orange.co.uk, etc) are linked with either a broadband, anytime, or a pay-as-you-go account, and need you to keep on paying the account or dial in as a pay-as-you-go customer every 210 days.
Last edited by catj on Sun Sep 16, 2007 9:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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