I have a problem concerning Orange Broadband (and sort of BT). Basically, in October 2007 I moved to a new part of the country and new house and set up a BT account for telephone usage (I was with Telewest in my previous house and the new house was not in a telewest area). I was advised when I joined BT that the account had a 12 month contract, and that if I cancelled before then that I would incur a cancellation charge. Not a problem.
After I moved in, I decided I wanted broadband, and did a bit of research and talked to some friends about their experiences in the area. Due to the fact I was an Orange mobile customer I contacted Orange to find out what their packages were, and it seemed like the ‘Home Broadband Max’ package suited my requirements. A couple of friends were on it and it seemed to be a good deal. I was advised that Orange would 'take over' my BT contract so I would keep the same landline number and only have 1 bill to pay each month. Sounds great.
Knowing that I was under a contract with BT, I specifically asked if I would have to pay the BT contract cancellation fee, and during my enquiries I was informed that BT cancellation charges would not apply as the account would be merely 'transferred over to Orange'. I checked this more than once, with more than one representative who all agreed that I would not incur the BT cancellation charge for the reason described above.
So I went ahead with an 18 month Orange Home Broadband Max contract, and apart from a couple of minor hiccups, I was connected and up and running without major problems by the end of November - Yay! I even get quite good speeds - often up to 6MBits - which obviously isn't 8, but is more than adequate for me, and I was informed that I would be unlikely to get the full 8 where I was. Not a problem!
You can therefore imagine how angry I was when I received my final bill from BT for £150 to cover cancellation charges a couple of days ago . I rang BT and Orange, and basically it seems like the fault lies with Orange - they do not pay that cancellation fee.
I rang the Orange customer support and was informed that there must have been a 'misunderstanding' when I booked the Orange broadband over the phone. I kicked up a fuss and spoke to a manager who said that Orange was not liable to pay the cancellation charges incurred but that as a goodwill gesture they would send me £50, leaving me £100 to pay myself. Not happy.
I find this unacceptable, and want to know where I stand.
The fact of the matter is that I was misinformed by a number of employees at Orange and only took out the contract with them after taking (mis-)advise from their staff. As a result and have been left with a significant bill. I have the names of the people I spoke to at Orange, and the dates that I called them. They say they record some of their conversations (for training & quality purposes etc etc), but I spoke the them at the end of October last year, so don't know if they keep the recordings for that long, or if my conversation even was recorded at all.
I only took out the Orange Home Broadband Max contract because I was informed by their staff that there would be no cancellation fee to pay BT. One of their managers advised me on the phone that 'Orange were not liable in this case', even though she accepted that I had been misinformed by a member of their staff, and took out a contract on the incorrect information I had been told.
I find it very hard to believe that they can just say that they are not liable for their cockup, and only offer a third of the amount it cost me to leave the BT contract. I have written a letter to Orange customer services similar to what is described above, and am just waiting for a reply.
This (obviously - Murphy's law) comes at a time when my wife has been out of work for a couple of months and money is a bit tight, among other problems!! Typical.
I am thinking of writing to OFCOM and Watchdog if it will help at all.
So what is the advice here, and where do I stand - should Orange be paying the whole lot as it was their mistake? Thanks in Advance,
Cocksy
PS. I hope this is in the right forum - I couldn't see anywhere more appropriate, but may have missed it!
If you have proof of what you were told then OFCOM will be very interested in regard to mis-selling.....they do seem to be hot on mis-selling.
If you have no proof then report to OFCOM anyway because I believe they will side with you rather than Orange even though mis-selling cannot actually be proven.
_________________ 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."
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
I agree with nhyder that is a blatant case of mis-selling they no full well that they can't just take over another company's contract that would be slamming, its obvious they done it to get a sale which is a bit cruel considering they knew you would be hit with paying the rest of the BT contract off, they tell plenty of people on here they cant leave without paying the rest of their Orange contract off.
I would definately report them to ofcom if they persist in denying what they said.
Good Luck
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