I have now been without an Internet connection for almost 4 ½ months and was wondering if anyone out there could please help me to solve this problem as the situation has now become extremely distressing to myself and my Wife. I have made approximately 30 calls to Orange during this time and have written 5 letters but still I am no nearer to having my connection restored. The problem began when I received a letter from BT (my home phone provider) informing me that they had received confirmation that I was leaving my present address and therefore my phone line would be disconnected on 25th October 2007. As this wasn’t the case I contacted BT and was told that as I had recently had Broadband installed it was likely that the ISP had tried to take over the line, therefore triggering their letter to me. I stressed to them that I was not changing address and therefore did not want my connection cut. Unfortunately BT did go ahead and disconnect the line and since this time I have been without an Internet connection. To cut the story short, after a multitude of line tests, equipment replacements and broken promises, I was informed by Orange in January that no broadband could be found on the line (as if I didn’t already know that) so they would have to create a new order and begin the installation again. Weeks passed by and deadlines were missed and so I wrote to Orange and this prompted a call from them on 25th February 2008 informing me that I must speak to their Special Provisions Team and to do so I would have to call customer services who would then transfer me to them. When I called, the operator was unwilling to transfer me but spoke to them on my behalf and I was told that my connection would be restored in 7 – 10 days time. I didn’t believe that this would happen for one moment and so contacted them again on 3rd March 2008 to seek assurance that this promise would be fulfilled. I was told that my connection would be definitely be restored by the following day. On returning home from work I found that this wasn’t the case and so contacted them once more. This time I was implicitly promised that it would be done by midnight. Midnight passed and still no connection, so once again I contacted them. Incredibly, I was told this time that I had in fact been mis-lead previously and it would actually take a further 10 days for a new provider to be added to the line. This really was the final straw and I am now looking to take this matter further. Please could somebody help by advising me who to contact and how. I suppose the simple thing to do would be to cancel my subscription and move on to another provider but after such a long time I really don’t want to give up now and intend to fight them all of the way.
Seriously. Unless you REALLY NEED JUSTICE, then you will save yourself a lot of stress, headaches, worry and frustration by simply cutting your losses and leaving. Whatever you do, pick an ISP with a UK based call centre. It's not the fault of overseas call centre employees, but they simply do not understand the nuances of the English language, and have only been trained in the bare minimum required to solve the majority of common problems. They do this by following flow charts on PC screens and are unable to help further than their prompts allow.
It is also almost impossible to get any help from BT or it's engineers. This isn't BT's fault, but Orange, who have to book and pay for the BT engineers time in advance, and in most cases are very reluctant to do so.
I was once off for more than 3 weeks, and after hours on helplines, only eventually got back on when, as luck would have it, a tall lorry drove past and pulled the line from my house. When the BT engineer called, he tested my line and diagnosed a faulty livebox. I bought a Belkin replacement and was back up in minutes.
Really, all the surveys from Watchdog, Which and others are not wrong. They diagnosed Orange as a very poor ISP, and customers who have been asked to vote agreed.
Have a look around at providers recommended by others (friends, colleagues etc), have a look at their web sites, read the conditions and choose the one you like the look of. In my opinion, you're very unlikely to do worse than Orange
Yesterday after a further four phone calls I have had another guarantee that the connection will be restored in 7 - 10 days time. If not I will definitely be taking your advice and moving on. I have also notified Watchdog, ISPA UK and Ofcom about this problem and will post any responses that I receive
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
Ian76 wrote:
Thanks very much for your reply
Yesterday after a further four phone calls I have had another guarantee that the connection will be restored in 7 - 10 days time. If not I will definitely be taking your advice and moving on. I have also notified Watchdog, ISPA UK and Ofcom about this problem and will post any responses that I receive
Hi Ian
Sorry to hear about your plight which sadly is common on thise forums, you must have the patience of a saint i would have ditched them within a month, i don't understand why you don't go to a better provider after whats happened i wouldn't trust anything they say i certainly wouldn't want to give them my money either.
My advice is the same as theageofreason find yourself a decent provider check out the ISP ratings here and the relevant ISP forums Here
it will give you some idea of who's good and who isn't if i was you ide avoid the big ones and their shallow offers and promises after my appalling experience with Orange and their so called customer service i wouldn't touch em with a 10FT barge pole again.
Good luck Ian and do yourself a favour and choose a decent provider before they lock you in for 18 months.
_________________ ex Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange Blog
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
