I'm new to this forum, so I hope I'm not repeating problems, but I'm quite worried about a letter I received from Orange a couple of weeks ago, but the story started months ago, so I hope you can all give me some advice and help on the situation!
In Feb08 I received a letter from Orange saying in Oct-Nov07 we had exceeding the "fair use policy" (although, as you probably know, the fair use policy doesn't actually state a limit!) and in total had used 64mb (I think that's right? Forgive me, I'm not very "techy" but my boyfriend says that amount is hardly "excessive") and that with immediate effect they had cut our broadband speed - it was little faster than dailup to be honest.
I phoned Orange to complain about this - no forewarning that we were approaching the limit of exceeding the fair use policy, just "bang" we're cutting your speed, for two month's over use over four months ago!! I explained to them that other ISP's give fair warning, but you can have no "discussion" with these people, they just reel off the script.
Anyway, a few weeks later, about the 2nd week of April, I phoned up again to give one month's notice of cancelling our account. I was told that was fine and they would send a MAC Code within 3-5 working days.
After 5 working days I never received the code, so had to call back again, they assured me they emailed it, but I never got it. So they put me through to Tech Support and the guy gave me a code straight over the phone - why can't they just go that in the first place!!?
Anyway, so I assumed as I gave my notice mid-April, the account would be closed mid-May, but then at the beginning of May they took a monthly payment from my account. To be honest, I can't remember what their answer / reason was about this when I called up again to complain.
So we finally got switched over to our new provider on 1st May, due to the stupid delays with Orange. Thought the hassle was over.
Then, two weeks ago I received a letter from them, just dated "August 2008" saying something along the lines of "We haven't received any payment from you, so we've had to close your account..." are they stupid!!!!!?? The letter was worded to effect that we were still a customer not paying our bills!!
The letter stated we owed £5.80 - I know this is a tiny amount, so perhaps I should just pay it and be done with it, but I feared something else would crop up again if I didn't have it out with them.
I called up Customer Support, went through the whole explanation of that we had actually left Orange weeks ago! I explained on the phone that I gave my notice in mid-April, so why on earth did I owe any money, seeing as they also took a payment for May.
The lady said they take 30 days notice from the day your new provided takes over the line!!! So, they make you pay for 30 days "service" when you can't actually use the Orange service, because you're with someone new!! So there is not point giving verbal notice in the beginning, as they'll just stick another 30 days on top of that when you change providers. I explained Orange had already took a payment for May, but she just insisted we still owed the £5.80 until the 8th June 08.
To be honest, I'm so confused about who, what, why, where, when - I know I should have written everything down, everything that was said on phone calls, to avoid this complication.
Anyway, to cut a long story short! - After talking to them on the phone the last time, I decided, no, I'm not paying £5.80 no matter how small an amount it is, so instead I wrote a letter of complaint, explaining everything I've just said. That was about a week ago, end of last week I phoned them back to ask if they had received the letter and they said it hasn't been noted on my account has being received.
I'm just really worried now - I know it's only £5.80, but they letter said if you don't pay by 29 Aug 08 they'll take legal action!!
Will my letter get into the right hands? Will they respond to it in writing? Will it be ignored and I'll receive another demanding letter or will the balifs turn up???
Again, hope I haven't just been repeating similar problems people have had, but would really appreciate any advice about what I should do about this.
The lady said they take 30 days notice from the day your new provided takes over the line!!!
She is correct and yes that does mean you pay Orange (or any other ISP, they all have the same contract terms) for 30 days non-use of their broadband while you also pay your new ISP.
I believe OFCOM have a current investigation into ISP contractual terms/use of MAC codes etc.
But, the last monthly payment they took of £29.99 was on 8th May - so therefore, given that our new ISP took over the line on 1st May, I should owe nothing for June (as monthly payments are taken in advance)??
Will I get any human response from my letter of complaint?? Or will they just write another demand?
Normally they reimburse the difference between what you owe at the end of the 30 days notice and the last direct debit, but in your case they're saying that migration occurred on 7 May. This accounts for the £5.80 due.
You need to provide proof to Orange that the new ISP took over on 1st May.
No, they took my last monthly payment on 8th May08 - our new ISP took over the line on 1st May08. So therefore, 30 days notice would go until 30th May. So I paid for May08 / 30 days notice, so I don't see how I should owe them for a week of June??
It's not really the issue of do I / don't I owe them money - I'm just really worried about the letter saying they'll "take legal action if it's not paid by 29 Aug" (which has obviously now passed).
I don't want to just pay it and "have done with it" as no doubt I'll probably get another letter in a few months time saying I owe them more money or why haven't I been paying my bills!!!
Orange rely on the gaining ISP to notify them of the migration daate.
If your new ISP didn't notify Orange then the 30 days did not commence on 1st May.
So you need to provide Orange with proof of the migration date, the best way would be for your new ISP to contact Orange confirming the date, or if you have a document which clearly shows that date then send that to Orange.
Your experience is why it is always better to phone them on the day of migration to confirm cancellation of the account.
Thanks for your help - it's helped clear up the matter.
Should I just wait to hear from Orange again re. the outstanding amount? I fear if I just send on a cheque now, after complaining in writing, it'll all get confusing / cross over, etc.
Is your billing date, or your payment date the 8th of each month?
If your broadband line was provisioned on for example the 1st of January, and you paid by direct debit, your billing date would be the 1st of each month. If you pay by credit card that would be taken immediately. However, if you pay by Direct Debit, Orange would request the money from your bank on the 1st of the month. The banks generally take 10 working days to process this payment and credit Orange's account on approx 14th of the month. This can often show up on your bank statement on say the 16th of the month. This could explain why there is a difference in dates.
Another reason may be that BT or the gaining provider informed Orange of the succesful migration on the 8th of the month, and that is when the 30 days notice was applied.
If a customer calls Orange before 6pm on the day of migration (providing its a weekday) Orange can call BT and confirm the migration and then apply the 30 day cancellation notice, as per the terms of use .
The Terms of Use state:-
Quote:
21.2 In order to transfer your Service to a different provider you need to request a MAC Code from us that you should give to your new broadband provider. You can request to receive the MAC Code by email or letter. We aim to provide the MAC Code to you within 5 working days of your contacting us. A MAC Code expires after 30 days of issue. We can only provide a new MAC Code once the previous one has expired. The request of a MAC Code does not immediately cancel your account.
21.3 When you terminate your Agreement and after the Minimum Period has expired the termination is subject to 30 days’ notice that will be applied to your account when the MAC Code is used.
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