Signed up because my mobile account is with Orange and have never had any problems, plus because I was already with Orange, the broadband was free. Got the package delievered on Tuesday 21st November.......
After following the installation instructions, I get to the point where you switch the Livebox on for the first time in order to check the broadband signal is being received (I'm expecting to see the "@" light flashing slowly according to the instructions). But the "@" light is flickering really fast, so I call tech supoprt as instructed in the manual i'm following.
I get through to a call centre (which I believe in in India due to the blatant script reading going on). The guy is helpful enough and guides me through checking everything is set up correctly. After half an hour, he tells me that although my service was switched on on the morning of Monday 20th November, it hadn't actually been switched on properly and it would be active the next day. He tells me to try the next day and to call back if it does not work.
Wednesday 22nd November..... I get home from work and switch it on again. Same problem... "@" sign is flickering fast. So I call tech support back. I go through the exact same process as I did the day beofre despite telling the lady that I have already tried all these things the previous day. She refuses to stray from her script and so I end up doing everything I have already done (unplugging, swapping filters, resetting etc etc). As expected, it still didn't work so she told me she was going to do a line test and to call back tomorrow for the results.
Thursday 23rd November.....I call back for the line test results....and they tell me I have to call another number (0870 220 2002 instead on the usual 0870 010 2462). The guy here (Indian call centre again) refuses to answer my question "what was the result of the line test?" and instead keeps telling me they have to do another line test. I ask him several times what the result of the original line test was yet he refuses to answer. After I insists, he telles me that someone has typed a date wrong(!?) on the system and the line test must be done again (that makes no sense to me, but there you go). He tells me to switch the livebox on and leave it on now for 24 hours or the test will fail. Depiste me telling him not to run it yet because I am at work and the livebox is not switched on at home, he still carries on putting through the line test request (which will fail as it is not switched on at home at the moment - I try to tell him this but he refuses to acknowledge me). In the end, I just agree with whatever he is saying so I can end the call. I am now going to call Orange Home's UK Call centre and hopefully speak to someone who understands English, specifically "I want to cancel my account." Will post update shortly.
Have read so many similar stories to this on this forum. Unbelievably bad service.
Signed up because my mobile account is with Orange and have never had any problems, plus because I was already with Orange, the broadband was free. Got the package delievered on Tuesday 21st November.......
After following the installation instructions, I get to the point where you switch the Livebox on for the first time in order to check the broadband signal is being received (I'm expecting to see the "@" light flashing slowly according to the instructions). But the "@" light is flickering really fast, so I call tech supoprt as instructed in the manual i'm following.
I get through to a call centre (which I believe in in India due to the blatant script reading going on). The guy is helpful enough and guides me through checking everything is set up correctly. After half an hour, he tells me that although my service was switched on on the morning of Monday 20th November, it hadn't actually been switched on properly and it would be active the next day. He tells me to try the next day and to call back if it does not work.
Wednesday 22nd November..... I get home from work and switch it on again. Same problem... "@" sign is flickering fast. So I call tech support back. I go through the exact same process as I did the day beofre despite telling the lady that I have already tried all these things the previous day. She refuses to stray from her script and so I end up doing everything I have already done (unplugging, swapping filters, resetting etc etc). As expected, it still didn't work so she told me she was going to do a line test and to call back tomorrow for the results.
Thursday 23rd November.....I call back for the line test results....and they tell me I have to call another number (0870 220 2002 instead on the usual 0870 010 2462). The guy here (Indian call centre again) refuses to answer my question "what was the result of the line test?" and instead keeps telling me they have to do another line test. I ask him several times what the result of the original line test was yet he refuses to answer. After I insists, he telles me that someone has typed a date wrong(!?) on the system and the line test must be done again (that makes no sense to me, but there you go). He tells me to switch the livebox on and leave it on now for 24 hours or the test will fail. Depiste me telling him not to run it yet because I am at work and the livebox is not switched on at home, he still carries on putting through the line test request (which will fail as it is not switched on at home at the moment - I try to tell him this but he refuses to acknowledge me). In the end, I just agree with whatever he is saying so I can end the call. I am now going to call Orange Home's UK Call centre and hopefully speak to someone who understands English, specifically "I want to cancel my account." Will post update shortly.
Have read so many similar stories to this on this forum. Unbelievably bad service.
Keep calm (hehehe!) read my posts, you are not alone! sounds like me, the line is not enabled, so no matter how many line checks are done it wont work, you need to talk to the fault team, (sorry I can not find the numbers) who will contact BT fault managment to arrange repairs/connection, it seems nothing will get done untill you have agreed to a time for BT to call.
Keep calm (hehehe!) read my posts, you are not alone! sounds like me, the line is not enabled, so no matter how many line checks are done it wont work, you need to talk to the fault team, (sorry I can not find the numbers) who will contact BT fault managment to arrange repairs/connection, it seems nothing will get done untill you have agreed to a time for BT to call.
Maybe... but I have only recently moved into my flat (about a month now) and one of the first I did was get a BT engineer round who sorted my phone line out for me so i'd imagine it is all working correctly. Even if that is the case, why do they insist of having me jump through hoops with allthis line test business? Can't they just put me through to the fault team first?
Its soul destroying, now I hope this is right (its from memory) 0870 0102462 then option 1 then 4, but if this is wrong ask them to be put through to the fault team to book an engineer. my fault was at the exchange, a switch had not been flicked.
Its soul destroying, now I hope this is right (its from memory) 0870 0102462 then option 1 then 4, but if this is wrong ask them to be put through to the fault team to book an engineer. my fault was at the exchange, a switch had not been flicked.
I called BT direct and asked them if there was anything they could do or check but they said they would have to hear from Orange themselves before they take any action, and so I have now caled the Orange Home UK number on the website (0870 909 0666) and managed to get through to a supervisor in the UK (hooray!), but sadly she was a supervisor in the billing department and couldn't really do much with my broadband query but she promised to get a UK based Technical Support supervisor to call me this evening at approx 6pm to go through the problems (he stressed he was externally trained in IT support as well as internally - superb). Hopefully he will be able to fix my problem or at least have the authority to get BT to sort it out if it is indeed their problem (though my home phone line is working fine so unlikely). Further updates to follow........
In the meantime, I have just tried to log in to the Member's Centre on the Orange website, but surprise surprise.... problems! I log in with my email and passwordand then the next screen asks for the same details again, but this time they are not accepted. Called tech support and theyclaim this is due to maintenace on the Orange website (been like this all day) and I have to keep trying and that's all I can do.........
I called BT direct and asked them if there was anything they could do or check but they said they would have to hear from Orange themselves before they take any action, and so I have now caled the Orange Home UK number on the website (0870 909 0666) and managed to get through to a supervisor in the UK (hooray!), but sadly she was a supervisor in the billing department and couldn't really do much with my broadband query but she promised to get a UK based Technical Support supervisor to call me this evening at approx 6pm to go through the problems (he stressed he was externally trained in IT support as well as internally - superb). Hopefully he will be able to fix my problem or at least have the authority to get BT to sort it out if it is indeed their problem (though my home phone line is working fine so unlikely). Further updates to follow........
I waited and waited, but there was no phone call last night from anyone at Orange. I waited patiently but by 8:30pm I'd had enough of waiting so I called tech support back myself. They apologised for the broken promise of a call back and the guy I was speaking to (UK based! No India this time!) tried to help me himself. He understood what the problem was and he guided me through some fixes, none of which worked (Resetting livebox, changing config of box via computer etc etc). In the end he said the only option now was to do....you guessed it....ANOTHER line test! He promised that it was be within the next 2 hours but would probably finish after 11pm (when the call centre closes) so I should call back this morning for the results. I am about to give them a call so watch this space........
I am about to give them a call so watch this space........
Just got of the phone to the Indian call centre again.... "Can I have the results of my line test please?" I asked. I was put on hold for a few minutes and then she came back and told me that the list test results were all good. I explained that it still wasn't working because I checked it this morning before I left the house for work. She then told me I had to do a factory reset before she can escalate the problem. I explained that I did one of these this morning (How many resets do I have to do!?!) so can she escalate it for me now. She then changed her tune and told me that my account was only activated yesterday (23rd November) and I know this is a lie because I have been told by at least 6 people now that my account was activated on the 17th November and the line was activated on the morning of the 20th. I told her this and she stressed that my account was not active until the 23rd. If this was true, surely one of the other people I have spoken to over the last few days would have noticed the account wasn't active? She then said she wanted to do ANOTHER LINE TEST and I told her no. I said I've had four now and she had just told me herself that the results of the last one were fine! I told her that the Livebox was switched off now (I switched it off this morning when I left the house) so the line test would not work even if she tried it. She said I have to call them back AGAIN tonight when I have it back on so they can run more line tests.
I feel like I am going round in circles. It's a farce. I thought I was getting somewhere last night with the UK based guy. If only I could speak to him again. Will try to get through to a UK based team as they seem to be a lot more helpful. I think it's time I attempt to cancel my account, to see where that gets me.
I think it's time I attempt to cancel my account, to see where that gets me.
Have just spoke to a lady in the UK customer support centre. Told her I wanted to cancel my account. She asked why and I told her ti was because I've been given the runaround by tech support, have been told conflicting information by several different people, have tried all their tests multiple times and am still being fed the same "line test" waffle. I told her I still have not been online at all since the stuff was delivered and I can't be bothered to continue and want to cancel the account.
She then told me that according to her system, broadband was active on my line. I informed her that I had been told that several times but am still not receiving any broadband service. She then told me that they probably need to do some more....yup - LINE TESTS. I told her I;ve had about 4 of these now so surely my case could be escalated but she said there is her I can't face speaking to another robotic Indian call centre and still nothing they can do and I'd have to speak to tech support again. I told wanted to cancel everything. She then said that before she puts me through to the cancellation team, i'd have to agree to pay a £55 cancellation fee!! I told her I won't pay that as I have received NO service at all. She insisted I was breaking my contract and because I refused to agree to the charge, she wouldn't do anything else. Someone please tell me what I should do next?!
I have now filed complaints with The Internet Service Providers Association (www.ispa.org.uk), Ofcom (www.ofcom.org.uk) and BBC Watchdog (www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog). I urge anyone else suffering like me to do the same. If enough of us complain, perhaps they will do something about it?
I have now filed complaints with The Internet Service Providers Association (www.ispa.org.uk), Ofcom (www.ofcom.org.uk) and BBC Watchdog (www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog). I urge anyone else suffering like me to do the same. If enough of us complain, perhaps they will do something about it?
About an hour ago I rang the UK customer support line again. I can't just sit here and not do anything because it's doing my head in. Anyway, I spoke to a guy who said he'd checked with his team leader and I would have to pay the £55 if I wanted to cancel. I asked to speak to his team leader and he said she "is not allowed to talk on the phone" (yes, it's true). He then offered to put me through to another team leader in another department (!), which he did.
The lady I was put through to was a team leader in "customer care" - she listened to my problem and read all the notes and then put me on hold for 10 minutes. When she came back on the line, she told me she'd been talking to an engineer in tech support and he told her they are running a full diagnostic LINE TEST (!!!!!). I explained that I'd have several of these and she told me that all but one of them had failed (no one told me this) and this last one should resolve everything. She said to leave the livebox on from tonight and all weekend and I will get a call back after 12noon on Sunday. I told her that if it is working by Sunday, I will stay with them (she agreed to give me 2 months subscription free) but if it's still not working or no-one calls me back, I will NOT be happy.
Best to go into an Orange shop and speak to a manager there. I'm having the same problems you are having six full weeks later so my advice is to get out NOW.
...She said to leave the livebox on from tonight and all weekend and I will get a call back after 12noon on Sunday. I told her that if it is working by Sunday, I will stay with them (she agreed to give me 2 months subscription free) but if it's still not working or no-one calls me back, I will NOT be happy.
Saturday night there was still no service (flashing @ light still). But about 9am on Sunday, I noticed the light flashing slowly. I quickly got my laptop and attempted a wired connection and it worked! I had some things to do so I disconnected and thought I will wait for the promised call from tech support who I guessed would now tell me it was all working. Well, yet again Orange have broken their promise and nobody called me. On Sunday night, I attempted a wireless connection but it wouldn't work. 20 minutes on the phone to Indian call centre and wireless connection was up and running, though the guy told me I could not ever switch the Livebox off as I would have to run through all the config changes we had just done. Seems odd to me as you'd want to switch the plug off sometimes surely? (can anyone verify if I will lose all settings on Livebox if switched off?). Anyway, I ran a couple of speed checks at various times and got download speeds between 1.6Mbps (Sunday afternoon) and 5.5Mbps (early hours of this morning). I am on the 8Mbps package so I'm guessing this isn't too bad. Hopefully it will stay connected now!
I'm still not happy with Orange. It took a week of phonecalls and my connection issues were only resolved when I threatened to leave. Three promised callbacks have failed to happen, and although I have noticed everything is now working, I am still waiting for Orange to get back to me to tell me this.
I now intend to write a full letter to Orange with this whole saga laid out. The service I - and others here - have received is apalling.
Rang Orange again to let them know about the failed callback (again). I have the name of the person who I spoke to on Friday (the one who promised the engineer would call on Sunday) but they can't put me through to her. The reason for this was that she worked in the Rotherham call centre and I got through to one of the two Middlesbrough call centres and the only way I could speak to her was to keep redialling until I managed to get the Rotherham office. A 1 in 3 chance each time.... the guy on the phone told me it would be "pot luck" - great!
As the Livebox seems to be working correctly now, I'm going to stop calling them and instead put this whole forum post into a letter of complaint to their head office. I will mention this website and hopefully someone high up at Orange will take note and do something about the rubbish service a lot of people seem to be getting. I will also post a copy of the letter on this thread when it's done.
...On Sunday night, I attempted a wireless connection but it wouldn't work. 20 minutes on the phone to Indian call centre and wireless connection was up and running, though the guy told me I could not ever switch the Livebox off as I would have to run through all the config changes we had just done. Seems odd to me as you'd want to switch the plug off sometimes surely? (can anyone verify if I will lose all settings on Livebox if switched off?).
You shouldn't lose any of the settings in the livebox when switching it off. When turned back on it should automatically reconnect within a minute or two.
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