Hello all

My father died some time ago and my Orange broadband connection was in his name. We had changed the payment details immediately and from memory mentioned his passing over the phone when doing so. Recently, whilst attempting to upgrade to a different package, I noticed the account name was still showing as his in the "Member Centre". Searching through the help for "deceased" I was directed to a change of account details form which I duly filled in and sent back to them. I also emailed customer service and asked how long this would take, explaining that my father had died and we wished to change the account name. They responded by saying the account details would be changed as soon as they received the form.

Indeed, upon checking the member centre the account holder name changed as requested within a few days. I was happy the situation had been sorted.

I was then rather surprised to receive a letter from Colleen Lawton in Customer Care informing us that "due to Data Protection purposes" (?) they would be unable to change the personal details on an account where the holder has sadly passed away, and that they had set the account to cancel on a date which is little more than a week away. Advice on retaining a connection was limited to "you will need to register your own account with a new email address if you wish to regain internet access with Orange".

I phoned up and was told that the the cancellation order had gone in, it was a one way street and that no matter if we wished to reconnect with Orange or anybody else we would have to wait 10 days after the cancellation date before doing so.

This scenario is not an everyday occurance for most people obviously, but is this what would be expected as normal procedure? If they are indeed unable to amend account details (I am slightly unsure why this would be if other essential services can be transferred easily), then isn't a week's notice a little short? Surely they should offer the opportunity to set up a new account without losing service or with minimal loss - it is already an Orange line after all? If an account holder dies, shouldn't they make some sort of effort to keep the family set up or help them get set up under a new account - and not treat them as a routine cancellation and a routine new member?

Orange's attitude seems to be:
- account holder dies
- spouse/family member told account will be cancelled with next to no notice
- by the way, if you want to come back you'll have to wait 10 days after we've cancelled it as an Orange line, before you can come back as a completely new member when we will again set it up as an Orange line.

I have been told I can keep my email address by reactivating as a pay-as-you-go dial up which is a relief, as losing the address I have used for the past 6+ years with a week's notice would've caused me a lot of grief.

I am unsurprisingly not desperate to re-sign with Orange but did not want the downtime and to be forced into a decision on a new contract with somebody else so quickly. I am also presuming I will lose the "migration bonus" you get when moving to other providers and will not be eligible for a MAC Code as they are cancelling.

Any advice welcome...if not, then at least it's helped me let off some frustration!

If i was you ide spend the 10 days looking for good ISP one that values their customers theres plenty that do a month contract at a time and good customer support.
Good Luck
Steve

Sorry to hear of the problems you are facing. There is a set procedure for intimation of death and follow-up. You seem to have followed it properly, but something has gone awary. Please contact Orange by recorded mail at the below mentioned address and you may find a credible response:

Orange Customer Care
PO Box 486
Rotherham
S63 5ZX

Hope that you have a solution...

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Thanks for your input as well. I does not matter for whom or where we work.
The point is to get a solution for a problem. I've come across a number of posts regd poor support, so i'm just helping. Hope its of use ....