I signed up for the 8mb unlimited service from OrangeThree weeks ago. Since then, I have had nightmare upon nightmare trying to sort out the dropouts and total loss of service (PPP Server Down). I have logged a number of calls with Orange over the problems but not a single callback or resolution to any of them. When I was first connected, I had a very good service of between 5.5mb to 7.5mb - this of course changed in the evenings when congestion would hit the network. Now my problems have been getting worse, the 'PPP Server Down' incidents have become more frequent to permanent - I now have NO service whatsoever. I am a network engineer by trade so you can be assured that I have swapped out the router, filters, cables etc and my logon credentials/config are not the problem. Then I discovered www.orangeproblems.co.uk and I feel like the rest of you out there suffering from the same problems.
Since my broadband service has been down, I have been using my trusted Freeola dialup connection. I have now paid more in dialup charges than I have paid for broadband!!
So I have a few words of advice for you:
1. When calling Orange support, NEVER select the 'Technical Support Option', you can be certain that the next person you will speak to will be some overly polite indian call centre who have very little in the way of technical knowledge and will script you though all of the 'usual' fault finding - then eventually just write you out a call ticket. Instead, I would recommend that you select 'Customer Services' and ask to be put through to 'Technical Support'. Through this route, you will end up speaking to someone more competent and understandable .... and English.
2. If you are considering Orange as a Broadband provider, I would recommend that you take very seriously the comments made by those posting in www.orangeproblems.co.uk. It is very unlikely that they (Orange) will improve anytime soon due to the scale of their operation and their present state of 'firefighting' faults caused by their failing over-subscribed equipment. Don't let Orange blame BT's equipment, much of the time it is their own equipment causing the problem and they need to reply upon a 3rd party to 'bandaid' it for them. Orange employees are not allowed in the exchanges so they have a contractor go in to fix their equipment.
3. Subscribe to a decent Broadband provider, have a look at the league tables and you will find plenty there. What is cheapest will not always give you value for money. Sometimes spending a little more on a connection will save you time and money in the long run. For example, how many of you Orange customers spent on the phone with 'Technical Suppport'? Multiply the number of hours you have spent with them on the phone with your hourly rate. For example, if you normally earn £10 per hour but spent 5 hours on the phone with them per month, your broadband bill is £50 plus your subscription - very expensive!
4. If you are currently with Orange and locked into a contract, research your rights as a customer and complain to Ofcom if you have been without any Broadband service from Orange. You will find you have more rights than what has been explained to you in their 'Terms & Conditions'. If you can find an exit - GET A MAC CODE! If you can afford it, perhaps the penalty for ending your contract early might be worth saving your time and sanity.
5. Complain, complain & complain - keep on the phone to Orange, ring them every day (not the indian call centre - see above). If you are also an Orange mobile customer, contact them using 550 from your handset. If you keep the calls going into Orange, they will soon run out of people to answer the phones - this might be the only way to get them to realise that they cannot keep running a business this way. The BBC Watchdog program was helpful but the memory of which will soon fade away. You can keep the memories of that program fresh - keep calling them morning, afternoon and night.
Thats it for me, I am getting rid of this turkey, it is my own damn fault for not researching this substandard Broadband service in the first place. Really people, we only need to look in the mirror for blame. God invented Google for a reason!
I have been very lucky in the way that I have spoken to someone at Orange who has been sympathetic to my problems and has issued me a MAC code without penalty. I have signed up for 'Be Unlimited' who have an excellent reputation and do not use PPP at the exchange (no more PPP Server Down issues). They are £24 per month but I think that represents value for money compared to a £5 service that requires my time and effort to keep it running - when in fact, it does not run well at all.
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