I discovered this site on one of my few "connected" days trying to find out if anyone else has had the same poor service and problems caused by Orange "upgrading" my line from what was a steady, stable and reliable 2Mb line to the now unattainable 8 MB service....... and this site proves how many people are in the same boat.
I have many of the complaints already highlighted in other posts including the low speeds (23.40 Kbps min to 4159.06 Kbps max), disconnections, unable to connect and the overwhelmingly appalling customer service so I will not recount mine now.
Since June 18 when I was"upgraded", I have been in constant contact with Orange and found they have 3 main call centres Rotherham, Middlesbrough and India - each site having it's own interpretation of how their Customer Service policies should be interpreted and applied. Their own Code of Practice is not followed at either Middlesbrough or India as operators persistently refuse to escalate a call to a supervisor.
Eventually I was placed on what they term as their VIP list with their Escalation team who, to be fair, did assign a dedicated Engineer to deal with my line problems and call me back with updates and checks for me to carry out. The call backs alone have helped keep my already £40+ call charges to Orange down a little bit. All was well (as much as a poor connection allows) until this guy went on holiday for 2 weeks. Then - no call backs, days of no connection etc etc all over again.
Now this is where I want to check if this is a new ploy by Orange to worm their way out of fixing what they broke and if indeed anyone knows if this is a legal and reasonable request......
When I eventually got back to the Escalation team, I spoke to one of their senior managers who said the only way they could progress any resolution was for me to call out BT to check my home internal wiring ?
I asked BT to do this they say they can send one of their guys around but if no fault is found then a full call out fee of over £150 will be charged. They also told me that it would probably be a pointless task as my line checks are totally clear.
So, I am now in the position - get BT out and get charged a call out fee or Orange will not do any more work to resolve my broadband problems. Orange's Escalation manager has also stated to me If I do get the BT check done and it comes back all clear then they will probably be unable to do anything else for me and will terminate my contract !!! ??? They also refuse to put any of this in writing or issue a deadlock reference number so I can take it to CISAS
Ok, for sure it would be easy for me to quit Orange but so far 5 requests for a MAC code have been ignored. What I would prefer to do is push them as far down the line as is possible to go so they provide the service for which they have taken fees off me in advance.
Any one have any thoughts / suggestions ?
(Tip for anyone wanting to get through to the Escalations team in the shortest time. When you get through to a call centre operator, ask to be transferred to cancel your account -all call centres can do this - then once through to cancellations ask for the escalations team. This has worked for me every time I have needed it)
Theres more that can be checked before going down the road of getting BT in. If BT find a fault on the line then they should not charge you. However, if they check your internal wiring and find a fault they will charge as this is your responsibilty (ie any wiring/extensions after the master socket)
Post your line stats. These will give some indication as to the state of your line and may provide an indication of what is wrong.
Don't let Orange fob you off - all they do is lie and blame people's telephone lines on the fault.
You'll neve get any sense out of them and the only way to get a decent connection is to move to a real ISP.
Believe me I've been through it myself.
As for the MAC code - they have to provide you within 5 working days by law so file a complaint to Ofcom and ISPA.
They are breaking their contract with you and breaking the law, tell them this and demand your MAC code.
There is another option about the wiring. Check your master phone socket and if it has a line across about half way up then you should be able to unscrew the lower half to access the test socket. This disconnects all your internal extension wiring so if the broadband gets the same issue there then it shouldn't be a problem with the wiring.
IF BT then come and check the problem and it still exists from that socket then they shouldn't normally charge you. You do want to make sure this is a broadband engineer and not just a phone engineer. Broadband engineers are usually arranged though Orange so you may want to push your escalations contact to try and arrange one for you.
Also as already mentioned your line stats would be helpful, and for you to keep a record of them to see if they vary at all.
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