I thought some of you guys might be interested in my battle with Orange who have been chasing me for only £23. I changed from them in 2007 to Talk Talk and then my problems started when they started to write to me saying I still owed them £23.
Following a battle I have two letters from them in 2007 which apologized to me and said that no further claim for money would be made against me.
And then two months ago the DLC Debt Collecting Agency started to Harass me with Telephone calls and Letters.
I have sued a Company 3 years ago and I was awarded £950 (Which the Company Paid) so they are messing with the wrong bloke.
I sent this off...As I Have Had Enough (6th April 2009).
My below correspondence sent by Recorded Delivery.
The Company Secretary
Orange Home UK
Verulam Court
Station Way
St Albans
AL1 5HE
Also sent to:-
Laura Boehme
Customer Care
Orange
P.O. Box 486
Rotherham
S63 5ZX
Your Ref. **********
Your Debt Collecting Agency Ref. **************
Dear Madam,
You will read from the enclosed communications that I have been further harassed by your Debt Collecting Agency DLC.
Also enclosed is further correspondence I have had with your Debt Collecting Agency DLC.
Note that in respect of my tremendous use of wasted hours, postage, telephone calls, E. Mails Etc. Etc. Etc. over a period of some two years during which my Wife and I have been brought to a state of considerable anxiety regarding Orange Harassing me with amongst other things threats of Legal Action by Letter and Telephone calls. I consider your actions to bother me claiming money which I do not owe unlawful harassment is also contrary to the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
Therefore I am claiming a total of £450 without prejudice Plus Costs from Orange in respect of all the above.
This letter should be read in conjunction with all of the other correspondence both sent to you and I have received from you during 2007.
Please note that if you have not paid the above amount to me by Monday 20th April 2009 (Two weeks time) then I will apply to the Aberystwyth County Court in respect of this claim.
You should note that I already have the necessary papers collected from Aberystwyth County Court here at home to enable me to take this action.
Yours Sincerely
The latest is that I have filed a claim at a cost of £35 and Orange have sent to the Court Dated 24th April 2009 that they intend defending my claim. They have until 22nd May 2009 to do this or I win by default.
Sue them, judge tells woman who took on might of British Gas
By Vanessa Allen and Nick Mcdermott
Last updated at 1:19 PM on 11th February 2009
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Lord Justice Jacob: Praise for Lisa Ferguson
Lord Justice Jacob: Praise for Lisa Ferguson
A judge yesterday praised a woman for fighting back against British Gas after the company deluged her with bills and threatening letters for money she did not owe.
Lisa Ferguson was also told she could pursue her David and Goliath-style legal campaign and sue the energy giant for harassment.
She is seeking £10,000 in damages for distress, anxiety and financial loss.
British Gas sent 47-year-old Mrs Ferguson a stream of bills for eight months after she switched her account to another supplier.
The firm threatened to disconnect her supply, send in debt collectors, take her to court and have her credit rating blacklisted.
But the self-employed property investor, whose business would have faced ruin if she had been blacklisted, refused to lie down and has risked at least £70,000 of her own money to pursue the case in court.
She has already run up legal bills of £35,000. Three Appeal Court judges backed her two year legal campaign yesterday, ruling that British Gas could not stop her from trying to sue for harassment.
They dismissed an appeal by the firm against a High Court decision last year that she could bring a case.
Lord Justice Jacob said: 'It is one of the glories of this country that every now and then one of its citizens is prepared to take a stand against the big battalions of government or industry. Such a person is Lisa Ferguson.'
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* HARRY PHIBBS: Let's join these heroic women fighting the faceless corporations
Mrs Ferguson, from Bromley, South-East London, told the court that a simple decision to change gas suppliers in May 2006 had led to months of harassment from British Gas.
She switched to German-owned npower but was sent a string of incorrect bills from British Gas asking for hundreds of pounds that she did not owe.
When the businesswoman refused to pay and sent proof she had changed supplier, the energy giant repeatedly threatened to cut off her supply, start legal proceedings against her and report her to the credit rating agencies.
It even sent one letter out on Christmas Day.
gas
Harassment claim: Lisa Ferguson is claiming £10,000 damages from British Gas after she was threatened over gas bills
It took five months for the supplier to say sorry for its actions, but then five days after receiving its apology Mrs Ferguson was sent another wrong bill, for £253.
Lord Justice Jacob said the months of problems had left the businesswoman in 'a state of considerable anxiety'.
He told the Civil Appeal Court in London: 'British Gas sent Ms Ferguson bill after bill and threatening letter after threatening letter. She wrote letter after letter pointing out that she had no account with British Gas. She made phone calls, with all the difficulty of getting through, but to no avail.
'Mainly her letters received no response. Sometimes she received apologies and assurances that the matter would be dealt with. But then the bills and threats continued.
'She complained to (consumer watchdog) Energy-Watch. She wrote to the chairman (of British Gas) twice with no response.
'She says she wasted many hours and, more importantly, was brought to a state of considerable anxiety, not knowing whether the gasman would come at any time to cut her off, whether she would have legal proceedings served upon her or whether she would be, or already had been, reported to a credit rating agency.'
British Gas denies its actions amounted to harassment. It claims that - because its bills and letters of demand were computer-generated - Mrs Ferguson cannot prove that the company knew she was suffering harassment.
Lord Justice Jacob, sitting with two other judges, ruled Mrs Ferguson was entitled to take the case to a civil court trial. He said she had pledged to give a large part of any damages to charity.
'Ms Ferguson's principal object is to bring British Gas to book,' he said. 'In her words, they should "not simply blame information technology. They should instead start taking responsibility for the running of their company in a competent, honest and ethical manner".'
He added: 'Real people are responsible for programming and entering material into the computer.
'Moreover, the threats and demands were to be read by a real person, not by a computer. A real person is likely to suffer real anxiety and distress if threatened in the way which Ms Ferguson was.'
Outside court, Mrs Ferguson refused to discuss the case for fear of prejudicing the harassment trial, which will be heard at a later date. But earlier she said: 'It's about principle. It's blighted my life for two years. They can't go around treating people like this.'[b]
Mobile phone customers who can't get reception could sue after landmark case
Mobile phone customers who can't get reception could sue companies after an Orange user from London won a payout for breach of contract.
By Urmee Khan, Digital and Media Correspondent
Last Updated: 7:54PM GMT 19 Feb 2009
In a court ruling the customer was awarded £500 after he took the company to court following poor phone service.
Tom Prescott, 32, took Orange to court after they refused to cancel his 18 month contract, even though he could get a signal neither at his Richmond home or in his office.
The reception was so poor that he often could not make or receive calls.
Mr Prescott argued that having been sold an 18-month contract by the mobile phone operators there ought to be a reasonable expectation of service.
He won his case at Brentford county court and was awarded £500.
"As soon as I realised I could not get a signal, I tried to cancel it. But the phone networks ... would not let me off the contract," he said.
The biochemist who represented himself in court said: "I would ring them up and it would take 15 minutes to get through and then my phone would cut off and I would have to ring them again but at the back of the queue".
"Dealing with Orange was awful. I hope people who have the same problem now realise they can do something about it," he said.
A spokesman from Orange said the company provides high quality coverage to 99 per cent of the UK population and continues to invest in its network.
" As with all mobile operators, it is worth noting that continuous network coverage cannot be guaranteed and network coverage can be affected by factors outside of our control.
"The award granted to Dr Prescott was due to exceptional circumstances. We are disappointed with the outcome as our records show that Dr Prescott had good use of his phone. "The Brentford County Court judgement in no way sets a precedent as claims made in the small claims court are decided on a case-by-case basis. Dr Prescott's case does not change our liability for any future claims of this nature."
P.S. I am using Bold so as to make an easier read, and not to 'Shout'.
I went thru a right rigmarole with Orange/dlc at the end of last year over a claim for £17.99 after I migrated. I finally was told verbally that the erroneous charge had been removed from the system & dlc stopped contacting me re the money but I've never had anything in writing. So good luck with your case as I might need to do the same in a couple of years if my problem rears its ugly head again!!
_________________ Formerly Orange and sad
Now PlusNet and glad!!
Regards Dave
I went thru a right rigmarole with Orange/dlc at the end of last year over a claim for £17.99 after I migrated. I finally was told verbally that the erroneous charge had been removed from the system & dlc stopped contacting me re the money but I've never had anything in writing. So good luck with your case as I might need to do the same in a couple of years if my problem rears its ugly head again!!
Thank you very much for your interesting input.
Well, I would be very wary about verbal promises from this company. I had it in writing that I owed them nothing and they still put the dogs of DLC on me.
Just when you think it's safe to go back in the water
The latest is that I have filed a claim at a cost of £35 and Orange have sent to the Court Dated 24th April 2009 that they intend defending my claim. They have until 22nd May 2009 to do this or I win by default.
If and when they send a defence into Court then I will have to pay a further £50 for a Court Hearing.
[b]By the way, if you want to follow this further then go to the Martin Lewis 'Money Saving Expert' web site. (Google it also) My post is...............
Where you appear to have made a complete tit of yourself. Well done.
As for Martin Lewis, he gives incredibly bad advice. He advises people to 'shop around' for the best prices. You get what you pay for. He neglects to inform people that the best price, might not offer the best service. If you penny pinch, expect to get the service you've paid for.
To cut a long story short Orange wrote to me and offered an apology, my £35 Court Costs and £100 making £135 as a final settlement.
To see the back of the situation I accepted the offer and this was paid into my bank account yesterday.
Below is cut and pasted from the Money Saving Expert Forum.
Cobra said "You have really rattled them.
They want to make sure that this case is stopped promptly hence their expediting the payment from 7-10 days to immediate by way of CHAPS.
I salute you BC for having the courage and commitment to go through with all this.
More power to your elbow".
Thank you for that lovely comment and for all of the other positive comments in support, and even constructive criticsm.
So then. What are my main Bullet Points??
1. I am only now certain that Orange or Direct Legal and Collections Debt Agency will never, ever contact me again with the following letter "Your account has been referred to us by Orange Home Services for collection. The balance of £22.99 must be paid immediately. Failure to respond to this letter may result in Legal Action" followed by numerous telephone calls trying to get money that I do not owe them.
2. I was also worried about being put on a possible Credit Black List.
3. To put a stop to this was my main goal and was never about the £450 claim
5. I have just checked my Bank Account and £135 has been paid in. So after deduction of £35 I still have £100 in my back pocket to spend.
6. My action just might make Orange think again before putting the Debt Agency on people for money that they claim is not warranted.
7. ALL of the posts just may give someone who is possibly going through this situation with either Orange or some other Company thoughts on how to combat it.
8. Perhaps even the types who say to a Company who is Dumping on them "I give in, of course I owe you the money. Please tickle my Tummy and I will send a Cheque off right away Boss". may have now gained a little courage to fight back!
9. It must be obvious even to the Khyber Tossers, Bad Kebabs, Snowflakes and the likes who inhabit this Forum that I MUST have been in the right. There is absolutely NO WAY that Orange would have paid me £135 if I where in the wrong in any way shape or form.
10. I have been genuinely surprised by the amount of Sarcastic, Unhelpful, Snide, Mean Minded people there are here. God, I am glad I don't have to put up with them in real life. They must be absolutely lousy neighbors
11. I am to be able to draw a line under this episode and am right now going to have a few Beers on Orange.
Cheers Orange I just knew that you would come good for me in the end
Last edited by boozercruiser on Fri May 22, 2009 8:18 am; edited 3 times in total
[b]By the way, if you want to follow this further then go to the Martin Lewis 'Money Saving Expert' web site. (Google it also) My post is...............
Where you appear to have made a complete tit of yourself. Well done.
As for Martin Lewis, he gives incredibly bad advice. He advises people to 'shop around' for the best prices. You get what you pay for. He neglects to inform people that the best price, might not offer the best service. If you penny pinch, expect to get the service you've paid for.
Thanks for that compliment M8y! Actually, I am a big fan of Tits Particularly the Big Firm ones that don't sag when the heat is on
And anyone who criticizes Martin Lewis and his aims just has to be a Company Lacky Dorsal Fin
Perhaps you work for the rubbish company that Orange are?
Site AdminJoined: 07 Apr 2006Posts: 784Location: United Kingdom
Well done boozercruiser!
Quote:
To cut a long story short Orange wrote to me and offered an apology, my £35 Court Costs and £100 making £135 as a final settlement.
To see the back of the situation I accepted the offer and this was paid into my bank account yesterday.
Thank you for feeding back! As you say, hopefully this will give others encouragement to pursue their claims for fairness.
Quote:
11. I am to be able to draw a line under this episode and am right now going to have a few Beers on Orange.
To cut a long story short Orange wrote to me and offered an apology, my £35 Court Costs and £100 making £135 as a final settlement.
To see the back of the situation I accepted the offer and this was paid into my bank account yesterday.
Thank you for feeding back! As you say, hopefully this will give others encouragement to pursue their claims for fairness.
Quote:
11. I am to be able to draw a line under this episode and am right now going to have a few Beers on Orange.
Enjoy!
K
Thank you for your kind comments
Yes as well as enjoying a four pack of Ruddles last night, (£5) today the missus and I went to Focus in Aberystwyth.
There we purchased 2 small Acer trees (£30) 2 Hydrangeas (£15) Various Bedding Plants and a couple of Shrubs (£25) plus a nice Park Bench £30.
Total £100 and as we got 10% off the plants being Retired we still have a fiver left over from the £100 'Profit'.
So over the weekend the Missus and I will put all of the Plants in. Then over the years we will sit on the Bench and look at the Trees and plants growing and thank Orange for being so kind to us now
But then, they are only making up a bit for being so utterly horrible to us
Now then. What shall I spend that spare Fiver on?
I know, another Ruddles Four Pack
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