Orange Pay As You Go Reviews

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Orange Pay As You Go
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Latest Reviews

“Most Expensive UK PAYG Rates!”

★☆☆☆☆

written by RealityExpert on 17/07/2015

Summary: Mathematically flawed to use this network on a PAYG Basis. I had no choice but to temporarily switch to an Orange SIM only phone. After topping up for the first time, I shortly received a text message (with in a week) saying that my credit had run out. Yet I had barely made any calls, and about a dozen text. After inspecting the call rate without any taffis, I quickly found out, that it's one of the most expensive PAYG networks in the UK, that is to call from an Orange phone to any other UK network. As of July 2014, which appears to still be in effect the following will apply: "Before choosing your animal you’ll be on Orange Starter, with calls 30p per minute and texts 12p. And that’s to any network, any time." 30p/min is extortionate! They offer three animal packs, which are supposed to make using their network more cost effective. This however is a complete joke! The 'Raccoon' pack offers the lowest flat call/text rate, but is still priced at 14p/call and 14p/text, which is nowhere near the cost of other providers, such as Three(which charge 3p/min). The biggest joke of them all, is that they charge a flat rate just to listen to your voice mail! Most services offer this for free. The add-on bundles that at most last a week, have almost of no value. Overall; Mathematically it doesn't make any sense to use this network for on a Pay-As-You-Go Basis.

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“Texts have suddenly become very expensive”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Tiay397 on 25/10/2014

My £10 Orange voucher for pay as you go is not lasting very long at all i.e only 2 weeks when they used to last me for months. What is going on? I shall have to change to another network if Orange are going to charge me like this.

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“Don't buy a phone with a free pay as you go option on it”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 17/07/2014

Bought a phone from phones4U with 10 pounds pay as you go credit from Orange. Within 2 hours, i was notified by sms that my credit was 85p. Brilliant. When i phoned Orange they said they would refund the amount. Well done for not advising that merely being connected to the net chews money....really, just being connected and not surfing?, Three days later i am yet to see the amount topped up. When i tried to call support, surprise surprise when there was not enough credit to make the call. Long live the Queen. Never coming back to this operator again. I remember the adverts in the past: the future is bright, the future is orange. Seems that the past was brighter for orange.

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“Absolutely rubbish!!!!!!!!!!!11”

★☆☆☆☆

written by teSheridan452 on 27/06/2014

This is rubbish. It doesnt top up, it takes ages to top up. I dont receive calls and i cant make any calls. OMG so rubbish and useless!

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“Poor customer service & confusing set up - Don't...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by cvoets on 27/06/2014

I tried to find information about Orange Dolphin before I set this up, and found some people discussing how this was a good option for a pay as you go customer. I think these reviews may be old and outdated, as the experience i've had with them has been pretty horrendous. Confusing set up: I've never been with a phone company that made it so completely confusing when it comes to setting up with them. When you get your new Orange sim you don't have your benefits automatically when you activate the sim, you need to send a series of jargon texts to a number to add on your 1 gig of data, 100 mins and 400 texts. If you don't it will just eat away your credit and you'll find you have to top up the next day because your bundle wasn't added correctly. When I called, they never could clearly tell me what was included in my package either which was a bit of a worry. Poor customer service: Everytime I called the orange customer service team, they sounded like they were either avoiding answering some of my questions or that they purely didn't know what they were doing. It took me 2 phone calls just to try and set up my online account because I wanted to see what they were charging me for as my account balance kept depleting besides the fact that 2 operators had already told me my benefits had been added. Ridiculous costs: It really annoys me that they charge you to call their help desk or to access your voicemail service when every company i'v been with before has this as a free service. It really annoys me, as often the website is hard to navigate and doesn't give you enough information so you often have to call the help desk several times to get the answers you need. It also doesn't cost a flat rate of 25P per call as stated in the T&C's, it charges you per minute which is a rip off. 48-72 hours to add benefits: The other annoying thing is that it takes a long time to add your benefits were as if you go with O2 they are automatically included and you can start using your phone straight away!! Pro's: After you get over the hurdles of misinformation, stress and annoyance, it does have good reception in most places and the 3g does work well. Unfortunately the con's far outweigh the pro's and I will be switching to O2 when my credit runs out.

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“Used to be okay, but....”

★☆☆☆☆

written by 344Gilbert on 26/06/2014

I'm not a frequent Mobile user, and this used to be okay until it became EE or whatever. Now, if I try to make a call, or a text, it's "No network Coverage." Useless. I even tried to phone my 'balance' number this morning. Still the same. What's the point? Do it, or not. I took great pleasure in putting a hammer through my useless phone this morning. Who needs it?

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“Used to be okay, but....”

★☆☆☆☆

written by notwelsh on 24/06/2014

I'm not a frequent Mobile user, and this used to be okay until it became EE or whatever. Now, if I try to make a call, or a text, it's usually "No network Coverage." Useless. I even tried to phone my 'balance' number this morning. Still the same. What's the point? Do it, or not. I took great pleasure in putting a hammer through my useless phone this morning. Who needs it?

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“Ripped off by orange!!!”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Wendy495 on 21/06/2014

I hate orange with an absolute passion!!! Had a contract with them (and EE ) & was ripped off,customer services were dreadful & didn't know what they were talking about!! Terminated contract...didn't want to have phone unlocked,so thought "orange pay as u go can't be that bad,at least I'll have more control over my credit"....WRONG!!! I had £5.67,sent 2 texts,then was told I had 41p left,& would I 'like to top-up with another £10?'...no I bloody wouldn't!!! Not only that,but when I tried to call 450 customer services,it said I didn't have enough credit...so that means more had been stolen from me,cos it costs 25p to call them!!! Angry,so v v angry!!! :((

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“credit disappears”

★☆☆☆☆

written by KolbyJordan on 10/06/2014

I topped up my basic orange payg mobile by £5 before I went on holiday for two weeks in the UK. I have a 5 free text per day package on this phone. I sent only a few texts during my holiday and never exceeded 5 texts per day. I also never made any calls or used the internet. When I got home I checked my balance and it was down to 1p!There is something seriously wrong with the Orange network and they are ripping people off.

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“Dolphin tariff rip off”

★☆☆☆☆

written by smassiah on 08/05/2014

Dolphin tariff be aware that the bolt ons don't become active immediately but you will be charged for their usage. So you could find yourself in a position where 1. you top up with credit 2. your phone starts using data due to downloading emails 3. you're charged for that downloading as the data bolt on hasn't been activated yet 4. by the time the data bolt on is activated you're out of credit which means that the data bolt on is invalid anyway. A right rip off!!

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“help does anyone listen”

★★☆☆☆

written by Santiagoks455 on 28/04/2014

i got billed for a pay as you go contract with orange that I have never sanctioned and never wished to. this was as a result of a random sales call to my payg mobile offering a cheap contract, I asked for any details to be sent to me by post. a basic plan duly arrived and I decided not to get involved, no further action was needed. wrong, from day one even though I still paid for pay as you go credit in the usual way I was additionally being charged for the contract that I never sanctioned or considered. this was bad enough, but four very detailed letters, two visits to the assistant manager in my local ee/orange store, three very long and expensive phone calls, and all I have to show is a letter threatening me with disconnection and a loss of credit rating. I have tried to find an address I can contact someone with, and all I get is different addresses with no follow up. no one listens or seems to be remotely interested. this is a total nightmare..... help

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“Cost me £20 for a week and hardly used my phone”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Debs1873 on 27/03/2014

Sent two texts, received one and hardly used it to all and it's cost me £20 , what a rip off, off to tiff gaff I go. I would tell my family to avoid at all costs as orange are now my worst service provider and I have sky and aol!!!

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“RIPPED OFF BY ORANGE”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 20/03/2014

Topped up an orange phone by £10 ! And now its telling me only have 62p ! What is going on !

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“Dolphin Tariff RIP OFF!”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 29/01/2014

Just taken out the new dolphin tariff with 2014 free mins in this year, top up £10 month it says and get 400 free texts and 1gb data. Couldn’t understand why my credit was disappearing? Phoned customer services, it turns out when you top up £10 it entitles you to texts and data next month! 4 weeks later! Nothing mentioned on leaflet sent with sim Avoid Total rip off

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“Ripped off by ORANGE”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 16/05/2013

what can i say, do not use orange uk as a carrier.

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Beaverondown's Comment

Written on: 07/06/2013

Don't get ripped off get Giffgaff

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“Bye Bye Orange - Tired of being Ripped Off”

★☆☆☆☆

written by OldMoaner on 01/05/2013

Not for the first time - I feel totally RIPPED OFF by Orange Pay As You Go. I wanted a mobile phone for unforeseen occurrences when traveling. Some years ago I tried to use my phone only to find the remaining few pounds of credit had been LOST - I visited an Orange shop who told me that if the phone isn't used for some time (no exact time given) all credit was lost etc. I was supplied with a new sim card (this involved a new number too) and paid £5 for some credit. (This registered as £5.01 on balance check) I was advised by the reasonably helpful person in the Orange shop to keep my account activated by the occasional call to my own landline (no need to answer) and vice versa. I had been doing this for several years (more than five)and balance check was always £5.01. Then last week I tried to call my own land line phone to be told I had insufficient credit to make the call. I checked balance to find it was only 25p. The phone had definitely not been used (in fact it was only switched on for the fairly routine "keeping account activated" procedures). I discovered that complaints could be made by dialing 450 from the phone - I was disgusted to find that "A One Off Charge of 25 pence" would be made to speak to someone. Nevertheless I tried to - unfortunately I am not fluent in the language or terminology used by the person I attempted to explain things to - perhaps mercifully the call was terminated when I tried to explain I didn't know what the codes they wanted were (I had presumed my name and phone number would be sufficient). I finish this review with a few simple questions: What sort of idiot will knowingly pay the company who they wish to query the actions of - ALL THEIR REMAINING CREDIT - to do so? And finally: What sort of company wipes out any customer's credit without any prior explanation? And also charges customers to query or complain? I will answer those final two question myself: The sort of company who might find themselves in very serious trouble if the customer needed to make a call in what might be an emergency not covered by calls to the free-call emergency services.

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Oldmoaner's Response to OldMoaner's Review

Written on: 01/05/2013

I'm now just a very short time later commenting on my own review to show how being a real "OldMoaner" can get some action. I decided to try phoning on the 450 number again - amazingly after a long wait I got through. I was able by moaning long enough (and a few mentions of the office of fair trading etc.) get £4.75 re-credited to my account. Being on a roll I also asked for the 25 pence I had earlier been charged "to moan" returned . My balance now stands at £5.00. Before all this it was £5.01. After due consideration - I have decided not to "moan" too much about the missing penny - as I am never quite sure where it came from in the first place.

One thing I did find out is that when they decide to confiscate your credit - they leave 25 pence so that you can get through to customer services - they'll wish they hadn't if they try that trick again. ☺

I was told the period they allow for an account being inactive is only three months - calls unanswered don't count. I explained that was total rubbish - and when they checked my account had to agree - mine would have been deleted years ago.

I still find it appalling that any charge is made to speak to customer services - if it ever happens to you.... M☺AN.

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Eddierathmill's reply to Oldmoaner's Comment

Written on: 17/01/2014

This also happened to me last year when I saw that my credit balance on my non-internet phone was only 25p. I rang 450 to be told that the rest of the balance had been written off due to six months non usage of my mobile (this phone is for emergencies only, when I am on holiday). I advised them that this was theft and they recredited the amount (£11) straight away. I was then told that this six months timescale was to be reduced shortly to one month but if I rang them every month they would recredit the amount at a cost of 25p! I told them that I would switch to another supplier and they immediately agreed not to charge me the 25p.
In reality the new time scale is even worse than they said as I have a text from them dated 18/12/13 saying that my balance is £10.61 and yesterday (16/1/14), when I checked via 453 it is once again showing only 25p. I haven't used the phone at all between the two dates.
My smartphone is on a monthly contract with another provider and this is due to expire in July 2014. From past experience I had already decided that my choice next time would be a two year deal with either O2 or Orange but I hadn't made my mind up which of the two companies. Now I have!

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“PAYG Camel price rise---rip-off”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 25/03/2013

"Camel"is the Orange PAYG "service" aimed at customers who call often abroad. Just rammed up its price to call UK mobiles to 25 pence per minute--yes 25. I repeat that---25 p/m to call a UK mobile. Quit Orange greedbags NOW

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“Awful customer service: I'd strongly advise you to avoid”

★☆☆☆☆

written by durooduroo on 13/03/2013

Been an Orange customer for decades without incident. Until I had a simple problem: lost my phone, needed replacement SIM with the same number. I have phoned 10 times to customer service to ask for my number to be moved to a new SIM. Each time an advisor gave contradictory advice to the previous advisor. They always stated they would call back in 2 or 24 hours. They never did. They frequently claimed the problem would be fixed by the following day. It never worked. I called repeatedly about the same problem for nearly two weeks. Excuses ranged from "technical error" to "my colleague must have given you the wrong advice". Ideas from buying yet another SIM online to needing to go into an orange shop to fix it. It is clear there is limited/no training for people in these call centres. After the 8th phone call I asked to speak to a manager. They put me on hold for 15 minutes then hung up. This happened a second time. They were polite, but incompetent. Now I'm so fed up with Orange customer service, their inability to sort out a simple problem and their failure to fulfill promises, I asked for a PAC code and now I'm gone. Will never have anything to do with them again. Crap/incompetent customer service = contempt for customer = goodbye Orange.

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“Orange _NEVER AGAIN. . . . . ”

★☆☆☆☆

written by DD04 on 04/01/2012

Purcashed a Orange Sydney which has been barred since i tried to activate £10 free credit, i've had it 3 weeks and it is still barred. Orange have had copies of credit card statements and i have made numerous phone calls. The customer services promise to call you back but never do, when you speak to them its difficult to understand them and they tell you things that contradict what the person on the previous call has told you. Absolutely terrible, if you want my advise - DO NOT bother, use somebody else!

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Theproblemsolver's Response to DD04's Review

Written on: 10/03/2013

join giff gaff its the cheapest network there is,and thats a fact!use my link to order a free sim with £5 free credit on too ;-)

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“Orange has appalling customer service”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 25/11/2011

Orange is ok until you have to talk to them and then it's expensive, frustrating and futile. Their customer service is appalling. Out of the 10 times I contacted them I got acceptable service twice and that was from the same person, and the rest of the time I got customer service that varied between appalling and absolutely appalling. The communication at Orange is extremely poor, and written complaints are not even read before being answered with a standard email. Orange has very bad customer service and I could not recommend Orange to anyone.

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Asked by bri83mar on 29th July 2019 Report this content
My orange alcatel, 05-665 requires a money top up, Tesco in Pershore were not sure as to which voucher to sell me. Can you help please?

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