Orange Customer Services

1 post

I have also had the same poor service that was described above. I have been with Orange for at least 6 years, and in the past year have become and Orange premier customer. Recently I have been very annoyed at the level of service I have received from simple inquiries and the unbelievable time I spend on hold waiting to speak to someone. It baffles me as in the past their level of service was always far above any other provider I have experienced.



Excuse the rant below you may want to skip to the end!



At the beginning of the week I phoned the retentions department as said I was thinking of leaving as I had been an Orange customer for a long time and was no longer happy with their service. This was mainly due to the rude customer service lady I spoke with about the availability of a new handset, and that I was promised a new phone delivered through insurance on a Saturday which never turned up and made me waste a whole Saturday sitting inside. I know this is not strictly Orange’s fault, but when I asked what they planned to do about this they just said there was nothing they could do apart from rearrange delivery for another day. They did not even offer to speak to the courier and see where the phone was (funny story about this below). At first they even wanted to charge me for the second delivery, but after some heated discussion that was dropped.



The lady I spoke with in the retentions department was very helpful and made me a fantastic offer on my tariff, which I accepted. We then decided that as I was going to upgrade my phone in the next week or so I should wait and do both at the same time. Great I thought my faith was restored.



I hunted around for this new handset and finally found a shop with one left in stock. I charged down there after work and they spent the first 20 mins on hold to the upgrade center. When they finally got through it all started going through. At first I was told that I was only a band one (a scale of 1 to 5 depending on how much you spend, and how long you have been with them from what I can gather) and I would have to pay £150 for the phone. I disputed this as I am an Orange premier spending over £700 a year with them. This was resolved after another 10 minutes. I was then asked what tariff I wanted to go on and I told them there should be a note on my account with the details of the offer. However, I then found out that it wasn’t possible to have this deal from a shop I had to go through Orange direct. So I quickly checked with Orange direct and they didn’t have the phone, or any date it would be in stoke. Still in the shop I called customer services and with them on speaker phone got through to what is probably the rudest lady I have even spoken to. She told me in no uncertain terms that there was nothing she could or would do, when I said that I was ready to leave them if nothing was sorted out she just said fine, I will arrange a PAC number for you it will be with you in 4 days. When I had finished the call even the staff in the shop said how rude they thought she was. I mean there was no discussion, or any attempt to try and resolve things. So this is where I am now, waiting for a PAC code so I can move to another network. It’s a shame to see what Orange have turned into.



Now that the rant is over, there is a strange story of my mysterious replacement phone that was supposed to be delivered on Saturday between 10 and 1. So I wait in all day and nothing, at around 6pm I go to a friends. When I come back around 10pm, there is a white van outside my house I start to head inside the driver come over and says he was supposed to deliver a phone to me and he tried to deliver it at about 8pm but I wasn’t in. He them told me that he could not find the phone anymore and could I look in my house as he may have dropped in and was hoping that someone posted it though my letterbox. I have a look and there is nothing, so off he goes. Sunday comes around and I as woken at 9:30 by someone leaning on my bell! I get up grumbling and moaning about generic stuff about it being too early etc, etc. Low and behold it’s the delivery guy again. He says he has found my phone on the road and someone had ran over it. He then showed me a bag with several bits of what I assume was a k750 handset. He thought he had left it on the roof and it had dropped off when he drove away. He then said if the company found out the phone was damaged before delivery he would have to pay £100 and was I willing to accept the phone, then call the insurance company and say I broke it and could I have another! So basically he wanted me to commit insurance fraud. I did tell him that these people were not stupid and if I phone up within 24 hours of getting my new phone asking for a new one they would probably deny it.



That’s it……..honest

From Bromley, 1 post

Hi all, new to this forum as I have been looking for some forums to post my bad experience with Orange and definetily would hope that nobody else will be in the same position as I was and still am. I took 2 Business contract phones from my Orange dealer on June 2005 , cancelled the contract on the 5th August for breach of contract, contacted them over 50 times, sent and faxed them 2 complaints 2 Cancellation Notices and up to today the contract is still up and running, never received a single reply from them , only a bunch of lies over the phone. I still receive the monthly bill which now is over £ 700.00 and this week I have received a letter from their own Collection company to threaten me and my company to blacklist my name. I am taking this matter to the CISAS and claim compensation so Orange can go to hell. Just to give you a rough idea I have copied and pasted my letter to CISAS below:

RE: Dispute with Orange – Balance Outstanding £ 698.39+



I am enclosing in this letter the full details regarding my dispute with Orange.



On the 25th May 2005 I have entered into a contract with Orange for my company ......... The contract was for 2 phones and the Tariff I have chosen was the Business Plus 700 1 Talkshare 3 Years deal – with 1,400 minutes – Double minutes for the first 12 months. Before taking this contract I had to wait a good 2 week as the promotion started on the 1st of June 2005 so it meant going back to the dealer on the 6th June 2005 , at the time there were no terms and conditions supplied by Orange to the dealer as he said they have not arrived, therefore I could not see exactly what the terms and conditions were , so I have asked the dealer to call Orange and verify that what I was signing was going to be exactly what I was going to get. He called Orange in front of me and everything was OK .



Problems started just after a few days.

The first Invoice from Orange arrived dated as 5th June 2005 for the Line Connection £ 34.99 from the 25th May which was wrong, as I took the phones and sim cards on the 6th may 2005 , when I took the contract the dealer confirmed there was no connection charge, I went to the dealer again and he said that it is wrong . I wrote and faxed to Orange on the 21st June 2005 and never received any reply from Orange at all, then I called Orange and it took me over a few weeks to sort out the problem after quite a few phone calls, I had to set up a password etc. Finally after a couple of months on the next bill Orange does credit me the Connection charge.



The first Invoice from Orange dated 5th July 2005 arrives for £ 186.01 and the nightmare starts. The Invoice included the connection charge and additional Minutes , no mentioning of the 1,400 minutes – Double Minutes for the first 12 months which of course was not right .

Since then I have started to call Orange continuously regarding not allocating the 1,400 minutes to my plan and I always got vague answers saying it was correct and so on, of course I disputed and said it is not correct as if my plan was for 1,400 you don’t have to charge me for additional minutes.. I went to the dealer on many occasions trying to sort out this mess as I got no support at all from Orange, my dealer confirmed that I was right and I should be on the 1,400 minutes plan as it states on the contract I have signed for. After a few weeks more I went to the dealer and requested to call Orange in front of me so we could resolve this matter, Orange said I had to choose between either the 700minutes and free calls between 2 phones or 1,400 minutes but no free calls between 2 phones, so I told my dealer that if it was not sorted I will have to cancel the contract. The dealer did not manage to resolve anything therefore I started to call again Orange again and started to complain. After various phone calls one of the supervisor admits that there has been a mistake and Orange will honour the plan so I agreed to keep the contract and I have requested to send me a confirmation in writing which never arrived. After a few days I receive a call from another Manager saying to me that again I will have to choose between the 2 plans as Orange will not be able to honour the plan I have signed for. At this stage I told the Orange Manager that I could either chose between the 2 plans or cancel my contract with Orange immediately as if they are not willing to honour the Orange contract I have signed for it is a breach of contract. They said that I couldn’t do it or if I decide to cancel the contract I will have to deal with the dealer not Orange, my dealer said I have to write to Orange in order to cancel the contract but I will have to return all the phones to him which was fine for me.

Also on the 14th July 2005 I have sent and faxed a letter of complaint to Orange regarding the above and never received any response in writing.

As I got nowhere with Orange so far I decided to cancel my contract on the ground that Orange did not want to honour the plan and agreement I signed, which I have a copy of the contract.



On the 24th July 2005 I sent and Faxed Orange my Cancellation Request as the 4th August 2005 and I have also requested to credit any overcharges and send me a confirmation in writing. I have never received any reply from Orange neither in writing or by calling me.

I confirm that I have paid my Orange bill up to the 4th August 2005 even if I handed over the phones to my dealer on the 29th July 2005 , also I had to take another contract with Vodafone for 2 phones which it has cost me more to pay 2 phones and also lost business as some customers called me on the previous Orange phones which I did not have any longer therefore could not return the call.



On the 29th July 2005 I went to dealer and returned all the phone equipment in brand new conditions and I have requested that he sends Orange a confirmation that my contract ends on the 4th August 2005.

I have a receipt signed by my dealer that he has received the phones and has cancelled my contract on the 29th July 2005.



I can confirm that as today 7/07/06 I have never never received any communications from Orange regarding my cancellation of contract, not even one single acknowledgment to any letters I have sent and faxed them.

The only letters I have received from Orange were their Monthly Invoices which they made sure they sent them every single month and also I have received various reminders for payment.

Also I noticed that starting from the Invoice dated 5th September 2005 Orange had reduced the plan to £ 12.77 + VAT and allocated only 30 inclusive minutes in the plan without my authorization . Also I noticed on the August Invoice that the phone was being used without my authorization as at the time I did not have any of the phones in my possession as they were returned on the 29th July 2005 .

I have called Orange again and asked why they have not cancelled my contract yet , orange said they could not cancel my contract. I have asked Orange why the plan has been changed without my authority , and Orange said the manager has reduced the plan automatically after he received the dealer cancellation request , but I never received any confirmation myself.

I have asked Orange why my phone which was returned to the dealer in July was being used without my authority , he did not give me any response and said he will disconnect them , but the phones were disconnected quite a few months later and Orange still has sent me Monthly Invoices and Payment Reminders.

I called my dealer and then went to the dealer a few times to find out what was going on and he said that he has done everything properly as returned the phones to Orange and cancel my contract.He said that regarding the misuse of one phone the orange Fraud Department will investigate and let me know, I have never received any reply from the Fraud Department .



On the 4th November 2005 I have sent and faxed Orange a Final Reminder of closing my account and credit my account with all the overcharges occurred since , again never received any response from Orange.



Also on the 5th July 2006 I have received a letter from Direct Legal & Collections threatening my Company with Legal actions.. Letter enclosed.



Finally I would appreciate if you ...... could please look into my dispute with Orange .

I would like Orange to do following:

1. Apologies to me in writing

2. Cancel my Orange contract for once and all and send me a confirmation in writing

3. Credit my Orange account with all charges occurred since 5th August 2005 andsend me a confirmation in writing

4. Clear my company name .... from any credit reference agency and send me the proof in writing .

5. Pay compensation to me for the hassle , loss of time, journeys and following up it has caused me and my business due to the incompetence and negligence of Orange itself.



Enclosed:

Copy of Orange Contract fully signed

Receipt from Dealer dated 29/07/05

Complaint dated 21st June 2005

Complaint dated 14th July 2005

1st Cancellation Notice dated 24th July 2005

2nd Cancellation Notice dated 4th November 2005

Copy Legal letter from Direct Legal & Collections dated 5th July 2006

Orange Invoices from 5th June 2005 to 5th May 2006 ( couple of months missing)



will see how that goes.

Alex

From London, Uk, 1 post

After upgrading my Orange handset in May 2006, my phone bill quadrupled due to data charges which were billed differently to on my old handset. As soon as I received the bill, on the 4th June, I contacted Orange to find out why these calls were being charged differently, and if there was anything which I could change in the phone settings to prevent this happening again. I have never disputed that the bandwith was used.



When I asked the supervisor in the billing department how I could have known that my new handset would have a different method of accessing the internet, she was unable to tell me. She agreed that these charges were unfair and told me that my bill would be sent to be recalculated. She also told me that somebody would call to tell me the revised amount due.



On the 21st of June, having heard nothing further from Orange, I received a text message telling me that my bill was due for payment. I called the billing department and was told that the bill had not been sent for recalculation. The person I spoke to told me that he would send it on and call me later in the morning. As I was flying out on holiday that day I said I would call back when I returned.



I telephoned orange on the 4th of July and was told that my bill had been sent to be recalculated and would take around 6 weeks to come back. I expressed concern that my account would become overdue and that my service would be suspended. I was told that this would not happen.



On the 13th July I receved a text message telling me that my bill was due for payment immediately and that failure to pay would result in suspension of service. I immediately tried to contact Orange (at 10:38am) and explained the situation. I was told that there was no record of any of my previous calls and that somebody would call me back within two hours. Nobody had called me by back by 4:30pm, so I called Orange again. After several attempts to get through, unreturned calls and long periods on hold, I was speaking to a supervisor when my call was disconnected. I was unable to get through again and decided to try again once I got home. I eventually spoke to one of the supervisors in the billing department, who assured me that he would take charge of the case. He would make chase the recalculated bill, which had by now been sent, and would set up an order on my handset so that my service would not be suspended. He also said that he would make thorough notes on my account explaining what had gone on up to that date as there was apparently nothing recorded since the 6th of June when I asked that the itemisation on my bill be stopped. This person gave me his name and extension.



On the 14th July my service was suspended. After several calls to Orange throughout the day, nobody was able to explain what had happened. I was again told that somebody would contact me but nobody ever has. When I tried to speak to the named contact again I was unable to get in contact with him.



I will be getting a new phone in the next week. If they want any money out of me they had better start providing somethig approaching a service. Otherwise they will have to take me to court.



I have over 12 months left on my contract. At what point does their incompetence, misinformation and apparrently out and out lying become a breach of contract?

From Leeds, 1 post

Absolutely terrible.



Last month my wife got a phone bill from Orange, for £32. Nothing too odd about that, except the fact she's on T-Mobile, and has never had an Orange phone.

Spent over £12 on the phone to "customer services" and finally they said it was sorted out. A week later, a voicemail from Orange, asking us to dial 150 from her Orange handset... Another £2 calling Orange from a landline, only to be told they had no idea why she was asked to call back, as the account looked perfectly normal.



Apparently we purchased the phone at Carphone Warehouse, who were much more helpful even though they had no record of my wife or that Orange account.



Today another Orange phone bill demanding money for a contract that never existed.



I'm not an Orange customer, never have been, and after this farse, never will be. They make BT look good.

From West Sussex, 2 posts

Well tonight I got a call from Orange regarding an ongoing technical problem that they have been trying to solve, they asked me to call a given number, obtain a reference number and then call them back. This was at 7:50pm. I am writing this post immediately after finishing with them some 2+ hours later!!!!!



I immediately called the number given and obtained my reference number, this whole process took less than one minute. I then proceeded to call Orange back, I got cut off twice whilst going through the automated selection system, then joined a queue for 12 minutes from which I was also cut off. I then tried twice more and got cut off by the automated selection system again!!!! On my fifth attempt (some 20 minutes from the original call I received from Orange) I managed to join another queue, I sat in this queue for 92 minutes before they decided to answer, when they did they were admittedly very polite and apologetic. But this waiting time is not acceptable and has completely ruined my Saturday evening. The reason I was given for the delay.............



...........they are apparently going through some changes to improve the service (which a year ago was very very good) and subsequently whilst the changes are ongoing long waits are something we are going to have to get used to. Apparently they will be complete by 1st November 2006, but part of these changes involve offshore call centres be set up - yet another company farming thier call centres and jobs out of this country, which, due to language barriers and mis-interpretations will, without any doubt, cause a worse level of customer service, as many other national companies have already discovered, hence some companies are already bringing all their call centres back within the UK.



So be warned, if you need to phone Orange you can expect to wait up to 1 and half hours for them to answer your call and as from November you can even expect to speak to someone 1000's of miles away in another country who doesn't understand what you are saying. If this is the way they are going to continue then I think they will lose a lot of customers, me for one.



I will be emailing a link to this post to Orange, but I don't really expect anyone to take any notice of it, as customer satisfaction is something they do not appear to have any desire to offer the people who pay their wages - their customer's.

From Mablethorpe Lincs, 1 post

I have been connected to the Orange network now for just on 4 weeks, all I can say is I wish I never had even looked at the Orange brochure!



When you phone customer services you wait anything up to an hour for your call to be answered, you get rude and unhelpful staff, they don't understand what you say and on the last call the person put the phone down on me!!



Not even if they paid me would I renew or take another Orange contract, roll on the next 11 months and bye bye Orange or before that sue them for breach of contract....Never again Orange.

From Sheffield, 1 post

It's depressing to read the other comments about Orange Customer Service. It is truly dreadful - I've had to make several calls lately having had my phone stolen - claiming insurance; re-regsiterng replacement phones etc. Each time I've had to wait up more than half and hour and we have to pay for the call. It's truly dreadful for a company whose whole business is about communications that they can't manage a call centre effectively. I've also had problems changing tariff although I was offered a new deal by a company authorised by Orange to rpovide my upgraded phone and they can't even get my billing name right!.



I suspect other companies might be just as bad and I haven't found the time to research and make the move away from Orange - but I will!



Liz P

From Anglesey, Wales,uk, 1 post

i have had an orange phone for over a year and never had a problem, so never needed customer services. today however i could not top up as orange were having a problem with their system. i could not access customer services from my mobile without a 4 digit code i do not and never have had. nor could i get given a 4 digit code . not from their fone based dept or the website. i eventually called the sales line as there is always soemone answering those phones. the man on the phone was rude , unhelpful, could not solve the problem amd tried to sell me another phone as a solution to the problem. needless to say i hung up. when i then tried to email orange i ws told that there woudl be a delay of several days before i recieved an answer as htey were processing a high number of emails.

hmm..... orange network coverage is excellent, i have never lost signal and i liv e in a notoriously bad signal area, so for that orange score highly. but if there is no help to be had when there is a problem any network loses points with me.

i absolutely detest bad customer service and orange is the worst i have ever coem across.

From West Sussex, 2 posts

Well a further update from my post dated 12th August. The problems & waiting times just get worse........................



Last friday I had a new handset delivered as i have been having so many problems since upgrading. The new (reconditioned) handset worked fine to start with, but by 5pm it was no longer working!!! I left work and went home, when home I proceeded to call Orange from my landline to a mobile number (18 pence per minute), I dialled the number at 6.30pm and it was finally answered some 3 hours 50 minutes later at 10:20pm!!!!!!!! This call has cost me about £43 (which Orange are paying) Not best pleased the best they would offer was a replacement handset delivered the following evening. I reluctantly accepted this offer as I realised it was the best i was going to get at this time of night, I did advise them that the folloing morning I would be visiting my local Orange store and not leaving until I had a working phone.



On the Saturday morning I entered the store at 9.30 am and explained my situation to the staff, they were very understanding and I was aware there was nothing they could do as they are young and have no authority within the company. From the store we called customer services and proceeded up the management line until we spoke to someone with some authority. I left the store at about 11:30 with a free PAYG sim topped up with £10 for free and my handset working. I was also promised a brand new handset and sim card would be delivered to my house on the evening of bank holiday sunday - and it was, well the phone was and the sim was delivered on Monday evening - during which time I was given another £20 credit.



Through these numerous problems and horrific waiting times I have to be honest and say that every member of staff i have spoken to has always been extremely polite, understanding of my annoyance & frustration and obviously apologetic. The call waiting times are not the fault of the front line staff, and generally they are trying very hard - they will hang up on you if you start getting abusive, shouting and swearing at them though.

These problems need to be raised higher up within the management of Orange and possibly even exposed by the likes of Watchdog to make the overpaid fatcats sort the waiting times out.

From Luton, 1 post

on 7th aug 06, i tried to top up my phone over the phone with a debit card, but because my security code had changed i had to speak to someone, so i topped up £10 when i got off the phone i checked it... £0 i phoned them back up again and explained. They tried it again and it went through. a few days later my bank statement came through orange had taken £20! but only £10 was on my phone!i phoned the bank, they told me i should go through orange about this, so i called orange, they asked to fax my statement across, which i did. i phoned up a few days later they misplaced my fax but found it and said i needed to speak to a certain person and THEY would would call ME! 3 weeks on and no call. i emailed them i phoned them god nos how many times but today was the last time, they told me to go to my local branch and they would sort it. all they did was call orange customer services and told me i have to call them back next day. so now I've had to go through the bank, the bank will pay me my £10 and orange will HAVE to pay them, lets see how long it takes them to pay the bank, not very long i bet! i advise everyone not to top up by card over the phone I've not done it since!