I hate Orange!

[pinksalamander]

ARGH so my contract on Orange is about to run out. They told me I have a month from now to get a new phone.

So I go into the shop and pick a phone I like and a contract I like. The phone is free and the contract will cost me £20 a month. Brilliant.

So then they tell me that I can't have it, because I am already an existing customer. I say I don't want an upgrade, I don't even want the same plan. It's a different contract and a different phone. Apparently thats not allowed. I say can't I just cancel my old contract and start a new one?

The answer is no.

So.... I said 'bye-bye' to Orange and cancelled my contract there and then. God... isn't that just the most pointless thing ever? I understand big offers they run should be pointed at new customers to entice them, but I was going to act exactly the same as a new customer. I wanted to cancel and restart, I might as well have been a new customer.

Well now they don't have any of my custom. Its so pointless!

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[mouse_chalk]

I moved this to Let Your Hare Down!

But yeah... they are rubbish.... They had this whole thing a while ago called 'Our Customers First' where they would give exsiting customers the oppurtunity to get 'the same great deals' as new customers did.... Well, as you can see, that didn't work out too well!

The whole company is just rotten....rotten fruit!

T-Mobile on the other hand- well worth it!

 

[pinksalamander]

Sorry, no idea why I posted it in the main forum!

I find it so bad, I mean, I can get the same deal at Vodaphone - so that is where I'm going. Why don't they just offer existing customers exactly the same deals? Infact it should be BETTER deals. Isn't it easier to get someone to carry on with you than to get a new customer?

Argh. *stomps feet*

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[mouse_chalk]

I totally agree! The thing is that it's so bad for Orange as well- they have such a high 'churn'- customers leaving for other networks, and even if customers leave their contract and start a new one it costs them. I honestly don't know why they make it so difficult- they would win so many more customers in the long run!

What phone are you getting with Vodafone then? I've heard their coverage is poor but that might just be Bristol...

 

[pinksalamander]

I've heard its poor too. Actually I've just found out that I haven't quit Orange. You see I left my Mum to do it because its in her name, and I left the shop to go meet my friend. Apparently when she asked to cancel one of the staff told her quietly it might be worth ringing up to cancel and playing the 'well I can get a better deal elsewhere' card just in case it works. I still don't understand why I can't just completely cancel my contract and restart a new one. It would make more sense.

Also I want to try again in the shop. Because I work in town I get 20% discount for being in the same shopping centre as them!

I want the LG Secret. Either than or the LG Viewty.

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[pinksalamander]

I sent a snotty email but I'll get my Mum to ring up tomorrow too.

Its so annoying! I want the Dolphin 25 plan (it would be £20 because of their offer thing) and the phone is free.

However as soon as I 'mention' on the site I'm an existing customer I have to pay £100!

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[mouse_chalk]

I hate to say it, but I used to work in the email department.... they're useless! It's just a bunch of old ladies who've worked there since the dawn of time and are more interested in gossiping than working.... You'll probably just get an email back in about 5 days asking you to call in..... Sorry!:X

You can start a new contract, that's completely independant, and not linked if you wanted, but you wouldn't be able to have the same number I don't think. You could just order it online, sign up as a new customer, don't mention that you're already with them. And then call up and cancel the other contract seperately. Don't mention the 2! There were thousands of customers with more than one contract. Sometimes they can link them under the same account but they don't have to.

Sorry, I would have said that yesterday had my head not had so much cotton wool in it!

 

[mouse_chalk]

As a new customer on the Dolphin 25 plan, you could get the LG Secret FREE! That's what I would do...there's no limit on the number of contracts you can have with Orange, as long as the credit check is passed etc. When it asks if you already have an orange number, say no. I went all the way to the 'personal details' screen and it didn't ask me though....

 

[mouse_chalk]

Re. the number thing- if you really wanted to keep your new number, Steve has just told me a way round it. (He used to work there too a long time ago). When you cancel your existing contract, they'll offer you a Pay As You Go SIM with that number, free. Take that, and then you can port it back into your new contract. Just make sure you get a PAC code. it's a bit fiddly but if you really wanted to keep your old number that's a way round it

Gosh I hope nobody from there will look at all these trade secrets I'm sharing!

 

[pinksalamander]

Yeah, I was going to do that anyway. My cousin works at 02 and he told me to do that.

Although, I will probably stay with Orange, my second choice phone is free. It just irritates me that I have to pay £100 (oh, I actually get £50 credit towards a new phone, Yippee! That phone I want was actually £150) when newbies get it free.

Do you reckon calling up and threatening to cancel will get it for me free? Or is it just not worth it and I should just go for the other phone I like? I wouldn't think they would take £100 off for me...

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[pinksalamander]

OK just read what you said, I thought you only made that last post, not the last 3!

So its not 'dissallowed' for me to just start a new contract then? Its a shame I'm not getting closer to being 18, because then I could just start it myself.

I'd just be worried they might think its suspicious, because my Mum technically has two phones on her account (her own phone and my phone). Thanks for the advice though, I'll just start a new contract then cancel the other one...

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[mouse_chalk]

Hmmm.... you could always try calling them! Call and say you want to cancel your contract, and when they ask why (they inevitably will) say that you would upgrade but think it's ridiculous that you have to pay £100 so you will go find it free with another network. Did you say you could get it free on Vodafone? Tell them that. They might just offer you it free, you never know! But if they don't, cancel and start up a new contract, as a new customer, and you'll get the phone for free!

 

[pinksalamander]

Do I need to start a completely new contract? Obviously my Mum still has her phone on her account... can I not just get a new contract on her account, like say she was getting a phone for another child or hers, at the same time that I was happening to cancel my account and go elsewhere...

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[mouse_chalk]

pinksalamander wrote:

OK just read what you said, I thought you only made that last post, not the last 3!

So its not 'dissallowed' for me to just start a new contract then? Its a shame I'm not getting closer to being 18, because then I could just start it myself.

I'd just be worried they might think its suspicious, because my Mum technically has two phones on her account (her own phone and my phone). Thanks for the advice though, I'll just start a new contract then cancel the other one...

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

nah, it's not dissallowed at all.... it means more money for them in the long run, after all! They just don't like to have customers disconnect and re-connect, as it looks bad for their overall customer-leaving numbers, but there's nothing they can do to stop you! Heck, the number of employees that have several contracts there anyway! I had 3 going once myself!

 

[mouse_chalk]

pinksalamander wrote:

Do I need to start a completely new contract? Obviously my Mum still has her phone on her account... can I not just get a new contract on her account, like say she was getting a phone for another child or hers, at the same time that I was happening to cancel my account and go elsewhere...

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

yeah, you could do that- Are you ordering it online with your mum's details? Cos they'll probably just link it automatically to the same account number, but even if they didn't- your mums details on the system should show that she has 2 different account numbers. Thats the only difference really- that there will be 2 account numbers rather than one... I shouldn't think that they'd give any other discounts to your mum or anything like that...