sssshhhh
09-11-2006, 11:38
I changed my contract at the end on september with orange. I phoned the call centre and arranged a package which was 325 cross network minutes peak times plus 300 free cross network mins eve and weekends with 100 texts thrown in.
On October 7th I my direct debit went out for around the £45.00 mark which I am assuming was for the billing period for the month prior 7th sept to 7th oct (my old contract was £25) plus the 2 to 3 weeks on top up until my new contract was activated.
I looked at my account yesterday and I was billed another £80!! so i phoned them up assuming an error had been made on new contract. the guy I spoke to was very nice, but first of all tried to explain it was because I had phoned someone on another network during peak time. After explaining over and over I had free cross network peak minutes, he finally agreed it couldnt be that. (went on hold for 5 for him to speak to supervisor) Then he picked up on some calls I had made in the evenings to another network and said it was that. After another 10 mins of explaining I had free eve and weekend calls he finally agreed that it couldnt be that (hold again for 10 mins)
He then decided that it was because I hadn't started my new contract until 17th oct? ( i knew that was wrong) that the calls i had made before that weren't covered by my new talk plan therefore chargeable. After explaining for another 10 mins (getting annoyed at this point) that my contract must have started on or before 7th october as this was my billing date, he got even more confused.(yup, on hold again)
He then went on that the new talk plan i was on would only be pro rata as i wasn't paying for a full month, and that I started my contract on the 17th october so blah blah. He basically tied himself up in knots for another 5 mins. So i asked him to tell me exactly how many calls in length i was entitled to, pro-rata, for the billing dates i had been charged for. He couldnt tell me. That was another department - billing. When I asked to speak to that deartment he was very reluctant and said "bear with me........" at this point my will to live had all but disappeared.
So I was brave and decided to tackle him over when my contract started. I advised that when I spoke to the sales advisor on the phone he advised my that my new talk plan was in place, and I my new talk plan would start straight away. And this wasn't on 17th October, it was end of september. He then gave me 3 diff dates of when my sale was taken (all in October), each time apologising when he got it wrong (again).
So I asked him to check if there were any notes made on my account by the sales rep regarding what he had sold me. Lo and behold there it was. 26th September. hallelujah. But he still insisted that this wasnt the date. Maybe the sales rep was psychic and had a premonition I would call, therefore noted my account in preperation for the sale? i don't know. Strange things happen in orange call centres it would seem.
I lost all my patience in the end, he wouldnt transfer me to anyone else, but gave me an address to write in and complain to (letter on the way) so I terminated the call. Now I'm building up the energy to try and ring them again.
If there has been a problem with the set up of my account I don't mind, these things happen, just want to get it sorted so i can get my cash back. And to get it sorted i need to speak to someone who knows what they are on about. He was a loovely lad btw, very polite, just didnt seem to have had any training.
has anyone had a similar experince with them, and any idea if i'm likely to get through to someone who knows what their talking about? Its the first time I've had to ring in, but not impressed so far.
On October 7th I my direct debit went out for around the £45.00 mark which I am assuming was for the billing period for the month prior 7th sept to 7th oct (my old contract was £25) plus the 2 to 3 weeks on top up until my new contract was activated.
I looked at my account yesterday and I was billed another £80!! so i phoned them up assuming an error had been made on new contract. the guy I spoke to was very nice, but first of all tried to explain it was because I had phoned someone on another network during peak time. After explaining over and over I had free cross network peak minutes, he finally agreed it couldnt be that. (went on hold for 5 for him to speak to supervisor) Then he picked up on some calls I had made in the evenings to another network and said it was that. After another 10 mins of explaining I had free eve and weekend calls he finally agreed that it couldnt be that (hold again for 10 mins)
He then decided that it was because I hadn't started my new contract until 17th oct? ( i knew that was wrong) that the calls i had made before that weren't covered by my new talk plan therefore chargeable. After explaining for another 10 mins (getting annoyed at this point) that my contract must have started on or before 7th october as this was my billing date, he got even more confused.(yup, on hold again)
He then went on that the new talk plan i was on would only be pro rata as i wasn't paying for a full month, and that I started my contract on the 17th october so blah blah. He basically tied himself up in knots for another 5 mins. So i asked him to tell me exactly how many calls in length i was entitled to, pro-rata, for the billing dates i had been charged for. He couldnt tell me. That was another department - billing. When I asked to speak to that deartment he was very reluctant and said "bear with me........" at this point my will to live had all but disappeared.
So I was brave and decided to tackle him over when my contract started. I advised that when I spoke to the sales advisor on the phone he advised my that my new talk plan was in place, and I my new talk plan would start straight away. And this wasn't on 17th October, it was end of september. He then gave me 3 diff dates of when my sale was taken (all in October), each time apologising when he got it wrong (again).
So I asked him to check if there were any notes made on my account by the sales rep regarding what he had sold me. Lo and behold there it was. 26th September. hallelujah. But he still insisted that this wasnt the date. Maybe the sales rep was psychic and had a premonition I would call, therefore noted my account in preperation for the sale? i don't know. Strange things happen in orange call centres it would seem.
I lost all my patience in the end, he wouldnt transfer me to anyone else, but gave me an address to write in and complain to (letter on the way) so I terminated the call. Now I'm building up the energy to try and ring them again.
If there has been a problem with the set up of my account I don't mind, these things happen, just want to get it sorted so i can get my cash back. And to get it sorted i need to speak to someone who knows what they are on about. He was a loovely lad btw, very polite, just didnt seem to have had any training.
has anyone had a similar experince with them, and any idea if i'm likely to get through to someone who knows what their talking about? Its the first time I've had to ring in, but not impressed so far.