[Q] getting out of a contract with orange? - General Topics

is there any way i can get my contract with orange cancelled if they are not delivering the service i pay for? i have an 18 month contract, which is only a few months old but have increasingly noticed poor signal when making calls and unbelievably slow 3g connection - to the point it doesnt work at all some days. im paying good money for this and i am not getting what i pay for!
i live close to a large town centre in a busy area and the signal there is appalling, as it is all to frequently where ever i go in the uk. i have several handsets (mostly android - but not all!), my friend has a nokia with the same network issues, so it is 100% network and not hardware related.
i also have the t-mobile/orange roaming feature enabled with barely any, if any, improvement!
why should i be stuck to this for another year if its not what im paying for?
anybody have any advice?

I dunno where you live, but for orange France you could concel your contract well till this week i guess, coz they were increasing the price because of increased VAT (TVA) ...
I suggest you to call the costumer service, and tell them about your problem while insisting that you paying for things you aren't getting, or else you'll be forced to switch to another type of contract that offers only the services you are getting, (small montly fee contract = small penalty for the months left in your contract)

You're past any period where you can return the contract due to signal-related problems.
Most networks offer 14 days or so at the start of a contract in which you can return it ddor whatever reason. After that, generally you can only cancel by paying off all the remaining line rental.
Try speaking to Customer Services but I'd be very surprised if they'll be willing to just let you go.

Related

Best way to break my contract with O2?

No idea if anyone can help, but I would really like to break my contract with O2 - I spend between £70-120 a month on my phone bill, half of that on data.
It just seems so unreasonable, they cannot offer me any decent alternative price plans on O2; while both T-mobile, and Orange are taunting me with web'n'walk, and some sort of bizarre animal deal.
How should I approach O2, I have had no success in the past with getting discounts, so I'm really hoping somebody can outline a strategy for escape - preferably with my phone number.
Got 5 months left on a 12 month contract, prior to that was with them a couple of years, if that helps at all.
Thanks.
Unlock your current phone. Stick the O2 sim in any old handset. Use the inclusive O2 voice minutes on this handset to setup diverts to your new number. At the end of the O2 contract get a PAC number and port to the new contract. This way you keep your original phone number for people to call and calls go to your new number without them knowing. I have never been able to exit a contract early without paying the remaining balance.
you can opt out but like wizzzard says you have to py the balance off ,it might be in your interest to phone them and ask first how much this will be and weigh out your options
It'll be a lot. Companies love it when a customer reneges on a contract because they get a nice lump sum and they can basically ream them :/
A less viable alternative is to cancel your credit card, just after you move out of the country. Find a country which the UK doesn't have an extradition treaty with, then there's no danger of you being brought back to the country at Her Majesty's Pleasure. Wait ten years, after which time any debts you owe become null and void, and recommence your life as a British citizen.
Of course, getting past Immigration might prove a little problematic, but that's the least of your problems. I'd go nuts without a decent Internet connection after three days. Five, max.
LMAO That is the funniest thing ive read in ages! Really cheered up my day!
Forget about cancelling standing orders, this will affect your credit rating.
By the sounds of it you already have a PDA, so if your priority is saving money then your first action should be to knock your O2 price plan down to the bare bones. If you've been in the contract 6 months this shouldn't be a problem (with some networks its only 3 months).
Next, hurl your unwanted USIM in the bin (if you hate O2 enough).
Now - do you REALLY need to keep your number?
Is it a business number?
Have you lost contact with an ex and harbour a vain hope that they'll still have your contact details, and one day the call will arrive telling you they made a mistake?
Or are you a stickler who can't bear changing things?
If the answer to all these is a resounding 'No' then get online and take out a Flext 35 + wnw tarif with a Vario II - this gives you unlimited internet access and 180 pounds credit for 37.50 (30 quid for the first 3 months) but you probably already know this.
It will cost you 70 quid for the handset i think.
Now if you have more than 1800 contacts you're screwed and may end up forking out an extra 40p, but you ought to have more than enough credit here to send all your buddies and all your family members a text informing them of your new moby number.
If you'd still rather keep your number then sell your Vario II on Ebay. You'll get AT LEAST 320 quid for it (less 70 quid = 250) this should be more than enough to pay off your O2 contract, and request a number migration.
With either of these scenarios you're saving money.
You can't really lose my friend.
In relation to paying off your contract early, if O2 operates on similar lines to T-mobile or Orange then you'll simply be paying off the total remaining months' line rental (not including any discounts on the account). If you've knocked down your tarif to 20 quid then you'll pay somewhere in the region of 100 quid to cancel it based on your remaining 5 months. Most phone companies aren't actually that unreasonable with early cancellation charges, and you certainly won't incur any ridiculous fines. Fones 4 U pay off contracts early for customers all the time without any problems.
i've recently disconnected my vodafone contract which was on 18 months but i was in the 12th month.
all i did was drop the tariff to the lowest one, then i paid the remaining line rental to make up the 18 months and there was no extra charge.
and i managed to get a pac code off them to port my number to another network aswell
Cheers guys, some good suggestions.
Probably just try putting it on the lowest contract.
I guess I might wait till an interesting new phone arrives at t-mobile. Anyone know when and what that might be?
the new 8800 sirocco will be out on t mobile near the end of this month

Purchased Through Expansys

Hi all,
Couldn't wait any longer for touch pro to be available through the neworks. Took the plung and ordered today through Expansys with T-Mobile Flext 35 with W n W. My only concern it the reports of bad recieption on t-mobile. What are my rights of return with on-line sellers if my signal is bad. In my home there is no 3g and my GSM signal is between 1 and 2 bars. Always when out and about will I get the H or just 3G I seem to remember some comments on Expansys not including H with their sim cards.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and responding.
College.
I bought exactally the same deal and I have no worries with the signal, I get HSPDA at work, home and my GF's (3 quite spaced out locations, and I also live in the bottom of a valley).
As for returning, your problems lie with T-Mobile as you have entered an 18 month contract with them. I don't think you have many rights with regards to canceling that contract, certainly no more than about 10 days I think. But if you are having problems with reception, I'd say it was down to your area rather than the network or the phone.
l0st.prophet said:
I bought exactally the same deal and I have no worries with the signal, I get HSPDA at work, home and my GF (3 quite spaced out locations, and I also live in a valley).
As for returning, your problems lie with T-Mobile as you have entered an 18 month contract with them. I don't think you have many rights with regards to canceling that contract
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You should have a cooling off period - usually 14 days to return the product contract or not. Vodafone offer this, so i dont see why tmobile wont. You will have to pay for calls made etc.
ardsar said:
You should have a cooling off period - usually 14 days to return the product contract or not. Vodafone offer this, so i dont see why tmobile wont. You will have to pay for calls made etc.
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Sounds reasonable, I'm sure if you were to phone them up they would tell you where you stand.
I believe that the law in the UK states that on any mobile contract, you must have a 14 day period within which you can return it for ANY reason.
if expansys refuse to allow you to do this, they are breaking the law!
Hows your phone and T-Mobile ???
I'm toying with the idea of getting the same deal you went for , but i'm just unsure about t-mobile , so hows it all going ????
I went through expansys but with the t-mobile combi 30, no problems as of yet
Actually there is no law that states there is a 14 day cooling off period, this somewhat changed when the major networks got a significantly high percentage of coverage, if you purchase a phone from a shop you do not have a right to return it unless it is faulty, ie orange will not allow a return when a phone has been purchased from a shop and advise you or should advise you of this at the time, as it was costing them so much money to deal with the returned phones.
however, seen as all purchases from the internet are govered under distance selling rules, you will always have 7 days in which to return the phone to the dealer if you do not want to keep it.
And of course you still have statute law which coveres faulty goods ect.
bagg1234bagg said:
Actually there is no law that states there is a 14 day cooling off period, this somewhat changed when the major networks got a significantly high percentage of coverage, if you purchase a phone from a shop you do not have a right to return it unless it is faulty, ie orange will not allow a return when a phone has been purchased from a shop and advise you or should advise you of this at the time, as it was costing them so much money to deal with the returned phones.
however, seen as all purchases from the internet are govered under distance selling rules, you will always have 7 days in which to return the phone to the dealer if you do not want to keep it.
And of course you still have statute law which coveres faulty goods ect.
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The Distance selling regulations are actually 7 working days btw....
Hi all,
I'm new to the forum, although I've been lurking a few weeks.
Anyway, I too got a Touch Pro through Expansys with the T-Mobile Combi 30+WnW contract.
I noticed a problem with it (the contract) yesterday, which was the billing date, which was set to the 20th (had to sign up to the T-Mobile website to find this info out), and I had only got the contract on the 1st! I thought it was a little unreasonable to want me to pay over a week before the end of the month and it was also a couple of days before I get reimbursed for my time at work (and I don't want to eat cereal for a week ). I read the FAQ and billing info which said I could change it if it was in 14 days of the billing date, which it was just! So I battled with 150, robot voice of annoyance, and after managing to confuse it twice, it dropping my call twice while waiting for a reply from tech support, and giving up waiting after 10 minutes, I used their contact form to email them. A guy called me back 5 minutes later, brilliant! He moved the billing date to the 26th, for some reason the 25th which I would have preferred was a problem, but never mind.
So far though I really like the phone, which is my first windows mobile and at least the buttons work, unlike those on my hate inducing K800i.
BTW I'm pretty sure Expansys website says you have 10 days to notify them that you are going to return the phone.
Owen
2
do somebody can work it??
herrajohny said:
do somebody can work it??
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Do you speak English?
As for T-Mobile, I have had my phone for a few week now and no problems at all. I get great HSPDA signal for web browsing, after some faffing about I get YouTube streaming, calls are clear (1 dropped call in 2 1/2 weeks)and no problems with messaging either. T-mobile has by far one of the best Mobile Werb plans in the UK (Orange has 250mb limit and vodafone has 500MB fair useage, T-Mobile has 1GB Fair useage).
All in all I am very glad took the plunge!
I certainly think t-mobile offer a good service (unless abroad! - made my wallet somewhat lighter) but they have no business sense at all, as an existing customer with a month and a half left on my contract I can't use the same method to upgrade to the Touch Pro. I have a feeling it's going to be cheaper with vodafone etc when it launches though I dunno but I think I may hold out (Also for their faster HSPDA).
I wouldn't worry about fair usage policies, when I moved house with my t-mobile 1gb fair usage I didn't have the internet for a month so I plugged my n95 in and was able to get 1.5mbps to my pc. I think I must have used at least 10gb that month using it as my usenet client etc. All that happened was they sent me a letter two months down the line. I think unless you always use lots of BW, you really can see it as unlimited on any fair usage policy.

at&t plan cancelation question

i unfortunately had my fuze stolen and with no insurance and no upgrades available i will be forced pay over 350+ for a new fuze. I noticed there are several sites offering free fuzes or low priced fuzes with a new contract. I do not want a new contract and i was wondering would it be possible to sign up and get the fuze and then cancel the contract and keep the fuze. I know there is an early termination fee of $175 for at&t but that is still cheaper than $350..
Does anyone know if this will work?
thanksd
i don't think it'd work out. the prices and termination fees were set up so you'd be the one taking all the hits. a few things u should keep in mind is that if u plan on canceling ur contract, ur phone # is lost as well. And $350 is what you'll pay when you get a new contract from AT&T, so you'll definitely be paying $175 + $375. Now some will say you can get a free from from online stores like amazon or letstalk, but the contracts you sign through those online retailers commits you to very expensive plans for a certain period of time (half a year I believe). and if you were to cancel that new line before contract ends, they will actually make you spit out the rest of money to pay full price for the phone.
This will not work for the reason that most of the time the contact fee is a mail in rebate. You would have to pay atleast the first 2 months before canceling.
dont know the technicalities of this, but maybe you could subscribe to a new number to get a new phoen for free then cancel that line a couple-few months in? My friend did that with big red a couple months ago to get a new phone.
I don't think that would work. You would have to stay pass the 30 trial period, then pay the early termination fee. So you'd be paying Activation charge, First months bill, phone (since mail in rebate, data plan required), plus early termination fee.
It would be best to bite the bullet and pay the 350+ or shop around to see if anyone is trying to get rid of theirs.
Good Luck!
and sorry to hear about your lost.
nhshah7 said:
dont know the technicalities of this, but maybe you could subscribe to a new number to get a new phoen for free then cancel that line a couple-few months in? My friend did that with big red a couple months ago to get a new phone.
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Also if your current contract is not yet expired you can put it on "vocation" play, which temporary suspends your phone from usage, but you pay only a few bucks a month. Just say that you leave the country for a few month
From the horses mouth
If you cancel your contract within the first 6 months you will owe the difference between the price you paid and the retail price, you will also be liable for the cancellation fee. It is in the dealers agreement as well as the terms and conditions.

AT&T Service/Contract question...

I was told by my cousin that I could cancel my contract with AT&T and not be charged a fee for doing so even though my contract isn't up yet because I am not within their 3G network.......does anyone know if there is any truth to this?
iamcombat said:
I was told by my cousin that I could cancel my contract with AT&T and not be charged a fee for doing so even though my contract isn't up yet because I am not within their 3G network.......does anyone know if there is any truth to this?
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No truth to this. You will be charged an ETF prorated according to the number of months you have remaining in your contract
It's almost impossible to get out of a contract early with an ETF.
iamcombat said:
I was told by my cousin that I could cancel my contract with AT&T and not be charged a fee for doing so even though my contract isn't up yet because I am not within their 3G network.......does anyone know if there is any truth to this?
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Your cousin is wrong. AT&T doesn't guarantee 3G coverage. The termination fee applies to you.
There actually is some truth to what you were told. It is perfectly legal to ask AT&T to wave the fee because you are not financially able to pay for it. If they are not willing to work with you, contact the FCC and explain the situation and you will almost be guaranteed to get out of paying it. I wrote some more information about working with your cell companies on issues like this here. (h-t-t-p://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8040586#post8040586) Remove the dashes obviously.
You can get out of your contract if you use tons of roaming minutes and data for a couple of months. Actually they will force you out.
k2snowboards88 said:
You can get out of your contract if you use tons of roaming minutes and data for a couple of months. Actually they will force you out.
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yeah... dont do this.
Your cousin is only partly right, ATT will let you out of your contract if you move to an area that they do not cover at all. It is not just some where without 3G, it has to be some where that they have no coverage what so ever say like Nome Alaska as an example
ukulele_ninja said:
There actually is some truth to what you were told. It is perfectly legal to ask AT&T to wave the fee because you are not financially able to pay for it. If they are not willing to work with you, contact the FCC and explain the situation and you will almost be guaranteed to get out of paying it. I wrote some more information about working with your cell companies on issues like this here. (h-t-t-p://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8040586#post8040586) Remove the dashes obviously.
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Yes, It is perfectly legal to ask for anything. you can ask to get out of any contract. You can walk into a bank and ask for $1,000,000 - good luck with that. I have gotten ETF waived when I quit another carrier because they had terrible coverage in my area. It took a letter to the presidents office, and I didn't have a smart phone.
However; if you are trying to get out of AT&T and keep a Smartphone, I see them asking for it back. The high ETF if partially to keep people from getting subsidized smartphones, and then quitting the service. In the past you could do this with the iphone - buy it for $199 subsidized; quit, pay the $175 earl term fee, and sell the phone on eBay for $600.
The FCC is not going to help someone that can't pay a bill for usually and customary fees - they may get involved if you have a $10,000 data bill, but not because you can't afford to pay for what you signed up for.
alphadog00 said:
Yes, It is perfectly legal to ask for anything. you can ask to get out of any contract. You can walk into a bank and ask for $1,000,000 - good luck with that. I have gotten ETF waived when I quit another carrier because they had terrible coverage in my area. It took a letter to the presidents office, and I didn't have a smart phone.
However; if you are trying to get out of AT&T and keep a Smartphone, I see them asking for it back. The high ETF if partially to keep people from getting subsidized smartphones, and then quitting the service. In the past you could do this with the iphone - buy it for $199 subsidized; quit, pay the $175 earl term fee, and sell the phone on eBay for $600.
The FCC is not going to help someone that can't pay a bill for usually and customary fees - they may get involved if you have a $10,000 data bill, but not because you can't afford to pay for what you signed up for.
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As I said they can HELP and ALMOST guarantee to get you out of paying an ETF. Its not the same as walking into the bank and asking for money, its asking the carrier to waive the fee because you have been a faithful customer and paid your bill on time and are currently in a situation where you cannot afford to pay the termination fee. I know this because I have done this SEVERAL times to switch carriers and if the carrier is not willing to play ball, threaten to call the FCC and they are more willing to play ball. If that doesnt work, file a complaint with the BBB and then the FCC if you need the big guns.
Several years ago I was on Sprint and their service was absolutely garbage. On top of that, the first 9 months of my service they never billed me correctly and frequently charged me for wrong services or overcharged me for things like text messaging, etc. I eventually got fed up with it and called them and told them I wanted to cancel my service and they told me I would be charged $600 ($300 per line on my family account). I argued that the reason for my canceling was their subpar service and customer relations but they wouldnt back down. So I filed a BBB complaint and a week later they called, apologized and agreed to drop the ETF if I returned my phones, which I did. Problem solved.
No you cant cancel your service and expect to keep your new phone (Not normally at least) These tools are out there for consumers to use so use them to your advantage!
The FCC is the final straw and should be used only when the situation is really dire. In the end it NEVER HURTS TO TRY and at the very least Ive seen several times where people have been able to get the fee drastically reduced after involving the BBB or FCC.
I will stress that you need to have a decent case though, dont ask for help just because you want to jump ship with no reason. The OP seems to be having a lot of problems with his device and their service and thats enough reason to try.
Yes, the key to getting out of the contract without paying an ETF is to have a valid reason.
Poor service, incorrect billing, or some other documented recurring negative experience will usually work.
If they still don't see your side, the ETF is generally cheaper then keeping terrible service if you are near the first half of a 2 year contract. Sometimes it may be necessary to pay to quit.

Is T-mobile merger bad for consumers?

I think so and I'm about to explain why.
I switched to Verizon's HTC thunderbolt from AT&T (out of contract) and being that I pay a month up front, figured AT&T would owe me for a partial month of service. I was surprised to receive a bill for $67 from AT&T that was for 10 days of service. At the time I was busy and didn't call right away. The next month I received a bill for $403!
I called today and they stated it was $300 in ETF fees. I asked why I owed $67 for 10 days of service and got a response that if I switched service I would have to pay for a full month's of service regardless of how many days I used. I told them the FCC has guidelines to prevent big companies from doing things like that and I would not be paying them for service I didn't use. This is when they began to backpedal and say well as a courtesy we will only charge you for 10 days!?! lol, what a courtesy to actually get charged for what I used.
After an hour long conversation with the customer service manager my bill was reduced down to less than $30. I have experienced this similar type of situation with Verizon in the past after not getting good reception where they tried to charge me for a full month of service after porting over my number as well as unjustified ETF fees.
I didn't have a contract with AT&T yet for some reason they were trying to justify these hefty ETF fees that took even the manager in the customer service department an hour to fix.
I think these big cell phone companies try to bully around the consumer rather than win them over. Then claim they are doing you a favor by treating you fairly!
Hearing about the T-mobile merger I'm really starting to wonder what is going to come of the future of mobile services. I have had T-mobile service for 5 years in the past and never have I experienced these kinds of problems, the big 2 have given me.
Once T-mobile is bought out where will the checks and balances of competition be observed? I would have signed up for T-mobile service but they don't have nice phones nor the data connection speed I was looking for.
Hence the dilema, as these companies get larger they gain more power over the consumer and the manufacturer of the devices. We as the consumer have very little say in what occurs other than to sit on the phone and hope the person on the other end can "work it out" in their system.
Large corporations abusing their customers... what else is new?
I've heard these horror stories from both sides of the fence (Verizon + ATT). Just like almost every other business sector in America, customer service is going down with last night's dinner. Instead of "The customer is always right," corporations have now moved to "Get them to a position where they can't say 'no'" leaving consumers no choice but to bend over and take it or band together and sue. Pretty soon instead of labor unions we'll have consumer unions...
/rant
dbisch said:
Large corporations abusing their customers... what else is new?
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I guess the better question is how can I let the government know what happened in my situation and allow them to understand what this means for the consumer?
Or are they just getting paid copious amounts of money to justify the anti-trust situation and there is nothing we as the consumer can do to stop them?
Is there no forum for this other than BBB?
I feel like the FCC should know that both AT&T and Verizon are telling customers they have to pay for service they never receive and then when called out they back down acting like I'm getting one over on them.
Don't know what it is worth.... but...
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/hotdocket/list
azwildfire said:
Don't know what it is worth.... but...
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/hotdocket/list
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Thanks! I'll look into it
Well both companies have crappy service, I was a Tmo customer and hated every minute I had them. Couldnt drive home from work without loosing my call 3 or 4 times.
To tell you the truth "customer service" varies just like people are. Depends who you get, and what kind of problem you have. I have had friends that try and twist the system and complain poor customer service because they don't get their way. I have seen people with legitimate problems who don't get help because at times reps don't have the authority to fix the problem. A lot of people don't have patience like they used to have. Sometimes how you present yourself dictates the kind of service you get.
On the subject at hand... I don't think it honestly matters... Consumers have been giving up power for many years... If it bothered you that much about pricing then why bother getting service and paying for it. If people stuck to their guns instead of paying for it then prices would change faster than everyone paying for service.
BEFORE anyone cries and say they need blah blah blah for "emergencies"
ANY phone land line or cellular can dial 911 regardless if it has service or not as required BY LAW... So that's a VERY MOOT point.
If it was an emergency then what are you going to do? Text 911, or look up on the internet how to dial 911 and report an emergency?
At some point with the way things are going choices will be gone... The government will soon be telling us what we can and can't do, what services to get, and everything else imaginable... We are almost there anyway with the way people cry about this and that instead of putting their money where their mouth is.

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