4 replies to this topic

[dez16v]

Why is it that when it is time to renew my contract that I get about six different phone companies ringing me to offer me a new and better contract?
They claim to be representing Orange and proceed to ask me my personal details, when I say that if they are Orange representatives they should already have my details they appear to be dissapointed and then hang up!
This happened last year when I left my contract as it was and never changed anything, and never got a call from Orange to ask if I wanted to change anything. When I got my next bill it was sky high! When I asked them why they said it was because they had left out the bundles for text messages and also the 4 mb internet access.
I then asked why they had not contacted me about it and they said that it was the end of my 12 month contract and it was up to me to contact them to change anything!
Let me tell you that if this happens again this year I will be leaving Orange because I have not had any contact with them to ask if I want to upgrade my phone etc...
I consider it basic customer service to thank me for fulfilling my 12 month contract and ask me if I would like to upgrade etc...

Have you had a similar experience?

Whinge over!

dez16v  

[sporkguy]

Firstly, it isn't Orange's responsibility to contact you for an upgrade.
They leave that to the independent retailers and Orange Retail to contact you through CIF calling (they took this priveledge away from OR last year due to us not doing enough 18 month upgrades... talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face ~_~).

If orange had to call every single customer who was due for upgrade, they'd have to employ a hell of a lot more CSRs, and afterall Orange is a business!

Now, about these six different companies calling you.. think of these as the hyenas. They're all fighting for your renewal, and by going with one of these you're taking a risk. In a lot of cases you'll be fine, and have no problems at all for another 12 months, but then there are scumbags like Docklands Telecom who will sell you a dead horse. :\

Just be careful.
The Orange Shop is full of helpful phone trainers, we really do care about customers, and if you can, make it into your local shop to upgrade - at least you get to see, feel and use the device before you renew your contract and walk away with a new phone that you'll have to live with for another 18 months.

oh and btw, in usual cases most things like talkplans and bundles should continue to be applied after your contract expires, until you cancel them. If they don't - someone has touched your account.

[dez16v]

sporkguy, on Feb 12 2006, 23:07, said:

Firstly, it isn't Orange's responsibility to contact you for an upgrade.
They leave that to the independent retailers and Orange Retail to contact you through CIF calling (they took this priveledge away from OR last year due to us not doing enough 18 month upgrades... talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face ~_~).

If orange had to call every single customer who was due for upgrade, they'd have to employ a hell of a lot more CSRs, and afterall Orange is a business!

Now, about these six different companies calling you.. think of these as the hyenas. They're all fighting for your renewal, and by going with one of these you're taking a risk. In a lot of cases you'll be fine, and have no problems at all for another 12 months, but then there are scumbags like Docklands Telecom who will sell you a dead horse. :\

Just be careful.
The Orange Shop is full of helpful phone trainers, we really do care about customers, and if you can, make it into your local shop to upgrade - at least you get to see, feel and use the device before you renew your contract and walk away with a new phone that you'll have to live with for another 18 months.

oh and btw, in usual cases most things like talkplans and bundles should continue to be applied after your contract expires, until you cancel them. If they don't - someone has touched your account.

Thanks for your reply Sporkguy,

Could you be more detailed in what you said about my 'account has been touched', also how do these six hyena's know that I am due to renew my contract?

Cheers!

dez16v  

[sporkguy]

dez16v, on Feb 13 2006, 22:49, said:

Thanks for your reply Sporkguy,

Could you be more detailed in what you said about my 'account has been touched', also how do these six hyena's know that I am due to renew my contract?

Cheers!

dez16v  

When an independent signs up and gets 'authorised orange dealer' status I assume they get access to something similar to what we have in Orange Retail (ours is the ORS, Orange Retail System) - basically this system gives us basic customer information such as date original contract was taken out, last upgrade date, talkplan, date of birth etc.
Using this, I'm sure these companies can create automated systems to search batches of numbers in order to suss out who's likely to be due for upgrade.

as for 'touching your account' maybe someone at one of these companies has altered a bundle on your account? maybe even orange? you need to call 150 to sort this out I'm afraid.

[Jay3gsm]

No independent dealer can add or remove details from your account.

You can request certain bundles to be added to your account when you buy a phone from an independent dealer, but these are actually added by Orange, not the dealer.

Independent dealers do NOT get access to anything like the information available to Orange shops and Orange customer service.

The 'hyenas' do not know that you are coming to an end with your contract, they are just taking pot luck. They ring through whole lists of numbers and take the same line with everyone. "Hi sir/madam, did you know you can have a free upgrade?" And they always claim to be calling on behalf of the network (in a way that is not a lie, but it is very misleading as most people believe that they are calling from the network) Once they know you are still in a contract they try to sell you a second phone! You should never give details out over the phone to people you don't know because once they have enough information they can add a phone to your account even if you did not want one.

And as already said, it is not Orange's responsibility to inform you when you can upgrade. After all, it is not written anywhere you *have* to upgrade, and for Orange it makes business sense for them if you do not. They make more money if you do not get a second subsidy from them for another handset.