Stock Issues

[Guest dazultra2000]

Waiting is all well and good, but I got the M2000 cos it helps me at work. I'm a network administrator for a school, and we just had wifi installed, which means I can file bug reports from anywhere I like, instead of having to run back to the office each time. It had increased my productivity by loads...

and then I get reduced to a P910i, which to be honest is nowhere near a suitable replacement.

Furthermore all the CSRs i've spoken to have said they really don't expect to ever have refurbed M2000s in, which means I'm stuck on a contract that is essentially a wasts of my money, as I'm not getting the use out of the phone that I require.

Coupled with the fact that I'm paying £5/month for orange care that basically works out that I'm paying about £1.25 per lie I'm told by orange. I can get lied to elsewhere for free!

If they hadn't lied to me I wouldn't be quite so angry.

They DID get brand new replacements. I saw a stock level printout in an orange shop that proved thos. I was offered a brand new replacement by FOUR DIFFERENT CSRs and in the end I was told no.

That's why I'm so furious.

They said they'd refund my bills for me till it's sorted but they havent done that either.

ANGER

[Guest Pondrew]

Well I feel sorry for all of you guys out there who can't get their hands on a M2000, all I can say is WAIT for Orange to sort themselves out...

...So come on guys, wait for Orange to come good, you know it makes sense! Their customer support is a little iffy at times, but they are miles better than O2 and T-Mobile...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd say if people want the Blue Angel then why bother waiting indefinately when you can get it from O2 or T-Mobile. I too thought T-Mobile customer service was meant to be crap but I've been pleased so far...

[Guest raiderz]

I too thought T-Mobile customer service was meant to be crap but I've been pleased so far...

My experiences with T-Mobile is when you want to speak to a person in their customer services you have to go through a maze of automated "press 1 to do this", "press 2 to do that" I think the only way I could ever speak to a person on a night-time was ring the lost or stolen option.

My g/f's tariff on T-Mobile was put up 18 months into her contract by £10 a month, when she rang them to complain, they told her she had signed a new contract (which she hadn't) and would have another 12 months to go, costing her an extra £120 if she wanted to cancel. They claimed she will have been told it would go up when she bought the phone, which she most definately wasn't because I was there.

Most of the problems i've had with Orange have been spurious charges when I've phoned they have been waived.

As to the fact about waiting indefinately, thats fair deals, but some people don't like O2 or T-Mobile based on past experience with them. Besides which the M2000 when it finally does come out will probably have all the patches i've added to mine to make it stable (BT, battery etc) all sorted!

[Guest Pondrew]

My experiences with T-Mobile is when you want to speak to a person in their customer services you have to go through a maze of automated "press 1 to do this", "press 2 to do that" I think the only way I could ever speak to a person on a night-time was ring the lost or stolen option.

My g/f's tariff on T-Mobile was put up 18 months into her contract by £10 a month, when she rang them to complain, they told her she had signed a new contract (which she hadn't) and would have another 12 months to go, costing her an extra £120 if she wanted to cancel. They claimed she will have been told it would go up when she bought the phone, which she most definately wasn't because I was there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, I've experienced their automated system and was pretty unimpressed to begin with. Having said that Orange's system left me head scratching many times.

Wierd what happened to your girlfriend. There are two options as I see it.

She was on an 18month contract and, having accepted a free upgrade phone after 12 months, had agreed to sign another 12month contract with the first 6months discounted.

or...

She was on a twelve month contract and then did the same but onto an 18month contract...

Seriously, their contracts last either 12months or 18months. So the 18months is significant as either the end of an 18month contract (automatically renewed by accepting an upgrade) or 6months into an 18month contract tacked onto the end of a 12month contact. :shock: :?:

Did you work out which it was T-Mobile were claiming?

[Guest raiderz]

Did you work out which it was T-Mobile were claiming?

After she rang T-Mobile she wasn't really in the mood to talk about it, Her folks have took that contract on until April this year when it can be terminated.

At the time of her getting her phone T-Mobile at no time said after 18 months the tarriff would go up, but when she rang to complain about the increase she was told in no uncertain terms the tarriff she was on increased from month 18 by £10 a month. Is it a possibility she could have been on a 24 month tarriff discounted for 18 months ?

Anyway I think the whole mobile phone industry is guilty of confusing customers to their terms and conditions. For example I can't get the free extra evening minutes that new Orange customers could get because i've been with them for 9 years.

If I cancelled and got a new contract on the same day, with a new number, I would get the free evening minutes. By upgrading I still signed the same 12 month contract with Orange, but I kept my old number, less hassle for everyone but I am left with a poorer deal than a new customer... it stinks to be honest, and all mobile operators are guilty of it.

[Guest fraser]

If I cancelled and got a new contract on the same day, with a new number, I would get the free evening minutes. By upgrading I still signed the same 12 month contract with Orange, but I kept my old number,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've heard of people taking free/cheap pay-as-you-go sim cards to keep their number. Transfer your PAK to the cheapo, cancel your original account, open a new one and give them the PAK code from the PAYG mobile. You get your original number on the original network, with a new contract.

I don't know anyone that's done it, I've just seen it suggested and it sounds valid. The mobile companies won't like it, but IIRC they have no choice as the PAK number transferal is covered by laws they must follow.

[Guest Chaser81]

I've heard of people taking free/cheap pay-as-you-go sim cards to keep their number. Transfer your PAK to the cheapo, cancel your original account, open a new one and give them the PAK code from the PAYG mobile. You get your original number on the original network, with a new contract.

I don't know anyone that's done it, I've just seen it suggested and it sounds valid. The mobile companies won't like it, but IIRC they have no choice as the PAK number transferal is covered by laws they must follow.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, you can do this, it does work, BUT... To stiff you, the networks insist that you stay on the new network (your PAYG sim) for at least 30 days before they will allow you to port back.

SO, you would have to obtain PAK, port out to PAYG sim, wait 30 days, obtain PAK again, port back into old network....

Now, tell me honestly, how many of you can REALLY be arsed with all that?

[Guest raiderz]

SO, you would have to obtain PAK, port out to PAYG sim, wait 30 days, obtain PAK again, port back into old network....

Mate of mine used to work for Orange and he says you can't port a number from Orange to Orange, it has to be from one operator to another!

[Guest nigidivitch]

Well I feel sorry for all of you guys out there who can't get their hands on a M2000, all I can say is WAIT for Orange to sort themselves out...

...So come on guys, wait for Orange to come good, you know it makes sense! Their customer support is a little iffy at times, but they are miles better than O2 and T-Mobile...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not too sure about that one - I've been with most networks (the slag that I am!!!) and I can't say that I was blown away by Orange - Admittedly they were a hell of a lot better than dealing with Singlepoint (with whom I had sh*t loads of problems), but I found them very anal on many occasions regarding problems with issues pertaining to the crazy problems with the initial release SPV.

When it comes to the farce concerning Orange Customer Support and the M2000 I find it astounding that there are still people waiting for the handset - or at least the fact that there are still people listening to what OCS are saying... How many calls can Orange take (which may be recorded for training purposes!) before they realise that it might be an idea to notice the complaints of their private (rather than business) customers.

I am very happy to have moved from Orange to T-mobile in order to get the Blue Angel, and have been surprised by the high level T-Mobile's customer support (although I understand that I am a new customer, and that all businesses seem to reward new customers far more than 'faithful' customers, and so I expect the level of service to drop). What doesn't make sense is the continuous strand of lies that are being told to very 'faithful' private customers (who tend to be paying rather a lot per month - and without whom Orange would be pretty screwed I think) when they try to find out what the current situation is regarding stock of the M2000...

I think that you're right, raiderz, in saying that you can't port a number from Orange to Orange (or 'other networks' to the same 'other networks') - they have to be able to stop 'faithful' customers from benefiting from deals specifically aimed at enticing new customers!!!

Sorry for the rant - certainly not aimed at you raiderz - Orange have really pi$$ed me off with their endless "it'll be in next week", "it'll be in next week", "it'll be in next week"!!!

Anyway, enough from me - I now have a Blue Angel and so I can't really complain anymore!

:D

Edited January 29, 2005 by nigidivitch

[Guest ichilton]

Hi,

You can cancel your Orange contract and have it converted to PAYG - so you can keep the number with an answering message on with your new number (or even divert to your new number if you want to pay for it!)....I know people who have done this and got a new orange contract with a new number.

--ian

[Guest raiderz]

Sorry for the rant - certainly not aimed at you raiderz - Orange have really pi$$ed me off with their endless "it'll be in next week", "it'll be in next week", "it'll be in next week"!!!

Yeah I understand you concerns, I had the same problems 13 months ago when the E200 came out, I think I rang OCS in October 2003 about the E200, cos I saw it on the back of their magazine. I didn't get mine until 2nd December, a whole 2 months later.

I think once Smartphones/Pocket PC's become more popular the networks will stick their neck out and actually order more in the first place, I think what happened with the M2000 is Orange underestimated the popularity of them and didn't order enough UK spec ones in the first place.

[Guest fraser]

SO, you would have to obtain PAK, port out to PAYG sim, wait 30 days, obtain PAK again, port back into old network....

Now, tell me honestly, how many of you can REALLY be arsed with all that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've had the same number for 4/5 years. For some folk it's their only way of getting in touch with me. I'm going to pull out all the stops to keep it!!

Mate of mine used to work for Orange and he says you can't port a number from Orange to Orange, it has to be from one operator to another!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Raiderz, that's the point. You go from Orange -> (e.g.) T-mobile PAYG -> Orange.

[Guest raiderz]

Raiderz, that's the point. You go from Orange -> (e.g.) T-mobile PAYG -> Orange.

Can you port numbers onto PAYG and back again onto a contract ?

Please if someone has done this and it works 100% let us know on this topic, I would be interested to do this.

Edited January 29, 2005 by raiderz

[Guest Chaser81]

Can you port numbers onto PAYG and back again onto a contract ?

Please if someone has done this and it works 100% let us know on this topic, I would be interested to do this.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, 100%, but from one network (contract) to another (Payg) and then back onto the old network (contract) again. Your mate who works for Orange is not quite right about not being able to port from orange to orange, Orange CAN transfer their PAYG customers to contract and retain the number, they just dont port them in the same way as customers from other networks (its a lot easier to do cause they dont need a PAK number, its all done internally).

Edited January 30, 2005 by Chaser81

[Guest raiderz]

Your mate who works for Orange is not quite right about not being able to port from orange to orange

I meant from an existing contract to a new contract from the same provider.

How long does the process usually take from leaving Orange to getting back there via a PAYG ?

Edited January 30, 2005 by raiderz

[Guest Chaser81]

About a month all in, maybe slightly more. Five days to port out, 30 days wait, five days to port back in.

[Guest RussellH]

To Dazultra2000,

I'm expecting a call back today about my replacement M2000. I explained what you'd been told about having to wait for a reconditioned phone. As always, they were extremely pleasant and helpful, and confirmed that because there are no reconditioned handsets due to it being such a new phone, a stock of new handsets would be sent out to people like us instead. He apologised for the fact that different people get different stories each time they ring, and could see how this would lead to you being very annoyed. I shall wait for my call back, and let you know how it goes.

[Guest dazultra2000]

To Dazultra2000,

I'm expecting a call back today about my replacement M2000.  I explained what you'd been told about having to wait for a reconditioned phone.  As always, they were extremely pleasant and helpful, and confirmed that because there are no reconditioned handsets due to it being such a new phone, a stock of new handsets would be sent out to people like us instead.  He apologised for the fact that different people get different stories each time they ring, and could see how this would lead to you being very annoyed.  I shall wait for my call back, and let you know how it goes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmm, I'm still not convinced. I've been lead down this path before to no resolve.

I hope you get further than I did.

BTW, I re-checked the stock list and as of the 28th Jan they still had brand new replacements in.

[Guest RussellH]

Hmm, I'm still not convinced. I've been lead down this path before to no resolve.

I hope you get further than I did.

BTW, I re-checked the stock list and as of the 28th Jan they still had brand new replacements in.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Which department said they still had replacements in? I've just phoned Replacements again. They insist they don't have any. They're still giving out loan phones, and don't know who's telling people they're in stock. If someone can tell me who's claiming to have some, I'll check with my media contact and get him to look into these discrepancies. They do however insist that we will get new replacements when they get them in stock.

Edited February 1, 2005 by RussellH

[Guest dazultra2000]

Check your PM, RusselH

Edited February 1, 2005 by dazultra2000

[Guest RussellH]

Orange media contact now investigating reasons why different people are being told different stories.

Dazaultra2000 - Have PM'd you back!

Edited February 1, 2005 by RussellH

[Guest TheMadScot]

I ported one of my Orange contract numbers across to O2 to get and XDA IIs; it's a nice device and all, but let's just say that I'm not overwhelmed with O2's technical support:

My situation is that I will be travelling to Montana in the US on business next month, but the city which I'm going to is not covered by any of O2's roaming network partners - information that I double-checked before contacting O2.

Armed with this knowledge, I set about emailing O2 support. I explained the situation, and the responses were as follows (edited for brevity)

Me: I'd like to SIM unlock my XDA IIs as I'm going abroad to an area that O2 do not have sufficient roaming partner network coverage.

O2: SIM Unlocking costs £15, but we don't unlock handests until after your 12 month contract is up.

Me: Hang on a minute, I'm locked into the contract for 12 months anyway, and on my O2 Max tariff, you'll get at least £900 out of me for the duration. If I were to cancel my contract, I'd still have to pay O2 the remainder of my line rental and, if I didn't, you could but a global bar on the handset's IMEI... so where's the risk to O2?

O2: Yes, we confirm you've had your handset for less than 12 months; if you wish to cancel, you'll need to pay us for the remaining line rental. If you wish to use your handset abroad, you need to have international roaming activated. To do this, you will need to lodge a £100 deposit against your account, which is refundable after three months.

Me: FFS! I never said I wanted to cancel, and my tariff already includes ITS (as published) and now you say I have to pay £100 to roam? Did you miss the part where I mentioned that you have NO PARTNER COVERAGE in the area which I'm travelling to?? Please escalate this issue to a supervisor.

O2: Hello. You have had your contract for less than twelve months. If you wish to SIM unlock your handset, you will have to cancel your contract, pay for any outstanding call charges and the line due for the remaining portion of your contract, plus a £15 unlock fee.

... at this point, I could kill... so I telephone O2 customer services instead.

I get told:

1. The O2 shop can do it for you, so I call them and

2. My local O2 shop tells me they'll call customer services on my behalf and get back to me

3. The chap from the O2 shop calls me and says "They say it'll cost over £900"

4. I call customer services - again - and ask for a supervisor, and get told to contact Network Services on a different number

5. Network Services say they DO have partner coverage in Montana, and that this info is on their website... I'm not near a PC when I take this call, so I cant check. I hang up and later I get to my desk, get to the O2 website and check for "Billings, Montana, USA" under international coverage. Guess what? No Coverage

6. I call O2 customer services again, thinking to myself that perhaps a lesser person would have resorted to mass-murder by now. I explain the situation in detail again, get told "can't unlock under 12 months yada yada" and then ask to speak to a manager. Two minutes of being on hold and then I'm told - "Right, we're organising your unlock code for you"

A half dozen emails and about 1 hour of 0870 calls to get there.

Compare and contrast this with my call to Orange to SIM unlock my SPV C500 yesterday:

Me: Hello, SIM unlock yada yada

Orange: Fine; we've requested the code and will call you for your £20 payment once we have it, which will be around 5 business days time.

I've had my C500 since August 26th... yes, five whole months, on a Talk 200 plan.

So, in summation

O2 = first to market with the goods, but crap support

Orange = late getting the handsets, but very little hassle

Should I have stayed completely with Orange? Only time will tell.

[Guest Chaser81]

@TheMadScot

:D :D :P You gotta see the funny side though....

[Guest philgriffiths]

Those thinking of leaving orange to get their mits on a blue angel from O2...... you have been warned!! :D

[Guest TheMadScot]

@TheMadScot

:D :D :P You gotta see the funny side though....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I suppose: I'm glad they have stringent firearms controls in the UK, otherwise the tempation to take a high-powered rifle down to the O2 Customer (non) Service centre might have proved overwhelming... I can just see myself, sighting down the scope, a tube of Pringles nearby to stem hunger from the long wait.. then happily blowing kneecaps off from 200 yards away, muttering to myself "Once you pop, you can't stop..."

If O2 only knew of the psychosis that they cause... :shock:

j/k