Help!!

[Guest hatton33]

Right! I need some advice on where i stand here!

I ordered my SPV on 4th july, after numerous phone calls i kept being told i would get it soon (say in two days). I paid for the phone on the 19th july. Today i recieved this email -

Dear Mr Hatton

Thankyou for your application to join Orange. We have processed your order but

unfortunatley the handset you have chosen is out of stock, and discontinued. As

payment has been taken we can refund your account, or choose another handset?

We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused to yourself.

Please mail me with your decision and confirmation of your card details to speed

up this process at [email protected].

Alternativley you can contact our customer services on 0500 80 20 80 if you

would like to choose another handset.

Kind regards

Chris

Website Administration

After just speaking to someone i said i would like the SPV E100, he said that would cost me £150! Yet it is oranges fault for messing{Edit by Will} up my order! Im in shere disbelief! Cant believe it. A manager is phoning me 2 morrow. Any help/advice would be much appriciated guys.

Rob

[Guest]

I think that you should rehearse what you are going to say to the manager, and pitch it in a certain way.

Remind him/her that you placed the order in good faith for a product that they advertised; you were then kept waiting with little information (and what you did get was from phone calls that you made); mention that you were told by Orange staff that you would receive the handset soon (no-one told you it was about to be discontinued); and the Orange took payment for an item that they hadn’t dispatched or even had in stock (many online retailers will only take payment upon dispatch).

Then say that you find it insulting to be told that a phone you wanted is not available because it’s been superseded, and if you want the replacement model it will cost you more (and you could also mention that the differences between the two handsets are minimal and largely cosmetic).

And also add that you have had to wait another day for someone in authority to contact you.

Then firmly request that Orange send you an E100; you ordered an item that’s been replaced by a newer model, it’s only fair for them to give you the new version. Remind Orange that they have already sold you a phone and it’s their mistake to offer to provide it and take payment for an item that they don’t have.

If you are firm, calm and polite you will be far more successful then shouting. The calmer you are the more reasonable your request seems; after all they have taken payment for an item that they can’t provide.

Another good tip when complaining is to always refer to the company rather than the person; say “Orange have already taken payment” rather than “You have already taken payment” – that way the person you are talking to is less likely to take the complaint personally and is more likely to want to help you.

They may not give you a E100, but it’s worth a shot.

Good luck!

(and let us know how it goes)

[Guest JoelRae]

Yeah, good luck mate ... I'd say you are in a good position at the moment, and Orange should hopefully realise they've messed you around, although I couldn't say whether that means you'll get your E-100 free!! Lots of good advice from Diplomat Kirby, I definately agree with not shouting but being firm and impersonal, as this will give whoever you speak to the fewest opportunities to pass you on to someone else :wink:

Awaiting the outcome!!

Joel

[Guest morpheus2702]

I think the words false advertising will carry some weight.

[Guest]

I think the words false advertising will carry some weight.

Absolutely - they offered an item for sale, took an order for it, then took payment and only then realised that they didn't have any in stock.

Hmmm....

[Guest hatton33]

Its all sorted. Spoke to a manager today for about an hour!!! I said that they should really give me a E100 and that the difference between the two is nearly nothing. He said alot of care and attention has gone into the E100 to make it much more reliable so thats why its more money, and that there is no way he could give me an E100 for £29.99. I quoted some words out of the orange online terms and conditions which basically stated that because they've taken payment for my order, they and me have entered into a binding contract govenerend by British law! He said 'yeah thats subject to the item being in stock', to which i replied 'if you can find that bit in the terms and conditions ill be supprised cause i've read it front to back! I said that because of these terms and conditions and the attitude of orange towards my problem and there incompitance i was going to traiding standards (im lucky enough to live in Derby where they have an office in the city centre!!!)

After a long winded argument he said he could probably do me a cut price deal for the E100. He went away said he'd call me back. Half an hour later he called back and said 'have you been to trading standards yet??', i hadnt as id been waiting to see what they offered first, he said 'good, ive been in a meeting with some of the top bosses at orange and they've decided to give me an E100 for the £29.99 that ive already paid!! It may arrive as early as 2morrow or as late as middle of next week.

I think they went and checked if i had a trading standards office in derby and realised id got a pretty damn good case against them!!

Cheers for your help guys! I was polite, firm and threatened about trading standards. Things ive learnt from dealing with arsey customers in the past as soon as you mentions trading standards everyone shits themselves and does everything for you!!!

Hooray for Orange! lol!

Cheers Guys

Rob.

[Guest morpheus2702]

Credit it you Rob, nicely handled! I bet a few people at Orange filled their pants judging by the 'have you gone to trading standards' comment. :)

[Guest JoelRae]

Congrats mate!! Nice move, going down the trading standards route ... looks like Orange quickly realised it wasn't worth the hassle :)

[Guest Coucou]

Excellent, nice to see consumer rights being exercised! As it should have said in the terms and conditions they cannot affect your statutory rights.

(I have a right to have a statue of Maggie if I want, just cos it's an inflatable one... oh wrong forum :oops: ) :)

You had em over a barrel once they'd accepted payment. ;)

[Guest Matt Kirby]

Well done! Top work.

Good thing mentioning that you've read thier T&C's (which the manager probably hadn't done for a while), it showed that you knew what you were talking about and were genuinely annoyed rather than trying it on.

Also the manager probably thought "letting 1 SPV e100 go cheaply = bit of hassle, vs. Trading Standards = loads of hassle and bad publicity".

Simple choice really!

[Guest hatton33]

yeah cheers mate. I deal with arsey customers all the time at work so i know what things to say to people that will make them do what you want. I also know that customers who lie and make stuff up end up getting found out and not getting anything.

I have to say the manager i spoke to was v.good. I commented on how the terms and conditions are misleading. I though, ill ask him what he thinks. He said he couldnt comment on that, which i was annoyed about cause if he'd have said - yes, it would have basically been agreeing to give me what i wanted by saying im right, or if hed have said no, and id have gone to trading standards he would have been involved in a dispute there! All in all a v. cleaver bloke i though. But he was genuinly nice and fought my case for me.

Rob