Orange Care Woes...

[Guest idavid]

right, my story starts three days ago when my spv got stuck in headset profile. oh well, i thought, one quick call to the lovely people at orange and my care package will sort this out (it would be my fourth spv in six months). only no. my problem was referred to technical support. arse i thought, three days of waiting... :?

...so today after waiting patiently for three days, frantically trying to untangle my headphones everytime some one called i phoned them back. blahdy, blah, technical support will be longer. blahdy, blah, me frustrated. blahdy blah, see what i can do for you. blahdy, blah, arent you lucky my supervisor has authorised a replacement but...

...you will have to pay a 15 quid admin fee... :shock:

...i beg your pardon. rant, rant, rant, loyal customer, rant, never before in five years, rant.

i was then told that in part 9.6 of the T and C they can charge for replacements and that the t and c had changed since my new care contract which was RENEWED in october. i, having never seen or heard anything about my care being renewed or that the terms had changed (hence not a renewal, but a new contract), was rather annoyed, blahdy, blah we will waive the fee for you, blah, arent you a lucky boy then. me steaming.

outcome. new phone as always, no new extra fee. :lol: just orange trying and failing to fleece me for some extra money. disgraceful. i then went to look at the terms. which are as follows...

9.6 Any claim accepted under Orange Care will be subject to an administration fee charged to your account in advance of any repair or replacement being undertaken. Details of the current administration fee are available on request from Orange and are published in our periodically updated price guide. The administration fee is subject to change and is payable in respect of all accepted claims made under Orange Care with the exception of those set out in clause 9.6.1.

then i looked at this...

9.61 The administration fee will not be payable in respect of a claim for defective material or workmanship of a new phone (including standard battery and charging unit but excluding reconditioned and/or second hand phones) where the defective material or workmanship has been brought to Orange's attention within 6 months of the date of purchase of the phone.

i am not sure if these terms are any different to what they used to be, but they seem to suggest that any replacement due to a technical fault of the phone will not incur any charge. what a waste of my time... and now yours. :? ;)

[Guest Bouger]

working for O retail i was informed by care today that the admin fee was something that they introduced in october therefore anyone who signed up for care prior to this is not subject tot he fee as it was not part of their t's and c's when they agreed to adding care to their account.

hope this helps im presuming that it only being nov that you signed up before october

[Guest Bouger]

ohh and whilst im still here, just read your post again.... ive also been told different things by CSRs when ringing up for customers.... ive been told that the admin fee is not paid in the first 6 months and then another one said that the fee is not payable on faulty phones just lost and stolen

On this basis of different stories i would clearly make further enquiries

[Guest idavid]

has anyone with orange care been charged for a faulty phone yet? anyone else been 'given' a new care contract without orange asking them even though the t and c has changed? Posted from my SmartPhone!

[Guest summie]

working for O retail i was informed by care today that the admin fee was something that they introduced in october therefore anyone who signed up for care prior to this is not subject tot he fee as it was not part of their t's and c's when they agreed to adding care to their account. 

hope this helps im presuming that it only being nov that you signed up before october

This is partially correct - O will issue new term and conditions on the renewal date of O Care - which will have these terms and specifically notify the customer on the covering letter

[Guest rawmike]

I honestly think Orange are making a joke when they call it customer services.

I have had trouble from them, I have been lied to on numerous occassions, insulted, left on hold for over half an hour before, which when someone came back they said "oh we thought you would have hung up by now", and generally abused.

If it wasn't for the fact that all of my family are on orange, a lot that can't get out of it, and most of my friends, then there is no way I would stick with orange.

[Guest idavid]

what really frustrated me was firstly that i usually have no problem with them. in the past five years with orange and care i have had tens of simple replacements. now i will have to pay for them?!? secondly, that they started a new crae contract for me without asking me whether i accepted the new t and c. hence illegal! :?

alos, as regards the 15 quid admin fee. how can this apply on phones that have year warranties anyway??

[Guest one.ear]

alos, as regards the 15 quid admin fee. how can this apply on phones that have year warranties anyway??

Because the warranty is with the manufacturer, not Orange as a network. They'll direct you to the HTC repair centre.

Ben

[Guest rawmike]

Have managed to be lied to and jerked around by orange yet again today.

If they are trying to do this, which I think they are, then they are doing a fine job.

Orange Job Ads should be somat like this:

Can you promise things without knowing if they can be done?

Can you constantly break that promise?

Can you treat a customer with contempt?

Can you be ignorant on anything the customer wants?

Can you put a person on hold whilst you sit and talk to someone sitting near you?

If so maybe you should join Orage.

Only thing I wanna know, do people start like this, or do orange have to train em to be this stupid?

[Guest amo]

Rawmike, your comments are neither constructive or helpfull to anyone. If you feel you have a suggestion that can help, please post it in this thread here.

Back onto the subject, Orange care will charge admin fees to those who have signed up for the service after October for accidentally damaged, lost and stolen phones. However, we generally replace phones still within the 12 month manufacturers warranty if the customer has care instead of refering them back to the manufacturer (i.e. HTC). This is a service that is very convenient to Orange Care subscribers as it saves time and money not to mention the inconvenience of shipping of the phone to a manufacturer etc.

So, if your phone develops a fault through no cause of the user (eg, the previously mentions headset profile bug) this is a manufacturers fault and as such you have two options. Firstly, send the phone of to HTC who shall repair the phone free of charge as it is covered by the warranty. Alternativly, Orange care customers can get a next day replacement (even though this is a matter that should be persued with the manufacturer). In this case we dont charge the admin fee as the problem isnt your direct fault.

IDavid, if you have been without a phone that allows you to make and receive calls as a result of this I am sure that OCS will happily refund you the cost of the line rental you would have paid during this period.

[Guest idavid]

amo, cheers for the thorough reply. its great to get some confirmation of the actually t and c's. it isnt very clear whether faults that develop due to poor manufacturing (ie headset bug) are subject to this 15 quid 'excess'.

i was most annoyed by the young ladies insistence that i would have to pay this new fee, on top of the fact that i had not been informed of any change to my contract.

just to annoy me as well, i have lost my headphones due to carting them around with me everywhere :? :lol:

anyone got a spare set.... ;)

[Guest rogerbates]

Sorry but going to have to agree with the other guys about the inconsistencies with Orange and Orange Care. I didn’t bother with it as it seemed a pointless waste of time, if there is a fault within a year they have to replace it, if it is lost or stolen, my home insurance will cover it. I only usually have a phone for a year so didn’t get Orange Care, my girlfriend did.

After a few months my SPV just would not turn on so I phoned Orange only to be told that as I didn’t have Orange Care I would have to pay £75 and join and pay £5 a month for a year. After a slight argument on the phone where I had to point out to the nice lady that it has a year’s warranty, they had a phone sent out to me the next day, no charge.

My girlfriend recently had a problem with hers she is on Orange Care but she was given the number of the manufacturer and told to ring up and sort out a repair herself, not only that but as she was claiming on Orange Care she would have to pay some of the repair cost. She was also told that she wouldn’t know the cost until the repairs were done. I would have thought that being on Orange Care and paying £5 a month she would have got a better service?

Orange Care is just a ploy for Orange to make more money, like the stupid 3 Year warranties you get with computers only to find out when you need them they aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. Having to pay to have a faulty phone repaired is ridiculous, as is paying insurance for something that is more than likely already insured.

Incidentally when she did phone up, the manufacturer they told her that Orange should sort it out as it is still under warranty.

You shouldn’t have to pay for any fault that occurs within a year of purchasing the phone. I am not 100% but I am sure that is the case with all electrical goods. If you didn’t have Orange Care you wouldn’t have to pay so it seems strange that because you have it you have to pay a charge. Perhaps that is because you are claiming it on the ‘insurance’ and not the warranty.

[Guest Firaas]

My girlfriend recently had a problem with hers she is on Orange Care but she was given the number of the manufacturer and told to ring up and sort out a repair herself, not only that but as she was claiming on Orange Care she would have to pay some of the repair cost. She was also told that she wouldn’t know the cost until the repairs were done. I would have thought that being on Orange Care and paying £5 a month she would have got a better service?

You shouldn’t have to pay for any fault that occurs within a year of purchasing the phone. I am not 100% but I am sure that is the case with all electrical goods. If you didn’t have Orange Care you wouldn’t have to pay so it seems strange that because you have it you have to pay a charge. Perhaps that is because you are claiming it on the ‘insurance’ and not the warranty.

You shouldn't have to pay for any of the repair costs - you're entitled under contract for free repairs for the duration of your insurance agreement. Dunno what Orange have been going on about :?