BTCellnet

I have been using the Orange network for several years now and have been extremely pleased with the coverage, the tariff and customer care, etc. However, I recently found a fantastic deal with BT Cellnet which in effect gave me 600 minutes of off-peak calls per month for £1.99 when I receive my cashback in six months time. The offer was too good to miss so I left Orange and headed for BT Cellnet.

I am now into my third month of a twelve month contract and am now wishing that I had stayed with Orange as I never had anything to complain about whilst with them.

My first complaint about BT Cellnet is the poor coverage. I didn't really take the coverage into account when signing up to the contract as I just assumed it would be as good as the Orange network but I was wrong. The coverage works brilliantly at my flat but when I go to my girlfriends flat the signal is terrible. I have also experienced the same problem elsewhere on my travels. Unless you have a strong three or four bar signal the calls you make will be substandard compared to others.

My second complaint, of which I am really furious was with regard to my last phone bill. I was checking to see the calls I had been charged over the last month and noticed that I was charged £7.29 for one call. I was very shocked as I only use my phone at off-peak times so that I can take advantage of my inclusive minutes. On closer inspection, I noticed that I made the call at 18:59:28 - ie 32 seconds before the 7:00 off-peak time period. I was then charged for the enitre call at peak rate even though only 32 seconds were actually during a peak time period.

I have done this numerous of times with Orange and they only charge you for the actual time you use the service during peak times, as they should.
I therefore contacted the customer services department to clarify the situation. I was told that the bill was correct and that no alterative would be made. In my opinion, this is disgraceful behaviour.

I am now going to write a letter of complaint to BT Cellnet to voice my anger further. I will also be cancelling my contract on completion of 12 months and taking my girlfriends contract back to Orange too. I will never use BT Cellnet again - not even for a great offer. They are just out to 'steal' your money from you - sounds just like their big brother, BT!!