I was one of Freeserve's original customers when the internet service was launched. I stayed with them through the change-over to Wanadoo, and then to Orange. First as a dial-up customer, then on BT's Home Highway, and finally on broadband. For me, the technical side of it gave me no problems, and I have had no cause to complain. Financially, a different matter altogether!
I had been paying for the Freeserve connection by direct debit, but when I upgraded to Broadband I foolishly gave this company my debit card number. What a mistake! Don't trust them with this information, whatever you do!
In the end, as debit cards will, the validity period came and went. Orange were not able to charge me for a couple of months, and wrote nicely asking for their money. Fair enough! Their website alleged it offered a direct debit facility, so I signed up to that. But it didn't work, something I only discovered when I found my service suspended.
Then, when I looked into the matter, I found that for some months they had been sneakily collecting the Wanadoo dial-up subscription, as well as the orange broadband fee. I am still not sure how long this had been going on, but I think this attack on my bank stopped, as it should have, with my upgrade to broadband and resumed some time later.
Moreover, Orange were collecting this through my new debit card, and not with the direct debit they were originaly mandated to use, which I thought I had cancelled - but more later!
For some reason they were able to continue collecting this monthly sum, even though they could no longer get the broadband subscription from my bank. Mystery!
So, I thought this would all be easily sorted by a letter to customer services. A refund of the unauthorised deductions, followed by payment of my back-fees, and reconnection.
Some hopes! A protracted correspondence ensued with the so-called "customer services" department at Rotherham. They would NOT admit that they should have cancelled the dial-up connection on opening the broadband account, and refused to refund the stolen cash. Naturally, under these circumstances I declined to pay the outstanding bill for the broadband service, which remained suspended.
As well as writing to Customer Services, I wrote several letters to Orange Home at St Albans, none of which were answered, or even acknowledged.
Eventually, after the exchange of many letters, Customer Services cancelled my suspended broadband account, as I requested, and I was able to sign on with a new provider, AOL.
I gave some thought to suing Orange in the small claims court for the money they owed me, but I thought it might be more trouble than it was worth. So I was prepared to let it ride.
Then on this month's bank statement, what do I find but a resurrected direct debit for the dial-up account! It will be easy, under the direct debit guarantee, to get this money back. Not so easy, though, to recover the money taken through the Visa/Delta system. Caveat Emptor! My Bank, Barclays, have so far maintained that they can do nothing, but Visa tell me it is the bank that must reclaim the cash ... They deny all responsibility.
Then, to cap it all, today I get a fresh demand for payment of the unpaid subs for the broadband account!
Customer service? They don't know the meaning of the words!
Anyway, the iron has now entered the soul. Once the holidays are over, it is off to the small claims court with yours truly, after first trying to light a firework under Barclays Bank to get them to recover the money through Delta.
I think I will have to move my bank account, change my card number, cancel my direct debit (again, since the on-line banking system at Barclays clearly doesn't work ... but that is another story! )
So ...
Orange? AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE! They are either the most inefficient, or else the most dishonest, firm I have ever had dealings with. Only they could tell you which it is!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Dec 30th, 2006
very helpful by (43%):
helpful by (57%):
