Orange Care?
Monday, June 16th, 2008I’d like to thank Richard Hutchinson, Team Leader at Orange UK’s telephone services, for settling a dispute over a faulty Sony Ericsson W910i.
The phone failed prematurely within the 6 month period which is protected under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) which states that a fault within 6 months is presumed to have been present at sale and therefore replacement must be issued.
I find it really disappointing and frustrating however that Orange UK, which appears to be an ethical and caring company on the face of things (Orange Wednesdays, Orange Film etc.) is so hard-nosed and stupid when it comes down to customer loyalty. Six people I know have signed up to Orange because of recommendations from friends and the collective spending power of small families alone is enough to justify correct business behaviour.
Why cut off your nose to spite your face? That is what Orange UK appear to be doing at times. I’ve been a customer for 8 years personally, I’m not sure how many thousands of pounds that add up to. Mobile phones are a competitive market and Orange UK aren’t seeming very competitive on such things as unlimited data plans and usage of 3G enabled mobile phones as laptop modems.
They want to stiff you for every penny you’ve got. If you sell someone a faulty good, you should expect to replace it without charge to the user. If their claim falls outside of your warranty but is still within manufacturers warranty you should be an intermediary for them and offer to waive the delivery charges - that’s good sense. As Mr. Hutchinson’s colleague said to me “we don’t sell you a phone, we sell you the airtime. We give you the phone to use the air time”. Legalese and loopholes like that should be highlighted by the mass media much more. Hold these companies to account.
It’s the small things with Orange like having to pay to listen to voice mail, like having to pay 35p for an Orange Wednesday text. Like being charged for magic numbers on pay-as-you-go even if the other person doesn’t pick up. That’s unfortunate.
Thanks again. However I shall be thinking whether to exercise my right as a consumer to go elsewhere in future - that’s the beauty of the free market. Don’t deliver and you won’t win the contract.