I really believed the truth & reason would prevail when I confronted a large mobile communications company, Orange (EE), about a non-existent contract - how wrong & naive I was! It all started when I lost my SIM card supplied by Orange (EE) and went to a local Orange approved 3rd party mobile phone branch (Phones4U) for a replacement. The branch supplied me with new number with the new SIM as they stated they were unable to programme a SIM at the time with my existing number. I was advised no contract was needed as it was only a temporary SIM and the new number was attached to my original account. My contract with Orange expired withon 1 month of the visit above which I cancelled. Orange however continued to take direct debits and when I made enquiries with them, they stated the issue had to be dealt with by Phones4U. I attempted to contact Phones4U but found out they had gone into administration 2 weeks after I had visited the branch and was unable get confirmation there was no new contract and that Orange were not entitled to continue to take Direct Debits. I continued making payments whilst trying to resolve the issue but Orange were unwilling to enter into a reasonable discussion. My one error was that I felt my only recourse was to cancel the DD to force Orange to talk take me seriously. When I did Orange did start to acknowledge the situation but only to insist I continue to pay for the 'contract' that I had taken out with Phones4U which they advised included a new Mobile Handset.
The handset they said I had been issued was a Galaxy Note 2 which happened to be the exact same one I already had from them 2 years earlier and a model that had been superseded twice. I asked Orange to hear my case and see if we couldn't reach an agreement on the matter but there was no reasoning with them. I stated that I had signed no new contract and as they were insisting I did I asked them to produce a copy for me. They said they didn’t have one but also didn’t need to have one as they had 'notes' from Phones4U. I asked for a copy of the notes which they advised included the model number of my existing phone but they were unwilling to send to me. In the hope they would see reason I asked Orange to confirm which direct debit mandate the 'new contract' was taking payments from which they confirmed was the same mandate as the previous contract. I argued this was further proof that my facts were true and that no new contract had been entered, but again I was ignored. As Phones4U were no longer in operation I was unable to obtain proof of my case and Orange were not willing to consider my point of view.
To rub salt into the wound, Orange said they would look into my case if I could produce a copy of the contract - it was obvious they were not listening to my case. In the meantime they decided it would be fair to file a default on my credit report and destroy my credit rating! I was unable to do anything but pay the balance due in full and plead with Orange to remove the default. As i am writing thhis report you might guess the outcome.
EE Limited Reviews
I really believed the truth & reason would prevail when I confronted a large mobile communications company, Orange (EE), about a non-existent contract - how wrong & naive I was! It all started when I lost my SIM card supplied by Orange (EE) and went to a local Orange approved 3rd party mobile phone branch (Phones4U) for a replacement. The branch supplied me with new number with the new SIM as they stated they were unable to programme a SIM at the time with my existing number. I was advised no contract was needed as it was only a temporary SIM and the new number was attached to my original account. My contract with Orange expired withon 1 month of the visit above which I cancelled. Orange however continued to take direct debits and when I made enquiries with them, they stated the issue had to be dealt with by Phones4U. I attempted to contact Phones4U but found out they had gone into administration 2 weeks after I had visited the branch and was unable get confirmation there was no new contract and that Orange were not entitled to continue to take Direct Debits. I continued making payments whilst trying to resolve the issue but Orange were unwilling to enter into a reasonable discussion. My one error was that I felt my only recourse was to cancel the DD to force Orange to talk take me seriously. When I did Orange did start to acknowledge the situation but only to insist I continue to pay for the 'contract' that I had taken out with Phones4U which they advised included a new Mobile Handset.
The handset they said I had been issued was a Galaxy Note 2 which happened to be the exact same one I already had from them 2 years earlier and a model that had been superseded twice. I asked Orange to hear my case and see if we couldn't reach an agreement on the matter but there was no reasoning with them. I stated that I had signed no new contract and as they were insisting I did I asked them to produce a copy for me. They said they didn’t have one but also didn’t need to have one as they had 'notes' from Phones4U. I asked for a copy of the notes which they advised included the model number of my existing phone but they were unwilling to send to me. In the hope they would see reason I asked Orange to confirm which direct debit mandate the 'new contract' was taking payments from which they confirmed was the same mandate as the previous contract. I argued this was further proof that my facts were true and that no new contract had been entered, but again I was ignored. As Phones4U were no longer in operation I was unable to obtain proof of my case and Orange were not willing to consider my point of view.
To rub salt into the wound, Orange said they would look into my case if I could produce a copy of the contract - it was obvious they were not listening to my case. In the meantime they decided it would be fair to file a default on my credit report and destroy my credit rating! I was unable to do anything but pay the balance due in full and plead with Orange to remove the default. As i am writing thhis report you might guess the outcome.