Toothless Ofcom: 3 weeks and counting for Orange PAC

Advice needed on prompting Ofcom and/or Orange to do what they are meant
to do.

SUMMARY:
Orange seem free to take as long as they like to issue a PAC.

Ofcom set standards that they don't police, and their offers to chase
things up produce no results.

Trying to complain to Ofcom that they are being ineffective produces the
promise of a callback that never comes, and when you try to complain
about that ...

QUESTIONS:

Does anyone know how to get Ofcom to do anything to make Orange perform?
(My current intention is to write to my MP, but that feels rather
desperate)

Does anyone know how (in the absence of action from Ofcom) to get Orange
to perform - without spending ages (and pounds) on mobile-rate phone
calls to them?

DETAIL:

Wanted to move my PAYG orange number to new O2 contract, so rang Orange
and (after about 10 minutes of queueing and choosing least-inappropriate
options) was connected to a human and asked her for my PAC. The agent
said there was no problem issuing one, but insisted that my PAC could
only be sent by post - they would send it "in the next couple of days".

Six days later, nothing.

Rather than waste more life on chasing Orange, I rang Ofcom and asked
what the performance standard was. Ofcom: PAC has to be sent within 5
working days (no rules on when it must arrive).

With Orange having by then failed that deadline, I asked Ofcom to chase
them (to save me time and cost, and hopefully to help Ofcom police the
standards). Ofcom were willing to do that - Orange would be given 2
working days to respond to the enquiry from Ofcom.

When those two working days were up with no progress, I chased Ofcom.
Their agent didn't seem surprised that their chaseup had been
ineffective, and couldn't tell me what (if anything) happened next in
escalating the problem.

I asked to speak to a supervisor - this is apparently not something that
Ofcom can manage immediately: their standard is a callback within 48 hours.

Two working days later, no response from a supervisor, so I rang Ofcom
again and asked to make a formal complaint. The operator said that
nobody was available but promised of a callback later in the day - which
never came.

And these are the people that are supposed to be protecting consumer
interests.

Help!

John Geddes
Derbyshire

In message <k5lbm4-5it.ln1@chiron.w3z.co.uk>, John Geddes
<john@st4rm4rkassociates.co.uk> writes
>Advice needed on prompting Ofcom and/or Orange to do what they are
>meant to do.
>
>Rather than waste more life on chasing Orange, I rang Ofcom

You asked Orange for a PAC, it hasn't arrived so rather than give them
another call and say it hasn't arrived can you text it please you prefer
to call Ofcom. Orange should have sent it, maybe something went wrong,
you were happy to chase Ofcom several times, wouldn't it have just been
easier to give Orange a second call.
--
Paul Harris

"Paul Harris" <nospam@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
newstC5xsW6q0kGFwAi@zen50073.zen.co.uk...
> In message <k5lbm4-5it.ln1@chiron.w3z.co.uk>,
John Geddes
> <john@st4rm4rkassociates.co.uk> writes
> >Advice needed on prompting Ofcom and/or Orange
to do what they are
> >meant to do.
> >
> >Rather than waste more life on chasing Orange,
I rang Ofcom
>
> You asked Orange for a PAC, it hasn't arrived so
rather than give them
> another call and say it hasn't arrived can you
text it please you prefer
> to call Ofcom. Orange should have sent it,
maybe something went wrong,
> you were happy to chase Ofcom several times,
wouldn't it have just been
> easier to give Orange a second call.
> --
> Paul Harris

it may be that orange calls are expensive, & OFCOM
are cheap

roy

In message <DLSdnX90eeXFDw7bnZ2dnUVZ8sKlnZ2d@brightview.com >, royc
<me@you.com> writes
>
>it may be that orange calls are expensive, & OFCOM
>are cheap
>
A second call to Orange would have been my first route which might have
resolved the problem. One doesn't normally raise a complaint with the
regulator until after you have tried to chase the provider and in this
case it would appear that it has been a fruitless waste of time and
effort so far.
--
Paul Harris

On 10 Jul, 07:23, John Geddes <j...@st4rm4rkassociates.co.uk> wrote:
> Advice needed on prompting Ofcom and/or Orange to do what they are meant
> to do.
>
> SUMMARY:
> Orange seem free to take as long as they like to issue a PAC.
>
> Ofcom set standards that they don't police, and their offers to chase
> things up produce no results.
>
> Trying to complain to Ofcom that they are being ineffective produces the
> promise of a callback that never comes, and when you try to complain
> about that ...
>
try
http://www.uselessinfo.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/stlist.htm

and call the Orange Exec office

Steve Terry

Paul Harris <nospam@127.0.0.1> wrote:

> In message <DLSdnX90eeXFDw7bnZ2dnUVZ8sKlnZ2d@brightview.com >, royc
> <me@you.com> writes
> >
> >it may be that orange calls are expensive, & OFCOM
> >are cheap
> >
> A second call to Orange would have been my first route which might have
> resolved the problem.

A call to Orange could take 30 minutes or more. How much do charge an
hour?

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007

In message <1i11pu8.1d96uydozo2lmN%d4g4h4@yahoo.co.uk>, "David Horne,
_the_ chancellor (*)" <d4g4h4@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>Paul Harris <nospam@127.0.0.1> wrote:
>
>> In message <DLSdnX90eeXFDw7bnZ2dnUVZ8sKlnZ2d@brightview.com >, royc
>> <me@you.com> writes
>> >
>> >it may be that orange calls are expensive, & OFCOM
>> >are cheap
>> >
>> A second call to Orange would have been my first route which might have
>> resolved the problem.
>
>A call to Orange could take 30 minutes or more. How much do charge an
>hour?
>
YMMV but when I asked for a PAC it took about 8 mins all in which is
probably less time than he has already wasted in chasing Ofcom.

--
Paul Harris

Paul Harris <nospam@127.0.0.1> wrote:

> In message <1i11pu8.1d96uydozo2lmN%d4g4h4@yahoo.co.uk>, "David Horne,
> _the_ chancellor (*)" <d4g4h4@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> >Paul Harris <nospam@127.0.0.1> wrote:
> >
> >> In message <DLSdnX90eeXFDw7bnZ2dnUVZ8sKlnZ2d@brightview.com >, royc
> >> <me@you.com> writes
> >> >
> >> >it may be that orange calls are expensive, & OFCOM
> >> >are cheap
> >> >
> >> A second call to Orange would have been my first route which might have
> >> resolved the problem.
> >
> >A call to Orange could take 30 minutes or more. How much do charge an
> >hour?
> >
> YMMV but when I asked for a PAC it took about 8 mins all in which is
> probably less time than he has already wasted in chasing Ofcom.

Perhaps- but I asked for my PAC because I wasted so much time dealing
with their dishonest billing. If I'd been able to bill them for the time
on hold, it would have amounted to half the amount I pay for mobile
calls in a year.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007

john@st4rm4rkassociates.co.uk declared for all the world to hear...
> Help!

Have you got the correct address registered with Orange?
--
Regards
Jon