Do I really want to switch to Orange?
Author: Paul Tansom
I finally managed to get myself sorted to abandon Vodafone and decided to get a couple of free SIMs from Orange and try out their coverage on PAYG for a while. According to their adverts you can keep your existing number, which is critical for me. I was taking a look at this late last night, and since I couldn’t do it on line I decided to phone them. Well at around half past midnight they were experiencing a high volume of calls so claimed to have a waiting time of 13 minutes! I decided to try again in the morning – a bad mistake!
Just after nine this morning I tried dialling the number that came with the the SIMs and got through to the automated service. First it asked me if I wanted a new number, no, then it asked me to confirm that I had an existing number I wanted to keep, yes. Next it told me it would transfer me to a customer operative. The message told me that Orange was committed to providing excellent customer service and then promptly cut me off! I tried again a few times, and then again through the morning (thankfully this is a freephone number) and got the same problem.
At around midday I decided to take a look round the Orange website for an alternative number. I found one for people wanting to join Orange so decided to try that. After following through the options to avoid Orange Broadband and get to the one to sign up with Orange I get told that I will be transferred to a customer operative. Oh good, but I won’t hold my breath. Well, actually I might as well because it wouldn’t have been for long. The next thing I am told is that the number I have dialled as not been recognised and I get cut off. That’s odd, because I didn’t dial anything, or at least not since I got through to their automated service! I decide to try again a few times, but each time I get the same thing.
This doesn’t bode well at all, but having already set up my wife’s phone with a new number on Orange I’ll keep trying – for now. Thank goodness the phone numbers are free!
