Anyone still using Orange-OVP

[Roger Mills]

My wife and I have both had phones on the Orange-OVP tariff for many
years and - as very light users - this had used to be a good deal, with
calls costing 15ppm for the first 5 minutes (billed by the second) in
each 24hour period and then 5ppm, and it being free to retrieve
answerphone messages.

Then, a while ago, calls went up to 25ppm (billed by the *minute* - with
no reductions after so many minutes) and with calls to the answerphone
being charged.

At that point, we jumped ship and went to 3's 1-2-3 PAYG.

*Now*, we have just had letters from Orange saying that, from 28 May,
calls will be going up to 40ppm, and 15p for texts.

How the hell can Orange expect to get away with those charges when calls
on '3' cost 3ppm and texts cost 2p?
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

[J B]

On 15/04/2014 13:53, Roger Mills wrote:
>
> *Now*, we have just had letters from Orange saying that, from 28 May,
> calls will be going up to 40ppm, and 15p for texts.
>
> How the hell can Orange expect to get away with those charges when calls
> on '3' cost 3ppm and texts cost 2p?

It's just another 'simplification' isn't it? ;)

I have one in the glovebox - it's not been used for ages, but still
handy for an emergency without the hassle of PAYG type restrictions.

My brother and his wife have one each for occasional use - I have
advised them to go to the 3/2/1 route.

I did read somewhere that they offer a 'free disconnection'!!!


--
J B

[Roy Brown]

In message <lijaq7$r6k$1...@dont-email.me>, J B <j...@invalid.com> writing at
14:05:09 in his/her local time opines:-

http://www1.orange.co.uk/service_plans/downloads/ovp_services_costs.pdf

They do not offer to match 3. Nor Virgin, unless you subscribed over ten
years ago.

You might want to look at the above though, or the coming latest version
of it, to see if there is another EQ you can switch to with better
prices, still within OVP.

As the sting in the tail is that Orange are only committed to offering
you the same prices as an EQ that you have chosen, which will rise when
that competitor scheme changes, and not the cheapest EQ as things will
then be.
--
Roy Brown 'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be
Kelmscott Ltd useful, or believe to be beautiful' William Morris

[Tony Mountifield]

In article <br4ocd...@mid.individual.net>,

Roger Mills <watt....@gmail.com> wrote:
> My wife and I have both had phones on the Orange-OVP tariff for many
> years and - as very light users - this had used to be a good deal, with
> calls costing 15ppm for the first 5 minutes (billed by the second) in
> each 24hour period and then 5ppm, and it being free to retrieve
> answerphone messages.
>
> Then, a while ago, calls went up to 25ppm (billed by the *minute* - with
> no reductions after so many minutes) and with calls to the answerphone
> being charged.
>
> At that point, we jumped ship and went to 3's 1-2-3 PAYG.
>
> *Now*, we have just had letters from Orange saying that, from 28 May,
> calls will be going up to 40ppm, and 15p for texts.

Yes, we got one of those today too. I expect Orange/EE are just trying
to shed all their Virgin OVP contracts.

I have tried to find out what standard PAYG charges are now, and the new
EE web site is appalling! I never did find that information, despite
trying for at least 10 mintues.

> How the hell can Orange expect to get away with those charges when calls
> on '3' cost 3ppm and texts cost 2p?

Is it possible to take your number with you to another operator's PAYG
account, or just to contracts?

Cheers
Tony
--
Tony Mountifield
Work: to...@softins.co.uk - http://www.softins.co.uk
Play: to...@mountifield.org - http://tony.mountifield.org

[Roger Mills]

No point - unless you want to port the number - just let them keep
sending you monthly bill for £0!

[Roger Mills]

Seems pretty unlikely that they'll have anything as cheap as '3'.

[Roger Mills]

On 15/04/2014 15:37, Tony Mountifield wrote:
> In article<br4ocd...@mid.individual.net>,
> Roger Mills<watt....@gmail.com> wrote:
>> My wife and I have both had phones on the Orange-OVP tariff for many
>> years and - as very light users - this had used to be a good deal, with
>> calls costing 15ppm for the first 5 minutes (billed by the second) in
>> each 24hour period and then 5ppm, and it being free to retrieve
>> answerphone messages.
>>
>> Then, a while ago, calls went up to 25ppm (billed by the *minute* - with
>> no reductions after so many minutes) and with calls to the answerphone
>> being charged.
>>
>> At that point, we jumped ship and went to 3's 1-2-3 PAYG.
>>
>> *Now*, we have just had letters from Orange saying that, from 28 May,
>> calls will be going up to 40ppm, and 15p for texts.
>
> Yes, we got one of those today too. I expect Orange/EE are just trying
> to shed all their Virgin OVP contracts.
>
> I have tried to find out what standard PAYG charges are now, and the new
> EE web site is appalling! I never did find that information, despite
> trying for at least 10 mintues.
>

My impression is that PAYG prices are the same as the revised OVP prices
(currently 25ppm) and I guess that they'll go up to 40p on 28 May too.

>> How the hell can Orange expect to get away with those charges when calls
>> on '3' cost 3ppm and texts cost 2p?
>
> Is it possible to take your number with you to another operator's PAYG
> account, or just to contracts?
>

Dunno - but I'm not bothered. We're pretty low users, and use the phones
mainly for outgoing calls when away from home - so very few people know
the numbers. We're quite happy to start again with new numbers.

[Tony Mountifield]

In article <br555c...@mid.individual.net>,

Well it turns out that Three make it very easy to take an existing number
with you to their PAYG.

So now I have a free Three SIM in the post and a PAC code. All set! :)

[Clive Page]

On 15/04/2014 13:53, Roger Mills wrote:

> *Now*, we have just had letters from Orange saying that, from 28 May,
> calls will be going up to 40ppm, and 15p for texts.
>
> How the hell can Orange expect to get away with those charges when calls
> on '3' cost 3ppm and texts cost 2p?

I've just had the same letter, and it is indeed a huge increase. Not
only are the charges up from 25 to 40 p/min but also charged by the
minute always rounded up to the next minute, instead of per second as
they used to.

I think Orange/EE are trying to tell us to go away. From all the
adverts around, there must be plenty of customers around willing to pay
£20/month or more, and they can afford to lose users like us.

--
Clive Page

[Maurice]

On Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:53:08 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

> we jumped ship and went to 3's 1-2-3 PAYG.

Having been on the Orange-OVP scheme for many years I think perhaps
it's time to jump ship, what with the latest hike to 40p/min and the
earlier charge for retrieving voicemail/answerphone.

(What is the Three 1-2-3 cost of accessing voicemail?)

Also, the Orange Rio II (Blackberry lookalike) I bought last year at
the local EE store is presumably locked. (How does one check that?)
Anyone here any experience of getting such a mobile unlocked?

--
/\/\aurice (Retired)
(Replace "nomail.afraid" by "bcs" to reply by email)

[Roger Mills]

On 16/04/2014 16:23, Maurice wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:53:08 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:
>
>> we jumped ship and went to 3's 1-2-3 PAYG.
>
> Having been on the Orange-OVP scheme for many years I think perhaps
> it's time to jump ship, what with the latest hike to 40p/min and the
> earlier charge for retrieving voicemail/answerphone.
>
> (What is the Three 1-2-3 cost of accessing voicemail?)
>

It's the same as calling a landline or mobile - 3ppm

> Also, the Orange Rio II (Blackberry lookalike) I bought last year at
> the local EE store is presumably locked. (How does one check that?)
> Anyone here any experience of getting such a mobile unlocked?
>

You can check whether it's locked by trying a free 1-2-3 SIM in it. It
won't work if it is! Chances are it *is* locked if it's Orange/EE
branded. Most phones can be unlocked, but I don't know the specifics for
this one.

[Gyp]

On 15/04/2014 13:53, Roger Mills wrote:

> My wife and I have both had phones on the Orange-OVP tariff for many
> years and - as very light users - this had used to be a good deal, with
> calls costing 15ppm for the first 5 minutes (billed by the second) in
> each 24hour period and then 5ppm, and it being free to retrieve
> answerphone messages.

Still have one (or seven actually) but none of the phones are in use
since I lost my Line 2 ED50. AFAIK, it does still entitle me to a
discount on my Orange broadband though.

--
Gyp

[Maurice]

On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 16:58:48 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

> You can check whether it's locked by trying a free 1-2-3 SIM in it.

Went to https://www.three.co.uk/Support/Free_SIM/Order

which requested selection of SIM size from following fixed list:

Standard, Micro, Nano

but according to http://www.gsmarena.com/orange_rio_ii-4084.php

my phone has a 'mini SIM' i.e. not on Three's list!

What have I overlooked?!

--
/\/\aurice

[Roger Mills]

On 17/04/2014 16:09, Maurice wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 16:58:48 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:
>
>> You can check whether it's locked by trying a free 1-2-3 SIM in it.
>
> Went to https://www.three.co.uk/Support/Free_SIM/Order
>
> which requested selection of SIM size from following fixed list:
>
> Standard, Micro, Nano
>
> but according to http://www.gsmarena.com/orange_rio_ii-4084.php
>
> my phone has a 'mini SIM' i.e. not on Three's list!
>
> What have I overlooked?!
>

This should tell you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro-SIM#Formats

Original SIMs were credit card size but the smaller Mini-SIM (25mm x
15mm) has been the standard for a long time.

Now there are also micro and nano SIMs which are smaller still.

If in doubt, measure your existing SIM - but I'm pretty sure it's what
'3' calls "Standard".

[JL]

Just had the letter for my 2 SIMs that are rarely used these days. I know we're not making much money for them but there must be such a small number of people on this tariff I wonder why they even bother changing it.

I used to use mine abroad as Orange contract had a good range of roaming partners, but on my recent trip to Spain I had more selectable networks with a GaffGaff SIM.

Just applied a 30-day notice to disconnect my 2 OVP SIMs (and my iPad SIM). I'm never realistically going to use them so might as well close the account. No doubt EE will be reporting huge customer loss again for the next quarter, and they wonder why?!

[Mizter T]

On 18/04/2014 08:26, JL wrote:
> Just had the letter for my 2 SIMs that are rarely used these days. I know we're not making much money for them but there must be such a small number of people on this tariff I wonder why they even bother changing it.

Because you're not making much (if any) money for them.

>
> I used to use mine abroad as Orange contract had a good range of roaming partners, but on my recent trip to Spain I had more selectable networks with a GaffGaff SIM.
>
> Just applied a 30-day notice to disconnect my 2 OVP SIMs (and my iPad SIM). I'm never realistically going to use them so might as well close the account. No doubt EE will be reporting huge customer loss again for the next quarter, and they wonder why?!
>

Losing unprofitable customers isn't necessarily considered much of a loss.

[metric...@yahoo.com]

I've had one for many years too. I mainly lent it to friends/visitors who didn't have a mobile, couldn't roam, or had a non-GSM phone. In the past that was quite a common scenario but it's rare now. The key features for me were international roaming; no monthly fee; and reasonable call rates.

Does Three 1-2-3 allow roaming?
I failed to find the answer on their website.

[Theo Markettos]

metric...@yahoo.com wrote:
> Does Three 1-2-3 allow roaming?
> I failed to find the answer on their website.

Yes. In fact it works out of the box, while on Three contracts you have to
explicitly enable roaming (which you don't realise until you are roaming and
then can't do).

Theo

[metric...@yahoo.com]

Thanks Theo, your reply inspired me to search again. I found what you say in writing at:
******************************
http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Pay_As_You_Go_abroad,varset_cat=roaming,varset_subcat=4147,Case=obj%284445%29
"On Pay As You Go you're automatically set up to use your phone in over 100 countries abroad."
******************************

It looks like Three 123 now suits my purposes better than Orange OVP. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

[Dan]

If anyone no longer wants their OVP Sim, I will take them off you for the average going price over at uk.adverts.telecom.mobile email u.genie at btinternet dot com if interested.

It's easy & straightforward, have an existing account to transfer onto, so hopefully without need for credit checks, can give up to about four names for reference on here, that I've taken over contracts from in the past; Steve Terry being the most famous one - email us if your reading this Steve owe you some QX Points :-)

Dan

[J B]

IIRC, with a Three *contract* you have to have been with them for X
months before they will allow roaming
And, for the system whereby you can use your UK allowance in some
selected other countries at UK rates (can't remember it's name sorry)...
you have to have been on that deal for 30 days before that one is allowed.

--
J B

[J B]

More info here
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=65313860

--
J B

[Martin]

On 15/04/14 14:05, J B wrote:
> I have one in the glovebox - it's not been used for ages, but still
> handy for an emergency without the hassle of PAYG type restrictions.

I hope you've confirmed that roaming, international dialling, and
premium rate SMS are all disabled. A monthly spend cap would be nice too.

When someone eventually steals the SIM card (and you don't notice
because it was tucked away from everyday sight), you could be facing
thousands of pounds in charges. I got a bill for £400 in just such
circumstances - but it could have been far worse. CISAS were no help.

I'm considering moving away from pay-monthly to Three's 3/2/1 PAYG offer
for our mobiles, so that our liability in case of theft is strictly
limited to the amount of pre-pay left on the SIM.

[Roger Mills]

On 22/04/2014 10:29, Martin wrote:

>
> When someone eventually steals the SIM card (and you don't notice
> because it was tucked away from everyday sight), you could be facing
> thousands of pounds in charges. I got a bill for £400 in just such
> circumstances - but it could have been far worse. CISAS were no help.
>

Surely you can password protect the SIM so that it won't work in another
phone without the correct password?

[Chris Davies]

Roger Mills <watt....@gmail.com> wrote:
> *Now*, we have just had letters from Orange saying that, from 28 May,
> calls will be going up to 40ppm, and 15p for texts.

> How the hell can Orange expect to get away with those charges when calls
> on '3' cost 3ppm and texts cost 2p?

They don't want to keep the tariff open, so they're forcing people off it.
Chris

[Maurice]

On Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:04:30 +0000, Tony Mountifield wrote:

> I have a free Three SIM in the post

How long did it take to arrive?

(No sign of the one I ordered last week)

[Roger Mills]

On 23/04/2014 17:44, Maurice wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:04:30 +0000, Tony Mountifield wrote:
>
>> I have a free Three SIM in the post
>
> How long did it take to arrive?
>
> (No sign of the one I ordered last week)
>

Whenever I've ordered one, it (or, rather TWO) has usually arrived the
next day.

[Tony Mountifield]

In article <brqc8a...@mid.individual.net>,

Roger Mills <watt....@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 23/04/2014 17:44, Maurice wrote:
> > On Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:04:30 +0000, Tony Mountifield wrote:
> >
> >> I have a free Three SIM in the post
> >
> > How long did it take to arrive?
> >
> > (No sign of the one I ordered last week)
> >
>
> Whenever I've ordered one, it (or, rather TWO) has usually arrived the
> next day.

I think mine arrived after two days. Not long, anyway.

[Maurice]

On Wed, 23 Apr 2014 18:41:36 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

> has usually arrived the next day.

OK - one arrived today, but I don't know whether it's the one
ordered last week or the 2nd one I ordered yesterday.

Couple of problems:

(1) After insertion in my Orange Rio II, I was able to confirm that
the phone is locked.

Anyone know what the consequences are of getting an unlock code
from Orange? (E.g. Do they make a charge for that?) Any other way?

(The Three site says (for Pay Monthly):
"150 from your Orange phone or 0797 310 0150 to get unlock code"


(2) It is not a '3G phone'.
Result of texting 'Mobile' to 78333
(-->http://mob.fm/9/check?xxxxxxxx):

--------------------------------
"Sorry, your phone won't work with a Three SIM. You'll need a 3G phone
to switch to the network built for the internet".
---------------------------------

Now I've seen somewhere that non-3G phones often do work on Three.
Anyone here achieved that?

The reason I ask about getting an Orange unlock code is that I am
tempted to try an unlock and try the Three SIM (but not if I'm going
to get clobbered by Orange with a large fee!).

Otherwise, I guess I'm looking for the next best thing to Three
1-2-3 whose SIM *will* work on a non-3G phone,.. :-(

--
/\/\aurice (Retired in Surrey)

[Maurice]

On Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:08:13 +0000, I wrote:

> Anyone know what the consequences are of getting an unlock code
> from Orange? (E.g. Do they make a charge for that?)

Mmm. According to:
http://ee.co.uk/help/getting-started/joining-ee/unlocking-your-phone

"It takes up to 20 days to unlock a phone (or 60 days if it's a
Samsung) and there's an admin fee of £20.42."

So no painless way of checking if my Orange Rio II will work with a
Three 1-2-3 card.... :-(
--
/\/\aurice

[Theo Markettos]

Maurice <mau...@nomail.afraid.org> wrote:
> Mmm. According to:
> http://ee.co.uk/help/getting-started/joining-ee/unlocking-your-phone
>
> "It takes up to 20 days to unlock a phone (or 60 days if it's a
> Samsung) and there's an admin fee of £20.42."
>
> So no painless way of checking if my Orange Rio II will work with a
> Three 1-2-3 card.... :-(

If it's not 3G, you're basically on borrowed time until Three find out and
bar you. Also coverage is likely to be patchy, because they've turned off
2G fallback in areas they deem to have enough 3G coverage.

Sounds like it's new phone time, whichever way you want to go...

Theo

[Roger Mills]

+1

[Maurice]

On Fri, 25 Apr 2014 10:07:47 +0100, Theo Markettos wrote:

> If it's not 3G

I'm now sure it is. Extract from its manual:

"You can also select preferred mode to enable 2G or 3G network only"

I suspect the test showed negative because the phone's networking
facilities were turned off (never used them).

[John]

On 15:00 15 Apr 2014, Roy Brown wrote:
>
> In message <lijaq7$r6k$1...@dont-email.me>, J B <j...@invalid.com> writing
> at 14:05:09 in his/her local time opines:-

>>
>> On 15/04/2014 13:53, Roger Mills wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> *Now*, we have just had letters from Orange saying that, from 28
>>> May, calls will be going up to 40ppm, and 15p for texts.
>>>
>>> How the hell can Orange expect to get away with those charges when
>>> calls on '3' cost 3ppm and texts cost 2p?
>>

>>It's just another 'simplification' isn't it? ;)

>>
>>I have one in the glovebox - it's not been used for ages, but still
>>handy for an emergency without the hassle of PAYG type restrictions.
>>

>>My brother and his wife have one each for occasional use - I have
>>advised them to go to the 3/2/1 route.
>>
>>I did read somewhere that they offer a 'free disconnection'!!!
>
> http://www1.orange.co.uk/service_plans/downloads/ovp_services_
> costs.pdf
>
> They do not offer to match 3. Nor Virgin, unless you subscribed over
> ten years ago.
>
> You might want to look at the above though, or the coming latest
> version of it, to see if there is another EQ you can switch to with
> better prices, still within OVP.
>
> As the sting in the tail is that Orange are only committed to offering
> you the same prices as an EQ that you have chosen, which will rise
> when that competitor scheme changes, and not the cheapest EQ as things
> will then be.

Hello Roy. I did subscribe to OVP-VM over ten years ago but there
doesn't seem to be anything on page 10 in that PDF you linked. Can you
point me to where I can find out more about this? I'm very interested to
know.

[John]

On 14:36 16 Apr 2014, Clive Page wrote:

> On 15/04/2014 13:53, Roger Mills wrote:
>> *Now*, we have just had letters from Orange saying that, from 28 May,
>> calls will be going up to 40ppm, and 15p for texts.
>>
>> How the hell can Orange expect to get away with those charges when calls
>> on '3' cost 3ppm and texts cost 2p?
>

> I've just had the same letter, and it is indeed a huge increase. Not
> only are the charges up from 25 to 40 p/min but also charged by the
> minute always rounded up to the next minute, instead of per second as
> they used to.
>
> I think Orange/EE are trying to tell us to go away. From all the
> adverts around, there must be plenty of customers around willing to pay
> �20/month or more, and they can afford to lose users like us.

I didn't realise Orange were allowed to raised the charges. Isn't the whole
idea of OVP that Orange matches Virgin Mobile's price.

Has something changed recently which permits Orange to raise prices in this
way?

[John]

I still have a phone with ED50. (Just one line.)

A recent letter from Orange said the increases for ED50 would be only 2.7%.
There isn't much small print so I don't know if there any catches.

Is ED50 still worth keeping?

[Hans Sluiman]

On 2014-04-24 16:08:13 +0000, Maurice said:

> On Wed, 23 Apr 2014 18:41:36 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:
>
>> has usually arrived the next day.
>
> OK - one arrived today, but I don't know whether it's the one
> ordered last week or the 2nd one I ordered yesterday.
>
> Couple of problems:
>
> (1) After insertion in my Orange Rio II, I was able to confirm that
> the phone is locked.
>
> Anyone know what the consequences are of getting an unlock code
> from Orange? (E.g. Do they make a charge for that?) Any other way?
>
> (The Three site says (for Pay Monthly):
> "150 from your Orange phone or 0797 310 0150 to get unlock code"
>
>
> (2) It is not a '3G phone'.
> Result of texting 'Mobile' to 78333
> (-->http://mob.fm/9/check?xxxxxxxx):
>
> --------------------------------
> "Sorry, your phone won't work with a Three SIM. You'll need a 3G phone
> to switch to the network built for the internet".
> ---------------------------------

My wife's unlocked mobile is still on Orange OVP and we've decided to
move her to Three. However the free Three sim card doesn't see the
Three network due to the fact that the Nokia 100 is not 3G compatible.
So we're looking for a simple affordable 3G phone (no need for a
smartphone since she's not interested in mobile internet) to replace
the Nokia 100 - any recommendations?

[Theo Markettos]

Hans Sluiman <n...@this.address> wrote:
> My wife's unlocked mobile is still on Orange OVP and we've decided to
> move her to Three. However the free Three sim card doesn't see the
> Three network due to the fact that the Nokia 100 is not 3G compatible.
> So we're looking for a simple affordable 3G phone (no need for a
> smartphone since she's not interested in mobile internet) to replace
> the Nokia 100 - any recommendations?

No specific experience, but something like a Nokia C2-01, 29.99 from Three?
The basic Nokias are generally OK. If buying from Three it probably would
be locked though.

Theo

[Gyp]

On 25/04/2014 17:10, John wrote:

> Is ED50 still worth keeping?

I guess it depends on how much you use it.

Used optimally you'll be using 1550 minutes a month off peak and paying
�15 or so for it.

If you're using a lot fewer off-peak minutes and making a number of peak
time calls then there's likely to be a far cheaper option out there


--
Gyp

[Roy Brown]

In message <XnsA31AACA...@216.151.153.169>, John
<inv...@nospam.com> writing at 16:58:20 in his/her local time opines:-

Hi John

Who mentioned page 10? And what are you looking for?

But what the pdf calls page 10, on my browser at least, is actually page
18 of the document, and contains the following relevant text, albeit
much more nicely formatted there:-.

18
Orange match the call charges of Virgin Mobile
From 2 February 2004 the OVP plan with call charges matched to Virgin
Mobile is not
available to new customers joining Orange or to existing customers
wishing to change plan.
The information below is for reference only, for customers currently on
this plan.
service
current price
up to 30th April 2013
new price
from 1st May 2013
landline peak calls
15p
25p
landline off-peak calls
5p
Mobile On Net peak calls
15p
Mobile On Net off-peak calls
5p
Mobile Off Net calls
36p
Voicemail
0p
SMS messages
10p
15p
MMS messages
31p
40p
The above call types will be subject to a minimum call charge of 1
minute and then billed per second thereafter.
receive a one-off call credit when you connect to Orange on this Service
Plan –
this is not applicable for internal transfers to this plan
this plan does not include the Virgin Mobile Big Bonus scheme
MMS messages in the UK cost 40p per message to send
text messages in the UK cost 15p per message to send
freephone call charges at the standard rate
calls to customer services are charged at 10p per call from your Orange
phone
whilst in the UK
Orange Care available at £5 per month, see page 8 for details
national calls are charged at the standard call rate
--
Roy Brown 'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be
Kelmscott Ltd useful, or believe to be beautiful' William Morris

[Harold Finch]

On Wed, 23 Apr 2014 12:32:46 +0100, Chris Davies <chris-...@roaima.co.uk>
wrote:

>They don't want to keep the tariff open, so they're forcing people off it.
>Chris

TBH EE are not that interested in domestic customers of the low spending
variety at all. It looks like their main aim is to establish a stronghold in
the 4G business sector which is considerably more lucrative.

See this article;-

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240219622/EE-sees-further-demand-as-large-companies-move-to-4G

H.

[Maurice]

On Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:08:13 +0000, I wrote:

> Anyone know what the consequences are of getting an unlock code
> from Orange? (E.g. Do they make a charge for that?)

Yes they do, and they said it would take 20 woeking days to get the
unlock code from the manufacturers, then they would email it to me.

20 working days now gone; still awaiting email...
--
/\/\aurice

[Maurice]

On Fri, 30 May 2014 13:58:56 +0000, I wrote:

> Yes they do, and they said it would take 20 working days to get the

> unlock code from the manufacturers, then they would email it to me.
>
> 20 working days now gone; still awaiting email...

Just come off a long '150' call to Orange to ask why, and was told
that, in fact, they do not 'do' unlocking unless the handset came
with a 'contract' to which I am bound!

Being an Orange customer for over 10 years (OVP tariff), and having
bought this Orange (Rio II) handset at a local EE/Orange shop last
year (they swapped my old SIM into it), I am - to say the least -
peeved about this, especially as this wasn't mentioned when I called 4
weeks ago to ask for the unlock code!

They could only suggest that I go to some back-street dealer who can
unlock it for me ("probably cheaper than the Orange £20 charge").
So that's what I'll do, then - in view of the way Orange have
behaved about this - I shall ditch them...

[Maurice]

On Mon, 02 Jun 2014 15:02:54 +0000, I wrote:

> They could only suggest that I go to some back-street dealer who can
> unlock it for me ("probably cheaper than the Orange £20 charge").
> So that's what I'll do, then - in view of the way Orange have
> behaved about this - I shall ditch them...

Done - but not without a struggle.
Last week took the Orange Rio II to The Phone Shop nearby and was
told "Yes, we can unlock it; will be £15; come back tomorrow"!
Next day when I called in: "Erm, there's a problem. Back tomorrow."
Phoned them next day: "Yes, came in this morning."
Called in after the weekend to pick it up; they couldn't FIND it!
Called next day. Guy called someone else and came back to say "Found
it; will drop it off at your home this evening."

Early evening nice lady calls with phone, but when I tried to check
that the job was done it would not start. "Battery's dead" she said.
So paid £15 in good faith, but later - after charging phone - found
it saying "Invalid SIM"...
However, that was different from the first time. Nevertheless I was
conjuring up in my mind what I was going to say when I marched into the
shop next day, thinking how clever they had been to disguise job not
done.

Then I remembered that I had accidentally received TWO free SIMs from
Three, so I swapped the other one into the phone.
Result: Solid 3G connection to Three!

Presumably whatever had been done to unlock the phone had corrupted
the other SIM.

So yesterday got PAC from Orange (just a few minutes on 150), got my
old number ported to Three today, and am now topped up for PAYG and
ready to go. :-)) Phew...

[Maurice]

On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:33:53 +0000, I wrote:

> So yesterday got PAC from Orange (just a few minutes on 150), got my old
> number ported to Three today, and am now topped up for PAYG and ready to

> go. )

And yesterday I received a cheque from Orange for the amount I had
(deliberately) overpaid into my now-cancelled monthly account!

The only other thing I wish they would do is stop sending 'event
promotion' text messages to my old number (which I ported to Three).
Any way I could stop that? (Not a problem, except might cost me if I
get them when roaming...)