Orange customers who hold monthly contracts will be hit with an unwanted pre-Christmas gift after the operator has revealed bills will rise by 4.34 per cent.
From January 8 2012 contract customers who signed their deals before September 2011 will be affected by an increase in their contract price. The company have blamed the rising inflation for the price change.
The majority of Orange contract customers will be made to pay a higher bill for the remainder of their contract – which could be as long as two years – even if the contract was initiated as recently as August.
Orange are not allowing customers to cancel their contract, even if they do not want to pay the higher contract price.
This is despite Ofcom regulations that stop such actions by operators, and allow customers to terminate a contract when the terms are changed.
However the company have said that a clause buried in the small print allow them to increase prices by as much as the retail price index inflation – which is currently at 5.4 per cent.
Orange have said: “The increase in the price plan charges is less than the 5.4 per cent rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI) in October 2011”.
“Our pay monthly terms and conditions allow us to increase charges by up to RPI figures in any 12 month period”.
According to the company call, text and data rates will remain the same, a spokesman for Orange said: “We are confident that we continue to offer our customers great value and rewarding deals. All customers affected by the price increase will be contacted with full details”.
Orange are currently owned by mobile giant Everything Everywhere, the company which also own T-Mobile. However, T-Mobile said they don’t have plans to raise prices.
Article by Charlotte Greenhalgh
LETS GET TOGETHER AND HIT ORANGE HARDER THAN THEIR PRICE INCREASE. JOIN THIS FACEBOOK GROUP AND TAKE PART!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/136012339840841/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Say-NO-to-Orange-Price-Rise-434-from-January-8th-2012/283582938349584
I was told at the outset that it would be a fixed price for the contract term. I didn’t want an 18 month contract but was told it was the only way to get the same price as I had been getting previously on an annual contract.
It is, simply, wrong of Orange to do this and, whatever the outcome, I will now be leaving Orange at the next available opportunity.