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Orange Mobile - should I pay up or ignore them?


Cerise
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When I left France last June I had an Orange Mobile phone for which I paid £14.99 a month. I tried to cancel the contract on grounds I was moving to UK, didn't want it etc. but they required me to give them back my phone and give them over 100€ if I did this. Whereas, I was assured by the lady in the shop, I could keep the phone if I simply paid up until the end of the contract Jan 2013. Seemed the cheaper option (so still not cheap) so I decided to do that. At the end of January they did not stop the contract. and took money in Feb and March. Having tried (unsuccessfully) to get it stopped I cancelled the prelevement, closed the bank account and ignored them.

I wrote and told them I lived in UK, had paid up and was not paying any more. I then received a couple of letters which I ignored saying I still owed them for April and May (no explanation). I continued to ignore them hoping they'd go away. I paid for 6 months I didn't want already. Today I have received a huissiers letetr from some outfit called Intrum Justia telling me thay are chasing me for 67.10€ (including interest and expenses!) on behalf of Orange Mobile.

I am tempted just to bin this as I don't think I owe this bunch anything but at the same time don't want to give myself and serious money hassles over such a small sum. Given that I don't live in France now, no longer have a French bank account, and have not used the phone in question, realistically if I just ignore them is there anything they can actually do? Ideas anyone?

Before anyone asks I don't have a copy of a lettre racommandé as I actually went to their shop. Should have done it I suppose but thought paying up for the 6 months would be enough!
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Do a search on intrum justitia. What I saw indicates that you are probably best to not engage with them at all, do not under ANY circumstances phone them or give them your phone number (harassment will ensue), and if anyone turns up at the door then tell them that the liability is disputed.

You might want to send a letter LRAR to Orange giving them the facts and disputing liability - if you have a copy of any letter that you took in with you to the shop, add it. If you use La Poste's online service then you can print off the letter and receipt and give copies to anyone that presents themselves.

Moral: if you go into an outlet to cancel a contract, take a copy of your letter and get the staff to sign and stamp it as a receipt.

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I have been sent letters from the same debt collection outfit .... I had my phone line removed account closed at the Orange shop and all the paper work to prove  it . Orange ignored the letter I sent and the receipt  for a returned live box to the shop and restarted the contract for the broadband connection for another year then said I owed them money .

When contacted they pointed out the matter was now in the hands of  Intrum Justitia and nothing to do with them.... You have to remember that you are dealing with idiots in Orange .   I told them to go forth and multiply...That was over three years ago. My French neighbor thought it was all a big joke !

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My thoughts exactly - but these letters do LOOK frightening. They don't sound like pleasant people either. However I wonder whether they'd really bother to harrass me in UK for such a small amount. Might just return it saying never heard of me!
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[quote user="Cerise"]My thoughts exactly - but these letters do LOOK frightening. They don't sound like pleasant people either. However I wonder whether they'd really bother to harrass me in UK for such a small amount. Might just return it saying never heard of me![/quote]

They are intended to look frightening. I would suggest not responding at all - not even by sending any letter back unopened. A similar crowd sent a letter to a tenant requesting various details, ostensibly seeking data on a previous tenant at the same property. A little bit of research showed that said company's track record included trying to pin alleged (and disputed) debt on to CURRENT tenant and landlord. Letter was put in the recycling. Subsequent letters disposed of in the same way. Letters stopped after a while.

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Both Chancer and I have posted about this shower before.

Ignore them and bar their number.

Unless they actually get a court judgement (which in these small cases they don't especially when the client is in the right) they have no power unless you let them frighten you.

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Orange, why am I not surprised?

I have lost count of the number of times I have posted about how FT billed me for 3 months' internet connection when I was waiting for them to connect me to be able to use the phone, nevermind the internet!

After many posts, I gave up replying to posts concerning Orange/FT because I still smart when I think about how they CHEATED me of 3 months' rental of a line that they KNEW they hadn't put in.

As for my Orange mobile, it has proved unlockable and I will NEVER buy an Orange SIM card just to be able to use my practically brand new mobile.  Instead I bought a mobile for 15 euros on leboncoin and signed on with some other provider.  

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Thanks everyone. On balance I think the bin is the best place for the letter. I can prove that I paid to the end of my contract, so am prepared to argue the point. I don't think they are goig to send the heavies from France for such a paltry sum.
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Cerise, you've left that shower behind, so put them and their 60-odd euros out of your mind. It will cost them several times that to dispute the matter, and you nothing to let them get on with it. By the sound of it, you have already paid them over the odds just to cancel a contract you had every right to cancel, given they couldn't continue to provide the service to you after you left France AND, from memory, that is one of the very reasons listed in their bumph as being a bona fide reason for acceptable early termination.

And if you do do anything, record the time and money YOU spend, because YOU could claim that back from THEM if push ever comes to shove...with interest!
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You are right Betty. OH says that if they should phone he will start shouting at them saying it is all their fault that I have left!!

I stopped cold calls to him from the bank by this method. When they asked for Mr Cerise I said he was out. They asked if I was Mrs Cerise and I replied 'The swine, is he married? He promised he wasn't etc'

They went away and haven't rung back since!
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