Orcon has tried to overcharge us twice

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Mavok

17 posts

Geek

#109689 25-Sep-2012 11:29

Orcon has tried to overcharge us twice now. First time was after we upgraded from 30GB to 60GB. The change was suppose to take effect at the end of the billing cycle, but at the start of the next billing cycle when I logged into our account and it still said we had 30GB. I called Orcon and was assured we had 60GB and it was just a minor error on their website. But then at the end of that billing cycle we had used up 55GB, and when we received our bill it said we had used an excess of 25GB. I called up Orcon, and at first the guy tried to tell me it was a valid charge, so I had to explain it to him a bit. Once he finally understood he said he would fix the problem by crediting our account.

So he fixed the problem and on the website it now said we had 60GB. However later we decided to upgrade to the 200GB plan, and they tried to overcharge us again. So after we had requested the change, I logged into our account at the start of the next billing cycle and it said we now had 65GB. I sent Orcon an email warning them that their was an issue with their system again and that they better not try and overcharge us again, but I didn't waste my time calling them, because I knew they were probably going to try and overcharge us anyway, so it was better to just wait until the next billing cycle and then ring them then.

And just as I expected, they sent us a huge bill for using an excess of 125GB. I called them up today and got it sorted out, but I had to wait on the phone for a while. The girl just told me that it was a system error. Maybe one day they'll fix it.

Now the scary thing is we usually don't check our Orcon bill, because we have an automatic payment set up. If we hadn't checked it these last few times Orcon would have gotten away with overcharging us by about $300. I'm wondering how many people they have actually ripped off so far, because it looks like they will only refund you when you notice the error in your bill and report it to them!

Anyway, we will definitely be leaving Orcon when our contract is up.

cyberbuddha

70 posts

Master Geek

#691032 25-Sep-2012 11:41

This has just happened to me too, and I have just come off the phone from speaking to Billing and Accounts and they have put through a credit request to my account.

It came about because, like you, I changed from the Genius 30GB to the 200GB.

What happened in my case is that they charged me overage for the period 13th until 22nd which they shouldn't have done.

Up till the 13th I had only used 29GB of data - within my 30GB allowance, albeit only just.

Then from 13th I was deemed to be on the new plan, 200GB, so I would have had a part month allowance (in this case about 65-75GB, my maths is not that good).

In that period I went over by 9GB and was charged for it = $18.

I was also double charged for the plans in advance too, because I was charged once one the Genius 30GB plan and also for the period that overlapped for the plan change they charged me too for a full month, so there was the overlap period that is being credited back too.

All in all my credit is only around $35, but that is besides the point.

It also happened to me last time I changed my plan, and I expect it will happen next month too as I have just (last night) switched to the unlimited plan.

Fortunately I pay my account by direct credit so I noticed this error by myself, but, yes, if you are on direct debit then it would pay you to check your bill carefully if you do a plan change.

Incidentally, initially they said that there was nothing wrong with the billing - until I explained it too them and read the wording from the email:

A refund for your current plan for the period 13/09/12 to the 23rd of the month - as you've prepaid this part already.
A part month charge for your new Orcon Genius plan from 13/09/12 to the 23rd along with the base charge for the next period (as normal).
Any data used until the 13/09/12 will fit within your current full data cap. So going over this cap before 13/09/12 will incur casual data charges as normal.
Any data used from 13/09/12 to the 23rd will fit within a partial month data cap, based on the portion of the month left from 13/09/12 to the 23rd.

Apologies for the confusing bill in advance, we are in the process of streamlining it for the future.

It was then that they looked into it further and agreed in fact I was correct!

They were perfectly nice and apologetic on the telephone, but really it should not be happening.

I have emailed someone reasonably high up at Orcon to say that maybe this needs looking into as I have seen several people complaining that the same thing has happened to them too, so there is obviously a glitch in the system.

Hope you get your credit back ok.

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

#691036 25-Sep-2012 11:45

There is a systemic problem with Orcon's billing system. I was their customer twice and both times I believe we were over charged and just ended up paying up to hush the entire situation.

cyberbuddha

70 posts

Master Geek

#691042 25-Sep-2012 11:48

May pay to switch to Direct Credit, that way you have a bit more control over the situation. My overage is not that much so I am happy just to pay the bill and wait for the credit on the next month's bill, but if it happens on the next month's bill then I will just under-pay and email them to explain why - then they can fix it up with a credit at their end in their time.

Mistakes happen, but if it is a system error like this obviously is, it should be looked into, or at least they should advise people to check their bills carefully until the problem is sorted out.

What happened if someone ended up having their other bills/mortgage payments bounce because Orcon had taken out too much money?!

freitasm

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#691058 25-Sep-2012 12:07

Mavok: Orcon has tried to overcharge us twice now.

I would say it's more a fault with their billing systems or with their process to change accounts than an attempt to overcharge.

Remember Hanlon's razor...

cyberbuddha

70 posts

Master Geek

#691065 25-Sep-2012 12:14

I agree, Freitsam, but they must have been aware of the problem for quite some time judging by the number of posts on their Facebook page, and no doubt the number of calls they must receive (if people HAVE checked their bills), so it would be interesting to know what they are doing about fixing up the system.

Like I said, this has happened to me twice with regard to changing price plans. And I don't always check my bills either, because generally I have no need, they are the same amount each month, but I thought I would check the ones when I changed plans because that's when a mistake MAY happen, and sure enough it did.

With the free local calling, free national calling, usually the only discrepancies that can occur now is for calling mobile numbers or calling international numbers, or, as in these cases, when you change price plan.

I don't think Orcon are being dishonest and trying to overcharge customers, but they do need to fix the system and in the meantime tell their Accounts and Billing staff that they should not immediately say 'no the bill is right' and expect US to explain it to them before they look into it and then agree that in fact yes, we are right!

bameron

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#691072 25-Sep-2012 12:21

Mavok: Orcon has tried to overcharge us twice now. First time was after we upgraded from 30GB to 60GB. The change was suppose to take effect at the end of the billing cycle, but at the start of the next billing cycle when I logged into our account and it still said we had 30GB. I called Orcon and was assured we had 60GB and it was just a minor error on their website. But then at the end of that billing cycle we had used up 55GB, and when we received our bill it said we had used an excess of 25GB. I called up Orcon, and at first the guy tried to tell me it was a valid charge, so I had to explain it to him a bit. Once he finally understood he said he would fix the problem by crediting our account.

So he fixed the problem and on the website it now said we had 60GB. However later we decided to upgrade to the 200GB plan, and they tried to overcharge us again. So after we had requested the change, I logged into our account at the start of the next billing cycle and it said we now had 65GB. I sent Orcon an email warning them that their was an issue with their system again and that they better not try and overcharge us again, but I didn't waste my time calling them, because I knew they were probably going to try and overcharge us anyway, so it was better to just wait until the next billing cycle and then ring them then.

And just as I expected, they sent us a huge bill for using an excess of 125GB. I called them up today and got it sorted out, but I had to wait on the phone for a while. The girl just told me that it was a system error. Maybe one day they'll fix it.

Now the scary thing is we usually don't check our Orcon bill, because we have an automatic payment set up. If we hadn't checked it these last few times Orcon would have gotten away with overcharging us by about $300. I'm wondering how many people they have actually ripped off so far, because it looks like they will only refund you when you notice the error in your bill and report it to them!

Anyway, we will definitely be leaving Orcon when our contract is up.

Hi there,

Please accept my sincere apologies for any confusion or inconvenience caused.

Feel free to flick me an email at socialmedia@team.orcon.net.nz if you would like me to look into this and make sure it doesn't happen again going forward, however it does sound as though the team have it in hand this time.

Rest assured this is not, as mentioned above, a deliberate attempt to over charge you. We have noticed this problem on an incredibly small number of accounts and the team are aware and working on it.

Cheers,

Cam

cyberbuddha

70 posts

Master Geek

#691078 25-Sep-2012 12:30

Bameron, does this mean that the same mistake won't happen on my bill next month too then, because I have just, again, switched plans, and my account is obviously one of the ones it happens to as the last two plan changes I've made it has occurred.

By the way, the Unlimited is a fantastic plan :) I have been recommending it to my friends on my Facebook [Kayla Bee on FB].

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bazzer

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#691097 25-Sep-2012 13:00

khull: There is a systemic problem with Orcon's billing system. I was their customer twice and both times I believe we were over charged and just ended up paying up to hush the entire situation.

Not trying to make light of the problem, but do you know what systemic means?

Dairyxox

1594 posts

Uber Geek

#691109 25-Sep-2012 13:17

I recently changed plans with orcon. from a 10gb plan to the genius 30gb plan.

The nice customer representative explained it well. If you change over in the middle of the billing cycle, they put you on a sort of 'temporary plan' (my term). With a data allowance based on the number of days between the changover and your plans billing cycle.

In this case my 10 GB plan got bumped to 18GB (Not 30) because the extra 8GB was a percentage of the month left until next billing cycle. Next full cycle and Ive got the full 30GB.

If id quickly used 30 GB thinking on i was on the 30GB plan then I would have got an overuse charge. Sounds like this DIDNT happen in your case, but could have, if they didn't make the error. (In my case the data caps were correctly shown in their usage counter)

cyberbuddha

70 posts

Master Geek

#691139 25-Sep-2012 13:47

Yes, that's how they explained it to me, too, but unfortunately the system is sending out bills that are incorrect. My total usage for the whole month was only 39GB, and the overage occurred AFTER the plan had changed to the new 200GB plan, so I definitely should not have been charged as that paltry 9GB would have been well within my part-month allowance for the new plan.

Like Freitsam said, they are not TRYING to overcharge people on purpose, just that the billing system was obviously set up incorrectly.

Mavok

17 posts

Geek

#691308 25-Sep-2012 19:29

I probably should have worded my first post differently. Obviously they aren't deliberately trying to over charge us. But then fixing this billing issue doesn't seem to be a high priority for them either. It could be as bameron said, it is just happening to a small number of accounts, and we are just one of the unlucky ones to be effected.

Anyway, if I was running Orcon I would do things differently. First of all, if someone had been overcharged twice and said they were planning to leave, I would convince them to stay and compensate them for their inconvenience. Secondly, when bringing out a new plan, I would not charge existing customers the $199 early contract termination fee to upgrade early. You have feel sorry for anyone who just joined Orcon and now wants to join the unlimited plan. Orcon should really focus more on retaining existing customers rather than signing up new ones. If they weren't going to charge me the early termination free to upgrade, I probably would stay with them.

Bameron, thanks for your reply. We will probably change back to 60GB in the next two months, so I'll definitely email you then.

Mavok

17 posts

Geek

#691381 25-Sep-2012 21:51

Please ignore the second point in my second post. I either misread the page for changing your plan, or they've just updated it. It looks like there isn't any fee to upgrade to the new unlimited plan, which is fantastic!

bobcba

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#705652 24-Oct-2012 12:50

I had a very similar problem after changing our account configuration using the webpage. I was billed an incorrect amount twice and the changes were applied incorrectly.

The call centre staff were hopeless and very accusatory - I'd made a mistake, I'd selected the wrong options etc. I had to provide evidence in the form of the provisioning emails (showing the new configuration and costs) before I made any progress and they would even accept that they were at fault. After four phone calls and over two hours wasted the issue still wasn't resolved, even though the staff had "manually" configured the account (twice). I was promised a call back from a manager at the call centre but that never came. It was lies, excuses and bs.

My opinion is that the new call centre in the Philippines is a disaster (but cheap to run no doubt..).

Running out of options, I considered visiting Orcon HQ in person but I eventually tracked down an email address for their head of brand & comms. Things started moving then, I was reimbursed by a member of the accounts team here in New Zealand and everything was settled promptly and politely.

However, out of principle I'll be quitting Orcon the moment my contract expires. The quality of service is some of the worst I've experienced - and I'm from the UK where crappy service is a given.

I'd strongly advise NOT to use a direct debit with them, make the payments manually to keep a bit of control.

If you want the email address of the NZ based accounts staff member PM me.

tchart

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#706121 25-Oct-2012 09:43

Thanks for the heads up. Ive just switched to Orcon UFB and been sent a bill when its supposedly free. Interested to see how fast it takes to sort it out. Seems like its not isolated as a colleague who had his fibre installed a week ahead of mine also got a bill.

Just to clarify, the base plan is meant to be free but Ive been billed for this.

bobcba

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#706124 25-Oct-2012 09:52

On a more positive note - the reason I signed up to this forum is that I expected further trouble with Orcon as I've modified my plan again using the website. However, everything seems to have gone through properly this time round (fingers crossed).

Maybe they just had some teething problems when they refreshed the website a while back?