Beware! Moved from Orcon to Vodafone, still getting charged from Orcon!

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Beware! Moved from Orcon to Vodafone, still getting charged from Orcon!

jjnz1

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#88529 17-Aug-2011 17:34

I have trolled through Vodafone's web site and sign up process and it says nothing about its your responsibility to disconnect your old provider when you switch. It used to be done automatically I thought.

At the start of June I arranged to have my Orcon connection (phone+net) taken over by a Vodafone naked service on the 20th June. This happened without loss of service and without a hitch. Or so I thought.

Fast forward to the middle of July, I was expecting a final bill from Orcon, but nothing had come. So I went online to check through their online service centre and found that they had not stopped charging my visa and my service was continuing albeit not paired with a line. So I rang them.

They said it was my responsibility to inform them, and that my service would continue for another 30 days from the date of the phone call as per their termination agreement. I begrudgingly said rrrr and accepted the 2 month charges on the condition that they only charge me for the base plan and not the 100GB add on. He said it would be fine, but I would have to ring back after the termination had been processed as he could not do it then.

Then yesterday, I received an automated email from Orcon saying I need to call THEM (WTF!) because my disconnection had failed to be completed. I have yet to call them as I am very pissed still.

Has anyone been through this experience with a favourable outcome? Surely I am not the only one.

Also, what is normally the correct process for switching internet provider? I would have thought the computer systems would pick up the change? I'm sure when you port from Telecom to Vodafone, Telecom realise and are notified.

maverick

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#508127 17-Aug-2011 17:44

You should be confirming that the account is closed , there could be plenty of reasons for the account not be fully closed, it is your responsibilty to make sure it is ...sorry

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NonprayingMantis

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#508140 17-Aug-2011 17:56

winning provider (voda in this case) should definitely be closing your account with Orcon (the losing provider).

I would be chasing up vodafone if I were you to ask why they didn't send a disconnection notice to Orcon.

maverick

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WorldxChange

#508151 17-Aug-2011 18:19

No, the customer should still check that the account is closed SP have the authority to move services on the customers request but it is the customer responsibility to check to make sure it is.

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johnr

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#508159 17-Aug-2011 18:27

We do contact the LSP but this does not mean the account is closed, It always pays to check

jjnz1

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#508169 17-Aug-2011 18:46

Are we getting account closed mixed up with services stopped? In my head they are different. Normally accounts don't get closed until customer pays final bill. What I don't understand is how their computer system can still charge for a standard service when it is not paired to anything.

I know I have to pay something as it was my choice to change but I believe it should be explained as people like me who forget to chase up old ISP's would suffer. And before anyone says well I should have checked, yes I should have, but if I didn't, I'm sure others wouldn't have either.

I think I might tweet Orcon as I really don't want to wait hours for them to pick up... Or are they reading this now?

jjnz1

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#508170 17-Aug-2011 18:48

NonprayingMantis: winning provider (voda in this case) should definitely be closing your account with Orcon (the losing provider).

I would be chasing up vodafone if I were you to ask why they didn't send a disconnection notice to Orcon.

I think that might be my last resort. We'll see how the Orcon customer service goes.

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hellonearthisman

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#508174 17-Aug-2011 19:01

This is standard practice from Orcon and yes, it sucks that they are so petty about terminating accounts when they loose a customer.

kingjj

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#508207 17-Aug-2011 20:25

maverick: No, the customer should still check that the account is closed SP have the authority to move services on the customers request but it is the customer responsibility to check to make sure it is.

It is common with some ISP's to confirm the accounts been closed. I got burned with Xnet several years ago which cost me several months worth of charges. My own fault, still bitter about it but lesson learned...

slartibartfast

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#508223 17-Aug-2011 21:00

This happened to me with orcon when I churned to Xnet.

It was one of the more painful Customer experiences I've been through....sounds like it's the way they roll at Orcon.

Despite owing me a credit - and having one of their systems confirm I was owed a credit, I still got threatened with Baycorp for the 3rd month after my porting that they were trying to charge me for.

Have fun!

robbyp

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#508252 17-Aug-2011 21:42

hellonearthisman: This is standard practice from Orcon and yes, it sucks that they are so petty about terminating accounts when they loose a customer.

Although I agree that it is the customers responsibility to cancel the account with the losing provider, as you would have a contract with them. However I can't see how they can charge you full price, as the ADSL connection will either be with one provider or the other. eg only one provider will be getting billed for the connection by telecom wholeslae, as you can only have a single ADSL connection per phone line.

kingjj

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#508295 17-Aug-2011 23:15

robbyp:
hellonearthisman: This is standard practice from Orcon and yes, it sucks that they are so petty about terminating accounts when they loose a customer.

(snip) However I can't see how they can charge you full price, as the ADSL connection will either be with one provider or the other. eg only one provider will be getting billed for the connection by telecom wholeslae, as you can only have a single ADSL connection per phone line.

This was the argument I used with Xnet, after multiple calls and one of the rudest customer service reps I've ever dealt with I gave up and paid the bill before they sent it to baycorp. There needs to be some sort of warning on signup with service providers confirming they have cancelled, or will cancel their service.

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zapf

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#508316 18-Aug-2011 03:45

slartibartfast: This happened to me with orcon when I churned to Xnet.

It was one of the more painful Customer experiences I've been through....sounds like it's the way they roll at Orcon.

Despite owing me a credit - and having one of their systems confirm I was owed a credit, I still got threatened with Baycorp for the 3rd month after my porting that they were trying to charge me for.

Have fun!

Sounds like you are not the only one owned credit by Orcon, I have yet to see mine arrive after a YEAR!

nate

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#508479 18-Aug-2011 12:04

jjnz1: Also, what is normally the correct process for switching internet provider? I would have thought the computer systems would pick up the change? I'm sure when you port from Telecom to Vodafone, Telecom realise and are notified.

As the others have mentioned, it's the customers responsibility to make sure services at the losing provider are cancelled. I don't think this is right, however, with all the customers we ever swapped, we always checked the old provider had cancelled the account, for this exact reason.

This shouldn't be confused with the porting process. If you have a phone number with services on it (such as ADSL) and you port away from that provider, the ADSL will be dropped - you may still be charged for it, however, in this instance, we always saw the losing provider close the account (unless there were other lines or services)

jjnz1

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#508617 18-Aug-2011 15:18

UPDATE FROM ORCON CSR:

I have just spoken to an Orcon CSR as I was asked to contact them... And the guy on the phone said that Vodafone sent Orcon a 'churn' letter which then allowed Orcon to automatically stop my services. I still pay 30 days for the date of the notice as I excepted.

The issue I had was that I didn't wait long enough for the letter to go completely though the system (1+month?) and that another CSR had put through a cancel request (which he shouldn't have).

He said normally it would go through automatically.

So, he gave me the result I was after, but obviously different to the first CSR I contacted. I did read an Orcon tweet saying that they are training up a lot more CSR's, maybe I got an experienced one this time.

I think the lesson I have learnt, is that make sure I follow things like this up. Advice to anyone else in this situation, ask to speak to their manager if they say you should of cancelled it yourself.

Oh, and I was only on hold for around 2 minutes.

Bravo Orcon.