Operator refunds client 9,500 in data roaming charges after he complains he was not notified that his iPhone used up 2500MB while abroad
Orange has paid back one of its business customers 9,500 in data roaming charges after he complained that he had been unfairly charged.
Sovereign Rotating Machines managing director Richard Welland was hit with a bill totalling 11,000 after he returned from a business trip to China.
During the trip his iPhone used up 2500MB of data by automatically updating itself every half an hour.
Welland who says his company pays Orange 2,000 a month for its services was upset the operator had made no effort to tell him of the escalating costs and said he only discovered the fee when the money left his account by way of direct debit.
He had also complained that the attitude towards any correspondence he made to Orange was poor and claimed it had not attempted to keep his business when we threatened to leave the operator when his contract expires later this year.
Orange has now U-turned on its policy and refunded Welland the full costs of all his data roaming charges and he says it has promised him his account is now being dealt with by “director level”.
Welland said he was happy with the outcome but still felt the issue had been badly handled.
“What they have now done is they have said, while my contract is still current to the end of December, the executive office will handling our (Sovereign’s) account and when the time comes to renew it they will give me benefits that I would not normally get,” Welland said.
“I have said I will now reserve judgement on leaving Orange until then.
“They have also said they will now monitor the account, and they have also said that my case has gone to director level and made it clear to me that because they have given me money back they have not just swept it under the carpet.”
Welland also says he has been assured by the operator that they have taken his experience “very seriously” and he says they have told him “they are changing the way they do things”.
Everything Everywhere, the parent company of Orange however have been quick to point out that Welland’s case would not been all large data roaming bills would be refunded.
“The outcome offered and accepted by Sovereign Rotating Machines was based upon the specifics of this customer’s case,” an Everything Everywhere spokesperson said.
“All customer queries are dealt with on a case-by-case basis with a thorough investigation to ensure a fair response to the issues raised .”
The spokesperson also promised the operator would make up for the poor customer service that Welland claims to have had.
“Offering a great customer experience is important to us and we will ensure Sovereign Rotating Machines receive this moving forward.”
