Orange Feels the Heat from its Own Customers
27 August 2009Mobile broadband provider Orange recently got a taste of its subscribers’ powers and witnessed how they can really stand united against any high-handedness when the necessity arises.
Recently, Orange proposed a hike in the prices of its services (compare broadband prices) including call rates and data access on handsets, which obviously made the customers upset. However, they went on to prove that customers need not accept whatever is being imposed by the operators.
The exorbitant hikes were such that people began to feel that the company has broken its own Terms and Conditions of the contract, and this entitled the customers to discontinue their contracts. Website Bitter Wallet provided guidelines for unhappy customers to make them aware of the modalities to terminate their contracts.
A large number of customers voted against the price hike and began leaving the Orange network en masse, especially so when they realised that they need not surrender the subsidised handsets that were issued to them when they had entered the original contract. Though Orange initially stuck to its stand, it finally had to bow down under immense public pressure and cancel its planned price hike.
The entire episode shows that service providers cannot always get away with their arbitrary plans and that subscribers may well have the final say.
top