We only moved about five miles from our old village, but that was enough to
put us in a mobile phone blackzone. We have nil coverage here. It’s not much of
an issue, since I rarely use my phone plus have a landline connection. But
various delivery people get a bit freaked out if they can’t find our house and
have to drive a mile or two out of the village in order to call us for
directions.
No mobile access means I can’t try out any mobile phone searching, either. So
I thought I’d check with Orange about whether things would get better. I sent a
message through their online form to say that we have no coverage and were there
plans to change that in the future. The response was classic:
I am sorry to learn that you have no coverage in your area and understand
your concerns.Unfortunately, after checking your area, the coverage in your area is
extremely poor, and some area only showing variable coverage. This would
explain why you have not coverage.Orange are committed to improving our network, with numerous sites planned
to be installed across the UK. If you require further information regarding
our coverage please visit the Orange website at www.orange.co.uk and view
under ‘Coverage’.If you require further assistance please do not hesitate to contact
Customer Services on 150 from your mobile or 07973100150 to speak to an
advisor who will gladly assist you. The department is open 24 hours a day.
Got it? The coverage in my area is poor, and that’s why I don’t have
coverage. Duh, I know that. Heck, I told them that. I was asking about whether
it was going to get better.
OK, so I get the "committed to improving" response, so maybe life will get
better. In fact, it might within the next year. I also had to call Orange to
change our address (since the web site kept crashing on my attempts), and the
rep there did a check on future coverage plans. A tower’s been approved, so it’s
just a matter of time until it goes in.
But back to that message. Notice the numbers I’m given to call. If I dial
150, that’s a free call to Orange. However, I don’t have coverage, so I can’t
use it. That other number is billed at 10p per minute — which is 7p per minute
more than I spend to call the United States. How about a freephone number I can
use?
I mentioned offhand this to my rep, that it was semi-annoying to be charged
to change my address because (1) the web site crashed and (2) they have no
options for customers in black area. Amazingly, he gave me four pounds credit on
my bill. Now that was impressive, Orange.
Postscript: One of my readers says 0800-079-5000 works for those who
need to call Orange from a landline for support. Just remember to say with 150
if you use your mobile, since
Orange now charges 10p per minute for 0800 numbers!
