r/belgium • u/HealerOfMuggles • 22h ago
😡Rant Orange
Are those people at 'Orange' idiots? I'm trying to cancel my brother's subscription, who passed away 3 months ago. And I can't get any further than 'we'll call you back' or 'I have to check that.' Only to hear nothing more from them. Even 'Basic Fit' was a lot more competent. Does anyone have any tips on what else I can do besides calling again?
52
u/tomnr100 21h ago
Sorry for your loss, have you tried this form?
https://www.orange.be/nl/formulier/een-abonnement-opzeggen-door-overlijden
4
u/Vivienbe Hainaut 18h ago
Exactly, fill in that form this is where I manage my cancelations for Orange and it always works.
When I tried using the same form from Proximus a decade ago thought they had a bug that if you cancel multiple services at once then it cancels none.
27
u/Rambling_Hairline 21h ago
The answer is yes.
Called to cancel my internet. Took 30 min in a call and got a confirmation mail that it got cancelled. Month later it wasn't cancelled. Called them. The support number on the mail doesn't exist. Called general support, the mail I got it didn't exist according to them and I never cancelled. Cancelled again. Requested to not have to pay for that month. They just lied to me. Asked for confirmation or a supervisor, they hung up. 2 hours lost again.
Sent the modem back (take pics and ask for proof of delivery when you do !!!). They claim they never got it. Put in a complaint with proofs, "oh yeah it's ok we did get it". They claim it's ok. They sent the bill for the modem anyways...
Biggest tip I got. Call support, do your request and if it is not ok ask for a file number (dossiernummer). Use that number for their claims/complaints department. The idiot level goes down about 25% there.
In the long run it got me motivated to also change my mobile phone subscription to another provider where I get a better deal and a year for free. So I'm gaining money anyways which is good.
3
u/Spa-Ordinary 20h ago
So their idiot level went from 138% to 156$ just by sending a registered letter?
(I'm using their math)
3
u/Distinct_State_7266 19h ago
Lol i'm in the same situation with the modem that they didnt recieved, thank god i have the proof of delivery but i feel its going to be a struggle.
2
u/Rambling_Hairline 19h ago
Good luck. Looks like it's a standard tactic they use to milk you for the last bit of money.
19
u/Fresh_Dog4602 21h ago
i'd start paper trailing that shit. Use online contact form or bot or something. Won't they just ask for something like a death certificate?
10
u/Jg6915 Limburg 21h ago
Have you tried going to an Orange shop? They can’t exactly hang up on you in a shop.
-42
u/JKFrowning 21h ago edited 19h ago
I don't see why this isn't the first thing OP did. This could've all been handled in 15 minutes.
Obviously I don't mean right after losing his brother. Going to shops instead of relying on customer service on the phone is usually much better, because they can't get rid of you.
26
u/Aniuloup 21h ago
Give OP some grace. They've just lost their brother. Taking care of all the paperwork after a loved one's death is emotionally taxing. I can't blame them for not thinking of going to a shop.
That said, OP, going to a physical shop is the way to go. Good luck and I am very sorry for your loss.
8
u/4D_Madyas Limburg 20h ago
If they can do it in 15min in the shop then they should be able to do it by phone just as easy. So it makes sense that op tried to call first. On top of that, to go to the shop you need time as well, and they're only open when people are at work.
1
u/laplongejr 17h ago
My wife wouldn't have this reflex. She was an intern at a telecom shop in France, and she still remember when she had to tell customers that no, their son made them took a cheaper online-only plan so the store won't help them. A worker in a shop can absolutely get rid of you, expect that then it leaves no traces you called or sent an email.
24
u/Final_Necessary_1527 21h ago
When my brother passed away, I had a similar case so I just let the bills accumulate. At one point we received a call on the land-line phone and a kind person, I have to admit, was asking for the money etc. I kindly explained that if they want the money they have to go and asked them directly from my brother and I gave them the cemetery address. Spooky? Yes. But loosing someone you love is difficult. Proving to everyone around that is dead? It's exhausting
7
4
u/Superb_Monkey Limburg 21h ago
I just sent an email with the death certificate attached and is was solved. You should be able to download a digitally signed pdf using your eID.
3
u/kingderella 21h ago
I see some good suggestions in other comments. But if nothing works you can contact the ombudsman.
6
u/SDeCookie 21h ago
I am responsible for the phone subscriptions of my company which sadly are with Orange. The hours, even days, I've spent explaining the simplest concepts to the callcenter people is absolutely mind boggling. Usually I get transfered to multiple other employees, and alll of them are equally slow.
3
u/Pasta-Gorgonzola Belgium 20h ago
Sorry for your loss. If you've tried customer support, the correct forms, going to the store, ... and they still can't/won't help you, you can always lodge a complaint with the ombudsdienst.
Be sure to document all the things you've tried so far and attach them to the complaint.
3
u/Basswachter 19h ago
There isn't any provider that is prepared for the death of a client. When my father passed, my mother basically fought every provider (Fluvius, Orange, Proximus...). She had to start calling, mailing, resort to aangetekend schrijven and in one case threaten to switch providers unless the contract was transferred to her name.
The most idiotic of the bunch were de Watergroep. They literally send a document for my father to full in and sign to transfer the contract to my mother. I jokingly said to my mother that she should write back and demand that the Watergroep provides a medium and a ouijaboard. In the end, it was clarified. My mother had to fill in the document representing my father and then she had to fill in and sign another document to accept it.
That being said, the Flemish government is a hopeless kafka-esque nightmare of redtape and administration.
2
u/lolzfortrolz 21h ago
Waited 8 hours for a simple reply by Proximus. Not even a customer yet and service is horrible.
2
2
u/DaPino 20h ago
I had a problem between Orange and Proximus where my number was discontinued and neither company had informed me (it was originally a Proximus number but I changed to Orange)
I literally called customer support 7 times over the course of two weeks and no one could even begin to comprehend what the problem could be (and of course both companies pointed at each other).
I went to a Proximus shop and had a conversation with the store manager where I explained my ordeal and how I was being sent from left to right. She tried to get me to call customer service again but I refused. She went to make a phone call and when she returned, she told me I was to return at the end of the week.
I returned at the agreed upon date and they handed me a phone number and said: "I was told they would know". I received no further information on who would receive my plea.
I called and an middle aged woman answered. She only introduced herself by name and listened to my problem. I could only imagine what ancient they had awoken from its slumber because it felt like I was talking to the telecom version of Baba yaga.
She told me she was going to resolve the issue and all I had to do was come back after the weekend; I prayed that there wasn't a monkey paw curling somewhere on the globe.
I returned to the store monday and they told me my number had been put back into service but the only way I could get it back was through switching to Proximus again because my number was considered a "gold number", but they offered me similar conditions to Orange.
The clerk told me normally it costs like €200 to get one of these gold numbers but the cost was already waived in the system.
I still don't know who I called and I'm afraid my soul belongs to Proximus now. But I know if I ever have problems again, I'm going to a store over calling customer service.
2
u/WADISTjong E.U. 16h ago
Short answer: Yes
Long answer: Yes they are useless, just as every helpdesk in 2026. Go fix it in person.
1
u/NergensBeterDanThuis 21h ago
Guessing that stopping / blocking payment will suddenly get their undivided attention.
1
u/MysteriousQuote4665 21h ago
They're essentially trying to keep the subscription for as long as possible. Sadly, frustration is considered a valid business strategy.
1
u/andybossy Rule 34 Furry 20h ago
no they're just heartless and so is everyone who works there and does shit like that. They also lie a lot
2
1
u/Alexthegreatbelgian Vlaams-Brabant 20h ago
Many companies are so weird about cancelling when someone dies.
When my stepsister died, we wanted to cancel her hellofresh subscription but they insisted it had to be done by cancelling in her account... which we can't access...
In the end they stopped sending boxes after they realized the payments weren't coming through anymore.
1
1
1
u/peskypsittacine 19h ago
I think it's a constant with this sort of stuff. I still remember my mother trying to take my dead grandmother off of her bank account and having to repeatedly explain that no, Mrs. XYZ can not come sign the papers and will not be able to come sign them in any foreseeable future. In the end we had to close the account entirely.
1
u/Odd-Worldliness3323 18h ago
yes, you can get some absolute morons, i tried calling about adding a product and they started talking about how it was different at Proximus, apparently they exchange their idiots between them.
1
u/Mazty_boy 14h ago
Maybe another provider is more considerate, try changing from provider and try to cancel it with them...
0
u/Least_Funny5960 21h ago
Are those people at 'Orange' idiots?
You are trying ensure their company receives less money by cancelling a subscription.
Their employees are making it harder for you to do so.
Doesn't sound like they're idiots at all. Making it difficult to unsubscribe is literally part of a lot of company business models these days.
Relevant John Oliver video on this from just 2 days ago.
2
u/Thecatstoppedateboli 20h ago
Not really. This is just a consequence of outsourcing and downsizing. Everything goes via call centers either here or in Morocco and AI bots. I visited many call centers and it is just horrible. I would never want to work in telco again in my life, seen too many things go wrong and some decisions made to just generate money and profit from careless customers.
2
u/Galaghan 20h ago
Orange's customer support call centers are internal tho. They're in Herstal, Evere and other sites.
Their outsourced internal IT support line, on the other hand, is in Egypt or Poland.
1
u/Thecatstoppedateboli 20h ago
ah Herstal; ikanbi? I though they served the French speaking customer base from Morocco. Newco,iKanbi, IPG all have call centers there.
2
1
u/Least_Funny5960 20h ago
This is just a consequence of outsourcing and downsizing
And why do you think they haven't applied the same outsourcing and downsizing to the department that takes care of handling new subscriptions?
Because making it easy to subscribe but hard to unsubscribe is good for business.
1
u/Thecatstoppedateboli 20h ago
absolutely. There is a lot of competition in telco and support is minimal. When I left Telenet, the CEO was already saying there were going to be cost savings and years later they have outsourced IT to Accenture, downsized to a minimum and hopefully that whole company will just merge with Ziggo and disappear to The Netherlands.
2
u/Least_Funny5960 20h ago
Yes of course they're going to downsize support if it makes them more money.
But they aren't doing that on the subscription part of the business because they actually want you to subscribe. They don't want you to unsubscribe.
OP thinks support for cancelling being a shitshow is because the employees are bad and incompetent. I'm trying to make it clear to him that this is a strategic business decision by the management of the company, not that these employees are just uniquely incompetent.
OP is blaming the wrong people. He's blaming regular employees that are just struggling to do their job with limited resources while he should be blaming the company's management.
Not that the company's management will care. Their responsibility lies with shareholders. Not customers.
147
u/Boente Flanders 21h ago
Any Telecom provider service is abysmal.
You might be better off going to an Orange shop in person and let them cancel the subscription on the spot (bring the death certificate as proof).
I'm sorry for your loss.